Stephen Farry
North Down · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Speaking for a party that has a longer pedigree in advocating a public inquiry than both the DUP and Sinn Féin, I nonetheless welcome this announcement, despite the torturous path that we have had and, indeed, the missed opportunities.”
“The first was a reform of the petition of concern to take it back to the original intent when it was designed in 1998. It was clear at that stage that Arlene Foster banged the table and said, "No, never. We are not doing that. That is a way whereby we are going to have to fold on equal marriage: it's not happening".”
“<BR /> <BR />The main points that I make concern the substance of the order. There are probably three aspects that the Minister needs to address properly before the Assembly, and they really relate to what other options he has.”
“That raises the question of why they want to go as far as 2022, especially when I am not sure — I would welcome any clarification to the contrary on it — that there has been formal Executive approval of this.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are three major substantive issues that I do not believe have been properly aired on this: VAT; European Commission infraction proceedings; and, most important, the opportunity foregone to revisit the classification of Northern Ireland Water and the ability, through a separate water charge, to allow it to borrow commerc…”
“While my party was supportive of the Good Friday Agreement back in 1998, at that time, we expressed some reservations around the very detailed nature of the proposals and how those could, in due course, destabilise Northern Ireland and prevent us from realising our full potential. We have been very much vindicated in that analysis.”
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“That is consistent with the wider welfare reform process, which is about tackling the causes rather than simply dealing with the symptoms of people stuck in a spiral of welfare and lack of opportunity. <BR /> <BR />The second also lies in the Fresh Start deal, where reference is made to new measures to address error and fraud in benefits in Northern Ireland. Through an annually managed expenditure/DEL switch, the Northern Ireland Executive have the potential to receive 50% of the savings that accrue to the Treasury through successful efforts in that regard. That deal makes reference to addressing some elements of work and health well-being as being one possible route through which those resources could be deployed.”
“The Member's party was present when those decisions were taken. Since her party left the Executive and went into so-called opposition mode, we have not seen an alternative narrative that would lead to resources being available for us to invest in the strategy. <BR /> <BR />There are two potential sources of funding looming on the landscape, neither of which is definite by any stretch of the imagination, but they are worth exploring. First, the Executive now have the money that was originally set aside to mitigate the effect of the loss of tax credits, and about which decisions have still to be made. Anything we do to invest in our economic inactivity strategy is about removing people from welfare by encouraging them into work in a supportive manner.”
“This is a collective failure across the piece because the Executive have not been in a position to direct resources in that regard.”
“In addition, the Department for Social Development leads on a pilot project in the new Derry City and Strabane District Council area. That pilot project received funding via the Executive's change fund for 2015-16, and it is based on early and more intensive engagement with new claimants of employment and support allowance. <BR /> <BR />The remaining cross-departmental projects have yet to commence due to the lack of financial and other resource allocations. Updated indicative project costs have been provided for the ongoing discussions between the Executive parties. Should the Executive secure additional finance to enable the full or part implementation of the strategy, a new implementation plan and timetable will be agreed between the relevant Departments.”
“Enabling Success, the Executive's new strategy aimed at reducing the level of economic inactivity in Northern Ireland, was published on 20 April 2015. The implementation of the strategy over the proposed 15-year period is based on 11 key projects that are to be managed and resourced on a cross-departmental basis. However, due to the ongoing pressure on budgets and the subsequent absorption of those pressures through departmental baselines, the Enabling Success strategy remains largely unresourced and its implementation severely hindered. In my Department, there has been a reduction to departmental baseline funding of 8·4%, totalling £63·3 million, in 2015-16. <BR /> <BR />A research mapping exercise of economic inactivity service provision in Northern Ireland aimed at the strategy's key target groups has been completed.”
“That same logic applies to further investments in infrastructure and some reforms to the planning system, but the real dilemma that the Executive will have is that the increase in funding needs to happen now. That will happen at a time when we are seeing cuts to the block grant and money being taken out of our block grant for additional flexibilities around welfare, and we also have to make up the deficit from lost revenue from a lower level of corporation tax.”
“It is almost certain that there will be a fall in the resources available to the Executive. Anyone who has looked at the figures on this will know that we will be looking at a figure that will progressively rise to one in the region of perhaps £250 million to £300 million per annum. Over time, more and more revenue will be generated in Northern Ireland as we see a much greater level of economic activity being sparked by lower corporation tax. We have a dilemma in that it is very clear that we have to invest more in what we are doing around skills if a lower corporation tax rate is to be successful. If we do not invest in skills, that simply will not be the case.”
“That will need to be reversed. We are also conducting a review of management and leadership at present. Hopefully, that will be concluded before the end of this mandate.”
“On the latter point, we are due to have some discussions tomorrow as part of the Executive's subcommittee on the economy. That will, hopefully, begin to crystallise some of these discussions, and I know that discussions are happening at official level already in that regard. It will be a case of upscaling some of the existing interventions, for example, what we are doing around the apprenticeship strategy, and we have spoken at length about the importance of the funding of universities. <BR /> <BR />Another area that is worth highlighting is the importance of management and leadership skills. As we bring more and more high-value investments into Northern Ireland, a greater premium will be placed on management and leadership. Sadly, we have had some severe cutbacks to existing provision over the past couple of years.”
“However, in order to ensure that we maximise this economic opportunity, it is essential that an appropriate level of investment in skills is restored, that the structural deficit of underfunding in higher education is addressed and that we invest in additional measures to ensure we meet the forecast skills demand. <BR /> <BR />The financial analysis undertaken indicates that the total additional cost may be in the region of an average of £111 million per annum over the next 15 years or a total of £1·67 billion through to 2030.”
“This covers existing policies and programmes such as the following: investment in STEM skills; the implementation of the new apprenticeship strategy and, in particular, the supply of skills at level 3 and above; developing new pathways, such as higher level apprenticeships or working in partnership with Invest NI to promote foreign direct investment; the further development of careers provision and the work to upskill the existing workforce. Together with information from the recently published skills barometer, this will provide a strong basis to articulate and address future skill needs and help to ensure that we realise the potential for a lower rate.”
“<BR /> <BR />Research commissioned by my Department highlights, in particular, the importance of strong skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), management and leadership, literacy, numeracy and employability skills and the importance of acting quickly to meet the skills and needs of employers in a lower corporation tax environment. <BR /> <BR />These are issues that my Department is already working to address, and they are central to the overarching skills strategy. However, although the Department is already on the right path, there will be a need for further investment to address the quantum of skills required. My Department has developed a draft action plan to direct our skills interventions in preparation for, and in response to, a lower rate.”
“It is essential that we are well placed to derive the full benefits of a 12·5% corporation tax rate, which could significantly increase the number of jobs locally that would otherwise be produced. However, a lower rate will not transform the economy in isolation of investment in, and a coherent focus around, the key economic drivers of skills and employability as the bedrock of economic success. It is crucial that we maintain and increase our investment in skills if we are to derive the benefits of a lower rate.”
“We are seeing a situation where money is going to be taken out of our block grant for welfare. We are seeing people making commitments ahead of even a full assessment of all the different needs; that we must protect health at all costs, rather than engaging in any health programme. Then people wonder why we have a situation where we are having cuts to our skills budgets and why we are seeing cuts being passed on to universities. <BR /> <BR />If people are genuinely concerned about this issue, it is important that they have a fundamental reassessment of how they are resourcing all that we need to do to fund our public services, including our universities, as well as how we fund the transformation of our economy. I encourage the Member and those in all parties to think very seriously about these issues over the coming weeks.”
“Let me be very clear: the decisions regarding my departmental budget were taken at Executive level, and I was deeply concerned about a whole range of issues around the budget. <BR /> <BR />I ask the Member to reflect on his party's approach to how we are addressing our Budget issues, because his party, like others, is very clear that it is not prepared to consider any additional revenue raising for Northern Ireland. Parties are very clear that they are not prepared to consider tackling the cost of a divided society; we could not even begin to address divisions in our teacher training system earlier this year. <BR /> <BR />We are not adopting a strategic approach to Budget setting. Parties are making more and more demands about what they want to spend money on.”
“The university has already indicated the scale of the job losses over the current academic year and over future years. The size of the cuts is a clear indication of the severity of the budget reductions faced by my Department, the university and the higher education sector. <BR /> <BR />Ulster University has reported to my officials that the deadline for expressions of interest in the voluntary severance scheme closed on 30 October, and they are now liaising with the deans of the affected faculties before beginning the process of staff engagement.”
“While my Department provides funding and sets the strategic direction for the higher education sector, universities are autonomous and responsible for their own staffing levels. However, I have had ongoing discussions with the Ulster University in relation to the possible implications of the budget reductions and have been briefed on the redundancy process by the vice chancellor on a regular basis.”
“While we are still awaiting the business case, it is likely that we will be talking about a figure in the region of £30 million per annum if we are to see the expansion in line with the One Plan targets. Very quickly you can see that we are talking about a figure in excess of £80 million a year being required to have a sustainable higher education system in Northern Ireland that meets the needs of our economy, both today and, more importantly, where we hope to be tomorrow.”
“I thank the Member for her question. To put this in context, it may be useful to see three or four different elements in this. First, we have the cut to higher education that was passed on for the 2015-16 financial year, amounting to £16·1 million. We have a pre-existing structural deficit in our university funding that amounts to about £39 million. That is based on a comparison between the money that we are investing per student in Northern Ireland relative to the rest of the UK. Thirdly, we have to look to what potential expansion we need to see for higher education to meet the needs of investing companies in response to lower corporation tax. <BR /> <BR />As we have already heard, there are ambitions to expand the Ulster University at Magee.”
“We have a host of other populist decisions being taken on other public services and other types of commitments. It is in that context that we have to see what will be doable. It is up to the Executive over the coming weeks to try to take a decision on what will happen in the here and now.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am doing sterling work to resolve these issues. We will have a paper before the Executive within weeks, so there is an opportunity for all parties to take a responsible decision on the best way forward. There are clear choices that we can make. Tuition fees remain an option open to the Executive, but they also have the option of doing something more in line with what happens in Scotland, where more money is redirected from the block grant into supporting universities, so that is another option that is available. Of course, this is happening in the context where money is being taken out of our budgets to have a more generous welfare system. That may or not be the right thing for us to do, but that is what is about to happen.”
“I hear a former Minister who did exactly that in parking a decision to the far side of an election saying "hear, hear". Clearly, we know where the form lies in that regard. I think that my Department was chosen last because the political hot potato of tuition fees was left unresolved until after the Assembly election. What happens is very much in the hands of the Executive and the Assembly, but let me be very clear that I am determined to get this issue resolved. We cannot afford to park this issue; our universities are bleeding already. We have issues that, if unresolved, will undermine our credibility as an investment location. We are about to have a question on a lower level of corporation tax. Already, our investment narrative is in jeopardy because we do not have a clear outcome on the sustainability of our higher education system.”
“While we are hearing potential figures of cuts to Departments coming up, it is important to recognise that, if we see a similar situation arising for our universities for this forthcoming academic year, we will see a further reduction in places, which will have another detrimental impact on people's opportunities and our widening-access targets.”
“However, it is only right and proper that we make clear that the cuts that the Executive imposed on my Department, which I, sadly, had to pass on to universities, have already had an impact on people's ability to access higher education. We have a situation in which we have fewer places on offer from this year, which means that some people will be forced to go to Great Britain or elsewhere in the world, often having to pay higher tuition fees than would be on offer in Northern Ireland. In some cases, people have had no opportunity to go to university at all and have lost out on a life-transforming opportunity. We are seeing very real costs already in this respect, and those from the more marginalised and vulnerable sections of our society will be impacted most by the loss of places.”
“First, let me be very clear: I have not proposed an increase in tuition fees. I have simply outlined the fact that our current system is unsustainable. My first priority is to ensure that we have a sustainable system for our future economy and society, and to give young people opportunities. Until we can find a solution on which there is political consensus, all options remain on the table. At this stage, I am not advocating an increase in tuition fees. <BR /> <BR />On a purely stand-alone basis, I concur with the Member when she says that a rise in tuition fees would have an impact on widening access and deter some from accessing higher education.”
“The consultation has closed, and I have outlined to the Member the different ways in which people could make their views known. That included online opportunities as well as the opportunity to submit formal responses. I also stress to the Member that, to an extent, he is correct when he talks about secondary-school children being most affected by this, but there are many other stakeholders who will be affected by this situation, including businesses in Northern Ireland and wider society. Our future economic potential will also be affected. What is at stake in what is happening to higher education is extreme, and it is important that, over the coming weeks, the Executive can find a solution that will be sustainable in the long term.”
“We had formal meetings with stakeholders, and we held workshops, focus groups and a Twitter question and answer session in the penultimate week to answer people’s questions directly. Various other stakeholders, including our universities and colleges, promoted the process through their own channels. In the final week, my officials organised a panel discussion to examine some of the different higher education funding and delivery systems maintained in other parts of the world. That event was very well attended and received, and we were fortunate to secure some excellent panellists. Now that the Big Conversation has concluded, building on the evidence presented, I am finalising a paper to present to my Executive colleagues, outlining the ways in which higher education could be sustained in the future.”
“<BR /> <BR />During the first stage, people were invited to test their knowledge of our existing higher education system through online ‘Did you Know?’-style surveys. The second stage was more akin to a traditional consultation. Equipped with the knowledge gained in stage one, people were invited to have their say on a range of issues through a consultation questionnaire. Questions focused on the adequacy and sustainability of our existing higher education funding and delivery systems and whether there might be alternatives that could work better for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />During the process, my officials and I sought to stimulate debate and engage with people in a wide range of ways.”
“With your permission, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, I wish to group questions 2 and 4, and I request an additional minute for the answer. <BR /> <BR />I launched the Big Conversation on 15 September as an innovative and experimental approach to engaging with people on the sustainability and the future of our higher education system. It concluded on 23 October. The process was designed to be iterative, comprising two main stages themed on a week-by-week basis. The first stage, ‘Did you Know?’, ran for the first three weeks and focused on raising public awareness of the purpose and importance of our existing higher education system. This was followed by a second stage, ‘Have your Say’, which launched on 6 October and invited people to put forward their views on some of the most critical issues facing our higher education system.”
“My understanding is that psychology is being redirected to Coleraine. The process of consolidation at Magee is being reflected in similar decisions that are being taken with respect to the other campuses. As I have outlined already, a strategic approach is being taken that is about trying to maximise the ability to retain as many courses as possible and also to protect as many places as possible. That is a way of maximising the efficiency of the university as far as it can, operating across four different campuses.”
“First of all, with regard to the business case, we have asked for further clarification on a number of points. That request was made by my officials at the beginning of July. We have yet to receive the revised business case. I encourage those who are finalising it to get it to us as quickly as possible, given, not least, that decisions on budgets are looming. Ultimately, the issue of the expansion lies with higher education. As the Member will appreciate, higher education is set to be part of the new Department of the Economy from May 2016 onwards.”
“I wish the Member success with his meeting with the vice-chancellor. I am sure that it will be very productive. In respect of his supplementary question, the Member should take some degree of comfort that, while we are going through some very difficult times, the university has sought to consolidate particular types of courses at particular campuses rather than spreading them out. In that way, it is trying to stretch itself that little bit further to protect the range of courses that is on offer and also the number of places that can be facilitated. Indeed, it has consolidated engineering and computing into the Magee campus, which hopefully will reinforce its relevance in particular to the opportunities to expand the economy in the north-west.”
“The university has also consolidated teaching provision into its campuses to facilitate the necessary reduction of staff numbers without impacting on the quality of teaching, which remains paramount.”
“While my Department provides funding and sets the strategic direction for the higher education sector, universities are autonomous and wholly responsible for decisions on course offerings and where the courses are delivered. The institutions are at liberty to deploy their funding across their various campuses, where applicable, and on the different courses that they offer. In deciding which courses to close or scale back, the Ulster University took a number of factors into consideration, including the priorities of my Department, such as protecting narrow STEM provision; student demand; attrition rates; student satisfaction; employment statistics; and research performance.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. That is what I was trying to say. It will be a temporary measure, pending the stabilisation of the payment structures. We will keep it under review but it is not meant to be the permanent situation.”
“I apologise for missing some of the issues. The accelerated payments will be temporary, pending the stabilisation of the situation. We will keep that under review; it is not meant to be the permanent situation and the improvements in processes should lead to efficient payments being the norm in the very near future. <BR /> <BR />With respect to the judicial reviews, given that they are sub judice, I cannot give a detailed answer, but all will emerge in due course.”
“We are also conscious of the need for better communication with project providers. As such, we have established a quarterly forum that will give all project providers the opportunity to come together. We have also established an ESF project group to identify and address a number of control weaknesses associated with the old programme, and to ensure those weaknesses do not affect the 2014-2020 programme. Finally, all relevant staff will go through an accredited training programme as part of their continuous professional development to ensure that projects and participants receive the best possible support from the Department.”
“While the initial introduction of such a change has inevitably led to a number of teething problems, the streamlining of claims, once fully up and running, should provide a more efficient and effective system. We have also introduced a new ESF claims tracking system, affording significantly improved management information for better monitoring of the progress of individual claims.”
“I am confident that this short-term measure has gone a significant way to addressing the backlog of claims, and will soon bring the managing authority to a position whereby it can efficiently vouch for each individual claim as and when it arrives. We are also continually redeploying staff to respond to pressures as they change. As the work on final payments for the old programme winds down, we will redeploy staff to the payments under the new programme. <BR /> <BR />Another lesson learned is the need to make the process of vouching simpler, compared to the incredibly detailed process under the old ESF programme. We have introduced a simplified costs model, whereby costs are verified on the basis of a percentage of staff costs.”
“I appreciate that Members, project providers and other stakeholders have been critical of how the programme has been handled, both the old and new ESF programme. I have also had my concerns, which is why I have intervened on a number of occasions when it was appropriate to do so. I recognise that lessons can be learned from these experiences. <BR /> <BR />What has become clear to me in the course of moving from the old ESF programme to the new one is the need for sufficient staff resourcing and planning. To that end, my Department has brought additional vouching staff on board to further assist the process and ensure that it is completed as soon as possible.”
“First, there is a difference between an interruption and a suspension, so it is nothing to do with semantics. The transfer of priorities was done in order for us to ensure that we were able to continue engaging with all the organisations that benefited through the outgoing ESF programme. Through the approach that was adopted, we were able to ensure continuity of provision. It was very much in the interests of the community and voluntary sector that we took that action. Over the past months, we have sought to proactively address the issues raised by the European Commission, and the interruption was lifted towards the end of September. <BR /> <BR />Members have asked, and the motion calls, for lessons to be learned.”
“While we have had a rocky road through the interruption to our programme, it is important to clarify that an interruption is not the same as a suspension. Those issues with this type of funding are commonplace across the European Union. We have had close neighbours suffer a suspension of their funds, rather than the interruption that we have experienced in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />When we took a decision to have flexibility in the further submission of management accounts, that was done in the context where we believed that we had an objective standard that would allow it to happen. It was based on our recognition that there was ambiguity in the guidance notes. That was a flaw, and it meant that some groups had a misunderstanding in how they were reading them at that time. I also want to clarify that we have not had a situation whereby the assessment process has been rerun. We simply allowed further time for the submission of management accounts, which is a much more narrow set of events. <BR /> <BR />Comment has also been made about our relationships with the European Commission, which I believe to be good.”
“That would have meant a situation where we did not have continuity of provision and where some organisations would have had to lay staff off in the interim. We have avoided that in Northern Ireland, and that should be acknowledged. <BR /> <BR />There were also comments about how we somehow moved the goalposts in the process. We have not moved the goalposts in any shape or form. It is important that we stick to what we have said and that we have clear, objective standards to deal with organisations. That is how we protect ourselves against challenge. Frankly, if we were to start changing things midstream, then we would open a Pandora's box of people coming in with all sorts of claims and allegations against the Department. I think we have held the line well in that regard.”
“I find it a little concerning that some people said we should have waited a little longer before starting the new programme.”
“<BR /> <BR />This leads me to the point about Kilcooley Women's Centre that was raised by a number of Members. It is important to clarify for the record that my Department does not have any direct relationship with Kilcooley Women's Centre. It is part of the Training for Women Network on the outgoing ESF programme. The issues are thus for TWN, which has yet to produce its final claim. My officials have gone to great lengths to try to facilitate TWN in doing so, sadly to no avail. We await the receipt of documentation, and that is the problem. <BR /> <BR />Members have commented about the fact that staff were placed on protective notice in some of the programmes. Going on protective notice, as bad as it is, is better than facing redundancy.”
“This is not an ideal situation. Sadly, it is informed by constraints to our budgets. We are seeking to stretch budgets to cover as many spaces as we can, but it is far from ideal. <BR /> <BR />I return to the issues connected with the outgoing programme. First of all, we are looking to address proactively the issues relating to the vouching of claims. We have put in place a series of measures as well as accelerated payments for the new programme. We are working to close off the outgoing programme by the end of the year. Of the 95 projects, a total of 57, I think, are now fully paid with no further claims due. We are waiting for only two potential claims to be submitted, one from Royal Mencap and the other from the Training for Women Network (TWN).”
“This was particularly important in the context of the current budget constraints. It is important to encourage progression. Supporting provision up to level 1 under the ESF programme means that individuals are enabled and encouraged to progress to level 2 and above through other DEL-funded provision. <BR /> <BR />Members also raised —”
“<BR /> <BR />Concern has also been expressed about my Department’s requirement for ESF tutors to hold an appropriate teaching qualification. My Department’s objective is to ensure that participants receive the best possible training and education available, to ensure quality and consistency throughout education and training and to provide a guaranteed minimum level of quality in our teaching. Any departmental requirements for qualifications apply to tutors, not only in delivering ESF projects but in further education college settings, and to providers of the Training for Success programme. <BR /> <BR />Another concern is the limit on qualifications to be supported under the ESF programme to level 1. This was informed by a range of interconnected reviews of provision and sought to minimise the potential for duplication.”
“Applying this process has alleviated the initial financial pressures that the projects have experienced, whilst work continues apace to ensure that all claims are fully vouched in line with audit requirements. <BR /> <BR />Another concern raised by a number of parties is the requirement for ESF participants to present themselves to jobs and benefits offices to confirm that they are in receipt of benefit and therefore eligible for participation. This is not a new requirement. Nevertheless, project promoters have flagged up certain practical difficulties for participants, especially those who have disabilities. My officials are working with the Social Security Agency and the employment service to see whether there are any practical solutions that can be put in place to address what is perceived by some as a barrier to participation.”