Daithí McKay
North Antrim · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Will the First Minister give us a more detailed update on the civic advisory panel? Would she also agree that, as we face what is, undoubtedly, a political and economic abyss, it is more important than ever that we hear from civic voices in society as well as political leadership?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I recognise much of the work that is ongoing. Given the recent reported and alleged race crime in the Minister's constituency involving several members of the police, will she give us an assurance that a proper and fully independent investigation will be carried out?”
“<BR /> <BR />In recent years, it has become harder and harder to secure your vote. In that context, it does not make sense that support to secure the vote is withdrawn from those on the ground when they need it more than ever. I am sure that most people picked up anecdotes when canvassing in the recent election.”
“We should move forward with confidence and take on more powers to ensure that we protect local services and workers. <BR /> <BR />Look at the list of offices to be impacted: Ballymena, Banbridge, Omagh, Derry, Newtownabbey and Newtownards. If all those were to close, it would leave a huge gap in rural constituencies.”
“I thank the proposers of the motion for bringing it to the House. I am moving the amendment on behalf of Sinn Féin. <BR /> <BR />I think that all 108 Members received a letter from NIPSA concerning the action that has been taken. The letter also highlights the lack of accountability regarding local politicians.”
“I did so along with other MLAs from all the parties locally, so we are unanimously opposed to the decision there. But, we are all 108 locally elected politicians who are powerless to do anything about this. That is why we should see these small — I have to say they are small — but significant functions being transferred to Belfast.”
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“DFP needs to take on a central coordinating role in guiding and monitoring implementation, and there should be a duty on all Departments and arm's-length bodies (ALBs) to provide the necessary data in that regard.”
“There should be a coordinated extension of the work hub or satellite office network involving collaboration by public bodies to improve the geographical spread of the facilities and to allow a greater number and range of public servants to work remotely. DFP should have a lead role in proactively identifying opportunities for exploiting technological solutions to enable mobile or agile working in a wider range of public sector job roles. <BR /> <BR />To maximise savings from reduced business-travel costs, Internet-based programmes or videoconferencing, which the Committee looked at in some detail, should be the preferred methods for civil servants participating in meetings that would otherwise involve significant travel.”
“The Committee’s cross-departmental survey highlighted the ad hoc and uncoordinated nature of the flexible location working arrangements pertaining across Departments. To address this and to ensure that we realise the full benefits, the Committee makes the following interrelated recommendations. The strategic direction and guiding principles must be set at the highest level in government, namely in the Programme for Government, with Departments and other public bodies provided with a menu of flexible working options from which they can tailor solutions to meet local business needs. <BR /> <BR />There should be an onus on all Departments to ensure that the work styles and tasks relating to each job role are assessed at the local level to determine the applicable flexible working practices.”
“To date, the Department’s focus has been on the Civil Service estate, for which it has lead responsibility, but that represents only a small proportion of the overall government property portfolio. <BR /> <BR />I will not labour the evidence point any further. Suffice it to say that the case for flexible working confirms the assertion from Professor Bain in his initial briefing that:”
“The Committee has discovered that only 20% of Civil Service office space meets workspace utilisation targets and that the traditional office is typically occupied only about 45% of the time. This points clearly to the possibility of significant savings being made with a more strategic approach to how public servants work. While figures of between £30 million to £50 million were suggested to the Committee from the reform of property management plan, the Department needs to provide clarity not only on what are the potential total savings but on how and when they will be achieved. There is also a need to establish the total potential savings from the wider public sector, including arm’s-length bodies, the health and education sectors and local government.”
“Similarly, flexible working enabled Hertfordshire County Council to move its 4,500 staff from 51 to five offices and achieve annual operational cost savings of £3·8 million and property disposals totalling £40 million in addition to reductions in travel and in environmental pollutants and increased staff satisfaction. Evidence from further afield presented a similar picture, showing how comparable federal agencies in the United States achieved substantial cost savings from closing offices as a result of teleworking. <BR /> <BR />On this key issue of office accommodation savings, I point out that we do not yet have firm figures from the Department for potential savings here in the North.”
“The Whitehall Department for Culture, Media and Sport achieved property savings estimated at £2·5 million per annum by all staff, including the permanent secretary, moving to open-plan offices, together with a consolidation of buildings and an increase of people working from home or at locations other than the traditional office. Similarly, the Department for Children, Schools and Families implemented a desk-sharing policy, which increased building capacity occupancy, resulting in a £10 million per annum saving in property costs. <BR /> <BR />Members also noted the office rationalisation achieved by Salford City Council, which, with a complement of only around 4,000 office-based staff, resulted in cumulative savings of £6·5 million per annum and savings of more than £5 million in capital receipts.”
“There were the case studies in the Recruitment and Employment Confederation report, highlighting that employees who, when given increased control over where, when and how they worked as well as the tasks that they performed, were more motivated, more engaged and had higher productivity as well as benefiting from a better work/life balance. The Bain review highlighted improved service delivery, increased public sector efficiency and effectiveness and reduced traffic congestion and carbon footprint. <BR /> <BR />Statistically, the evidence speaks for itself. For example, a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey in 2012 found that three quarters of employers reported a positive impact on talent retention, motivation and staff engagement. In financial terms, members noted the evidence on substantial savings potential.”
“These included reduced office accommodation costs; increased productivity; better work/life balance; improved staff morale and commitment; reduced staff turnover and absenteeism; promotion of gender equality in employment; and environmental benefits from reduced carbon footprint and congestion. <BR /> <BR />There was an abundance of literature and case studies demonstrating that such benefits can be realised, and that relates to both the private and the public sectors, including in comparator bodies such as local councils and Whitehall Departments in Britain. I will reference just a few.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clear evidence was found of potential benefits for the employer, the employee, the economy and the environment.”
“Some Committee members had much to say about that option, and I am sure that they will wish to highlight the necessary safeguards recommended in the report. Rather, this is about people working smarter, be that in hub offices in rural locations, mobile working, sharing office space or using the full potential of modern technology, such as Internet conferencing and bespoke software solutions. The underlying aim is to match the way of working with business needs and the needs of those doing the work. <BR /> <BR />The Committee’s evidence focused on five broad themes: the case for flexible working; existing flexible working practices in the local public sector; lessons from other jurisdictions; how we could implement flexible working successfully; and the relevance to other Executive policies and priorities.”
“Flexible working covers a wide range of options: for example, people working part-time, job-sharing, working from satellite offices, working in virtual teams using mobile devices and sharing offices. While the inquiry considered all aspects of flexible working, it focused on the further opportunities associated with the flexible place or location options. Drawing on international lessons and expert evidence, the inquiry makes key recommendations to the Department and the wider Executive on how flexible working could be implemented successfully and used strategically for maximum benefit and efficiency in our public sector. <BR /> <BR />I want to make it clear that this is not simply about homeworking.”
“However, it is clear from the international evidence that we are behind the curve in exploiting the benefits from a strategic and coordinated application of flexible working in the public sector. The prize is too great and the medium-term budgetary outlook too severe for us to flinch from meeting this challenge. <BR /> <BR />I shall refer to the case for a strategic approach to flexible working in a moment, but, first, let me explain what exactly we mean by the term "flexible working". As stated in the evidence, it is about:”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. At the outset, I point out that the Committee’s inquiry findings and recommendations are both timely and germane given the public expenditure pressures that we face. Essentially, this is about how our public sector can work smarter to achieve desired outcomes while using less resource and taking account of the needs of both the business and the employees. <BR /> <BR />I do not underestimate the challenge that full implementation of the inquiry recommendations will present to the Department and the wider Executive. Given the cross-cutting nature of the change measures required, I expect, and know, that resistance will emerge and that the silo mentality will come into play, including amongst senior managers. Organisational culture is also notoriously difficult to change.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Obviously, it will depend on the outcome of the talks between the employees and Gallaher's. Following on from that, €6 million was drawn down from the fund by Austria, for example, but we are dependent on the Westminster Government being positive about the application, should it be forthcoming. Will the Minister outline how positive the British Government have been about the fund? They have not drawn down any of that funding before. <BR /> <BR />What discussions have he and the Enterprise Minister had with other manufacturing companies in the wider area about the possible relocation of those jobs?”
“Will you postpone the closure of the Dalriada? Will you do the decent thing and meet the patients concerned, the MS Society and the people in Ballycastle about this devastating news that you and the trust have thrust upon us?”
“I find it utterly disappointing that you are standing four-square behind the trust in its long-running agenda to run down the Dalriada Hospital and run down referrals to it. Stop hiding behind the Northern Trust, and stop hiding behind the trusts and all their decisions that affect our community.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I find that answer utterly pathetic. MS patients, their families and the patients of the entire Dalriada Hospital are devastated at having been given only four weeks' notice to move out before the hospital closes. Providing many of those MS patients with the option of going into a care home is absolutely pathetic because it does not meet their needs. <BR /> <BR />The Minister and the trust have outlined that it is a temporary closure. The people in Ballycastle and north Antrim are not fools. This is not a temporary closure: it is the closure of the Dalriada Hospital. As far as all the patients are concerned, they are being tossed out into the street. <BR /> <BR />I went to a protest on Friday night outside the hospital, and it was powerful and very moving, Minister.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for that update. Under this scheme, what support will be available for young farmers?”
“Given that the Minister's party is leaning towards privatising public services and, as we heard on the radio this morning, cutting public sector jobs, what guarantees has he had from his party's Departments, such as the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, that money will be spent wisely and on front line services?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his speech. My concern is about the impact that the Budget will have on front line services in Departments. In this financial year, the Health Department got some £80 million that was protected, yet, in Ballycastle and in the Downe, beds are being closed, and in north Antrim a hospital is being closed. There has been no real attempt to deal with the fat that we all know exists in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. <BR /> <BR />I welcome that the Executive have agreed to give an extra £200 million to health, and that money needs to go to the front line.”
“In his correspondence and communication with the Treasury, how has he pushed the Treasury to change its policy direction? It is clear that the Tories are intent on further cutting our Budget and ensuring that the financial crisis that we face continues, as it looks set to do.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. The inescapables to which the Minister referred today and yesterday are no doubt partly a result of the fact that the cuts got deeper and deeper the closer you got to the end of this budgetary period.”
“Does he believe that the British Government are getting cold feet on that?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the Minister's statement. I certainly welcome the allocations in it, particularly to front line services: £60 million to Health is £60 million well needed. <BR /> <BR />I am concerned, though, about the number of inescapable pressures coming from Departments. Those from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health alone take up some £89 million of the money allocated in the October monitoring round. I would like to know how the Minister will deal with the bad habit that some Departments have picked up, coming back again and again for significant amounts of money. <BR /> <BR />The Minister also mentioned corporation tax, and I am sure that he will have picked up some comments from the British Secretary of State about that issue.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Minister, the Gallaher workers are some of the most highly skilled manufacturing workers that we have. I have been speaking to some other major manufacturing firms in recent days. Moving forward, they would obviously have an interest in finding employment solutions for some of those employees. What engagement have you had with those firms and the manufacturing industry to find resolutions to the problems that these workers and their families face?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the work that the Minister is doing in this area, as someone who knows well the link between tourism and the arts in my constituency. What does the Minister see as the future role for the arts in the North? How can we make them more inclusive and open to people from all backgrounds?”
“The Member should provide some evidence on that if he has it. I suspect that he does not, although I thank him for the extra minute. <BR /> <BR />The final thing that I want to refer to is corporation tax. That has been a priority for the Executive in recent years, and now we have mixed messages coming from the party opposite on whether it wants corporation tax or not. Yesterday, Sammy Wilson said that it would be madness to take on any more fiscal powers, and then we turn on the radio this morning to hear Arlene Foster say that we are working hard to get corporation tax transferred to the Executive. Which one is it? You cannot have the party to my right coming out with mixed messages when we are on the cusp of achieving the devolution of a significant power that will significantly help our economy.”
“That huge pressure has not been referred to, but it needs to be taken account of as well. <BR /> <BR />Many proposals and projects that should have been put in place over the past four years would have led to economic growth and savings to offset some of the pressures that we have at the moment. The Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is the most obvious one. The agreement on the Maze/Long Kesh was reneged on. That would have led to a facility being put in place that local people could have used and tourists could have availed themselves of, but it was flushed down the toilet for political purposes.”
“There was an agreement between the Department of Finance and the Department of Health and, of course, there has not been much agreement between those two Departments or two Ministers in recent weeks. However, the fact is that there was agreement that the Department of Health would be given some flexibility over this Budget period, but it would not make any bids in the various monitoring rounds. Since then, the Department of Health has made 41 bids for money year in year, and over £140 million has been given to the Department of Health, even though that was not part of the original budgetary plan.”
“Therefore, the challenge that we as an Assembly and as an Executive should put to the British Government is this: how can they bring forward the proposal to take money from our Budget when they are not doing it themselves? If we went with a united voice, and if we showed the same resolve that we have seen from the Scottish Administration, perhaps we would get more. Given the pressure that other Administrations have put on Westminster, it is quite clear that they have moved when they have been put under pressure, rather than simply nod the head to the Treasury every time they make a move. <BR /> <BR />Reference has also been made to the health budget and how it has been managed, or mismanaged, in the past. Of course, the elephant in the room is the mismanagement of the health system at present.”
“That is the process; that is the system that is being put in place in Britain. Of course, Britain is trying to put an IT system in place that simply does not work. Therefore, it does not make sense for us to tie in to a system in Britain that is being highly criticised by many parties across the water. <BR /> <BR />We can all agree that benefits and welfare need to be simplified and improved. However, what has been undertaken in Britain is not working and is not workable. Therefore, it would not make sense for us to bolt ourselves on to a universal credit system that looks destined to fail in the not too distant future. <BR /> <BR />Of course, the British Government are threatening to take money from our Budget, and they are threatening to take money for us not implementing their proposals, which they cannot implement themselves.”
“<BR /> <BR />We now see the outworking of the Tory policies in Government through welfare and cutting our Budget right down to the bone. There is much discussion about welfare. The other parties refer to welfare reform, but they never refer to the consequences of the welfare proposals coming from Westminster. They do not talk about the effect that it has had and will have on the disabled, working families, and on those who are struggling to get by. I would like to hear the other parties in the House refer to that, rather than the £87 million and welfare reform. <BR /> <BR />We have already seen the devastating impact that this has had on ordinary people in Britain. Food banks are on the rise, and benefits for people who really, really need them are being held up for appeal, with people who are entitled to them dying.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. On behalf of my party I oppose the motion, quite simply because it does not make any sense. The proposers are asking for a new Programme for Government and a new Budget for a four-year period at the end of the four-year period. I agree with the Member who spoke previously: it is a bit of a stunt. <BR /> <BR />However, I welcome the fact that the Ulster Unionist Party is highlighting some of the financial crises that we find ourselves in. That is laced with irony. I am sure that other Members will recall that, back in 2010, the Ulster Unionist Party backed the Tory Party in its election to Westminster, and it is the Tory Party that has introduced the cuts that the UUP is now complaining about. You cannot have it both ways.”
“<BR /> <BR />Of course, economic report after economic report — I think that there have been about 15 in recent years — shows that the North lacks fiscal levers and that it suffers because of that. Any figures for economic output and growth show that we continue to suffer, whilst the South, even with its difficulties, continues to have greater levels of growth. That is because we do not have the fiscal levers, and our fiscal policies are set at Westminster by the British Government in the interests of the island of Britain. We need to wise up to the fact that we need fiscal levers here. We need those levers to ensure that the policies set here are in the interests of the people in the North and are set with the realisation that we live on a different island and therefore need different policies.”
“There was some scaremongering, but, across the world, Scotland has been held up as a shining example of how to hold a mature debate about future governance. We should have a poll in Ireland about whether Ireland is better together and, like I said, no scaremongering. <BR /> <BR />The public in Scotland and the public here do not want their politicians to continue to bend the knee to the Tories and the British Treasury. There is a tendency for politicians here to accept whatever the Treasury says as gospel. If the Treasury says that we owe a certain amount of money, we will not even question it. The Scottish Government did question it and did their own figures, whereas the Department of Finance here does not want to know. That is not acting in our best interests or in the best interests of the public.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. All has changed, and changed utterly. I do not think that anybody could not agree that these islands have changed as a result of the result in Scotland. <BR /> <BR />What happened in Scotland was a true exercise in democracy. We saw 16- and 17-year-olds voting for the first time, and there is absolutely no reason that that franchise cannot be extended to here as well. We also saw a turnout of 85%, which is absolutely extraordinary by modern-day standards. Of course, politics should not be left to just the politicians. In terms of our future on this island and where the North's best interests lie, we should have the same debate. It was a healthy exercise in Scotland.”