Jimmy Spratt
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Thank you for that advice, Mr Speaker. I do not intend to refer to the individual again. The point that I was trying to make is that it is true that there is no mechanism in the House to have the commissioner investigated. I would have asked for an investigation had I had an avenue to do so, but there was no avenue.”
“No, I will not give way, because you would not give way to me, so why should I give way to you? I have heard enough of your ramblings for this evening.”
“At the outset, I send my condolences to Douglas Bain. However, can I also say, as one who has been investigated — not once, but twice — on the same issue by the same Douglas Bain that I found him to be a pompous, arrogant, self-serving and patronising individual?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think that it is wrong for the Chair to say that. There was no suggestion that the Committee Clerk, who probably wrote the speech, was being criticised in any way. He is not being criticised. I never at any point during my remarks criticised the Committee Chair.”
“Thank you for that advice, Mr Speaker. The point that I was trying to make is that the Committee totally ignored that particular part of the legal advice. I thought that that was wrong, and that was why I and other colleagues consistently voted against.”
“I thank the Member for giving way and for his remarks at the start, but I will be back to haunt you for another month in September: I haven't gone away, you know.”
The complete record
Every one of 111 lines we hold for Jimmy Spratt, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 3.
“I thank the deputy First Minister for his statement to the House this morning. Will he give us more detail of the amendment to the North/South pension scheme? Does it mirror the changes made here recently to the pension schemes for public servants?”
“I thank the First Minister for his statement to the House this afternoon. If changes are being made to the number of Departments for 2016, why are we waiting until 2021 to change the number of MLAs?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers so far, his interest in south Belfast and his recent visit to Sandy Row. What is the Minister's assessment of the success to date of the enterprise hubs in all areas?”
“The Minister described the issue as a setback — a setback of £20 million to the public purse. Given the cosy relationship between Translink and officials in the Department, which is, I think, quite well established now, will the Minister ensure that heads will roll as a result? If he is not prepared to sack folks in his Department or Translink, will he consider his position?”
“I, too, wish David Strahan well in his new calling. Will the Minister ensure that, when a new chief executive is appointed, he will continue with the drive of change within the hierarchy of Translink that David Strahan started, and that that change will not be obstructed in any way by the present board?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Given the stringent cuts to the policing budget, will he ensure that further cuts are made to the budget for the Policing Board, which has already had a dramatic cut in staff, as well as those that he suggests making to the remuneration rates for the independent members, chair, vice-chair etc?”
“I referred earlier to the cost of signage. The Member has just referred to the visit to Edinburgh, and I think that Mr Dallat was there with the Committee. One issue was the high cost of establishing what is a very small area in the city of Edinburgh. I think that the cost of signage for that was in the region of £25 million or £30 million. Perhaps the Member will now tell us what discussions he has had with the Department about signage, because with legislation and enforcement comes the need for signage. I note that he referred to his Minister, but the signage would come from the DRD budget. What discussions have taken place, given the difficult position of a Minister who had to turn out the lights recently?”
“Frankly, any legislation without enforcement is useless. <BR /> <BR />I also wonder what conversations the Member has had with the Department for Regional Development on signage, because legislation requires proper signage. It is fair to say, during my tenure on the Committee for Regional Development, that the Department was very successful with a number of traffic calming measures in areas where they were necessary. Maybe the Member will shed some light on the conversations he has had on those issues.”
“I thank the honourable Member for giving way. My point is on enforcement and lawmaking. If it is legislation, it should have to be enforced. I am sure that the Member remembers the contribution that the PSNI made to the Committee at a very early stage. It has very serious reservations in relation to 20 mph speed limits and the enforcement of such limits given that it struggles, it is fair to say, to police 30 mph and 40 mph speed limits in most cases and in most areas. That is one of the complaints that most of us, as MLAs, get on a pretty regular basis. Given the police's reservations and that the policing budget has further reduced since that evidence was given to the Committee for Regional Development, I wonder what discussions the Member has had with the Police Service on enforcement.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement to the House this morning. Given that I benefited from a specialist drug some two and a half years ago from an oncology point of view, I certainly welcome the statement. The Minister is just after saying that the scrutiny committees would have experts in the field. Will he ensure that those experts will be the oncologists, the surgeons and the very dedicated teams that we have that deal with cancer and things such as MS? I welcome the fact that other drugs are included, as well as cancer drugs.”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. Will you continue to work with the industry to make sure that there is continued success in that area?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I ask her to instruct her officials to have urgent talks with officials of Balmoral golf club on the river that runs through its park. They are being treated in a most disgraceful way at present by both DRD and Northern Ireland Water. That will cause serious problems to the business, which employs some 80 people. The issue must be very sympathetically looked at by everyone concerned.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. We are all concerned about the thoughts of victims, including those who have already given evidence. Does the Minister agree that it is important that the Executive and the Department are not seen to interfere with a judge-led, independent inquiry?”
“I thank my friend for giving way. We are all sympathetic to calls for an interim report, but the extension, as you well put it, is a result of more and more victims coming forward and, indeed, the Kincora issues being thrown onto Judge Hart as well. All of us would have wished that to take place in another place. If the judge were now to do an interim report, he may be four to six months writing it and bringing it forward, something that would disadvantage people who have, if you like, psyched themselves up to come forward to give evidence for the final report. Does my friend agree?”
“I thank my friend for giving way. Is it not incredible that the Ulster Unionist Party is suggesting taking money away? In my South Belfast constituency, they propose to take from the Taughmonagh area almost £1 million that was intended for the extension of a day nursery and healthy living centre that is already up and running and from Sandy Row some £800,000 that was intended for the creation of an education and training centre that is operating very well. Does Mr Nesbitt's Member for South Belfast condone that? This is all just to save the blushes of their Minister, who has mismanaged his budget.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he confirm that the temporary fix work, as it was described, to alleviate the problem in Sicily Park has now been completed? Some folk there have been flooded out three or four times, as the Minister will know, and, certainly, they do not want it to happen again.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. You challenged Mr McGimpsey, the Member for South Belfast. In my view, he actually challenged your authority in the Chair. I ask you to take Mr McGimpsey's remarks to the Speaker to have them examined by him.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. The lack of treatment and services during the evening, and particularly at night, is one of the criticisms that we often hear. How can progress be made on making evening and night services as good as they are during daytime?”
“The Minister is aware that a very senior member of country park staff was convicted of serious child offences and placed on the sex offenders' register for five years. I do not know whether it is a still-working member or a former member. Will he ensure that all staff are properly vetted so that that situation can never arise again?”
“I thank the First Minister for that answer. Is he content with the new arrangements for welfare reform? Do they avoid the costs of computerisation that were assessed to be hundreds of millions of pounds each year on top of the annual penalties that DWP was insisting would be paid and that, according to the last estimate I heard, would have grown to some £350 million?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Will the allocation to the Ulster Orchestra in the January monitoring round be enough to save the orchestra in the long run?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. She mentioned the Cregagh area, particularly the Ravenhill Kingspan stadium. I promised the residents that I would do this, so let me say to her that they have had considerable cooperation from officials of her Department, and they appreciate that. However, can she give me an assurance that any final matters that need to be tied up will be tied up as soon as possible?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he outline what else is being done in the interim to improve the Housing Executive stock? Particularly in relation to multistorey blocks, what progress has been made on the cladding of the outside of those buildings, which has been previously suggested?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for his statement. Child protection and e-safety are serious issues for all of us. Will the deputy First Minister elaborate on what the Executive are doing in the area of child protection and e-safety?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. To what extent were the conclusions of the Smith commission discussed at the summit meeting?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Is there any likelihood that some of the budgets for this financial year could be reduced, given that they are normally paid out quarterly? Is there any likelihood that some of those budgets could have percentage reductions?”
“What progress has been made on severely disabled pensions, and will it seek to redefine "victim"?”
“I want to go back to the themes of justice and policing that the Minister has just mentioned. The police reduced its road traffic branch long before there were any cuts, and it is now merely a service that deals with motorway policing. Given the detrimental effect that that has on fatal road accidents, has he had any discussions with the police to fully re-establish that branch and make it effective to deal with road safety issues?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. In relation to strategic transport priorities and the east-west connections that you mentioned, have you had any continued discussions with the Scottish Government on the A75, given the effect that freight transport has travelling on the A75 from the ports of Larne and Belfast? That is something that was being looked at under European funding possibilities as well.”
“I thank Mr Ramsey for his answer and I congratulate the PSNI on the good job it does in protecting the Assembly. Will the Commission look at this issue very soon? The cost is over £500,000 per year and is really a double dunt on the public purse. The Justice Department already provides the money for the officers to the Chief Constable through the public purse, and here it is being charged again. Effectively, what is that money being used for in the Police Service? That is a very important question, because I do not think that the public purse should be hit twice with those charges.”
“Given the deputy First Minister's answer, would he agree with me that it is imperative that the whole issue of welfare reform is sorted out because, if it is not, it will affect the most vulnerable, the very people whom he spoke of, in the very near future?”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I know that Mr Flanagan is an extremely talented person on radio, but will you examine his comment earlier in the House in which he referred to a "load of crap" — those were his words — and check that in the Hansard report? Will you come back and tell the House whether that is strictly parliamentary language?”
“I think that the Minister mentioned the figure of 16,000: would that be 116,000, as opposed to 16,000?”
“However, well on you — you got it in again.”
“It is not what was promised, and it is wrong of the Deputy Chair and Mr Attwood to put unuttered words into mouths. I make that point on the basis that the junior Ministers and OFMDFM have been misrepresented. <BR /> <BR />I will not take up the Chair's usual rant about OFMDFM.”
“Given that there were 11,000 people in the voucher scheme and that the new scheme will be opened up to 116,000 self-employed people, I suspect that, if we were to be back in this place discussing the matter in a couple of years' time, we would find that many more had made themselves eligible for what is a very important scheme, particularly for young families. In most cases, both parents now have to go out to work and, in many cases, they find childcare arrangements very expensive. <BR /> <BR />Overall, the scheme should be welcomed. I welcome the fact that officials said that they will go back to the Department on specific matters and that the junior Ministers have said that they will examine areas in which people may be disadvantaged in the future. However, let us get this scoping exercise out of our heads.”
“That is very important because, over the past number of years and particularly with the way that the economy has been throughout the United Kingdom, many in the Province, who were perhaps previously employed in the construction industry, have had to become self-employed. I know that, from their point of view, the extension of the scheme is very welcome, and, given their importance, I consistently raised that point in the Committee. Let us face it: the voucher scheme will continue if employers who have had it in place want to retain it. <BR /> <BR />The Department has already committed to undertake an exercise to see how those who are disadvantaged can be supported in some way within future childcare strategy arrangements. All the Committee members welcome that.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Attwood declared his childcare arrangements. I have five grandchildren in four families and know very well the difficulties with childcare arrangements, so I declare an interest as well. I also know how grandparents try to help out, and we certainly try to do that as a family. Self-employment features in one of the four families, and it has been very difficult for self-employed people over the past number of years as they have not been able to get into the childcare scheme. Today was the first time that I heard that 116,000 self-employed people will now be eligible for the scheme. Given that they all have accountants or tax advisers who do their books at the end of the financial year, I assume that there will be a much greater take-up of what is now available through the HMRC scheme.”
“I welcome the consent motion in front of the House. At the very outset, there are a couple of things that need clarification. All of a sudden, the term "scoping exercise" has been used by Mr Attwood, Mr Lyttle and perhaps even the Chair. I have spoken to colleagues, and I do not think that I heard the phrase "scoping exercise" at any point. The junior Minister can clarify the exact words in his concluding remarks, but I think that he said that the Department would seek to estimate the number disadvantaged by the voucher scheme. That is certainly what officials consistently said to the Committee during its deliberations on the matter. It is an important matter, and I think that all Committee members were pretty much in agreement on many of the issues and on some of the issues raised by outside organisations.”
“I, too, congratulate the Minister on his appointment and thank him for his statement this morning. As he and others in the House are aware, I am journeying with cancer at the moment. On behalf of those who journey with me and, indeed, the excellent clinicians who deal with cancer services throughout Northern Ireland, I ask the Minister what cancer services he will be able to introduce this year.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement to the House. Is it not hypocritical of some parties to bring debates forward to the House that look for more funding for victims and then, in the very same week, have their Minister vote against £1·3 million allocated to victims?”
“That is the boy who was giving him a lecture a minute ago.”
“Let us stop playing politics with victims in the Assembly. It has happened far too often, and, unfortunately, the Ulster Unionist Party has been behind it many times.”
“Then, as we have done in the past, we can take it to the Department, the Ministers and the service to see how it can best be dealt with.”
“In due course, all of that needs to be looked at in the round as well. <BR /> <BR />It is wrong for us to use people injured throughout the Troubles for political purposes, given the very substantial amounts that have come not only from the Department but, as revealed in an answer to an Assembly question, Peace III funding, which allocated £36·7 million to projects that fall into priority 1.2 on acknowledging and dealing with the past. I am pleased that groups in Northern Ireland have been successful in bidding for those funds. There are other funding streams available through the Community Relations Council and the International Fund for Ireland. Indeed, there is also some council funding for groups. <BR /> <BR />It is imperative that all of us look at the issues that victims are raising The place to do that is at Committee.”
“There are a couple of things that we also need to look at. I have raised this consistently in Committee. There has been an increase in the number of people who come forward looking for support for injuries suffered in the past, maybe for chronic pain management and so on. Quite substantial amounts are being paid out, particularly to folks on high-level disability living allowance (DLA) who get some £1,000 a year and another £500 for carers. All of that is being dealt with. <BR /> <BR />The other issue is that the number of groups in the sector has dramatically increased — by one third. That increase has, in some cases, simply been due to various groups falling out and people going off to start another group. We often hear that, in small areas, many groups offer the same services to the same victims.”
“<BR /> <BR />In the past couple of weeks, we were upset to hear that some of the issues have possibly taken a step back. I would have thought that that was a better way for us to be unified and to deal with those issues in the Assembly. I am glad that Mr Lyttle picked up on funding for victims and survivors and that he recognised that, since 2002, when the Ulster Unionist junior Minister announced only £3 million, that money has increased to £10 million in the past number of years. Only yesterday, the junior Minister indicated at Question Time that the £1·3 million bid in October monitoring was very likely to be accepted. That would bring it up to £11·3 million, which is the same as last year.”
“I am pleased to be able to speak to the motion. It is unfortunate that the motion has been brought to the House today, given that the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister will meet the VSS and departmental officials tomorrow to discuss some of these matters. Mr Nesbitt, the proposer of the motion, was right when he said that, when the victims' forum came to the Committee, we were horrified at some of the things we were told by some of the victims and folks who were suffering real difficulties as a result of inaction by the Victims and Survivors Service. The Committee very quickly took the issue to OFMDFM, and, in fairness to OFMDFM and to Ministers, they investigated the matter very quickly. There were some 70 recommendations, and I understand that 47 have been completed.”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. The Province has already suffered 62 fatalities this year. Last year, he and I stood in the House during the winter programme having sent our condolences to the family of a man who was killed just outside Saintfield in County Down. Given that, will he try to ensure that staff continue to look at the weather reports and make sure that gritting takes place? On a few occasions last year, that did not happen.”
“Further to that point of order, I ask you to examine the comments made by the Member who has just spoken on the integrity of a Clerk of the Assembly in giving advice to the Speaker. That, in my view, is totally out of order. Will you examine that? It has been commented on before. Will you look at whether it is in order for the Member to make such comments?”