Chris Lyttle
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“The Department for Communities, councils, the Department for the Economy, further education stakeholders, the Department of Health and the Department of Finance all responded with their perspectives on and experiences of the provision of free period products and with ways in which the Bill's provisions could be coordinated and funded.”
“That is an important start in support of the implementation of the provisions of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Education Committee undertook Committee Stage scrutiny of this cross-cutting Bill — I am proud that we did — on behalf of other relevant subject Committees.”
“and fighting our corners in media studios. Perhaps the hosts of some of those programmes see fit to encourage that type of approach, but I am thankful for the level of cooperation between parties on the key issues and hope that that will be the legacy for the next Assembly.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to move the Final Stage of the Fair Employment (School Teachers) Bill. It will remove the anachronistic exception of teachers from the Fair Employment and Treatment Order (FETO) and ensure that it is no longer possible for any teacher to be discriminated against because of their religio…”
“This opportunity has been made possible by a collective effort from many people, and I put on record my thanks to research officer Connie Egan and constituency officer Nick Mathison for the work that they contributed to the Bill's progress.”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank my Assembly colleagues without whom the Bill would not have progressed to this stage and would not pass. I thank Sinead for the role that she played as Chairperson of the Executive Office Committee and for the time that she made available to me outside of Bill stages and Committee meetings, which, as I said, made the…”
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“I understand that £64.7 million of that funding has now been received and that the remaining £16.5 million relates to confidence-and-supply funding, which is anticipated to be funded at the June monitoring. Despite the Minister's decision to overcommit on his opening budget, pressures of approximately £146 million, excluding COVID-19 pressures, have been assessed as remaining across the education sector in 2021-22: £146 million. The Education Department has increasingly relied on in-year allocations secured via in-year monitoring rounds and will again engage closely with the Department of Finance throughout the year to continue to assess those pressures and to bid for additional funding as required. <BR /> <BR />In line with previous years, the Department is relying on further in-year allocations to fund children's education.”
“The timings to which the Assembly is being asked to work represent a budgetary process that is inadequate for proper transparency and scrutiny in any circumstances, but particularly so when the education and well-being of our young people has been placed under exceptional strain. <BR /> <BR />A draft Budget and final Budget had issued by the time that the Education Committee was briefed by the Department of Education this year. Those budgets were, however, subject to pending authorisations and approvals of a myriad of additional funding lines. The Finance Department had not yet issued guidance and a timetable to govern the in-year monitoring process. In those circumstances, the Education Minister overcommitted on the opening Education budget by £81.2 million.”
“This is one of the rare occasions that I have quite a lengthy speech, unfortunately, but I will do my best. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the opportunity to speak at the Second Stage of the Budget (No. 2) Bill as Chairperson of the Committee for Education. I take the opportunity to continue to pay tribute to the teaching and non-teaching staff and students across Northern Ireland for the innovative and courageous way in which they are responding to the COVID pandemic and to ask that the Executive ensure that they are supported by this and future Budget Bills. <BR /> <BR />The COVID pandemic, the financial crisis in public services and the unreformed Budget process have made the monitoring of in-year allocations in 2020-21 extremely challenging.”
“The Education Minister referred to the public consultation that I am conducting on a proposal for a private Member's Bill to remove the exception of teachers from the Fair Employment and Treatment Order. Will the Education Minister support the legislation in principle?”
“I welcome that answer. In any visit or meeting, we can highlight the excellent work that goes on to support boys and girls and inclusive disability football programmes, as well as highlighting plans for contributing to community regeneration. I think that the Minister will be really excited by the plans that are in place at Glentoran Football Club, and I will be delighted if she joins me to meet the club.”
“As the panel says, there is a need to address the "systemic inequality" that is academic selection, yet the Minister continues to have his head in the sand on that issue as well. What responsibility does the Education Minister take for failing disadvantaged children by failing to take any of the key, well-known actions that have been set out in the report yet again during his time in office?”
“I thank the panel for its work and the detailed action plan that it has composed. However, many of the key actions have been well known for over a decade, such as redirecting focus and investment in early education, including full-time preschool for all and having an early education and childcare strategy. Yet, the Minister has stopped the funding formula review. It took special school parents to prevent a reduction of special school nursery hours from full time, and, indeed, we are still waiting for the childcare strategy. The Minister mentioned a whole-school community approach to education, yet EastSide Learning has been campaigning for mainstream funding since 2014.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I respectfully ask whether it is in order that the Education Minister issued the report that we are about to discuss to select members of the media in advance of issuing it to any MLAs, particularly the Education Committee. Given that it is such a detailed report, our desire to engage with the upcoming ministerial statement in an informed way has been taken from us.”
“Having spent New Year's Eve volunteering with the Red Cross and delivering sandbags to the people of Sydenham, I am acutely aware of the extent of the problem in the area. I add my voice to the request for the programme to be expedited as quickly as possible. When the scheme is completed, how positive will it be for the area?”
“Absolutely. It is extremely rare that a child will be in that level of distress without it being an expression of communication. We have to equip all our professionals who work in those situations with the skills to respond to that. <BR /> <BR />I am almost out of time. The substance of today's Education Committee motion presents the Assembly and the Education Minister with an opportunity to be grasped to ensure that we protect all children from inappropriate restraint and seclusion. I sincerely look forward to other MLAs' contributions and the Education Minister's response and to ensuring that we progress the statutory guidance and legislation that is needed to move us forward on the matter.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. The recommendations in the motion go to the heart of ensuring that teachers are equipped to respond to that situation and ensure that there is no harm to the child or to anyone in the vicinity of the child.”
“That is a challenge that is exacerbated by the huge pressure on special educational needs (SEN) provision in Northern Ireland, and it is a challenge to which the Department of Education must respond. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has argued strongly for guidance to be produced in partnership with parents and relevant stakeholders and is encouraged by the Department of Education's inclusion of parent advocates and carers in its review process, as well as by recent updates that we have received on the progress of the established working group.”
“It is important to be clear that we do not underestimate the difficulty of some situations for teachers, non-teaching staff and parents. We need teachers to have clear support from the Department of Education and to be equipped with all available skills and understanding of techniques to ensure that they respond in the best interests of the child.”
“The Committee noted with concern that the current guidance is over 20 years old and has not been updated to reflect children's rights protections and best practices adopted in other jurisdictions. The Committee remains concerned at gaps in the interim guidance, particularly that it does not adequately address the use of seclusion or particular types of restraint. <BR /> <BR />The Committee believes that new guidance should be focused on best-practice approaches on the needs of the pupil and that their rights should be enshrined in the UNCRC to give equal access to education for all children, including those with disabilities. Social and communication conditions can present in different ways, and they can be misunderstood as misbehaviour.”
“<BR /> <BR />In 2019, the British Association of Social Workers Northern Ireland released a policy statement expressing concern at the lack of standardised guidance from the Department of Education on restraint and seclusion. That statement coincided with a number of high-profile reports that revealed inappropriate restraint and seclusion and unmonitored practices in schools across the UK. As a result of those reports and sustained campaigning from charities and parent groups, the UK Government introduced a new framework in 2019 that was aimed at reducing reliance on restraint and seclusion in educational settings. The Education Committee has taken harrowing evidence and testimony from parents of children who have experienced the use of inappropriate restraint and seclusion. We must make sure that no other children suffer as they did.”
“It is based on work with the British Association of Social Workers Northern Ireland (BASW NI), all political parties and a wide range of people and organisations, such as the Children's Commissioner, the International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion (ICARS), Positive and Active Behaviour Support Scotland (PABSS) and Parent Action, to name but a few. The recommendations in the motion are clear: a requirement for the Department of Education to provide statutory guidance on restraint that is based on therapeutic, non-aversive, positive behaviour approaches, with restraint as a last resort; definitions of restraint that are based on the UNCRC; funded mandatory training for all staff working with children; the mandatory recording and reporting of all incidents of restraint; and the abolition of the use of isolation rooms.”
“The motion is for families such as the Shakespeares and for all children and parents who have suffered similar harm from inappropriate restraint and seclusion, be that physical or mechanical restraint. We have heard harrowing accounts of children who have been told to sit, surrounded by cardboard boxes — a measure that supposedly helps with concentration — and of children who have been secluded in so-called isolation rooms that are no bigger than 8 feet by 4 feet in diameter. The findings of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) investigation into inappropriate restraint and seclusion are harrowing, and Margaret Kelly and her team's recommendations are consistent with those in the motion that I present on behalf of the Education Committee. <BR /> <BR />I first drafted the motion in July 2020.”
“It is for children such as Harry Shakespeare and parents and guardians such as Deirdre and Rodney Shakespeare, whom I first met in July 2019 when they were lobbying for a Harry's law to include many of the recommendations that are set out in our motion. That family asked me to read out a short comment from them today. The Shakespeares say:”
“<BR /> <BR />The motion is for the children who have been harmed by the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in Northern Ireland. It is for the parents and guardians who have experienced distress and trauma because of the harm that their children suffered. It is for parents, guardians and, on many occasions, mothers who were not believed, who risked their reputation, mental health and well-being to challenge people of standing in their local community to hold child protection failings of respected institutions to account, who became experts in law and policy and who refused to give up.”
“Some people say that emotion can be an enemy of good oratory, and I am going to wrestle with that enemy today. As Chairperson of the Education Committee, I have advocated for the outstanding teachers, non-teaching staff and schools across Northern Ireland, particularly our outstanding special schools, at times when they felt that the Education Minister did not do so. However, in the absence of appropriate Department of Education guidance, accountability and support on restraint, serious mistakes have been made by schools, boards of governors and employing authorities such as the Education Authority (EA) and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), which have caused significant harm to the children whom they were entrusted to protect.”
“Alliance supports that recommendation. We support the motion and will seek the support of all parties in the Assembly for a Bill to include teachers in fair employment legislation.”
“<BR /> <BR />What is the consequence of this legal discrimination? Recent research carried out by the UNESCO education centre at Ulster University suggests that only 2% of teachers in Catholic primary schools are from a Protestant background, and, in primary schools with mainly Protestant pupils, only 7% of teachers are from a Catholic background. That cannot be an acceptable status quo. <BR /> <BR />The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland recommended the removal of the exception at secondary level in 2004 and that early consideration be given to removing it at primary level, as it is considered no longer acceptable to exclude the entire teaching workforce from fair employment legislation that covers all other occupations. It has also recommended that teachers be included in monitoring and review requirements.”
“We cannot allow another mandate to pass without considering legislation to repeal the anachronistic exclusion of teachers from fair employment protection. The Fair Employment Act outlawed employment discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in Northern Ireland in 1976, yet the Fair Employment and Treatment Order continues to permit discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in the recruitment of teachers to this day. <BR /> <BR />Almost all workers in Northern Ireland can rely on legislation to protect them from discrimination on grounds of their faith, but that protection is denied to teachers. Employers in Northern Ireland with 11 or more employees must register with the Equality Commission and monitor the composition of their workforce, but that does not apply to the teaching workforce.”
“The consultation on the proposed private Member's Bill is open for public response, and a link is available on the Assembly website. It will close on 10 June, in time for the submission of a final proposal to the Speaker, which will, I hope, meet with approval for drafting into a Bill that will be presented in time for consideration before the end of this mandate.”
“The Assembly should, however, debate legislation on the matter, not motions. That is why I will propose a private Member's Bill to repeal the exemption of teachers from the Fair Employment and Treatment Order. I hope that I will have the support of all parties in the Assembly in the consideration of that legislation.”
“I, too, am genuinely shocked that not one of the four Executive Office Ministers has attended the debate. I am genuinely eager to hear whether there is an explanation for that non-attendance, because, in the absence of any explanation, it is difficult not to conclude that the failure of any of the four Executive Office Ministers to attend is consistent with the failure to respond to this equality issue in over a decade of having responsibility for it. <BR /> <BR />The Alliance Party and, it seems, most political parties in the Assembly are clear that teachers should be included in the Fair Employment and Treatment Order. I will, therefore, speak in support of the motion. I acknowledge that those who tabled the motion brought the matter to the Assembly on a number of previous occasions.”
“Will the Minister provide an update on the ending of the use of the term "inefficient" by NICS HR when referring to prison officers who are absent from work due to mental ill health? Has the Department of Finance scoped the cost of the recommendation for an extension of eligibility to former prison officers for support from the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust?”
“At the outset, I will say that it is somewhat disappointing that neither the Education Minister nor CCEA engaged substantively with the Education Committee on this important matter; indeed, it is regrettable that the approach taken by the Education Minister on exams this year has placed so much significant additional pressure on the well-being of pupils across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Turning to next year's approach, will the Education Minister confirm whether Z-scoring will be used to estimate marks for pupils who choose to omit units or whether their grades will be based solely on exams sat?”
“How seriously is the Education Minister taking the Children's Law Centre assertion that the failings in our special educational needs system in Northern Ireland amount to institutional discrimination against children with disabilities? What responsibility does he take for that? What actions are being taken to address it?”
“Your criteria list "sibling" as recommended —”
“This East Belfast Alliance MLA's vision is for equal educational opportunity for all children in East Belfast. I am privileged to have been given a mandate for that vision on three separate occasions and will happily do so again. <BR /> <BR />If children are entitled to free school meals, they are five times less likely to secure a place at a grammar school.”
“Other countries, such as Belgium, have genuine, different pathways in general, technical, vocational and arts approaches. <BR /> <BR />We need fundamental reform of education and the independent review of education, recommended by the Alliance Party, gives an opportunity for robust consideration of this matter and for an Education Minister, from whichever party, to give full consideration to the implementation of whatever recommendations come forward from that.”
“A better approach should have been taken for them this year. This chaos cannot be revisited on next year's cohort. Common contingency criteria must be put in place. <BR /> <BR />Whilst Alliance has a clear policy against academic selection, this cannot be reformed without adequate planning and preparation. There are alternative approaches. The World Economic Forum produces a Global Competitiveness Report on the state of the world's economies, which ranks countries according to pillars of competitiveness. Frequently, countries such as Finland and New Zealand are cited as exemplars in successful approaches to education. Finland has selection at age 16. However, its choice is augmented by examination results and interviews. New Zealand has a comprehensive, all-ability approach to education.”
“That is a helpful clarification, and it is something that we need to look at. <BR /> <BR />Other Members mentioned that legislation on the issue ought to be brought and debated in order to, as I say, deliver non-academic criteria for post-primary admissions in a way that is similar to how it is done for primary admissions. Alliance will, therefore, support the motion and the amendment, but they will not deliver the change and reform that are needed. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, whilst we continue to debate the issue, this year's cohort of P7 children has been subjected to post-primary transfer chaos because of the failure of the Minister of Education to introduce fair common contingency criteria after the disruption of transfer tests by the COVID pandemic. Children and families were failed.”
“I will give way briefly. Be brief, though.”
“That is an important point, and it is perhaps a fair challenge that Sinn Féin will want to respond to. When Sinn Féin had the Education Ministry, its Minister abolished statutory 11-plus tests but did not prohibit the use of academic criteria for post-primary admissions. The Sinn Féin Minister of Education could have introduced legislation to prohibit the use of academic criteria for post-primary admissions. It is fair to acknowledge that, ultimately, the reform will require a courageous Minister of Education to mandate non-academic criteria.”
“Alliance Party policy is that academic selection is an unfair, unnecessary and flawed approach to post-primary admissions. The Ulster University research is yet another report that supports that position, stating:”
“I will be brief, given that the Member does not have an extra minute. Does the Member agree that the Education Committee commenced last May the type of engagement that he called for in order to avoid the chaos that has ensued for this year's P7 cohort? Does he agree that we have to do all that we can to ensure that nothing like that chaos occurs for next year's P7 cohort?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is a shame that the debate has descended and turned quickly into some sort of constituency-based attack on me. There are multiple other non-selective systems across the globe that we could study and draw from in order to improve our system. I would be glad to engage with the Member on those issues. I always enjoy supporting all of our excellent schools in East Belfast, which are envied.”
“I will press the Minister for further clarity: does he support the permanent introduction of free school meal direct payments during holiday periods?”
“They have demonstrated the power of football to unite and lift the spirit of an entire community and have done what not many people have managed to do, which is that they appear to have united the Assembly as well, and that is welcome to see. As other Members have said, that will hopefully now lead to the Executive, the Assembly, the IFA and all clubs in Northern Ireland seriously upping their game by supporting girls' and women's football in Northern Ireland properly and giving their full backing to the Northern Ireland women's football team to do its very best to achieve in England in 2022.”
“I was delighted to see Marissa Callaghan and Nadene Caldwell score those goals in the second leg of the final play-off game. I am delighted for Kenny Shiels and the staffing team, former manager Alfie Wylie and all the many trailblazers whose years of perseverance made this achievement possible. Some have been mentioned already: we think of Sara Booth and of Cheryl Lamont, who recently became the first female president of a football association in Northern Ireland. There are other leaders in women's football in Northern Ireland, such as Gail Redmond. As an East Belfast MLA, I must mention the multiple members of the squad who play their club football with Glentoran, including a friend of mine, Emma McMaster. <BR /> <BR />The women's football team have inspired a generation of girls, and boys, to dream a new football dream.”
“I declare an interest as a registered football coach with the Irish Football Association. I extend massive congratulations on behalf of the Alliance Party to all the history-makers in the Northern Ireland women's football team on their amazing qualification for the European championships in England, where they will be able to compete against the elite football nations of Europe with the full backing of the famous green and white army. <BR /> <BR />It is genuinely hard to put into words the pride and gratitude that we feel for everyone who is involved in this historic achievement. I recall that, last week, my son asked me what the score was in the PSG-Bayern Munich game in the Champions League and I told him to leave me alone because I was watching a proper football match: the Northern Ireland women against Ukraine.”
“I thank the Minister for her update on the long-overdue funding for football. What budget will be allocated to that much-needed funding for facilities for football?”
“She had to let me take this seat. I am contributing.”
“I had hoped that the UK-enacted legislative provision for fatal fetal abnormality would have satisfied CEDAW recommendations on severe fetal impairment, but that does not appear to be the case. <BR /> <BR />It is also an inescapable fact that this abortion legislation exists because the Northern Ireland Executive did not. If MLAs were serious about delivering comprehensive, fit-for-purpose abortion legislation in Northern Ireland, they would have accepted that a three-year Executive hiatus and a narrow private Member's Bill of this nature are not the best way of achieving that aim.”
“<BR /> <BR />I acknowledge that there are people who support the legislative provision for abortion on the grounds of severe fetal impairment due to concern that its omission could limit and endanger access to termination in cases of fatal fetal abnormality. I will do my best to engage with and heed those concerns should the Bill pass to the Health Committee and Consideration Stage. I acknowledge that it remains to be seen whether Northern Ireland Assembly legislation can actually change a legal duty on the UK Government to implement the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommendations on abortion, which include the grounds of severe fetal impairment.”
“On that occasion, I voted in favour of legislative amendments that were tabled by Trevor Lunn MLA and Stewart Dickson MLA; legislative provision that the courts have since required of this jurisdiction. I do, however, have concern regarding legislative provision for abortion on the grounds of severe fetal impairment, particularly if it provides for abortion on the grounds of disability. I will, therefore, vote, at this stage, to permit the Bill to progress for more detailed scrutiny at the Health Committee and Consideration Stage of the Assembly's legislative process; scrutiny that a public consultation ought to have already facilitated.”
“Alliance Party policy is that start- and end-of-life matters are a matter of individual conscience, and so I speak in an individual capacity on this important matter. I acknowledge the robust contribution of my Alliance Party colleague Paula Bradshaw MLA, which was self-evidently based on her sustained and extensive work on the matter. <BR /> <BR />I have spoken in the Assembly on the serious matter of abortion on a number of occasions. I have done my best to engage with health staff and families who have been affected by it and who have widely different views on it. I voted in favour of legislative provision for medical termination on the grounds of fatal fetal abnormality in the Assembly over five years ago, in 2016.”
“I thank the Minister for his update. Further to his meeting with the Justice Minister, Naomi Long, will he review the minimum content order to ensure that all fundamental matters, such as consent, are included in standardised relationships and sexuality education in schools?”