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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“Of those, 42 have been completed; six are on-site; 14 are at the technical design stage; 14 are at the early design stage; and 38 are either at the feasibility stage or on hold. The projected time frame to complete that list runs to decades, and that is before we add Causeway Academy. If Members are serious about providing solutions, as, I believe, they are, we need an Executive that will allocate capital funds on the basis of their priorities so that I can take forward the demands that Members rightly make on behalf of their constituents. We cannot do that if funding does not follow what people articulate in the Chamber.”
“I have engaged on the issue not just in my Department but with the Education Authority as the proposer of the new school and as the body responsible for taking forward the capital requirement of £20 million that was indicated for the day-1 costs associated with the single site. I will continue to engage on the issue. When the decision was taken, the decision maker at the time — it was not me — did not anticipate such a cost being associated with finding a single site for day 1. Other schools operate on split-site solutions, so it is not unusual to do so as we continue to work towards providing a single-site facility. <BR /> <BR />If we really want to address capital needs, we should not look just at those of the proposed new Causeway Academy. I have 114 projects in the major capital programme.”
“A plan is in place to provide further updates to current and prospective pupils, parents, staff, governors and the wider school community at key times. The EA will continue to work with the principal designate on the configuration of the sites for the opening of the new school on 1 September 2026. When that has been confirmed, the principal designate will issue the relevant communications via newsletter and social media. <BR /> <BR />I commend Mr Bradley for the work that he continues to do. He has expressed to me his concern and his understanding of the reasons for the withdrawal from the interim board of governors by governors from one of the schools. I want all the stakeholders to be able to engage on this, and we will continue to work towards that.”
“I thank the Member for the question. Mr Bradley has been a vociferous campaigner for the three schools concerned and clearly wants the single-site solution. He has made that clear to me on a number of occasions when he has made representations on behalf of his constituency. I know that he will continue to unapologetically advocate on behalf of the schools to get the single-site solution up and running. <BR /> <BR />We will continue to engage with the Education Authority on the communications approach. The EA proposed the development proposal for the new school, and it is taking forward that approach. A Causeway Academy newsletter has been issued to staff and parents that provides milestone updates on the new Causeway Academy.”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to make sure that the work continues — that is happening with the current arrangements of an interim board of governors and a principal designate — to provide the best possible opportunity for the school to operate on three sites. I share the ambition for a future single-site solution, but we are somewhat constrained by those significant financial challenges.”
“I understand the frustration but also the ambition for the school to be delivered in a new-build setting. As I outlined, when the development proposal was approved, it was not anticipated that there would be a £20 million capital requirement for a day-1 solution to provide a single-site facility. The Department faces considerable financial challenges with a significant number of major new capital builds and school enhancement programmes, as well as the special needs provision that has to be given first call on expenditure. I will continue to make the case to my Executive colleagues for funding for capital expenditure.”
“<BR /> <BR />The £20 million costs were not expected or anticipated when the development proposal was approved. My Department has never had such significant day-1 costs arising from a development proposal or committed to such significant day-1 works without the full rigors of a major capital works call for projects.”
“A communications plan is in place to provide updates to current and prospective pupils, parents, staff, governors and the wider school community at key times. <BR /> <BR />While there was support among stakeholders for a single-site solution for the new school, the cost of approximately £20 million that was presented to me was simply not affordable within my Department’s current capital budget envelope. The costs to support the outworking of an approved development proposal are usually modest, connected with rebranding, signage, toilets and modest additional accommodation. Whilst it is not ideal, newly amalgamated schools will, in the main, operate on a split-site basis until they secure a place to advance in planning under the major capital works programme, following a call for applications.”
“The Education Authority (EA), as the proposer of the development proposal to establish the new Causeway Academy, is proceeding with its implementation. The new Causeway Academy will open in September 2026 and will operate across the three existing sites. The EA is working with the school’s principal designate on the configuration of the three sites. The approach will be student-centred with the objective of minimising movement for students throughout their post-primary career. It will maximise the educational experience and achievement of all students, whilst allowing exam year groups to complete their education on their current sites. Students will also benefit from a familiar environment and understanding the established routines, relationships and support systems on their current site.”
“<BR /> <BR />I very much support the endeavours that have been made by my colleague in the area. They build on previous representations that a number of us have made. I think that all of us in the Lagan Valley constituency would support progress being made on the issue.”
“It is difficult to enforce that and police it because you need to be able to check the person's vehicle and the blue badge. Enforcement people have told me that, when they say to people, "Can you turn round the badge so that we can see the image on it?", they refuse to do so. That is a real challenge that we need to understand. Anecdotally, it appears that there is abuse. It is right that the blue badge scheme is there for people who are entitled to accessible car parking, but the integrity of that scheme needs to be protected. I have real concerns that it is being undermined. I would like to hear more about that from the Department for Infrastructure. The Minister may not be able to provide that information to me today — it is not specific to the Adjournment debate — but I would certainly appreciate a written response as a follow-up.”
“However, I question why enforcement takes place at certain hours of the day when there is no need for it because there is often ample parking opportunity. <BR /> <BR />I want to bring a connected issue to the Assembly this evening: the abuse of blue badges. An increasing number of complaints come to me in Lisburn, particularly from elderly people, who are rightly entitled to a blue badge for accessible parking on single yellow lines yet are not able to access it because so many other vehicles are also able to avail themselves of it. I question, first, how some people seem to be able to access a blue badge and, secondly, how robust the test is when it comes to mobility. I also believe that there are people who are placing the blue badge of a family member in their vehicle and then leaving it.”
“I look forward to positive announcements during the Adjournment debate. <BR /> <BR />One of the issues that has been raised in the past is the time at which enforcement comes into operation. Mr Butler referenced the one-hour-free aspect to encourage people. Enforcement practices also take place when there is ample car parking; the times at which it starts in the morning and concludes in the evening are not at peak periods. I think that we can all agree that, during those peak hours, when people come into Lisburn to go to coffee shops and retail centres, we want to have a flow of traffic. We do not want a scenario in which people park on street all day in close proximity to retail areas. That is not conducive to our local economy.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and thanks to my friend and colleague Robbie Butler for securing the Adjournment debate. I know that the Chair of the Infrastructure Committee will also make some comments in his role. <BR /> <BR />I will not elaborate on some of the points that Mr Butler has made. I agree with a lot of what he has said about the importance of our on-street car parking. The issue has been raised on countless occasions. He rightly highlighted the fact that there was a time when the current Minister actively campaigned for these things to be dealt with. She now holds an important role in our Executive and has an opportunity to do something about the very issues on which she campaigned as an MLA. That is the benefit of being able to move from the Back Benches into ministerial office.”
“That requires me to take action, which I will, in the medium to long term. I will outline some of the issues that need to be addressed, and it will be challenging. I suspect that very few Members in the Assembly will be supportive of those actions, but, given the financial reality that faces the Executive, difficult decisions need to be taken. My experience has been that many Ministers do not want to take those difficult decisions and immediately rule out revenue-raising in certain areas. They do not want to do those kinds of things, but we have public services that need to be funded. Those are the pressures that we, as an Executive, face.”
“There is an ongoing process on what we want to achieve. We are waiting on the position at Westminster. They are facing incredibly difficult financial challenges, and the Finance Minister has indicated that he does not anticipate funding being made available through that process. <BR /> <BR />The monitoring round will come in late November or, more likely, early December. There is opportunity there for Departments that need support to receive it, but, with the Executive looking at hundreds of millions of pounds of pressures on the block grant, I do not believe for one moment that we will receive that level of funding from the Treasury. Last year, an exceptional amount of funding became available. That funding masked the underlying situation faced in Education and other Departments. The pressures are now crystallising.”
“I know what effect it will have: it will have a negative effect. The consequences of what is happening are negative. I have repeated in response to other Members that it is not an acceptable position. That is why I am seeking the help and support of Executive colleagues. We all have collective responsibility. I take my ministerial responsibility seriously and can evidence and document where we have been able to make savings. However, the Education Authority is sitting with a very significant overcommitment, and the reductions in services will have a negative impact on those who depend on them.”
“<BR /> <BR />Initial planning for next year indicates that, according to the Education forecast, inescapable pressures — they are not nice-to-do things or luxuries; they are inescapable — come to £890 million. In that context, we simply cannot afford to have a 2025-26 overspend increase into the 2026-27 budget shortfall.”
“The overall pressures are equivalent to 8·7% of the opening budget that was granted to the Department of Education in this financial year, which is in the region of £280 million. Given the extent of the current forecast overspend in the overall education sector, there is a real risk of breaching that budget allocation. That in turn has a consequence for the Northern Ireland block grant. I referred earlier to the Department of Health's position. Without question, had the data breach issue crystallised in this financial year, the Department of Justice would also have breached its budget settlement, given that the Treasury indicated that it would not be able to access the reserves. That pressure will face the Executive in the next financial year.”
“<BR /> <BR />Operationally, the EA is responsible for determining the proposals, and its board has approved them. I agree with the Member's sentiment that they are not satisfactory, but that is a reflection of the financial position in which the Department and the EA find themselves.”
“The EA went through various proposals, some of which the board did not want to implement because of their implications for the education system, and, from the category of proposals approved by the board, provided a series of them to the Department to be taken forward. There were other, much more severe proposals. With the projected overcommitment of £280 million, the current proposals are estimated to achieve savings in the region of £20 million to £30 million, which is barely 10% of the overcommitment that sits with the Education Authority. Members rightly find the proposals unpalatable. How much more serious will the situation be if the EA ends up having to go through with other, much more severe proposals? That is why the proposals are controversial and why a collective response is required in the Executive to help meet the issues.”
“The changes mean that less support is available. That is deeply regrettable and, indeed, unacceptable. Schools will have to do more to try to provide the young people with support. The Member's question crystallises the serious pressures in the Education budget. That is why, when the Assembly collectively discusses expenditure levels, I say that education should be one of the top priorities. We need to put our education system first; we need to put our children first. The consequences of not doing that are now being felt by the very children whom we are here to support. That is deeply regrettable. Greater collective responsibility is required in the Executive and then in the Assembly when it comes to the prioritisation and allocation of funding.”
“There are other Ministers in the Executive who should have referred matters because they were significant and controversial. I will comply with the ministerial code and ensure that the Executive deal with education matters that are controversial.”
“I have outlined some of what we need to do, but, because of the EA overcommitment, the Department will not be able to balance its books without additional investment. To deliver a balanced budget, any shortfall in the reduction secured through the cuts identified by the EA would have to come from other areas. The implications and practicalities of that are far-reaching. Balancing the budget could be delivered only through an extensive programme of voluntary and, inevitably, compulsory redundancies, which would ultimately need to be implemented with close to immediate effect. That would likely require a quarter of the teaching workforce to be made redundant, and such decisions would clearly have devastating consequences for our education system. That is why those matters are controversial and ought to be referred to the Executive.”
“I hope that he will rise to the challenge and support me.”
“What will the education system look like if those cuts take place? Cuts would have severe implications for the number of teachers in our workforce. Sinn Féin would rightly be the first to say, "We do not accept that", and I would agree with them. Cuts would have implications for expenditure on things such as school transport, and Sinn Féin's MLAs would be the first to demand that constituents need to get to school and may need a taxi to do so. I am asking whether there is a more efficient way in which to provide transport. I could give you hundreds of examples of correspondence from Members of the Assembly in which they have asked for more money to be spent on the education system, not less. The challenge for the Finance Minister is to determine how he will support me as I seek to support the school principals and our education system.”
“I will not justify any wastage. My correspondence with the EA challenges it on the measures that it is taking and on its responsibility to ensure that it lives within its budget. That is documented. I regularly meet the EA, and I take my role very seriously. The overcommitment does not sit within my Department's core functions, nor does not sit within any arm's-length body other than the Education Authority, on the board of which we all have political representatives. It is a shared responsibility, and if Members listen to principals, as I do, they will hear them say that they need our support in order to be able to do more, and that is what we need to provide. <BR /> <BR />Join me in making every effort possible to stave off the hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts that will be made to our education system.”
“Longer-term strategic decisions will need to be taken on workforce planning and transport policy, and there will not be a lot of appetite for that in the wider public domain, but legislative change is required. My Department continues to scope out measures for the medium- to long-term plans, but the short-term pressures are chronic and will have severe implications for our education system.”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to see effective management within the EA when it comes to trying to address the financial pressures. That is why I brought a paper to the Executive, and that is why I seek the support of my Executive colleagues. I wish that they would all get behind doing what we can achieve collectively rather than engaging in some of the positioning that is happening in Sinn Féin's ranks. Its voters deserve better than that. The children whom it represents deserve better than that kind of political posturing, and its Ministers need to roll up their sleeves with me so that we can do all that we can to mitigate the pressures that we face as an Executive.”
“There was a series of reductions before devolution was restored. There were a number of savings, of which holiday hunger was one. Those reductions were made, before I was here, in order to help reduce the expenditure in the Department. I would love to be able to put more money into education to meet the needs of those people who deserve it, but the Executive are facing serious financial pressures collectively. One pressure is from the Department of Health and one will likely crystallise in the Department of Justice, next year, due to the data breach. That pressure will be to the tune of well over £100 million. If that is not met by the Treasury, it has to be met by the Executive collectively. As a result of some of those actions, pressure is placed on other Departments.”
“Therefore, I trust that all Ministers in the Executive will take that collective responsibility seriously and help to support me and, more importantly, our schools and children who need to have the support of the Executive and not just me as Education Minister.”
“Therefore, I struggle to express my disappointment at the failure of my Executive colleagues to recognise the crisis that is facing education. The Minister of Finance even questioned why I had brought the paper to the Executive, asserting that the Executive do not run my Department. I can reassure you, Mr Speaker, that I fully acknowledge my responsibility in running my Department, but I also recognise the collective responsibility that Ministers share to operate within the agreed Budget envelope. Given the prospect of an overspend at the Northern Ireland block grant level, it is vital that we work collectively to seek to minimise our collective overcommitment to the fullest extent possible.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The pressures that education has been under for a significant number of years are clear. That is something that I have raised repeatedly in my role as Minister of Education. I will continue to champion the needs of our schools and to fight the corner of our children in the face of difficult circumstances. That is why I tabled the draft Executive paper, on 14 October, that set out the critical position of my Department's finances and the actions that my Department would need to take in the absence of additional funding in order to significantly reduce the projected overcommitment in 2025-26. In that draft paper, I set out the savings that the EA was proposing and stressed that many would have an adverse impact on our most disadvantaged children and young people and on school communities more widely.”
“I would appreciate it if Sinn Féin could get its board members to apply a little bit more scrutiny when it comes to these proposals and to make sure that the measures are not falling on those who can least afford them.”
“Again, this is the hypocrisy when it comes to Sinn Féin. It has members on a board, as do the Alliance Party, the DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party, and it is saying that a paper was brought forward for simply "noting". Pontius Pilate-like, it washes its hands of responsibility and says, "It's not us. It's the senior management who brought this forward to the board". What is the point in your board members being on the board, if they are just there to rubber-stamp? I do not rubber-stamp any decisions in my Department. I go through it, line by line, to see where the expenditure is, how it can be justified and where we need to find savings. That is why we find them.”
“When it was brought forward to the board, did Sinn Féin representatives on the board vote against it?”
“If Sinn Féin believes what it says, rather than tricking the people out there whom it claims to represent, it should be there fighting for their financial needs and pressures. You control the Minister of Finance: tell him to open up the wallet and provide the financial support to the people whom you claim to speak for. Is it just, again, a continued pantomime that Sinn Féin operates in? It tells one thing to the public, but, privately, my Department is being starved of the funding that it needs, and it is Sinn Féin that controls the Minister of Finance.”
“The Member makes the point for me. The financial pressure on the EA is an overcommitment of £280 million. In the Assembly, a Member gets up and says that we need to provide greater levels of subsidy: where from? Where, financially, do you want to take money off other Departments and help to address the financial pressures in the EA board? That is a question to countless Members around the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Mr Baker wants to bring in a private Member's Bill on holiday hunger. That will cost £20 million. Where is he funding it from? I have every sympathy for him, but where is he funding it from? Has he spoken to John O'Dowd, the Finance Minister, to get the money?”
“The point is well made. Again, decisions on how food is sourced and so on are a matter for the EA in its operational responsibilities. There will be appropriate standards on the quality of food that needs to be presented. I absolutely readily admit that, for some families, some of whom have multiple children in a school, the increase in the cost of meals by 50p will create a level of financial hardship, particularly for those who do not qualify for free school meals. It is often those who nearly but not quite qualify — the working poor — who struggle most. I absolutely understand the challenges that that creates, but, again, I appreciate that the Education Authority and its board are grappling with significant financial pressures, and these are proposals that it has made.”
“It wants to see that level of cuts in the Department of Education and in our schools. It needs to be honest with the public, or it could join me in making the case for our schools to get the funding that they need. I will happily join Sinn Féin on that, but the points that it is making are not lost on many in the education sector. Sinn Féin demands cuts, but, as soon as a board takes forward those proposals, it is critical of those cuts.”
“The Member is right. Reductions in public services, which cause harm, are controversial and significant, so, yes, I brought a paper to the Executive. The Education Authority board having made the proposals, I asked the Executive, if they had objections, to raise those objections. Indeed, one of my proposals in the paper to the Executive was that additional funding would be granted to the Department of Education so that the cuts would not need to take place. I note that Sinn Féin did not support that. <BR /> <BR />These matters are controversial and significant, and, indeed, if the expectation is that the current projected overcommitment of hundreds of millions of pounds needs to be implemented, that is a quarter of all teaching staff. Is that what Sinn Féin is now seeking when it talks about fiscal responsibility?”
“The board approved them. It is an operational responsibility of the Education Authority board. If the Members want to produce a minute showing where the Sinn Féin representatives on the Education Authority board opposed the proposals that were brought by the senior management team, they can do that, and I will stand corrected if Sinn Féin opposed them at an Education Authority board level.”
“His members have looked at and supported those proposals. The board approved the proposals”
“The Member is wrong in his final point. In the original response, I highlighted the fact that in-year funding in 2023-24 was £480 million, which was beyond the opening baseline that the Department of Education received. In the last financial year, in-year funding was £614 million. That was additional to the opening budget settlement. In this financial year, I have found that there has been nowhere near that level of in-year funding being made available to the Department of Education. <BR /> <BR />The evidence of the underfunding is there, and I encourage the Member to listen to his school principals and the teaching trade unions. They make it clear that there is nowhere left from which they can cut. We need additional resources to be put into the Department of Education so that we can then assist the Education Authority.”
“The Education Authority indicated that it planned to put out a press release. Obviously, there is an operational responsibility for the EA when it comes to managing its budget. I assure the Committee Chairman that my Department has been engaging extensively with the EA and repeatedly making the case that it needs to deliver on the opening budget that it received. I know that the EA board, on which all the political parties sit, has deliberated on a range of measures that the senior management team brought to it at board level. The outworkings of that were proposals that the EA board then approved and wanted to put into the public domain. However, where there are lessons to be learned about how that is communicated, we should, of course, learn those lessons.”
“Those decisions of the Education Authority board have not been taken lightly and reflect the economic reality of operating within a strictly constrained budget whilst continuing to meet rising service demands associated with delivering statutory and policy obligations. <BR /> <BR />Since taking up this post in February last year, I have been and remain fully committed to advocating for additional resources for the education sector in Northern Ireland, which is chronically underfunded. I will continue to engage with parents, schools and Members to ensure that the most vulnerable children are supported and that, collectively, we all continue to press for a sustainable funding solution for the education sector.”
“The decisions made by the EA board make will, inevitably, have operational implications for schools. Adjustments to home-to-school transport and the suspension of new education other than at school (EOTAS) referrals may place additional pressures on school leaders and staff, particularly in supporting pupils with complex needs. However, I can provide an assurance that the Education Authority is committed to working closely with schools to manage any changes and ensure that pupil welfare remains a priority. For parents, I recognise that the increase in school meal prices and changes to discretionary charges, such as music tuition, are regrettable and may cause concern. However, I reassure Members that pupils who receive free school meals will not be impacted.”
“While the EA has been able to operate within budget in the past two financial years, it has been able to do so only because of significant additional in-year funding totalling £480 million in 2023-24 and £614 million in 2024-25. The Minister of Finance has strongly indicated that additional funding of that quantum will not be available in this financial year. <BR /> <BR />It is in that context that the Education Authority recently announced its savings plan in response to the unprecedented financial pressures facing the education sector this year. Currently, the EA faces an overcommitment of £280 million. As a result, the EA board has had to make difficult decisions to protect core statutory services, while implementing a number of measures aimed at reducing the EA's projected overspend.”
“First, I apologise to the House: I walked between the Minister of Justice and Mr Stewart while she was speaking to him. I did not realise until afterwards, but I know that that is not normal protocol. My apologies for that. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I ask for an extra minute to answer the question for urgent oral answer, after which I will set out the financial context that my Department faces. <BR /> <BR />Education has been and remains significantly underfunded. That has been independently evidenced not only by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in its last two comparisons of spend per pupil across the United Kingdom but, more recently, by the independent review of education's report 'Investing in a Better Future'.”
“Despite the best efforts of Mr Carroll's coalition of hate, we on this side of the House will not yield. The unionist people of Northern Ireland will not yield, and we will not be silenced by those who once brought terror to these shores to drive us from office. The true nature of their new Ireland is exposed. I oppose the motion and all those who have brought it.”