Arlene Foster
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Yet, like too many projects, it has been tied up in legal wrangles. Too many infrastructure projects are being swallowed up in the courts. We need to improve the expertise in infrastructure delivery. We need better infrastructure for the next generation, but key projects being delayed by 10-plus years is unsustainable.”
“Any agreement involves compromises but NDNA had two central pillars that, I believe, remain important: ambition for devolution and a new cultural deal. The breadth and depth of issues that NDNA set us all to deliver on would have been enough to fill an entire term or perhaps more, let alone two years of government.”
“That confidence-and-supply agreement will leave a legacy but also highlights our challenges. Some £150 million has been rolled out via Project Stratum to bring broadband to rural areas and leave Northern Ireland as the best-connected region in Europe. When it is completed, the project will be transformational to our economy.”
“However, such short-term advantage comes at the cost of long-term harm to relationships. It is not a real partnership. Imbalance and instability are built in that will fester and deteriorate. If Brussels continues to think that the protocol is enough, it is in denial.”
“Colleagues inside and outside the House know very well that all periods of leadership must come to an end. That is why, when we are privileged and, indeed, honoured to hold such a position, we must not waste a moment in frivolous brinkmanship but forge ahead on behalf of those whom we represent.”
“The recommendations of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) are to be taken forward as well. I encourage all of you to do all of it, to take it forward in its totality and to speak of and implement it as one complete, independent package: a new cultural deal for Northern Ireland's new century.”
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Every one of 3,345 lines we hold for Arlene Foster, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 35 of 67.
“I welcome the fact that the economy of the Republic of Ireland is growing at a fast rate. I do so in the knowledge that a wide range of our small businesses will have an export market that has been missing for a number of years. They will very much welcome the fact that they will be able to export into a market that continues to grow. <BR /> <BR />The global outlook for all economies is good. Our economy is to grow on projections of about 1·2% and the Republic of Ireland — the Member is right — is to grow at a rate of over 3%; I think it is somewhere in the region of 3·6%. We have structural issues to deal with; we do not have a lower rate of corporation tax, which, of course, we are very much looking forward to being able to set in April 2018. We are working through those structural issues.”
“It is difficult to estimate the amount of rate revenue that will be generated, as that will depend on not only the number of jobs created but the sectoral mix, the nature of those jobs and the working arrangements. By way of illustration, 100 new office jobs could potentially generate up to £80,000 per year in rates if we assume that those jobs are housed in the new grade-A office space. However, it would not be advisable simply to extrapolate that figure, given the variation in the types of jobs we can expect to be created. Furthermore, the spin-off service jobs in the area, which boost economic activity, would also need to be factored in, as those would lead to higher levels of occupancy and increased rates revenue from existing vacant properties.”
“The good thing about financial transactions capital is that it does not score against capital DEL. It is a separate stream of money that comes from Westminster. In that regard, it does not score in our borrowings because it is taken forward by third parties. He will recall that recently, when we were talking about November monitoring, I indicated that a large sum had gone to co-ownership housing and Queen's University. That is the mechanism by which the money is paid back, not through DFP. It is taken off the books, as it were.”
“The Executive will agree their priorities for the allocation of financial transactions capital next year through the upcoming Budget process.”
“Of course I will continue to work with the Committee on the issue. As I indicated, I am pleased that we have been able to process the Bill to this stage. It is in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister for clearance. I think that the Committee hearing with the hospitality sector was just last week, so I look forward to reading what they had to say in relation to the matter. The consultation period will run parallel to the Bill's being introduced into the Assembly, and we will have the opportunity to look at whether amendments can be made at that stage.”
“I have not had meetings with sports clubs in relation to the subordinate legislation associated with my proposed Rates (Amendment) Bill. It is premature to do so, but my Department will be consulting in the new year when the Bill is under way at the Assembly. That will be with not only sports bodies but important stakeholders who were overlooked when the failed private Member's Bill was taken forward, including business organisations, Land and Property Services and other Departments with a direct interest in the matter. My lead official on rating policy has already met representatives from the Sports Forum and the Federation of Licensed Clubs in relation to the matter and will be meeting them again during the consultation period.”
“I am dealing with community amateur sports clubs. They came forward and made a request. They have made an effective lobby. I have listened to that lobby, as did many in the House. This is not new. This goes back to, I think, the time of my predecessor Mr Wilson, who was first engaged with this issue. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to the Member that this is the way in which we are moving.”
“I think I have already answered Mr Swann in relation to that in a question for written answer, so I will refer him to that answer.”
“If they do not have a licensed premises on their grounds or in their club, they will be able to avail themselves of 100% rate relief. That will be wholeheartedly welcomed by those community amateur sports clubs. That is my current intention. The Bill, which I have discussed with the Committee, will contain an enabling power that will permit enhanced rate relief for sports clubs, subject to certain conditions. I want to place on record my thanks to the Finance Committee for the way in which it has dealt with the matter, and I hope that we can debate the Bill in the House very soon.”
“My Department is not introducing legislation to derate sporting facilities. However, I intend to bring forward a Bill that will enable relief for some categories of community amateur sports club to be increased from 80% to 100%. The Bill is drafted, and I have gained the support of the Finance Committee to progress it through the accelerated passage procedure.”
“It concerns us all, and, at a constituency level, the care of the elderly and the vulnerable should be uppermost in our minds at all times. I will continue to work with the Health Minister on those matters.”
“I will not answer Health questions today, but I welcome the fact that at least two of the homes seem to be moving to a situation where others will step in and ensure that they continue to exist. I also welcome the fact that my Executive colleague the Health Minister has called a moratorium on the closure of statutory homes in the meantime until we have an assessment of where we are in relation to elderly care. Aside from the seven homes that have been earmarked for closure, it causes a ripple throughout the care system. Whilst no homes were earmarked for closure in the west of the Province, I have taken calls from staff there who are very concerned about what might happen as a consequence of the home closures in the east of the Province.”
“I do not think that that is what I said at all. If he looks back at the Hansard report, he will see that I said that we are now in a situation where we have £60 million extra that we thought we did not have because we set it aside out of the block grant to deal with tax credit pressures. That pressure is no longer there, so we should now be looking at ways in which we can help the vulnerable in whatever way we use the money, whether we use it in the Health Department, the Education Department or on welfare in the Department for Social Development. We will have those discussions around the Executive table.”
“To me, it was a very sensible decision. We had set aside a pot of money to deal with the consequences of the cut in tax credits under the Fresh Start Agreement. We will now have to have those discussions at an Executive level. It is spread over four years, so we have some time to decide the profile of that money. It is £60 million in each year, so we can decide what we want do with the money and how best we can help vulnerable people over that period of time. I look forward to those discussions in the coming weeks and months.”
“Of course, we all welcomed the fact that the Chancellor moved away from his plans for tax credits. It was always difficult to understand how you could say that you wanted to encourage people into work and then undermine that argument by taking away tax credits, which were there to help them to get into work.”
“As I have indicated, if we decide to protect the Health budget — of course, that is a matter not just for me but for the whole Executive — we will have to make greater savings in the other departmental budgets. We have asked ministerial colleagues to look at a range of scenarios in their Departments. We will have those discussions at budget bilaterals to see what way we should move forward. It will be a challenging time, particularly for some of the smaller Departments, which have made savings over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, because of the way in which the Budget has come to us, with a decreasing DEL in terms of the relative situation, we have to plan for that, and we need to do so very quickly.”
“That is not to say that there should not be efficiencies in the Health Department; indeed, I am told by my ministerial colleague that a wide range of efficiency plans are in place. I look forward to having those discussions with him because, whilst, I think, everyone here wants to see front-line services protected, we also need to see efficiencies in the health estate right across Northern Ireland.”
“As I have indicated, one of the reasons why we have a flat-cash situation is that we will benefit under the Barnett formula to the tune of £1·1 billion in terms of health spending, because health and schools have been protected in England and Wales. What that means in actual terms is that, in 2016-17, we will receive £133·1 million extra, and we as an Executive then have to decide how we will use that money. It is, as the Member rightly says, unhypothecated, and, therefore, it comes to us to decide what to do with the money. Of course, we as an Executive have taken steps to make sure that we favour the Health Department and look at it very sympathetically, and I imagine that we will continue to look at it in that way.”
“Although the spending review was, perhaps, better than some people anticipated, particularly for capital, there will be difficulties for Departments, particularly if we ring-fence health spending. Health, of course, is such a big part of the Budget here in Northern Ireland. Therefore, colleagues will have to look at efficiency savings again for 2016-17. Just to be clear, we are only setting a one-year Budget at this stage, because we feel that it would be wrong to the tie the hands of those in the new mandate, after May next year, who will want to set their own priorities. I hope that it is clear how we will move things forward over the coming weeks. It will be a busy time with a lot to do, and there will again be challenges for many Departments.”
“I have tasked officials with speaking to individual stakeholders and, indeed, groups of stakeholders to discuss the way forward with them once the draft Budget comes to the fore after ministerial bilaterals have finished. It is hoped that we will then have a Budget in place for the end of January next year; indeed, we need to have a Budget in place by then.”
“Absolutely. Following the comprehensive spending review announcement on 25 November, we now have a clearer picture of what the block grant will be over the next four years. I have indicated that there will be a 5% reduction in real terms for resource DEL and a growth, especially towards the latter end, in capital spending. Therefore, we are now going to engage with all the individual Departments. I envisage rounds of budget bilaterals between me and my ministerial colleagues before Christmas. We will then bring forward a Budget to the Executive. <BR /> <BR />I realise that we will not have time to have our usual draft Budget consultation period.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 3, 5 and 13 together. <BR /> <BR />The UK spending review and autumn statement will see the Northern Ireland resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) fall in real terms by 5% by 2019-2020. That is in spite of receiving some £1·1 billion of consequentials from funding for health services in England. The capital budget fares much better, with conventional capital set to rise by 12% in real terms by 2020-21. Although reducing, financial transactions capital will still make up £410·8 million of our overall capital DEL funding over the period. The Chancellor's decision on tax credits means that the Executive will now have to take decisions on how best to utilise the funding set aside for the mitigating measures.”
“Absolutely. The fiscal council is there to advise, aid and, dare I say, shine a light on what happens here in Stormont. We will set the Budget and the trajectory. It can comment on and talk about the issues that we raise, but power will still very much rest with the Executive.”
“It will aid in all those ways and should be welcomed by the House.”
“It is a red-letter day for the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />It is not going to be akin to the Office for Budget Responsibility in a devolved mechanism; it is to be an independent fiscal council, set up with probably a small membership. I imagine that it will be made up of around three or four people with expertise in the area. As the Member rightly said, its terms of reference have to be agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury, but that will be done in conjunction with my Department. I think it will aid with transparency and will give the public more information about the Budget process. Just last week, I had a meeting with my ministerial advisory council, and we discussed how we could engage more with society and the public on budgetary matters so that they had a better understanding of what happens with public money and how it is spent.”
“First, I welcome the fact that Mr Allister has welcomed something in the House today.”
“We should look not just at the OBR but at other independent fiscal councils that have been set up recently: the Irish Republic has a fiscal council, Scotland has a fiscal council and we should look at all of those to decide what is most applicable to us here in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The fiscal council will add a degree of transparency and independence to our fiscal plans. It will not interfere in any way with what we do as an Executive to drive the economy forward. Indeed, it is up to us to set the Budget, but it will aid with the transparency of the Budget, so, in that way, it will be helpful.”
“The Stormont Agreement document set out the Executive’s plans to establish the Independent Fiscal Council for Northern Ireland. It is envisaged that the council will prepare annual assessments of the Executive’s revenue streams, spending proposals and the overall sustainability of the Executive’s public finances. <BR /> <BR />A growing number of fiscal councils are being established around the globe, particularly in the advent of the economic downturn. In seeking to determine the detailed terms of reference for the Independent Fiscal Council for Northern Ireland, I will draw on the national and international evidence of what works best to ensure that those lessons can be applied and that arrangements are put in place that suit Northern Ireland.”
“That, of course, is how we decide the rates levied against each individual property. Land and Property Services has a very regulated way of working out what the NAV should be for a particular street and a particular property. I am sure that it would be happy to go through that with the Member if she would find it useful. Do we need to look at the NAV mechanism? I am quite happy to look at that in the consultation. I want it to be a wide-ranging consultation that goes to the heart of what is going on. If the Member has any ideas for other mechanisms by which to levy rates, maybe we should look at those as well. I am open to that.”
“It is fair to say that the subject has already come up in the consultation; it has been raised directly with me and in responses to the Department. I do not think that all landlords use it as a way of escaping rates liability. There are some very good charity shops that provide a function and a service to the community; they have regular opening hours, are open every day and provide a service. I have seen examples where that is not the case, and a charity shop might be open for a limited number of hours one day a week. By doing that, the landlord has avoided rates liability. We will have to look at that in more detail. Many town-centre operators have raised with me that they feel very aggrieved at the fact that people can avoid rates by using charity shop exemptions. Other charity shops, however, provide a real service.”
“Yes, I have. As I said, I am looking at all options to see how we can make a real difference to town centres. The Member will recall that it was after meeting business organisations that my predecessor brought in the small business rate relief scheme, which has been a great enabler for town centres and helped many, many businesses to stay afloat during difficult times. We are looking at that whole area to see what else we can do to help businesses. Whilst it is not necessarily the role of my Department to take the lead in helping town centres, I think that we can assist; therefore we will work with DSD and DETI to see whether there is anything that we can do.”
“It is only a small element, but it is something additional for the people there, and I hope to include it in the Rates (Amendment) Bill, which will, I hope, come to the House very soon.”
“I agree with the Member. Business organisations would, frankly, be appalled at any suggestion that I would move to 100% rates on non-domestic vacant properties. At the moment, a lot of people struggle to pay 50% rates and are looking for other sorts of rebates. The Member mentioned town centres. I recently had useful conversations with Chamber of Commerce members about what else we can do to help those town centres and how we can be innovative and move forward. The ongoing review initiated a lot of thought, which I welcome. I look forward to meeting other groups to see what else we can bring forward. <BR /> <BR />One of the more innovative proposals is about window dressing and having rates rebates for that. That idea came from the Buttercrane shopping centre in Newry.”
“No, I do not, but there may be other consequences. As I said, some landlords would take precipitative action to make sure that they would not have to pay 100% rates. Maybe they would destroy their premises or let them out in other fashions. The way in which we handled non-domestic vacant rating is a balanced way forward. We are saying to owners that we will charge them rates, but, in recognising the difficulties of the property market in Northern Ireland, we will charge at only 50%. In many cases, 50% rates on non-domestic properties is not insubstantial. That money really is dead money to landlords, yet they still have to pay it. If we were to increase rates to 100%, as has been the case in England and Wales, it would in many instances be a very difficult amount of money to recover.”
“<BR /> <BR />My Department is consulting on those matters, among others, as part of the review of the non-domestic rating system.”
“Additional revenue of up to £30 million to £35 million could be raised through the introduction of the rating of empty commercial premises at 100%, including empty factories. Those figures assume that other features of non-domestic vacant rating remain intact, such as the minimum valuation cap of £2,000 and the three-month initial exemption to allow owners to let a property once it becomes vacant. <BR /> <BR />I say "up to" because the introduction of such a measure could have unintended effects here, given the proportion of vacant properties compared with other parts of the United Kingdom and the relative weakness of the property market here. Those effects could include many property owners taking steps to avoid liability through rendering their property incapable of being let or by encouraging charities to take up occupation.”
“In summary, we seek agreement today to the principles for applying a fair and reasonable restriction on public-sector exit payments. The measures in the Enterprise Bill will provide the necessary framework to achieve this intent while providing the flexibility of our own regulation-making power to ensure that the application is measured and responsive to local circumstances in the Northern Ireland public sector.”
“If our choice today is for public servants in Northern Ireland to continue to be treated more generously than the rest of the public sector, it will inevitably come at a cost and impact available funds. In the current climate, the Assembly has a responsibility to minimise any additional financial pressures that could result in any diversion of departmental funding from other important public services.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, I return to the primary powers of the Enterprise Bill and the rationale for an LCM to introduce the overarching provision on which the Northern Ireland regulations will be made. It is now very clear that an Assembly Bill to effect the policy could not be enacted in a comparable time frame to the Enterprise Bill, which is expected to become an Act in April or May next year. If the Assembly wished to legislate on this matter, it is extremely unlikely that it would even be commenced before dissolution in March 2016 for elections planned for May. That would result in the policy being implemented to a much later timescale for public service employees in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />The large majority of local government workers will not be impacted by this restriction. In recent local government exits in Great Britain, less than 2% of exit payments would have exceeded the cap. The small percentage of those who could be affected will be those who receive the highest exit packages. In those cases, £95,000, in our opinion, remains a substantial payment in any terms and a significant employer contribution to the costs that come with early access to an unreduced pension where this is part of the exit package. It is nearly four times the public-sector average and almost six times the maximum available under statutory redundancy terms.”
“<BR /> <BR />Concerns have been raised about the impact for the local government scheme, where current rules enable staff to receive an unreduced early payment of pension on early exit. I acknowledge that, when employers are offering early exit packages that include immediate payment of unreduced pensions with an effectively uncapped employer contribution, some staff with very long service can currently be eligible for exit payments above the cap. It is important to be clear that, where individuals who leave the public service under an exit scheme are currently entitled to take payment of an unreduced pension, that option will remain open to them. These measures, however, will ensure that the employer contribution to reduce the actuarial reduction for early payment is within the limits of the £95,000 cap.”
“Therefore, whether a waiver should be appropriate in those or other difficult cases can be a matter of judgement for the relevant Minister to decide. <BR /> <BR />In addition to the important flexibilities to relax the restriction or to apply an outright exemption, the regulations will also provide scope to allow for a different amount to be substituted for the £95,000 restriction set by the Act. At this stage, I do not propose that there is any need to deviate from the norm for the rest of the public sector on the baseline level of the cap, but the regulations will provide this flexibility, should there be a compelling argument for its use here in the future. My officials will consult with each of the Departments with responsibility for the Northern Ireland public-sector schemes on these details before the regulations are finalised.”
“In the case of broadcasting bodies such as the BBC, those bodies are expected to introduce their own equivalent restrictions on exit payments. <BR /> <BR />It is recognised, however, that, under exceptional circumstances, it may be desirable that the effect of the restriction can be waived. That is especially pertinent, given the restructuring being undertaken in the public sector and where exit schemes may already be under way. DFP regulations will provide for that flexibility. In that regard, I note the concern raised by the Environment Minister for those severance arrangements already in progress in the local government scheme under RPA. Under DFP regulations, the flexibility to relax the application of the cap will be delegated to the responsible Minister.”
“I mentioned that DFP regulations on the detail of the policy will also provide an opportunity to consider what flexibilities might be appropriate in how the restriction is operated in the devolved public sector here. <BR /> <BR />Concerns have also been raised on the proposals to exempt those banks and financial institutions currently in public ownership, and other publicly owned media organisations. Whilst regulations will provide that certain bodies may be exempted from the cap, I can confirm that I have not proposed that any devolved public institution be given an exemption in DFP regulations. My understanding is that, where the Westminster Government have proposed exemptions for some publicly owned banks, they expect to return those institutions to the private sector in the near future.”
“In such a scenario, it is length of service, especially in those schemes that effectively provide an uncapped employer-funded contribution to an unreduced early pension, which is the contributing factor. Across the public sector, length of service is taken into account when calculating pension and redundancy payments and when applying pre-existing restrictions. The age of the member is largely incidental. <BR /> <BR />The cap will be set at a fair and proportionate level to safeguard public finances. Even for those with the highest-value packages who could be affected, £95,000 will still provide long-serving members of staff with a considerable financial cushion to facilitate their transition to alternative employment or, indeed, retirement.”
“My Department has now addressed these concerns in writing to the Committee on 26 November, and I would like to cover a few points. In the first instance, contrary to what is stated in the letter from the Equality Commission, I can confirm that the proposed restriction does not impact on accrued pensions that have been paid for by employee contributions. The Equality Commission comments on the position taken in the equality screening statement that it is possible that some older staff with very long service could be affected.”
“Indeed, the main public service unions and the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) submitted substantial responses to Her Majesty's Treasury's consultation. <BR /> <BR />To address any additional concerns for consultation, I am proposing that my Department undertakes a 12-week consultation on draft regulations early in 2016. As I have pointed out, these regulations will also be subject to affirmative resolution procedure in the Assembly. This provides a further enhanced level of scrutiny on the detail of the policy before the regulations can be passed by this Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Secondly, on equality considerations, the Committee’s report on the LCM relayed some points raised by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.”
“I emphasise that, should we agree the motion today, we will be agreeing to the principles of the framework provision in the Enterprise Bill so that public-sector exit payments should be capped. As we will be producing our own regulations, I consider that all other concerns that they have raised can be addressed. <BR /> <BR />I will briefly address some of the main concerns that have been raised. First, I do not wish to comment more widely on the arrangements that Her Majesty's Treasury put in place for its consultations beyond the fact that it received over 4,000 responses to the consultation on exit payments between 31 July and 27 August this year. My Department publicised the commencement of the consultation to the main unions’ representatives of public-sector bodies here as well as to the Northern Ireland public service employers.”
“They will be subject to affirmative resolution in the Assembly. Members will therefore have further opportunity to consider the detail on how a cap on payments should be applied in the public sector here. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Committee for Finance and Personnel for its scrutiny of the proposed LCM. I note that the Committee highlighted some concerns that have been raised by trade unions and other stakeholders. I especially thank the Minister of Education and the Minister of Environment who responded with comments to the paper I circulated on 19 October. I welcome Minister O’Dowd’s comments agreeing, in principle, with the policy to restrict exit payments. I also appreciate the concerns raised by both Ministers, who have responsibilities for local government and education, on how those sectors will be affected.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members will recall that the Assembly agreed a legislative consent motion (LCM) in January this year to ensure that the highest earning public servants, those who earn in excess of £100,000, should repay all or part of a publicly funded exit payment when they leave the public service and are re-employed there shortly afterwards. The exit cap restriction will complement those reforms by amending the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The Westminster Enterprise Bill will provide the overarching provision to apply a restriction to the type of payments that I have outlined in my opening remarks. However, I am proposing that the policy should be administered locally through our own Northern Ireland regulations. These regulations will be brought forward by my Department.”