Mervyn Storey
North Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. It will be noted that there are those who cry much about the environment and purport to be the champions of the environment who did not have the courtesy to come to the House and be present when the statement was being made.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Clearly, there are some in the House who want to continue with the same old, same old and get the same outcomes at a huge cost to the public purse and to farms in Northern Ireland. The Minister is absolutely right: it is a scourge.”
“I am sure that the Minister will be aware, having listened to the Member who spoke before me, that the farmers of North Antrim will make an informed choice about who best supported farmers during this mandate of the Assembly.”
“A pilot scheme has been operating with the Education Authority, the PSNI and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust across 60 schools in the south Down area since September 2021 and was extended to a further 77 schools in the Newry and south Armagh areas at the start of February 2022.”
“As Chair of the Justice Committee, I am pleased to welcome the motion. It implements the provisions taken forward by the Committee in the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 to establish an Operation Encompass model in Northern Ireland, which is, as the Minister has outlined, a police and early intervention pa…”
“We had our final meeting of that Committee this morning, and I want to place on the public record our appreciation and thanks to our Committee staff of for all the work that they have done.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,983 lines we hold for Mervyn Storey, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 56 of 60.
“I thank the Member for the question, and therein lies one of the issues that we have to face: the detail. We are working on a paper for the Executive so that we will be able to bring that issue and a raft of other issues that are in the package to the House and start the debate in the Assembly. However, I will put the caveat that we do not have a huge amount of time. I want to be able to move as quickly as possible to bring the process to the Assembly so that the issue that the Member and the previous Member referred to is in the public domain. It will be necessary to address some of this in the guidance issued by my Department. What I said during the talks and am happy to say now in this public forum is that we will endeavour to ensure that the guidance and implementation will be done in a way that understands people's needs.”
“However, I give the Member an assurance that we are endeavouring, through a campaign that we will run, to provide information to the public that will be distilled in a way that will make it easy to understand and easy to grasp the impact on them and their families as we roll the process forward over the next number of weeks and months.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Those two key issues — the bedroom tax and the cap — were already agreed in the previous package. I trust that we will soon see the detail that will come to the House and will be able — I was going to say, "in a very simple way", but I think that it will always be difficult with a complex process, because there are so many component parts, whether it is the bedroom tax, the cap, PIP or any of the elements that make up the welfare reform package, to be definitive in every situation to the final point.”
“In the past, the Member has had the figures relating to the fines. At the commencement of today's debate on the draft Budget, concerns were expressed, and the party was worried about the amount of money that was being removed from Departments. We want to ensure, to the best of our ability, that we reduce and remove the additional fines that would be incurred as a result of the non-implementation of the Welfare Reform Bill. Unfortunately, money has gone in the first part of the process, and I trust that lessons have been learned by those who imposed delay, because that has undoubtedly cost us money in the Northern Ireland Budget allocation.”
“I think that we need to build on the achievements of the Stormont House Agreement. There is a huge amount of work. I have given an undertaking to the Assembly in relation to the information that we will bring to the Assembly, in terms of the guidance notes and how the Bill will make its passage through the House. That will be subject to a paper that, I trust, I will be able to bring to the Executive shortly, so that we can progress the issue in a way that is efficient and effective, and so that no one in Northern Ireland is adversely affected as a result of the changes.”
“I think that is maybe not a question for the Minister but for others who were responsible for not allowing us to progress the Welfare Reform Bill. Whatever that may be, and however one will interpret what has happened to date, we are in a better position. Let us remember the scenario that was being painted before Christmas. We were facing the collapse of these institutions and a situation where people did not know if they were going to have the imposition of welfare reform that had no changes to it. <BR /> <BR />I think that, when people begin to see the detail of what has been agreed, in addition to what was agreed previously — let us remember that what was agreed previously was put out to the public domain by me when I came into office, and it received a fair wind and a fair hearing.”
“I assure the Member that, if he visits the website in relation to the welfare reform briefing, he will have enough material and information to keep him reading for the next number of days. It is detailed, because it is a detailed issue in relation to all of the various component parts of our welfare system. That information was updated and is relevant, and I think that it will be valuable, not only for the Member and other Members but for the general public.”
“In December 2014, my Department published a series of update reports to show the potential impact of welfare reform on local people. Those information booklets can be found in the statistics and research section of the Department’s website under the heading "Welfare Reform Briefing". Following the political discussions that led to the Stormont House Agreement, I will bring forward a paper to the Executive that puts forward further detail on the agreement and the modalities of implementing the changes. That would then enable the welfare Bill to progress through the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Sometimes Ministers come to the House and refer to something that is on their Department's website, and then when Members go to it, they find that it may be less than fit for purpose.”
“I have to say, I am disappointed that the Member has to lower his political activity in the House to that level. I will give the Member an answer. I do not have the numbers of the specific organisations that can apply, but I give an assurance to him and to the House that, whatever contracts are carried out under my responsibility, they will be done in a way that is open to public scrutiny and is in accordance with the law, and there will be no grace or favour given to any organisation that has any association with his party or any other party in the House. I do not think the Member would expect anything else from me. I am disappointed that he has levelled that accusation at the very beginning of this sitting of the Assembly.”
“I have gone to see particular issues with tower blocks in the Member for South Belfast's area and I am concerned that we have allowed that particular element of stock, in some places, to deteriorate in a way in which the conditions in which individuals are living are not acceptable. Given the nature of tower blocks, we have to give particular consideration to whether there are additional measures, given the way in which we are now looking at how heating is delivered in those particular properties. I think that is a particular challenge for the Housing Executive. I give the Member an assurance that I will come back to him with more information in relation to his first point.”
“I thank the Member for yet again reminding me about the needs of north Belfast, which he does regularly. He raises an issue in relation to occupancy, and I think that that should not be anything different from occupancy right across the housing stock. However, given the nature of tower blocks, there are particular issues that need to be looked at, and I think that the Housing Executive does endeavour to give particular consideration to that. However, given that the Member has raised the point, I will undertake to have that as part of the discussion when I meet the Housing Executive next week. <BR /> <BR />With the work that is ongoing, I have a concern not only about the tower blocks in the Member's constituency but others across Northern Ireland, 32 in total.”
“The Department and the Housing Executive's asset management commission have made preparation for a new tower block strategy. As I said, Savills has inspected the external structure of all the tower blocks and has been asked to provide recommendations on the need, the cost and all the ancillary works. I am waiting to get a report on how that is progressing to see what lessons we can learn in relation to this. Indeed, I am meeting the Housing Executive chief executive next week to continue to discuss this particular matter and to see what progress is being made and how we can develop it further.”
“In relation to what is being done in the interim to improve the Housing Executive stock, my officials met Housing Executive officials in October 2014 to discuss the position with the maintenance and investment strategy, particularly the strategy for the multistorey tower blocks. It was agreed at that meeting that an interim investment priority plan would be developed, and the Housing Executive submitted its investment priority plan in November. It was built around the tower blocks, non-traditionals with reference to the non-fines pilot, the stock transfer, thermal efficiency and so on. <BR /> <BR />In relation to the issue that the Member raises in regard to the cladding, at present there is a scheme on site in the Cuchulainn tower blocks.”
“The Housing Executive has now submitted to me an interim investment priorities plan, which is built around a number of themes, including bringing forward work to be carried out to the multistorey tower blocks. The purpose of the interim approach is to effectively bridge the gap that exists between now and the development of a comprehensive strategy for maintaining all the Housing Executive's housing assets, leading, in turn, to a clear long-term funding strategy.”
“To deliver on that, and as part of my Department and the Housing Executive's asset management commission, which is currently being carried out by Savills, technical survey reports for the Housing Executive's multistorey tower blocks are due by March of this year. A draft multistorey asset management strategy is then due in May of this year. These consultancy outputs will then be taken forward by the Housing Executive to develop and progress a strategic solution for multistorey blocks in 2015 and beyond. <BR /> <BR />However, whilst this work is ongoing and awaited, I tasked the Housing Executive to prepare an interim investment plan based on its current understanding of the stock.”
“The Member will be aware that my predecessor had raised with the Housing Executive his concerns about the lack of maintenance and investment in relation to the existing social housing stock and, in particular, concerns about delays in maintenance and investment in the Housing Executive's multistorey tower blocks. Having come into the post, I share those concerns. <BR /> <BR />In relation to the multistorey tower blocks, the Housing Executive was asked in May last year to review and identify the necessary work required and then develop a focused maintenance strategy for the 32 tower blocks sited right across Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also a duty on my part, and the Department's responsibility through social security to ensure that, as I said in the previous answer, through the independent advice sector and the work that my Department carries out through the Social Security Agency in relation to benefit uptake, whether through the pilot carried out or other schemes we are currently looking at, we do all we possibly can to ensure that all relevant, useful and valuable information is available to claimants so that they make the right decisions in relation to this very particular piece of work, which impinges on many households right across Northern Ireland daily.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I am not really sure where the Member has been for the last number of weeks in relation to the line trotted out about benefit cuts. One thing that I have seen over the last number of weeks since coming to the Department is that, if you look at the projection of benefit uptake in Northern Ireland, we will move, between now and 2018, from a welfare bill of somewhere in the region of £4·4 billion to one of somewhere in the region of £6·3 billion. I am somewhat at a loss to know exactly what the Member means in relation to benefit cuts. I assume that he is really making reference to the challenge that we will have in ensuring that the needs of the people who face particular challenges are addressed. That is part of what I believe we have achieved in relation to the Stormont House Agreement.”
“That was one of the key elements, because it was involved in drawing up the process and was engaged fully through the pilot. Its advice and help in the process was invaluable.”
“I thank the Member for her question. In any pilot, you want to try to establish the successes and the lessons learned that we could continue to implement in some other way. The collaborative process between the advice sector and the Social Security Agency worked well during the pilot and fully demonstrated how the Department, the agency and the advice sector could work together in a joined-up and coherent way that embraces the concept of providing enhanced support for claimants. <BR /> <BR />One of the key issues for me in terms of how we roll out the services to our constituents is that there is a joined-up-working approach between the Department, the Social Security Agency and the vibrant, strong and independent advice sector that we have in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am reasonably content that we got information from the pilot that can be used when we look at how we roll out the service as part of the wider benefit take-up process. I would not conclude that this is the only show in town or the only way to do this. Lessons have been learned, and we need to ensure that those lessons are implemented as we move forward, particularly with the introduction of universal credit.”
“I appreciate the concerns that have been raised in relation to the overall cost of the pilot. I certainly have asked that we take cognisance of the fact that this was a cost. <BR /> <BR />It is worth having the breakdown of the total spend on the financial support service on the public record. The project team salary costs were somewhere in the region of £221,000. The operational staff salary costs were £47,000. The general administrative expenses were £8,000, and the capital costs — that is, IT development — were something in the region of £35,000. So, when you look at the ballpark figure, it certainly raises the question of whether the money was spent in the best way.”
“Up-to-date details of the actual entitlement cannot be obtained at this time, as claimants need time to claim benefit for the benefits to be assessed. However, indications are that the benefit entitlement for claimants referred from the financial support service will increase as time progresses.”
“Uptake of the support and advice provided by the independent advice sector was voluntary. <BR /> <BR />The service was delivered face to face and by telephony. The face-to-face service was piloted from 19 May to 15 August 2014 in the Falls Road, Strabane and Omagh jobs and benefits offices. The telephony service was provided centrally from Omagh jobs and benefits office. <BR /> <BR />The evaluation of the pilot showed that some elements of the service were more successful than others. Results of referrals to the agency's improving benefit uptake team for benefit entitlement checks were positive, and 142 claimants were identified with a potential entitlement to benefit, while 14 claimants have successfully claimed another benefit. The total of annual benefit and arrears for the nine claims is £48,780·51.”
“The financial support service was part of a wider package of measures designed to support claimants to achieve and maintain financial independence. These measures include the departmental funding of front-line advice services delivered by the advice sector and also the provision of benefit entitlement checks, which are carried out by the Social Security Agency's improving benefit uptake team. These checks help ensure that claimants across Northern Ireland receive all the money they are entitled to, in an effort to tackle poverty and improve the lives of those who are most vulnerable. Where appropriate, claimants were offered access to loans and grants from the social fund discretionary provision, benefit entitlement checks and information about the support and advice services available to them in the independent advice sector.”
“I beg to introduce the Regeneration Bill [NIA 32/11-16], which is a Bill to confer functions on district councils in relation to regeneration; to amend the Social Need (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and Part 7 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 in relation to the functions of the Department for Social Development; and for connected purposes.”
“<BR /> <BR />The regulations introduce an easement and will enable claimants who have recently become homeless to be treated as available for and actively seeking employment for a temporary period. By amending the domestic emergency provisions of the JSA regulations, we will allow homeless claimants the necessary time to focus on finding sustainable living accommodation that will better enable them to find work in the future and, I trust, enable them to change their circumstances dramatically. With those concluding comments, I commend the motion to the Assembly.”
“Along with him, I attended the Simon Community launch of the app. During homelessness week and without any great fanfare or publicity, I visited some provisions that make an invaluable contribution to people who find themselves in that situation. Given the time of year, it is vital that we continue to have compassion and understanding for those who find themselves in very difficult situations. I was greatly struck when I visited one provision last week. No one could visit that location without feeling not only concern but relief that such places exist to help people in particular need. I thank the Chair for those comments and for the Committee's work.”
“I thank the Chair of the Social Development Committee for the consensus and support for the regulations. I share the comments that he made about the timing of the issue.”
“I believe that it is a significant improvement to support claimants who are recently homeless and to prevent individuals becoming entrenched in a homelessness lifestyle.”
“It is estimated that around 10 people sleep rough in Belfast on any given night, excluding foreign nationals, but that up to 100 people could be at risk if street outreach and other services were not available. Unfortunately, a breakdown of data is not available on the numbers who are homeless or rough sleeping and claiming jobseeker's allowance. However, it is thought that the policy will impact on a relatively small number of JSA claimants in Northern Ireland at any one time. <BR /> <BR />I am sure you will agree that the changes are worthwhile and necessary to allow homeless claimants time to focus on finding sustainable living accommodation that will better enable them to find work in the future.”
“Therefore, the regulations amend the domestic emergency provisions of the JSA regulations so that, if they are applied because of a claimant's homelessness, advisers are allowed reasonable flexibility to treat claimants as meeting the job-seeking conditions for periods of longer than one week, with no cap on the number of occasions that it can be applied. <BR /> <BR />'The homelessness monitor: Northern Ireland', published in May 2014, makes reference to the recent Northern Ireland Housing Executive homelessness strategy, which states that in Northern Ireland the propensity to sleep rough is confined largely to Belfast and, to a much lesser extent, Londonderry.”
“The Department for Work and Pensions carried out informal discussions with stakeholders from the homeless and voluntary communities, including Homeless Link and Crisis. It concluded that the existing domestic emergency provisions did not allow sufficient time for the claimant to address their homelessness situation. It also concluded that, because homeless individuals often lead very chaotic lives, a limit of four emergencies a year should not be placed on those individuals. The stakeholders were supportive of the principle of allowing homeless people time to focus on finding accommodation as a preliminary to conducting a job search.”
“Where claimants have been treated under those circumstances for a least three days in any week, they will also be treated as actively seeking employment in that week.”
“<BR /> <BR />When setting the jobseeker’s agreement where an individual is homeless, advisers must consider how the homelessness situation, the need to find accommodation, and other issues, affect the steps that are reasonable for the jobseeker to take to find work in any given week. <BR /> <BR />Homeless claimants are likely to face difficulties when attempting to satisfy the job-seeking conditions. For example, they may find it difficult to contact, or be contacted by, prospective employers. Currently, the JSA regulations allow an individual affected by a domestic emergency to be treated as being available for employment, in order to deal with the emergency, for a maximum of one week per emergency, with four such emergencies in a year.”
“These regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 to introduce an easement that will enable claimants who have recently become homeless to be treated as available for, and actively seeking, employment for a temporary period. The applications of the easement will be conditional on the claimant taking steps to find living accommodation. <BR /> <BR />To be entitled to jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), a claimant must satisfy the conditions of entitlement, which include being available for, and actively seeking, employment, which are known as the job-seeking conditions. The steps a claimant should take to satisfy the conditions are those that are reasonable for the claimant to take in any week and are detailed in their jobseeker’s agreement.”
“Here is the challenge to us. Can we ensure that, as a priority, health is put at the top of that list and we then collectively ensure that the Health Minister is given the resources that he needs so that we are not put in this position on a repeated and recurrent basis?”
“All of the political parties in north Antrim have coalesced around the Save the Dal campaign, but we all know when we come through those Doors on occasions in this House, we are asked to support and endorse the spending of money on projects that bring little financial or economic benefit to the people we claim to serve. I say to Members that this is the challenge for us all if health is a priority. Yes, the Health Minister has got additional money, and, yes, the matter of how you feed that large machine is difficult.”
“That is the point that I was going to come to. Let us look at MS provision. Those who represent the MS Society will know that this is the case. For a long, long time, since I became an elected Member in North Antrim, this has been a concern. Clearly, there was a devised mechanism that was about ensuring that people were not being referred to the facility, and I think that the Member has made reference to that. That has been part of the reason that has created one of the difficulties. <BR /> <BR />However, there is another alternative, and I want to make this point. This is not a cheap political point but a call to every Member in this House of every party.”
“That is the point that I want to come to. As I have said, we now need to have an understanding of the services we provide and that are provided in that hospital. It is not just about the step-up provision, and that is a very important role. It is about the MS provision. I pay tribute to the MS Society and to Patricia and those who are in the Public Gallery today, including Pat Crossley, who is a long-standing friend and colleague. I am delighted that they are here, but coming to the Assembly today and hearing from me what it is that they have all done will not be enough to ensure that the community is convinced that there is not a plan that, ultimately, is about the removal of that service. <BR /> <BR />This morning, we are going to hear from all Members about alternatives. The Minister —”
“Thank you. I am going way back before that. Let us remember that Dalriada is the only hospital provision in the North Antrim constituency. Coleraine, where the Causeway Hospital is, is in East Londonderry, and Antrim Area Hospital is in South Antrim. So, I believe that, in the past, there was, unfortunately, a failure to address the needs of our community in terms of hospital provision.”
“<BR /> <BR />I think that it would do us all well to consider a couple of things. First, we need to have a clear understanding of the services that are provided at Dalriada. It is not only a criticism of the trusts today but also a criticism of the trusts in the past that a hospital that was built to the highest spec in 1963 and was one of the most modern hospitals to be built in Northern Ireland was not allowed to be fully developed over the years. The Member wants me to give way.”
“It is sad that we stand in the shadow of comments made that somehow bring into question our own personal legitimacy, but no comment can be made to deny that there is a legitimate concern about the future of the provision in Dalriada. <BR /> <BR />I have lived in the constituency all my life. The hospital was opened in 1963 by Terence O'Neill. There is no doubt that the campaign that has been mounted over the last number of weeks is a credit to that community. Yes, it is disappointing that comments have been made as an attempt to politicise the issue, but they were not made by those who organised the protests and the campaign and who have been very focused on one thing: ensuring that they reflect the concerns in the community of Ballycastle and the wider area. I commend the Member for bringing the motion to the House.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to underline and emphasise that the statutory scheme should only be used where family-based arrangements are not possible. For that reason, it is important that all cases are managed on the 2012 scheme which, as we have said, is better for children and parents. Bringing all these cases under the one set of rules will, I trust, simplify the process for all concerned. Therefore I commend the motion to the House.”
“As well as that, the comment that I made earlier in relation to the segments and the way in which this process will be handled will ensure that it is carefully controlled. I will ensure that that is the case within the Child Maintenance Service. <BR /> <BR />The Child Maintenance Service is the one place that I have not had the opportunity to visit to date. However, plans are afoot for me to do so before Christmas. As Minister, I want to satisfy myself about this. It is very easy to come to the Chamber, read the prepared script and do what you have to do, but another part of our responsibility and duty is to ensure that we see at first hand the work that is being done, take on board the concerns that are expressed and continue to make progress on the issue.”
“I thank Mr Brady, the Deputy Chair of the Committee, for his comments. I also thank the Committee for its work on this. I concur with Mr Brady's comment, which really follows on from what I said previously, that at the focus and centre of this is the continued welfare of children. <BR /> <BR />Given the difficulties and challenges that there were in the two previous schemes, I can well imagine the concerns and nervousness that there are in relation to that. That is always the case in any of these processes, when you move, in this case, from two schemes to one. However, I think that progress to date indicates that the central focus of what we are about is to ensure that the welfare of children is paramount.”
“The Child Maintenance Service has started the process of closing 1,129 of those segment 1 cases. Those will be followed by cases where there is a liability but no payment is being made. In both scenarios, there will be no payments to disrupt when the case is closed. The order of case closure has been determined so as to minimise payment disruption as far as possible. Accordingly, the last cases to enter the process will be those where compliance is hard won. The ending liability scheme, which is published on the departmental website, provides more detail for parents on how and when cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes will be closed. <BR /> <BR />Having all child maintenance cases together under the 2012 scheme will simplify the process, not only for staff in the Child Maintenance Service but, more importantly, for parents.”
“<BR /> <BR />The closure of the 1993 and 2003 schemes will not remove non-resident parents' responsibilities to pay any child maintenance arrears that have accrued, unless those arrears meet the limited criteria for write-off; for example, where the parent with care no longer wants the arrears collected. The Child Maintenance Service will continue to ensure that parents meet their financial responsibilities for their children. <BR /> <BR />The regulations specify that the power to close cases will be exercised in stages known as segments. The order in which cases will be closed will be carefully controlled. The first cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes to be selected for closure are those where the Child Maintenance Service has assessed that the non-resident parent does not have to pay any maintenance.”
“The scheme introduced a new way of calculating child support maintenance based on historical income and a number of other important changes in relation to child maintenance. The transition period over which liability in existing cases under the 1993 and 2003 schemes will be brought to an end is expected to run until the end of 2017 and early 2018. Any parents using those schemes will have their case closed. During the case closure process, the Child Maintenance Choices service will provide help and support to separated parents. Parents will be encouraged to consider family-based arrangements, but, where that is not possible, can make an application to the 2012 scheme.”
“<BR /> <BR />Currently, there are three statutory child maintenance schemes providing for the collection and payment of child maintenance under differing rules: the 1993 scheme, which was established under the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991; the 2003 scheme, which was set up for all applications received after March 2003, following amendment of that order by the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000; and the 2012 scheme, which was established under the Child Maintenance Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. <BR /> <BR />The 2012 scheme was introduced on a phased basis in December 2012, and later opened to all new applicants from November 2013.”