Trevor Clarke
South Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“For recruitment to the current Youth Assembly and on the basis of research on the youth demographic in Northern Ireland, a minimum of 10 young people with disabilities were sought in order to be representative of the data. Of the 90 young people appointed to the Youth Assembly, 18 have a disability.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Youth Assembly regularly uses social media to promote its work, and, when preparing for a new mandate, targeted multimedia recruitment campaigns are used to engage young people and encourage participation.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission also has an apprenticeship and placement framework that provides the opportunity for people with a disability to avail themselves of short-term supported placements.”
“In 2025, 770 tours were delivered and the number of events hosted in Parliament Buildings almost doubled to 583. <BR /> <BR />Our Education Service promotes its programmes to schools and colleges through an annual September mail-out, outlining provision for the relevant Key Stages, including a focus on inclusive engagement for children wi…”
“Mr Speaker, I may require an extra minute to answer the question. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Member for her question. The Assembly Commission's school work experience programme is facilitated through a partnership between our internal education services team and an organisation called Futures For All, a social mobility charity.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I may need an extra minute to answer the question, and I thank the Member for it. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission's public engagement strategy 2025-27 aims to increase awareness, improve understanding and enable participation in the work of the Assembly.”
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“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, you will be aware that I wrote to you recently with regard to the A6 scheme. One farmer has now waited almost eight years for his compensation payout, much of that due to the Department's bureaucracy and officials coming out to do survey after survey. At what stage will you intervene in some of those cases to prevent all those surveys being carried out and unnecessary pressures being applied to farmers who have been waiting on compensation for so long?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, I accept the biodiversity aspect of your answer, but will you write to your divisional offices to enforce that message to them? I think that, in my constituency of South Antrim, the road verges are running the risk of compromising road safety. Many of the road verges in South Antrim are not being cut, particularly at road junctions and rural schools. There is a real risk to road safety in that regard.”
“The Commission has looked at parental leave in detail. In the first instance, the Commission will bring forward maternity, paternity and adoption leave proposals, which, we think, would be easier and less complicated than parental leave. Following that, the Commission will do another piece of work on opportunities for general leave for Members, particularly those with parental responsibilities and, indeed, for sickness. We believe that that work will be slightly more complex and take longer. In the short term, we will go for the other proposals that I indicated.”
“Sorry, I should have indicated. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission has no role in determining the salaries or pensions payable to Members. It should be noted, however, that a Member's salary is not reduced as a result of their deciding to take parental leave. <BR /> <BR />Members have previously asked about the provision of a childcare facility at the Stormont estate. Following enquiries by the Assembly Commission, the Department of Finance confirmed in September 2023 that it had no immediate plans for a childcare facility on the Stormont estate. The Assembly Commission has not considered the matter further since but remains open to exploring cooperation on such a project. Without other partners, however, the viability of the proposal is questionable.”
“Such issues are not within the Assembly Commission's responsibilities. For instance, any proposal to allow a replacement Member to be put in place to cover a period of parental leave would require a change to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which is outside the Assembly Commission's remit.”
“The Assembly Commission has therefore agreed to provide additional support to a Member who is absent due to parental leave in order to carry out the constituency work that the Member would otherwise have undertaken. It is intended that that provision will be incorporated into a new determination that is to be considered by the Assembly Commission in September. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission is also aware that there are likely to be issues related to Members' work in Parliament Buildings arising from periods of maternity or paternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave. There is limited provision for Members’ absences in Standing Orders when it comes to, for example, participating in debates or voting. Procedural matters are, in the first instance, for the Committee on Procedures.”
“The hybrid working policy offers staff the opportunity to work from home where possible, carefully balanced with the realities of business need and the importance of colleagues being together for strong team dynamics; the staff hours at work policy affords staff the opportunity to accrue additional time worked, which can be taken during recess or when business is quieter; and the special leave policy gives staff the statutory right to time off for care of dependants. <BR /> <BR />From a Member's perspective, the Assembly Commission’s remit relates solely to the provision of allowances to enable Members to exercise their functions as Members.”
“I thank the Member for her question. The Assembly Commission recognises the importance of a family-friendly working environment, as it contributes to a healthier, more engaged and productive workforce whilst enhancing the organisation’s reputation and competitiveness. The Assembly Commission also recognises, however, the particular challenges to providing a family-friendly working environment in a parliamentary institution where there is a need to be responsive to developments and it is not always possible to do so strictly within office hours. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission has a number of policies that its employees can avail themselves of.”
“Various inspections of the Building have been carried out. We will not know the full nature of the damage until some of the areas have been uncovered by stripping back some external materials. I assure Members that the Commission is very exercised about all of that. We would have liked to have moved much quicker, but, following legal advice, we have had to go at this pace to allow both parties from which we are seeking legal redress to respond to each stage.”
“There have been various conversations about the time frame. We are only now in a position to do the scoping work and the full procurement process. We anticipate that the work will start as soon as possible after the summer recess.”
“The current indicative cost for all the necessary remedial works is in the region of £2·4 million. That costing was produced as a result of the ongoing litigation process. Accurate costings will only be available when the scope of and requirements for those works have been finalised and tendered.”
“The full remedial works will prevent any further deterioration, address the issues that are related to the damaged stonework and resolve the ongoing issues of water ingress in Parliament Buildings. A detailed plan outlining the timetable for those works will be produced following the scoping work that will be carried out during the summer recess. The Assembly Commission will continue its legal action against Hamilton Architects and Tracey Brothers to recover the full cost of the repairs.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission received advice in February of this year that, due to the ongoing deterioration and associated health and safety concerns, and following the exchange of expert architect and engineer reports with the two defendants, the legal position had changed and that the Assembly Commission could now undertake remedial works to address all the defects. As a result, the Assembly Commission is now moving forward to appoint contractors under a construction and procurement delivery framework in order to undertake immediate health and safety repairs and scope out the full range of remedial repairs that are required. The initial health and safety works will be carried out over the summer.”
“With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will group questions 2 and 4. I thank the Members for their questions. The ongoing situation with the roof repairs for Parliament Buildings is an issue that the Assembly Commission has taken extremely seriously and on which it has reviewed updates at its recent meetings. Until recently, the Assembly Commission had refrained from undertaking a full range of remedial works, based on advice that that could prejudice the Commission's legal position. As the Member will be aware, the Commission has issued proceedings against Hamilton Architects and Tracey Brothers for negligence, breach of statutory duty and breach of contract arising from defects to the roof.”
“Does the Minister accept that the current process for ill-health retirement and injury on duty is clunky and not fit for purpose? Does she also accept that, given the high numbers of people involved in it and the low numbers of police officers on the front line, we need a robust system fast to resolve the issues for many of those officers who will never be able to return to work or who are off for in excess of 12 months? Does she accept that we need to do something more swiftly, rather than have some form of consultation?”
“No, I said that it was not a point of order.”
“I think that that was a fair and equitable system, but I notice that the Member for North Antrim forgot those figures when he was on his feet earlier.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Through the Chair, it is notable that, when Mr Allister spoke earlier, he made the criticism of all of the bigger parties and how much they got. He clearly has a copy of the table, but, of course, he did not read into the record that it was suggested, not proposed, that his party, a single-Member party, should receive £54,000 while a party with 25 Members should receive £200,000. I am sure that you will think, as I do, that that is inequitable and unfair. Indeed, the calculation that has been arrived at from the FAPP process treated every party equally by size in how much was awarded to each party. If it had concluded that it should be the way in which it is applied now, the Member for North Antrim would have received £10,000, because it is £10,000 a Member.”
“I will take up the Member's offer. The same applies to your Assembly expenses. You employed staff during the period of suspension through your office costs allowance. Did you suspend your staff? Did you send them home, saying, "I am not paying you because the Assembly is not sitting", or did you continue to pay them? They were supporting your function as a constituency MLA of a legislative Assembly that was not sitting.”
“I will stick to the theme of what you were saying about the financial assistance. The proposer of the motion properly articulated that there are strict rules as to how the money can be spent or not spent. There are guidelines in relation to that. The only way to remove money from individuals within a party or parties that have employed staff is to make those staff redundant. What I am hearing from you is that you believe that, when there are periods of suspension in this place, staff should be suspended. I pose the question to you: did you suspend your staff in your office, whom you pay, during the periods of suspension? You are suggesting that others should do the same with non-party political staff who are employed solely in administrative roles.”
“On the point about cutting the fat. Is the Member suggesting that, whilst the Assembly was not sitting, the political parties should have suspended their staff or made them redundant? If you take that to its conclusion, should the MLAs have made their staff redundant when their salaries were cut as well?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I heard you make a ruling and ask the current contributor to get back to the topic. Will you again examine what he is saying, and do you believe that he is speaking to the motion?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. It is startling to hear that number of properties. Is there anything that you, as Minister, can do to reduce the number of empty homes by bringing them into use in order to alleviate the current housing pressures?”
“Does the Minister accept that, sometimes, there are criticisms of apprenticeships and that apprentices are seen as cheap labour, particularly those for electricians, plumbers, bricklayers and so on, where there is a shortage? Does he have any specific plans to make apprenticeships more attractive so that apprentices feel more valued, rather than being seen just as cheap labour?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Will you, Mr Speaker, examine what the Member has just said to back up his claims on social media and describe a member of my party as "the far right"?”
“I thank the Member. I apologise to the Minister; I did not recognise that. It is welcome. I should have declared at the outset that I am a member of the Policing Board. In my three years on it, I have been frustrated, as has every other board member, about our role in that process. I welcome the Minister's comments, and I look forward to that engagement bringing something that concludes that process in a way that gives satisfaction to officers who wait not months but sometimes years before they can leave the service, allowing someone else to come in. I commend the motion to the House.”
“I am not sure which side Mr McNulty will vote with today, but I point him to the statistics on the incidents in south Armagh so that he can see for himself that the information that my colleague from Mid Ulster read into the record today is correct. If he needs any help, I am sure that Keith will be happy to sit down with him and go through the figures to help him try to understand them. <BR /> <BR />I will not revisit everything that everyone said, but, broadly, we all support the general thrust of the motion. I implore Members to support the motion rather than reduce the impetus of what we are trying to say by —.”
“I again thank the Minister for her words. Intent is what we are trying to establish today. <BR /> <BR />Some Members seem to pick on the fact that we have used south Armagh. We have used south Armagh because the stats on the incidents are from there. We are not trying to make south Armagh a place apart. We believe that the community should be policed, and it should be, but the police officers there should be treated the same as they are across the Province, and everyone should enjoy the protection of the law if someone goes out to injure or otherwise harm them. <BR /> <BR />Most Members who spoke in the debate did so in support of the motion, albeit I am a bit confused by Mr McNulty. I am not sure whether he is a member of the SDLP. His party seems to support it.”
“When you take a vehicle and ram it at a police officer, it is attempted murder. Jim Allister and the Minister reminded us of the police officer in Londonderry who lost her life in such an incident. It is about asking, "When is the next one?". We need the sentence to fit the crime.”
“I thank the Minister for her intervention. I was not trying to hijack you, Minister, in this instance, but the numbers of officers who are unfit for duty feeds into the narrative. You will take from my previous questions, even those from today, an inference about my view of the severity of those actions. They are not all dissident or terrorist attacks. Some are traffic- or drugs-related — there are various incidents — but none of that negates the impact that an incident has on a police officer or, indeed, a police officer's family if their loved one is brought home injured. All those things must be considered in the sentencing review. One thing that concerns me is comparing such incidents with a motoring offence — that has been used as an excuse in the past — rather than looking at their severity.”
“Many of our officers are at home today through ill health or injury on duty. Many of those injuries on duty emanate from crashed cars or being rammed by other people. The figure of 6,300 is not reflective of the size of the service that we have. <BR /> <BR />That takes me to a part that is not in the motion. Forgive me, Minister, but it is one of those elements: if we could fix the ill-health retirement and the injury on duty, we could free up additional officers.”
“Crossmaglen, in south Armagh, is deemed a rural location but is on a par with Belfast. <BR /> <BR />We all agree that one ramming incident is one too many. However, when Mike Nesbitt spoke, he referred to the cost of overtime for south Armagh and the way they used to police that station. We have just replaced it now with the cost of replacing police cars. An armoured police car costs approximately £120,000, and at least six of those have been taken out of service in one year. That is not factoring in the cost of all the others that are going for expensive repairs. That is one cost. <BR /> <BR />It is very interesting that, when the Minister spoke today, she referred to the 6,300 officers. Unfortunately, we do not have 6,300 officers on the front line. In the past 12 months, some 73 to 77 officers have been injured.”
“There was a political motivation to the review, because, on the back of that picture, many people got exercised because the Chief Constable was standing with police officers with long-armed rifles. It just so happened that that was the style of policing required at that time, and it was not reviewed. <BR /> <BR />That is fine. Roll forward, the review took place, and many aspects of the review have been very helpful; no one is denying that. Some people in the Chamber today have some sort of revision problem, because, if you look at the stats — it depends on where you take the stats from, but I am taking mine from the PSNI — you see that south Armagh is on a par with Belfast on the number of vehicles rammed. Belfast has a larger concentrated population with all its own problems.”
“I thank all those who took part in today's debate. Much focus and reference has been given to the political motivation. When Mike Nesbitt spoke, he set the scene well: many of us took the opportunity to visit Crossmaglen, and he, quite rightly, talked about the conditions that those officers were expected to work in. However, that was part of their daily pattern until a certain picture was taken on Christmas Day 2019. I have to commend the former Chief Constable for taking the time to go around the Province to speak to the men and women who are out there serving their communities daily. It was unfortunate for some that a picture was taken. I think that it was fortunate for the Chief Constable that it showed his willingness to go to all arts and parts of Northern Ireland.”
“Given that the £400 million is for all of your Department, Minister, could you highlight how much, specifically, is going to the PSNI?”
“You would think that the Deputy Speaker would know that.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Given that many people with different types of employment require more than one check, is there any opportunity for a review of ways to remove duplication? That would prevent the individual having to go through the process again and reduce the burden on AccessNI processing those applications.”
“I welcome some of the comments that you have made on sentencing, but I listened to the contribution of a Member who said that many of the offences were downgraded to motoring offences. Is there anything in your provision to prevent them from being downgraded to motoring offences as opposed to what they actually are, namely a direct attack on the security forces?”
“I am sorry that you feel like that, because you were the rigorous implementers at the time. You can laugh and cajole all you like.”
“It is interesting to follow on from the previous intervention, which talked about that, and now you are talking about the money. The party of the Member who made the intervention wanted to go back to Stormont much sooner and without a financial package. If it were not for our party securing the additional finances, this place would not —”
“The Member refers to the lack of political motivation or otherwise. Does he remember that, at the presentation to the board, some political parties were not consulted to the degree to which others were? For that reason, many of us believed that there was a political motivation and direction of travel in that report.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Given that there are financial restrictions on many of the people who own the properties and that many of the properties will cost tens — maybe hundreds — of thousands of pounds to bring back, what I am trying to get from you, Minister, is whether you have plans to bring forward a meaningful financial package so that those business premises can be brought back into use.”
“Given those procurement regulations, will the Minister undertake to examine other ways in which schools could find themselves in a more favourable position that allows them greater flexibility to save money?”
“Mr Speaker, you will be surprised to hear that I am not interested in West Tyrone. I am more interested in how the Minister plans to prioritise all the capital projects in his portfolio.”
“I am happy to take the Member's view on board and ask the Assembly Commission to consider it for a response.”
“I thank the Member for the question. I am not aware of any specific time that the Commission has written to Members who have had children, but I am sure that Commission members are listening today, taking that on board and will follow up on it.”
“As you will have gathered from my previous response, Commission members previously considered all those points, and they see merit in what has been put forward today. All those things will be considered going forward.”
“However, it should be noted that the salary of a Member is not reduced as a result of them deciding to take parental leave.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission is also aware that there are likely to be issues related to a Member's work here in Parliament Buildings arising from periods of maternity or paternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave. There is very limited provision for Members' absences in Standing Orders as regards, for example, participating in debates or voting. Procedural matters would, in the first instance, be for the Committee on Procedures. Such issues are not within the responsibility of the Assembly Commission. For instance, any proposal to allow a replacement Member to be put in place to cover for a period of parental leave would require a change to the 1998 Act, which is outside the remit of the Assembly Commission. The Assembly Commission has no role in determining the salaries or pensions payable to Members.”
“Any such change to facilitate paid support for Members on parental leave could be made by the Assembly Commission through the publication of a revised determination. <BR /> <BR />The former Assembly Commission considered the matter in detail at its meeting on 9 February 2022 and agreed a set of principles for additional financial support. However, it was also agreed that a revised determination to provide the additional financial support should only be published once progress is made at the start of this Assembly mandate on a Bill to reform the functions of the independent financial review panel. The Assembly Commission therefore intends to return to the matter once progress on the Bill has been made. The Bill is on the agenda for this afternoon's Commission meeting.”