Diane Dodds
West Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, that is a brilliant segue into the question that I will ask. Just over 5% of women who are now seen within the 14-day target for a suspected breast cancer in Northern Ireland. That has happened since the list was regionalised. I get the fact that cancer cases are rising, but —”
“Minister, for Members and those who are listening to the debate, it is important that you tell us what "actively being considered" means on a day-to-day basis.”
“Thank you, Minister. The Muckamore inquiry report demonstrates a shameful period for our health service, and no one involved can, in any shape or form, come out of this with any kind of credibility.”
“Let me be clear: experimental treatment on children that can have lifelong implications is unconscionable. Children of 11 or 12 are in no position to give clear consent to the use of such drugs, especially when those administering the treatments had them banned because of the lack of evidence on their long-term impacts.”
“Once again, I will speak in the House about puberty blockers and the nationwide trial run by King's College. I now understand that the Government will issue new guidance that will allow such a trial to go ahead.”
“It is now anticipated that more than eight out of 10 couples in which the woman is under 40 will conceive naturally, but that leaves two out of 10 who will need additional interventions. Over a lifespan, that is a fairly substantial number of people.”
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“I thank the Member for her question. For me to do that would require the stakeholders to say that this is something that they, of necessity, want.”
“To date, I have had no engagement with stakeholders on sectoral bargaining in the childcare sector, nor is my Department aware of any requests from them to discuss it. However, I note that the issue has implications for the Ministers of Education and Health in their respective responsibilities for childcare in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I am, of course, always open to working with Executive colleagues, the Assembly and stakeholders to make sure that the wider plans I have for ensuring that our employment legislation framework takes account of the needs of workers and businesses in these very difficult times.”
“Central to that will be producing an economy that has greater skills, is more regionally balanced and greener and that looks to grab the opportunities of the future. We will invest in the core of our economy, which is our manufacturing, our agri-food, our tourism sector, but we will also look to where the new job opportunities are and to where we can create them. Central to that, of course, will be the work of the city deals. I have been to Magee university, and I was extremely impressed by the forward-looking approach to those areas of the economy that will bring more and better-skilled jobs and investment for the future.”
“I again thank the Member for her question. Over the last five years for which figures are available, Invest NI has offered £81 million of assistance to local businesses located in the north-west. That is with the north-west being defined as having Invest NI's regional area office, which covers the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area and the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. That assistance will have delivered £439 million in support of the creation of 4,280 jobs across the region. I understand that Invest NI plan to publish its latest figures for 2019-2020 in the reasonably near future. <BR /> <BR />As I said, my economic strategy will be central not just to the recovery from COVID, but to Northern Ireland's future going into its second century.”
“That will assist those who have become redundant or who wish to upskill or reskill to secure employment.”
“Invest NI is actively working with Derry City and Strabane District Council and regional partners to develop a coordinated approach to the development and growth of the regional economy in the Foyle constituency. Skills will also play a key role in our economic recovery, and the initiatives in this area will also help rebuild the economy of the Foyle constituency. I have been developing new initiatives to help sustain apprenticeships and support the pipeline of skills. <BR /> <BR />North West Regional College has been doing impressive work in continuing to deliver courses. The college has worked quickly to move delivery to an online platform and has developed new courses in response to the pandemic. The college is also delivering a range of fully funded online courses.”
“I thank the Member. It seems a long time since the European Parliament and the end of January. It is only a few months ago and a lot has happened, but thank you. <BR /> <BR />I recently published my framework for rebuilding the economy into a more competitive, inclusive and greener economy that will benefit all parts of Northern Ireland. The framework focuses on delivering higher-paying jobs, a highly skilled workforce and a more regionally balanced economy. Addressing regional imbalance is integrated into all the work of my Department. For example, Project Stratum will address regional imbalance and broadband access, and it will bring broadband to those premises currently unable to access such services. <BR /> <BR />Delivering benefits for all of Northern Ireland is also integrated into the work of Invest NI.”
“I encourage anyone, agency worker or otherwise, who believes that their employment rights have been breached in any way during this difficult time, to use the Labour Relations Agency workplace information service for impartial information on employment rights. In addition, the Law Centre NI provides free independent specialist legal advice on employment rights, and those are important avenues people can use should they feel that their rights have not been respected during this period.”
“Of course, I support the Member when he refers to the sterling work that has been done across many sectors of the community in Northern Ireland during the difficult time that we have experienced. In food factories and various other parts of the economy, people have gone to work and served their community by making sure that essential supply and food chains are available to us in every situation. It also includes those people who have worked in small and large retail stores during a very difficult time. <BR /> <BR />I am committed to employment rights that are sensible, proportionate and extended to all.”
“That is in line with EU and UK-wide legislation.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I have no immediate plans to introduce new legislation in relation to agency workers. As Minister for the Economy, I wish to work with Executive colleagues and the Assembly to ensure that measures relating to employment rights balance workers' rights with the flexibility that Northern Ireland businesses need to succeed. <BR /> <BR />The Agency Workers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 already entitle agency workers to the same basic employment rights as employees after a 12-week qualifying period. That includes statutory sick pay after completion of the 12 weeks' service. In addition, recent legislation, introduced in the context of the COVID crisis by the Minister for Communities, allows employees to receive statutory sick pay on the first day of illness rather than on the fourth.”
“They can decide where any underspend or further funding might go to fit any particular group that feels that it has not been supported in this situation.”
“I thank the Member for her question. She raises a really important point. One of the things that I would like to see us develop further is our thoughts on entrepreneurship and how we can develop that for young people in further education colleges and, indeed, throughout their education and training. That is one of the things that it is very viable and possible for us to introduce as a matter of great importance. <BR /> <BR />I understand, of course, the very deep problems that young people who are entrepreneurial and have started their own business have experienced over the last months. The Member will also be aware that, in my Department, I have been working through the various grant schemes that are available. I will, in due course, make recommendations and a paper available to the Executive.”
“<BR /> <BR />To support the rebuilding and renewal of the economy, my Department is developing an apprenticeship recovery initiative, with ongoing engagement with the UK Government and devolved Administrations to explore additional measures to support existing apprenticeships and apprenticeship opportunities through shutdown and recovery phases. Those will, of course, require investment, and I will make an announcement on the additional support needs for the arrangements in due course. <BR /> <BR />My Department also provides an all-age Careers Service, with a particular focus on youth, to support them in seeking employment but also to provide advice and guidance on the learning and progression options available to them.”
“Colleges, universities and other work-based learning providers are funded by my Department to deliver apprenticeship training from level 2 to level 7. For those aged 16 to 24, ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeship funding is available at all levels without restriction. For apprentices who might lose their job or for young people unable to secure employment as an apprentice, my Department provides a guarantee of a full-time training place through its Training for Success programme to all those under the age of 18. <BR /> <BR />My Department has also implemented a package of supplier relief measures related to the retention of services across ApprenticeshipsNI, Training for Success and disability support provision, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the continued viability of our skills infrastructure.”
“Youth unemployment is a particularly concerning issue and stretches across several Departments in addition to the Department for the Economy, not least the Department for Communities. A key response to youth unemployment is encouraging employment opportunities, and a priority for my Department is the promotion of, and support for, the apprenticeship system, which plays a key role in creating an effective and sustainable pipeline for skills development in the Northern Ireland workforce. Increasing participation in, and awareness of, apprenticeship training provision is another priority. <BR /> <BR />Through my Department’s ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeships programmes, employers are encouraged to create apprenticeship opportunities that are open to all young people across a wide range of occupational areas.”
“I intend to bring to the Executive a package of measures that will detail how, as part of our recovery, we will invest in, and build on, skills. Crucial to that recovery will be the skills gap, which can be dealt with by our further education colleges in particular. I am really looking forward to bringing that package of measures forward and to working with our further education colleges to ensure that we address the skills gap. That may be about apprentices and making sure that we have a recovery programme for apprentices who have lost their jobs in Thompson Aero Seating or the wider manufacturing supply chain. These are really important issues that we need to get working on for our short- and medium-term recovery.”
“The Member made a really important point: for those individuals who face redundancy in the near future, it is important that we are able to offer retraining, if that is necessary, or further job opportunities. That is why all branches of my Department will be working with those employees, through, for example, a dedicated jobs fair or further careers advice. It is also very important that the local further education college is able to offer the appropriate reskilling and upskilling courses. <BR /> <BR />It is worthwhile noting that I spent most of this morning talking about skills in Northern Ireland and how to recover the local economy and protect it in the future by building the skills of our people, which are probably our greatest resource.”
“We are all, understandably, perturbed by the job losses in our constituency of Upper Bann in Thompson Aero Seating and the wider industry. Officials from Invest Northern Ireland are in advanced discussions with Thompson Aero Seating. They met recently to agree the company's training and business plan, which included a discussion on the skills and capabilities required for Thompson Aero Seating to implement its recovery plan and meet market demands. My careers department has also been in touch to offer the company assistance in the form of tailored careers advice for those workers who face redundancy. We all recognise that this is an incredibly difficult situation, in which many people face an uncertain financial future.”
“Reiterating my theme of a regionally balanced, more competitive economy, that is an important infrastructure investment that the Executive will make to ensure that we achieve just that.”
“I thank the Member for her question, which is, of course, incredibly important. I am delighted that we are currently assessing the bids for Project Stratum. The Member will know that that arose from the confidence and supply arrangement. Government continues to fund that important infrastructure improvement in Northern Ireland. I hope that we will be in a position to award the contract for Project Stratum in late September and that we would have operations on-site by late winter or the early spring of 2021. It is massively important to address the issue of poor broadband connectivity. The COVID-19 crisis has made us more aware of how important it is for all areas of Northern Ireland to be connected.”
“I am also happy to write to the Member about those initiatives, if that is at all helpful.”
“The telecommunications industry, led by DCMS, has implemented a number of initiatives to ensure that customers, especially the vulnerable, can keep connected with work, family, friends and important services. I have met Mobile UK to discuss how some of those measures operate in Northern Ireland. That engagement is not directly related to the #NoOneLeftBehind Internet Access for All campaign. My Department is aware of the letter issued by Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) in April 2020 but has not been contacted directly. <BR /> <BR />The telecommunications industry has worked with a cooperative spirit in responding to the needs of vulnerable consumers during the COVID-19 crisis. Details of the various initiatives can be found on my Department's website.”
“My Department fully appreciates the terrible impact that the COVID-19 crisis is having on all citizens across Northern Ireland, especially the most vulnerable. We are engaging with other Departments to ensure that the Executive's priorities to support citizens and businesses are implemented as quickly and effectively as possible. <BR /> <BR />On telecommunications matters, my Department maintains regular contact with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which leads on telecoms policy, and with other key stakeholders, including Ofcom and industry bodies. As telecommunications policy is a reserved matter, DCMS is leading on a UK-wide basis regarding a cohesive package of support for the telecoms sector. The importance of connectivity has been underscored at this difficult time.”
“We are committed to assessing those projects and getting them back out, because they will drive economic growth in the council area.”
“I am committed to an economic strategy that is for all of Northern Ireland, that is inclusive of all of Northern Ireland and that gives us balanced regional growth across the whole of Northern Ireland but, importantly, an economic strategy that captures all that we do best and grabs the opportunities for the future. That is why I announced the Economic Advisory Group and why, this week, I will talk to a group of stakeholders in my Department, right across the full spectrum of the economy, about the important opportunities for the whole of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />In relation to the important economic development opportunities in the north-west, on 22 May, the local council submitted the strategic outline cases for two innovation and two digital projects to my Department and to the UK Government for approval.”
“<BR /> <BR />For the north-west and for the council region there, I am pleased that we have recently, as an Executive, agreed the new city deal and the Inclusive Future fund, which will see over £200 million of investment in the city. That will provide, in the medium term, an important stimulus to economic and inclusive growth across the wider region.”
“Our longer-term economic policy objectives will be reflected in a new economic strategy that will set out how we will seek to drive growth and prosperity for the benefit of all the people across Northern Ireland. In that strategy, we will seek to continue to support the industries that are core to our economy — the tourism, agri-food and manufacturing industries — but we will also seek to identify new opportunities for growth for the Northern Ireland economy in areas where we are already world-class and in areas where we already make a significant impact across the world. We will seek to grab those opportunities for Northern Ireland.”
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact across Northern Ireland, and its impact will be felt in each council district. I have not tried to minimise or sugar-coat that position in any shape or form. <BR /> <BR />My Department recently published the 'Charting a Course for the Economy' document, which is a plan to restart our economy, and I am pleased to say that some of the actions outlined in the document are under way, such as the much-needed reopening of non-essential retail stores on 12 June. <BR /> <BR />A key aspiration for promoting economic recovery and rebuilding the Northern Ireland economy will be the development of a competitive, regionally balanced green economy with opportunities for all.”
“Of course, in the last monitoring round, I was allocated £1·4 million from the COVID hardship fund, and, with the reprioritisation of resources in my Department's budget, I have been able to double that. An additional £2·8 million is going into the student hardship funds, and the universities will administer that because they know best the students who attend their universities.”
“This is a very important issue for students. However, universities are autonomous financial bodies. It is up to the universities to decide whether they wish to pursue any return on the fee charged. In fairness to universities in Northern Ireland and unlike many universities in GB and the Republic of Ireland, Ulster University, Queen's and others have allowed students to opt out of their accommodation contract. They have not been charged for the third term of that accommodation. Universities have also been conducting a lot of online courses and online teaching. We have ensured that student loans will be paid in the third semester. We have also ensured that provisions for those in training or other similar programmes will be paid. Universities have done a significant amount to alleviate student hardship.”
“On the basis of legal advice, it appears that neither I nor my Department can stop the Department for Education England introducing the measure. However, I continue to raise the concerns of the local sector with the Universities Minister and seek a solution for any local institution negatively impacted on by the decision.”
“<BR /> <BR />Local institutions will have already started to determine their recruitment of English domicile students without any indication that the Department for Education England restrictions would be imposed on them. For the proposal to be brought to the fore at this stage in the recruitment and admission cycle is not just unfair but unprecedented. Five local institutions are impacted on by the decision: Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University, St Mary's University College, Belfast Metropolitan College and South Eastern Regional College. I have raised my opposition to the action directly with the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, and the Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan.”
“I am wholly opposed to the Department for Education England's intention to impose a student number control on full-time undergraduate English domiciles at Northern Ireland's higher education providers in the coming academic year. I am shocked that another jurisdiction in the United Kingdom is seeking to control student numbers in Northern Ireland and concerned about the impact that it may have on our local sector. This intention runs contrary to what had been agreed amongst the four UK Administrations at the beginning of May on a number of measures relating to admissions for the coming academic year under the UK admissions package.”
“I thank the Member for his comments on the economy. I agree with him: we need to let business do business and get on with things in a safe and sustained manner. <BR /> <BR />Yes, there is scope to look at diversification. It is particularly important when we look at the supply chain. I am always encouraged and, at times, surprised by parts of the supply chain into the aerospace industry, for example, which started off as small companies making agricultural tools. So, yes, reinventing ourselves is something that we have done, something that we will be able to do and, I hope, something that we will be able support in the future.”
“In fact, later today, I will be talking to the Minister with responsibility for universities and research in London about a research strategy for the whole of the United Kingdom. I believe that investing in research and development is the way in which we will reinvent business and the economy and help us to be successful into the future.”
“I thank the Member for his question. We are trying to achieve balance. We need foreign direct investment, because it provides jobs. It has provided us with jobs in areas of specific expertise. It is, therefore, important that we achieve that balance. However, it is vital, and always will be, that we support our indigenous companies, give them time and space with their research and development and allow our universities to work with them. <BR /> <BR />I reflect, again, on the cybersecurity company that invested, recently, in Belfast. They told me that one of the reasons for their investment was the fact that our universities and industry work so closely together. I see that combination as a good basis for us to move forward on.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Of course, we should be there to support businesses not just when they are there and doing well but in the tougher times. Business thrives when it can reinvent itself and when it can produce new research and development to produce new products. Thompson is a good example of that as a company, as is Wrightbus. I met representatives from Wrightbus, last week, to discuss their ideas around their hydrogen project and how we might take that forward as part of our clean, green energy supply for the future.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also think that there is a case to be made to the Chancellor around furlough for a longer tail of support for some industries, and aerospace and possibly tourism and hospitality are two of those areas where that kind of longer tail of support might be required just to get us through the next six to nine months.”
“<BR /> <BR />Where I see the greatest difficulty at the moment with the furlough scheme is the fact that many companies, particularly small businesses in hospitality, retail and that kind of sector, have had no income for the past three months and are very worried about the contributions that they will be required to make to the furlough scheme at a later stage. That is a significant worry for us. That I why I say genuinely that, for all of us, opening our economy, letting business do business, helping business to thrive and families to have support in the labour market is the most important thing that we can do, and I hope that people respond responsibly and with everyone's safety in mind.”
“I thank the Member for his question but remind him that the issue of these national schemes and how they are administered or how firms relate to them is a matter for Her Majesty's Treasury and not for the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, the Member raises important points in general about the furlough scheme. I am significantly worried. I thought at the start that the furlough scheme was not flexible enough so that companies that required specific skills could not have those skills on a particular set of days in the week without getting support for the other days, so I worried that it was not flexible, but some flexibility has been introduced to it.”
“I thank the Member for her question. We have had the grants schemes that have been out in the public domain. On the question of sole traders, it is rather difficult to define when you come down to looking at particular sections and subsections of that, and many sole traders will be self-employed people who can refer to the self-employed scheme. I will continue to look at where we can provide further help for people and businesses in our community that have not received help so far. However, I know that the Member will have talked to her colleague the Minister of Finance and will be aware of the budgetary constraints around that, so it will be dependent on how we are able and how the Minister is able to identify the money that is available and, then, we can go ahead and look at other types of supports.”
“I absolutely do. Just this morning, I was talking to a company from the Member's constituency on that issue. Northern Ireland has not only some very successful large aerospace companies, but a supply chain with many smaller companies that feed into the sector. There is danger for them too in the global crisis that the sector faces. I will shortly be talking to Invest NI on how we support the small suppliers that feed into the larger chain. That is really important in sustaining the economy, keeping skills and keeping people in jobs.”
“Even in the depths of our pandemic experience, we welcomed a new company from the United States bringing 65 new jobs in cybersecurity. There are specific areas where our expertise and our work with our universities will help us to grow the economy in a sustained and successful way. I am also looking at the area of clean energy, where I see a lot of innovation. Over the next number of weeks, we will be bringing forward some ideas on all those things that can help, not just to support the sectors that we rely on that are our bedrock but to grow in other sectors as well.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am glad that we have had some progress on that. I am glad that the retail sector is largely going to open up this week. I want to see people using common sense, practising social distancing and being sensible about what they do when they are out and about. Our retail sector can sustain that; we have seen our small shops operating throughout the pandemic with success and safety. So, the plan is to open up the economy and get on with where we are going and working. <BR /> <BR />I plan to bring forward some new ideas on parts of the economy that we will always support and other parts of the economy in which we will be able to grow our skills base and provide more and better jobs. I am talking about our skills in cybersecurity.”
“I thank the Member for his comments. Of course, since the very start of the pandemic, we have been working on measures to try to contain and mitigate the impact of COVID-19. We have done that in a number of ways, and Members throughout the House will have been in touch with businesses that have been supported by the measures that we have brought in. <BR /> <BR />The best opportunity for recovery will come from letting business get on with doing business and starting to open the economy in a safe and sustained way to allow businesses in Northern Ireland, which are run by people with entrepreneurial skills who know how to create jobs that sustain families in our communities, to get on with doing what they do best. That is the pitch that I have been making to the Executive for some time.”
“As I said to my colleague, who is also from Upper Bann, we want to maintain the skills and build the skills base so that we do not lose those people for when we recover, and we will recover.”
“Thank you for your question. You are quite right when you say that this has come in two tranches. The first tranche was the redundancies in the early part of this year, which were largely agency workers. <BR /> <BR />Yes, my Department has been working with the aerospace sector and, in the next number of weeks, the work that we have been doing will become increasingly clear. We recognise that the global pandemic, the shutdown of air travel and the difficulties in people moving around globally has resulted in very difficult trading conditions for the aerospace sector. We will continue to work with the sector as a whole because we want to see the sector stabilised and we want it to be in a position where it can grow in Northern Ireland once again.”
“This morning, I had a conversation with all six of the principals from the further education colleges throughout Northern Ireland, and that is one of the issues that I want us to get grips with so that we are trying to match people with skills, trying to upskill people and are offering retraining throughout our working life and not just to the younger elements of our society, important as that is. We can all be challenged and we can all retrain and upskill at different times, and that is part of our work in progress.”
“<BR /> <BR />Invest NI is working with Thompson Aero Seating on its recovery plan, which it has called Project Phoenix, and that includes some R&D development on new seating products that the company can bring forward for the airline industry. There will be a recovery in aerospace in Northern Ireland because the skills that we have are absolutely fantastic, but the timing of that will depend on the global environment and on the new orders that are placed by the bigger companies. These are difficult times; I have not tried to sugar-coat that. We will work with companies in the best way that we can. <BR /> <BR />You raise another really important issue. We now need to look at how we can match skills with other companies and how we can help people to retrain and upskill.”