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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“I thank the Member for the question and the opportunity to clarify that a lot of the media commentary around this has been very ill-informed. It has looked solely at the issue of a reduction in spend in hardship funds without appreciating that there has been a complementary increase in FE awards and, indeed, that the overall package has increased. That said, I am happy to look at how we promote the schemes. In saying that, however, I exercise some caution in that we have seen an increase in applications to the funds in recent years, which indicates that the message is getting out there. Where further work can be done to better signpost, to streamline that and to make it more efficient and effective, we are, of course, always open to learning lessons.”
“<BR /> <BR />Higher education support funds are administered and publicised, by the higher education institutions and the colleges delivering higher education, to help students experiencing financial hardship. My Department provides the funding and copies of the conditions booklet to the universities and colleges. We also place information and the conditions booklet on the NI Direct and the Department for Employment and Learning websites.”
“Further education awards are promoted on the Western Education and Library Board's website and through a television advertising campaign run during May and June each year. In addition, each college promotes both funds through the following channels: prospectuses, websites, prominently displayed posters, and a variety of funding guidance literature, including flyers, mail drops and information in college diaries, which are provided to students. Funding advice is also provided at induction sessions. My Department consults with the Western Education and Library Board regarding the content of its advertising campaign. To ensure consistency across the colleges, my Department provides good practice guidelines with regard to the publicity of the hardship funds.”
“In further education, my Department provides financial assistance to students through further education awards and hardship funds, which are administered respectively by the Western Education and Library Board and each of the six colleges. Over the last five years, there has been a net increase of approximately £800,000 in the total amount available in the combined funds, with the budget set aside for further education (FE) awards rising by over £2 million. While the drawdown of resources in the demand-led hardship fund may have decreased by just over £900,000, the spend on FE awards has increased by £1·5 million. <BR /> <BR />The funds are advertised extensively through a variety of media by the board and the colleges.”