Paul Givan
Lagan Valley · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“The EA's enhanced support model has been out for consultation. The Member's party is the largest political grouping on the Education Authority, so his party supported the model's being consulted on.”
“Protections around strike action and action short of strike are firmly established in statute for all workers, including teachers. If the Member is referring to the Education Inspections Bill, let me be clear: nothing in that legislation removes or undermines that right.”
“The issue was covered at length at the Education Committee. The position is still not where it ought to be. When I came into office, the position that I inherited was much worse than it is today.”
“It is an area that I have had to navigate, as have many previous Education Ministers. Industrial relations is an area that needs ongoing work. I have outlined how we can address it, but I come back to saying that, when workload was undefined, trade unions struggled to specify the challenge.”
“That is not a fair characterisation. In fact, I was with Justin McCamphill, the leader of NASUWT, at the launch of the curriculum reform, at which he commended me for it and said that he thought that it was good. I have sat in many a meeting with trade union representatives during which they have said, "This is a good initiative.”
“That is exactly why there is a 16-week consultation period, rather than the normal 12 weeks or the minimum eight weeks; to allow the public and teaching profession to very much engage in that curriculum, which I commend to all Members.”
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“The decision has been taken. All parties on the Executive supported the legislation to defer the commencement of the 2022 Act, the costs from which do not come close to the financial implications of this Bill. Sorry, Mr Sheehan. I will give way.”
“Make no mistake that, by voting for the Bill, in the absence of additional funding for the Department of Education budget, Members are in essence voting to cut education spending. <BR /> <BR />We have been here before — I referenced it — with hospital parking charges. I was in the Assembly and voted for the Bill that Sinn Féin brought through the House just before the election. I put my hand up for it, but I wish that I had not. It was a mistake that I did. That is why we deferred commencing that legislation once and will do so a second time. The Health Minister rightly came forward and said, "Here are the cuts that will be made in my Department if we implement it".”
“<BR /> <BR />To be clear, if Members vote for the Bill, they are potentially removing £21 million from core education provision in this current year. To put that in context, that is over half the present Youth Service budget, and that £21 million will rise to almost £32 million by 2033-34, resulting in real and damaging cuts being made to priorities that will harm the education of our children. That is not a treat. Rather, it is a harm that will be caused. I do not understand how any Member could consider that to be a good outcome. I say directly to those Members who do that it would then be difficult for them to stand up in the Chamber and object to any cuts that would inevitably result.”
“Will you walk through the Yes Lobby to support an amendment that states that this is ring-fenced, and thus protected, funding before funding is allocated to any other Department? That could be the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs or the Department for Infrastructure. Will we be saying, as an Assembly, that this is the most important priority, after which we will allocate funding to the rest of the Departments? We did not get an answer when that question was posed. Members cannot simply keep passing legislation and then say, "It's up to the Department of Education to figure out how it's going to fund this". That is not credible. The public do not buy that. They expect our propositions to be realistic.”
“That is why I asked Members this question: will you put your hands up for an amendment that takes funding from other Departments to pay for the Bill's provisions?”
“Of course the Member raises that question. I do not want to get into a situation in which it is said to me, "The Assembly's researchers have all said that that is what it would cost, and you are now casting aspersions on their professional judgement". I am saying to you that that is what my officials have said, and I will not go through that. However, I will give you the basis on which we reached our conclusion on the costs associated with the Bill, and I will tell you how that process was informed. I will address that point, and I am happy to be questioned on the substance of that. Unless additional ring-fenced funding is provided to the Executive, the costs will have to be met entirely from my Department's existing budget.”
“Are people saying that the Executive should pass a Budget that would create a £1 billion deficit in Education? What would the devastation look like? It is not good enough for Sinn Féin to come in here and say that it is stepping up when the reality of its approach in the Executive is very different. <BR /> <BR />Against that backdrop, the Bill would impose a new and recurring statutory duty on my Department and the Education Authority to make holiday meal payments without there being any funding mechanism. The Bill would have an estimated cost of £20·8 million in this financial year. That is not a one-off cost; it is a recurring annual cost that would rise further. My officials have estimated that it would cost £31·5 million a year by 2033-34. Without additional ring-fenced funding —.”
“We cannot, on the one hand, come in here, grandstand, get the social media clip and roll it out with the line that Sinn Féin has stepped up when, in reality, it is starving my Department of funding in the Executive's budgetary allocation. <BR /> <BR />The level of cuts required is simply not achievable without doing profound damage to the education provision that children and young people rely on each day. We have already had to make very difficult decisions in my Department's draft five-year budget strategy, which includes even more unpalatable cuts in expenditure. The Sinn Féin Member for South Down says that the DUP is holding back a multi-year Budget, but she does not say that the multi-year Budget creates a deficit of over £1 billion in Education. Are people saying that we should vote for that?”
“I will begin with a fundamental issue: the cost of the Bill, which will place an additional burden on my Department's already deficient budget, and the consequential negative impact that such a burden would have on the education of our children. As I have said in the Chamber on many occasions, my Department faces an acute budget shortfall. The Finance Minister's draft three-year Budget would create a shortfall of around £600 million in 2026-27, and that increases to over £1 billion in 2028-29. The Sinn Féin Member for South Down said that Sinn Féin was "stepping up", but Sinn Féin is starving me of the funding that I need for Education.”
“If, as Mr Sheehan says, this is the single most important issue, why did Sinn Féin not make it a Programme for Government priority? I was not involved in a single discussion around the Executive table about holiday hunger being a Programme for Government requirement to which funding should be allocated. If the issue was to be addressed comprehensively and coherently across all Departments, that is how it would have been taken forward. That is why a private Member's Bill, as well intentioned as it is, is not the best way to address the issue. <BR /> <BR />Despite the Bill's worthy aspirations, there are many reasons to oppose its passage through the Assembly.”
“If it is the desire of the Executive to address the issue — Mr Burrows made this point — why is there not an Executive scheme being delivered by the Executive? If it was the desire of the Executive to address the issue, it would be a core aspect of the Programme for Government. You would then make provision for it in the Budget, and you would legislate for it in a way that reflects that it is a societal welfare measure and not one for the Department of Education. It was not one of the priorities contained in the Programme for Government. Special educational needs and childcare are priorities, as is addressing hospital waiting lists, and budget allocations are flowing as a result. The Programme for Government was agreed by the Executive, which is led by Sinn Féin's First Minister, with the DUP in it.”
“I have not mastered it, and it is something that he will need to work on. I therefore hope that he does not take what I will say in my substantive response as a personal criticism, because it is not. I understand the sincerity with which he has brought forward the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I suspect that all Members of the House agree that no child in Northern Ireland should go hungry during term time or the school holidays — not at any time of the year. However, we are debating not a motion but legislation, which requires detailed scrutiny. The Bill, as a one-off measure that is taken free from the knock-on implications, is not an answer to that challenge. A private Member's Bill is not how such an issue should be addressed.”
“He has engaged; he has consulted; he has researched. As he goes through the process — I have no doubt that the Bill will move to the next stage — he will have a huge amount of work to do. It is not an easy thing for any MLA to do. <BR /> <BR />I disagree on the substance as to, "Is this the most effective way to do it?", and I will go through that. As Minister, I know that, when you try to bring forward legislation, people will be critical of it. At times, I maybe take that criticism too personally. Mr Baker will feel the same when his Bill is being criticised. You sometimes get into the habit of being defensive about what you are doing. It feels as though it is a personal attack, and you respond in kind. There is a skill set that he will develop. I am still trying to develop it some 16 years later.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Second Stage debate on the Bill and perhaps introduce some reality and context. While Mr Baker and I have not seen eye to eye on every issue in the Chamber, I do not for one moment question his sincerity in introducing this private Member's Bill. I have been a Member of the Assembly for 16 years. I have watched many come and go. The overwhelming majority never introduce a private Member's Bill, seek to change the law or even bring forward an amendment to legislation. They often just table and speak to non-binding motions, knowing that there is no reality to them. Mr Baker is not one of them, because he has brought a private Member's Bill. That is not an easy thing to do, given the work that is involved in taking forward a Bill.”
“As I have said before, that will save money, because we are wasting millions of pounds on a failed structure that does not support controlled schools. I appreciate that he will put out a statement, as will others in his party, that TransformED is a waste of money. Tell that to the teachers and principals from every sector, including the Irish-medium sector, which he will speak to in addressing his Member's Bill tomorrow. Principals from every sector, including the Catholic-maintained, controlled and integrated sectors, have invested a huge amount of time and effort to develop curriculum assessment and are supportive of it. The Member, in sweeping it away because he wants to make a point about me, is sweeping away those who have engaged from across the sector, some of whom may even vote for his party.”
“This is, as the Member has said, the most important thing that we can do. In the same way that childcare funding is a separate ring-fenced pot that does not sit in my Department, will he support an amendment that says that the Executive will, before they allocate any funding to any Department, set aside sufficient funding to implement the Bill that his party colleague has introduced?”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. One of his colleagues did not give way, and, in this debate, it is important that we do that. I will do so when I am responding. The Member has posed a question about putting our money where our mouth is. I do not think that you can compare capital expenditure of £200,000 on a scheme that, for various reasons, is helping children in schools with one that would cost a recurring — I will give the figures — £30 million a year. That is not credible. If he is serious about our putting our money where our mouth is, would he support the tabling of an amendment to reduce the budget of every Department by the equivalent of £20 million or £30 million a year? Would he support an amendment saying that that was dedicated, ring-fenced funding that sits outside every Department?”
“If we were to apply that same logic, Members would not support the Bill, not because it does not have noble intent — I will speak to that and commend the Member who has introduced it because of the sincerity on which it is based — but because of the realpolitik of the financial position that we face and the approach that we are taking on another Bill. If Members vote for this Bill, why would they support the Health Minister in deferring charges that were brought in through a private Member's Bill? There is an inconsistency in that approach.”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. He makes an important point, which is that the Assembly voted on and passed legislation on hospital car parking introduced by a Member of the same party. The Minister from Mr Burrows's party has introduced a Bill not to implement that legislation, because doing so would require other aspects of the Department of Health to cut services. The view taken by the Executive, who have supported the Health Minister, was that it should be deferred again. This Bill involves substantially greater funding, and that would need to be taken from other educational services.”
“The Bill sponsor has indicated that it will cost £20 million. I will give him the evidence that his Bill, if it is passed by the Assembly, will cost £30 million per year by 2033. That will be Department of Education funding that is ring-fenced purely for that purpose. What areas will be cut in a Department that this year has a projected underinvestment of £600 million? Which educational services would those who support the Bill remove to provide funding for its provisions? That is part of the evidence base that we need to see so that Members can justify supporting the Bill.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Obviously, I will make remarks later, when I respond as the Minister. There is a lot of information that will help inform Members as they try to reach a position on the debate. The Member rightly raises the question about the evidence on how the Bill's provisions will work. One of the fundamental questions that Members must ask themselves is about the guarantee that the welfare payment will result in food being purchased, because there is no means of ensuring that that will be the case, unlike in school, where we can ensure that the funding is delivering its intended purpose. <BR /> <BR />The other issue that will be fundamentally important to Members, particularly those who will scrutinise the Bill in the Education Committee, is the services that will be cut to provide the funding.”
“It is time to fund transformation, it is time to keep our promises, and it is time to act. Only then will we have transformative, fully funded, long-term investment in dignity, inclusion and the potential of every child.”
“Those children are waiting, their families are waiting, the staff are waiting, and the system is waiting. I believe that we can make a change. Those families deserve no less.”
“The public see that for what it is. Today, I hope that Members can get behind efforts to provide better support to children and young people with SEN. <BR /> <BR />This situation should have been avoided. Though it was an operational decision by EA, on which every party is represented, there are lessons to be learned. It is also an example that shows that, when two Ministers step in, we can deal with these issues. On behalf of those community groups affected by the local growth fund, I ask: where are the Finance Minister and the Economy Minister? They are not here. There is no recall of the Assembly on that issue. They would not want that. <BR /> <BR />Make no mistake: I will continue to put forward the needs of our children with special educational disadvantage.”
“That was a necessary step. I have also delivered the preschool inclusion fund for children with SEN in early years, providing investment of almost £5·5 million to preschool settings since the scheme was launched in November 2024. I have seen how beneficial that funding has been. <BR /> <BR />In spite of the barriers to delivery, I have been doing all that I can to deliver for children with SEN since I have been in office, often without support from other Departments and having reforms opposed, not because they are wrong but for political advantage. <BR /> <BR />I fully accept that there is much more to do, but I cannot do that alone. I cannot do it without appropriate investment. Sinn Féin Members lambast any changes to service delivery, whilst a Sinn Féin Finance Minister starves Education of funding and proposes a reduced budget.”
“The programme represents the most structured, strategic plan for special school investment that Northern Ireland has ever seen, but it will remain hollow rhetoric unless it is urgently funded and delivered in full. It has sat, neither discussed nor agreed by Sinn Féin, since September last year. Where, I ask you, is the real commitment to transforming the lives, education and life chances of children with special needs? It is not optional and it is not a luxury: it is the minimum required to keep pace with need and to honour the commitments made to families in the Programme for Government. Sinn Féin Members opposite may want to speak to their party colleagues who are on the Executive. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that I wrote to schools in February, requiring their cooperation with EA in creating more special place provision.”
“The new model seeks to enhance support for children by giving schools the autonomy to determine what is needed to best meet the needs of their pupils, widening the support to a range of professionals and interventions, and recognising that, in accordance with evidence, one size does not fit all. It also addresses the unsustainability of the current model. <BR /> <BR />The pressures on special education placements have been well rehearsed in the Assembly, and they continue, year-on-year. I have delivered more than 2,700 new places in special schools and specialist provision. However, today, we would be well served by speaking honestly and clearly about the SEN capital programme.”
“Funding of £27·5 million over five years, which represents approximately only 5% of the budget required, was secured to deliver on priority actions that focused on early intervention: transformation of the support model for children with a statement of SEN; building a more inclusive education system; and investing in the professional development of the education workforce. <BR /> <BR />The central focus for SEN reform is the proposed enhanced support model for children with a statement of SEN. The EA published its consultation document, seeking views on that model, last Tuesday. However, there has already been unhelpful rhetoric that that is about the removal of one-to-one support for children. That is not what this is about, and that narrative creates fear amongst children and families.”
“All of that is underpinned by a comprehensive programme for training and continuous professional development for teachers and assistants so that we have a skilled and experienced workforce that is collaboratively working with health professionals and the creation of a more inclusive education system. <BR /> <BR />When I set out my ambitions for SEN reform to the Assembly in January last year, I was clear that it could only be delivered with significant and sustained additional funding and sought the support of the Executive to lever in the required investment. That support has not been forthcoming. I have therefore been constrained in my ability to fully deliver on that ambition. My Department managed to secure a portion of the investment required to kick-start delivery of SEN reform through the public-sector transformation board.”
“<BR /> <BR />The five-year delivery plan contains more than 100 actions aimed at improving support across the whole continuum of need: supporting children at stage 1 of the SEN code of practice through providing early intervention; resourcing schools, thereby reducing the reliance on external support; enhancing stage 2 support via the EA's local impact teams; extending the role of the Middleton Centre for Autism; and transforming support at stage 3 for children with a statement of SEN.”
“I trust that the issue of the summer schemes has been resolved, but greater challenges lie ahead, for which I will need the support of the House and Executive colleagues. As Members will be aware, I published a wide-ranging SEN reform agenda and action plan last February. That programme seeks to transform how we support children with SEN in our education system from the early years through to when the young people leave school.”
“On behalf of all involved, I apologise to those parents and pupils. However, I am pleased that we have been able to find a way forward and that the schools that had been intending to operate a summer scheme can do so. That was the outcome that we wanted for families. However, the safety and well-being of children and young people was, rightly, the concern of the EA, as it should be for all of us. Thankfully, the right outcome has been secured. <BR /> <BR />There needs to be a change of attitude across the Executive. We need to change from an attitude of Departments offering the minimum to one where they stretch themselves to provide the best possible provision for those children and their families. <BR /> <BR />I turn now to the wider support for children with SEN.”
“It is an entirely separate issue, but I have communicated with the EA on the continuing nature of the spend until the end of June. That reflects the fact that there has not been an agreed Executive Budget, which means that we are unable to commit to the next financial year in its totality. <BR /> <BR />The position of my Department and the EA remained the same throughout: summer schemes would run if healthcare needs were suitably addressed. That is why the decision announced by the EA last Thursday was taken only as a last resort and when all efforts to run the schemes safely appeared to have been exhausted. I acknowledge that the EA announcement on 26 March was disruptive and that it was difficult for parents and special school pupils. I regret the distress that it caused.”
“Throughout the process — I had engaged on the issue for a number of months — the EA had outlined the health and safety aspects and associated nursing requirements. At the start of last week, I engaged with the EA on the issue, and my permanent secretary engaged with the Department of Health permanent secretary throughout last week on getting information on the consequences of nursing provision not being available. I was aware of that and was actively engaged in seeking a resolution.”
“— the EA, the Department of Health and trusts. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I heard Mr O'Toole and Mr Donnelly asking me to give way.”
“<BR /> <BR />While the EA will aim to provide delivery that is as close as possible to the delivery that was offered last year, considerable work is now required across multiple partners, including schools —”
“— but I pay tribute to the Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, for arresting this situation. It ensures that essential clinical oversight will be in place, and it offers a solution in relation to the health risks. <BR /> <BR />Following that confirmation, on 27 March, the EA's chief transformation officer updated special schools on the joint working between Education and Health, highlighting the fact that appropriate nursing provision would be in place for pupils who require healthcare support during special school summer schemes in 2026. The letter also highlighted the point that the EA will continue to work with special school principals to urgently prioritise planning for the summer schemes.”
“I welcome Minister Nesbitt's intervention on the matter. It should not, however, have taken the intervention of Minister Nesbitt to direct his officials for the correct outcome to be delivered after months of engagements with Health officials —”
“I only wish that the confirmation of additional nursing cover had been received earlier, as the decision not to run summer schemes could then have been avoided. <BR /> <BR />Following the EA announcement on 26 March, I intervened to renew efforts to seek additional nursing support. I engaged directly with the Minister of Health on the issue, and I asked the EA to engage further with the Department of Health to explore every possible option to enable as many schemes as possible to proceed. The EA confirmed that it was prepared to deliver summer schemes this year, provided that the Department of Health could supply the necessary clinical and nursing support. After intense and constructive engagement, last Friday, the Minister of Health confirmed that nursing support would be provided at every summer scheme location.”
“I would remind those who came here today to criticise the EA, which is seeking to do a difficult job in trying circumstances, that every party on the Executive is represented on the EA board. Indeed, it is obvious to anyone who can count that the largest party represented on the EA board is Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin Member Mrs Mason said that they are not political reps but appointees. They are appointees who are nominated by Sinn Féin. That is the virtue by which they are appointed to the EA board. <BR /> <BR />Regarding timing, the EA wanted, quite rightly, to give the Department of Health as long as possible to consider the request, and come forward with the required support. The deadline to do so was repeatedly extended.”
“As Minister, I was not prepared to second-guess that analysis, and I suggest that no other Member would have been. <BR /> <BR />On 24 March, my Department received a letter from the permanent secretary in the Department of Health advising definitively that there was insufficient nursing resource to provide on-site nursing for the duration of the schemes this summer. As a result, the EA, reluctantly and belatedly, concluded that it would not be possible to run summer schemes safely in special schools this year. That decision was based on the risks that I have outlined and not on funding. The decision was very much a last resort. <BR /> <BR />Decisions on running summer schemes are of an operational nature and are, therefore, made by the EA.”
“I will come to that point because there was engagement with Health but an intervention was made by the Health Minister that was critical to making sure that provision would be made available. I will provide more information about that in due course. <BR /> <BR />To address those issues and allow summer schemes to continue, senior leaders in the EA engaged intensively with Health officials, including the Chief Nursing Officer, to secure adequate healthcare provision. I understand that significant work was undertaken by the Department of Health to provide proposals for solutions based on training and support. However, the EA did not view that as mitigating the risks sufficiently. The EA deemed that on-site nurses would be required for summer schemes to operate safely.”
“However, the EA advised that it was no longer safe to do so.”
“<BR /> <BR />In light of those challenges, the EA had to give careful consideration to the viability of delivering a safe programme of summer activities for 2026. Parents need to know that their children are safe. The EA, which has operational responsibility for special summer schools, had made clear that the level of risk associated with running the schemes, primarily relating to the safety and safeguarding of pupils, was no longer manageable. Are any of us here really going to ask the Education Authority to take a chance with some of our most vulnerable children? Is that what Members are asking it to do? There were also risks to staff and the EA in ensuring safe working practices. Special schools have shown considerable commitment to running schemes in recent years outside term time.”
“Work is under way to develop a new model of care for children with complex medical needs in special schools, involving officials from my Department, the Department of Health, the Public Health Agency and the Education Authority. There is a real urgency to address those needs for the safety of children in education. <BR /> <BR />Through that engagement, however, I am aware that the challenge of addressing healthcare needs is particularly acute during summer schemes. The summer provision is not always delivered by the teachers and classroom assistants who know the children best, a point that some Members had not fully grasped when they said that the same teachers and classroom assistants that deliver term-time provision deliver summer scheme provision. That is not the case. Some do, but many do not, and Members ought to be aware of that.”
“I am aware of the difficulties that special schools face in adequately addressing those needs, and I welcomed constructive engagement on the matter with the Minister of Health and school principals as recently as February.”
“I am not giving way to any Sinn Féin Members after your behaviour today. <BR /> <BR />The contribution from principals, teachers, SENCOs and classroom assistants is nothing short of extraordinary. I never fail to be impressed by the wonderful job that they do, week in, week out, in going above and beyond the statutory and contractual role that they have and delivering summer provision in recognition of the challenges that parents face. However, that job is getting increasingly difficult. The special school landscape has seen many changes in recent years, including a significant rise in pupil numbers and an increasing complexity of need. Many of the children who attend a special school have complex medical needs that require specialist knowledge and interventions.”
“I have visited many special schools, including, only last week, Willowbridge in Enniskillen. The contribution —”
“<BR /> <BR />My colleague and good friend Cheryl Brownlee spoke passionately about how much this means to her as a parent of a child who will benefit from this particular scheme. Her words, and the words of those parents and families, should prevail on this issue. In 2025, 33 of 40 special schools offered summer schemes. The majority of pupils attending special schools attend those schemes. The summer is a long time for families whose children cannot access mainstream services. Summer schemes provide many benefits for children, allowing for much-needed social interaction with other children, continuity of learning and a sense of routine. They also provide much-needed respite for families and have been described by many as a lifeline, and that is what they are.”
“<BR /> <BR />Let me say from the outset that supporting children with special educational needs is an Executive priority, as stated in the Programme for Government. As such, it requires the input and support of the whole Executive. All Departments need to be more willing to see it as such and bring their resources to the table for areas in which they have a policy remit and a practical contribution to make. <BR /> <BR />There is a tendency to see this as a Department of Education issue alone and a reluctance to commit more than warm words. The summer scheme situation is an example of that. The Education Authority quite simply cannot provide those schemes safely on its own; it needs the support and investment of others. I cannot stress enough how important summer schemes are for children at special schools and their families.”