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 am able to say that, for weeks, Education Committee members have expressed serious concern about the Minister's approach to school restart and, in the Assembly on 21 December, called for a phased school restart. <BR /> <BR />We now have a statement with which to engage, so, speaking as Alliance education spokesperson, I will say this: pausing school-based learning is, of course, a measure of last resort and reflects the seriousness of the situation that we are in.”
“Déjà vu, Mr Speaker. The Education Minister who does not want to meet the Education Committee, does not want to engage with the Assembly and does not, it seems, want to make decisions until Gavin Williamson has made his has today again been required to do so by a cross-party, cross-designation Assembly recall for the second time in less than two weeks. It is difficult for me to speak on behalf of the Education Committee today, given that the Education Minister's statement on the important matter of school restart was made via broadcast and social media at approximately 7.00 am on 31 December with no prior engagement with the Education Committee.”
“Can the Minister provide an update on the budget allocation for Active Travel in the next financial year?”
“I thank the Minister for her update on the Belfast cycle network plan. As she said, the delivery of an easy-to-access, easy-to understand Belfast cycle network is a key aim of the cycling strategy, but progress has been delayed for the reasons that she outlines. The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 places a legal requirement on local government to map and plan suitable routes for active travel and to build and improve their infrastructure every year. Is an active travel Act necessary in Northern Ireland to see substantive progress on our cycle network?”
“When will the independent review start, when will it report and when will the fundamental reform commence?”
“The time that was given to the Assembly to read the key statements on exams and now the fundamental external review of education was completely unacceptable. I hope that that will be dealt with by the Speaker's Office. <BR /> <BR />I, nonetheless, welcome this important statement on the independent review of education, a proposal that was made by the Alliance Party during the New Decade, New Approach talks. It is obviously a key opportunity to reshape an education system that is high on quality, low on equity; is in financial crisis; separates children and young people at the age of five; and trains our teachers separately. It is an opportunity for fundamental reform to put in place equal educational opportunity for children and have children learning together.”
“What level of COVID-related pupil absence is the Education Minister willing to accept before introducing moderated teacher grading and centre-assessed grading for 2021?”
“The Education Minister's inaction, indecision and U-turn caused grading chaos in 2020, so we are entitled to expect more than a statement that was late in its arrival and vague in its commitments. The statement mentioned generous grading, reduced content, support sheets, a COVID allowance tariff and a UK-wide approach, but it was without any great detail on any of those commitments. Other jurisdictions have taken decisive action to cancel or modify significantly examinations in 2021, owing to the unprecedented disruption to learning. In the week commencing 12 October, approximately 50,000 children were unable to attend school. We know that some pupils are on their fourth period of self-isolation, and many staff are in self-isolation as well.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I may have missed your initial remarks, but this applies to two back-to-back statements effectively. We are getting 10 minutes to read two significant statements.”
“The Education Committee has written to the Department of Education in support of this campaign, and I will be glad to submit this petition to your office electronically for the consideration and response of the Education Minister.”
“Another schoolgirl said, "I dread getting my period in school. I pretend I am sick so I can go home because I am too embarrassed to tell my friends that I do not have any money for pads and can't ask my mummy because she has lost her job and is struggling to do food shopping for me and my brother. I use toilet roll instead, and I'd much rather use that at home and risk leaking in my own house than in school, where everyone could see." <BR /> <BR />No young person should suffer this experience or have their education disrupted by a bodily function as natural as their period. Free period products in schools would ensure that every young girl has equal opportunity to learn and achieve their potential.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Homeless Period Belfast conducted a survey of 200 schoolgirls in Northern Ireland, and it found that 74% left school early or missed school because of a lack of period products; 87% said that a lack of period products negatively impacted on their attention in class; and 91% had used toilet roll as a temporary measure, due to a lack of access to period products. In a Homeless Period Belfast survey of 100 teachers in Northern Ireland, 60% had bought period products for use in their school. The survey also asked pupils how access to free period products would impact on their experience at school. One schoolgirl said, "I wouldn't miss as much class time and would feel a lot happier in knowing that the products are in toilets so that I don't have to feel embarrassed in approaching the school nurse or my teachers".”
“It is my privilege to present this petition for free period products in schools. I do so on behalf of the 5,000 people who have signed it and the organising charity, The Homeless Period Belfast, which is a volunteer-led initiative that was founded and is managed by Katrina McDonnell. It alleviates period poverty by providing period packs and by campaigning for universal access to free period products. The Homeless Period Belfast's Menstruation Matters campaign is calling on the Education Minister to bring Northern Ireland in line with other parts of the UK by providing free period products in all schools. Schools provide free toilet roll, hand soap and hand towels in toilets. We would never accept children bringing any of those essential items to school, and period products should be no different.”
“The Alliance Party has supported the campaign to give a voice to young people throughout my time as an MLA, so I welcome the long-overdue progress that has been made on the establishment of a Youth Assembly. How are its members likely to be appointed, and in what way will they be able to interact with the procedures of this Assembly?”
“Can the Minister outline the monetary scale of the maintenance backlog across Northern Ireland?”
“The Education Minister has failed to introduce a dedicated code to gather COVID-19-related pupil absence data, but, in November, the National Association of Head Teachers surveyed 89 primary schools and found that, on average, as many as 37% of P7 pupils had experienced a COVID-19-related absence since the start of term. I ask the Education Minister, yet again, how can it be fair to base post-primary admission on testing 10-year-old children in such exceptional circumstances?”
“I have tried my best this year. I thank the deputy First Minister for that confirmation that Santa Claus will be allowed to work in Northern Ireland this Christmas, and, indeed, I wish all children a really happy end of term and Christmas this year. <BR /> <BR />Will the deputy First Minister ensure that the Executive work together, as best as they possibly can, in order to make 2021 a better year for all children in Northern Ireland?”
“I am aware of one school in Northern Ireland that has pupils who are in their fourth period of self-isolation. That entire year group has missed four weeks of school-based learning this term. Of course, there are pupils who, due to COVID-related absence, are physically unable to sit the GCSEs that are taking place this week. Why are contingency plans not already in place to address anxiety caused by those absences and to ensure that all pupils receive fair grades?”
“I welcome the much-needed financial aid for sports. When might we expect a restart of grassroots youth sport? Will she be open to reviewing which sport can be included in the elite category?”
“The proposal is that schools and educational settings will play a role in responding to children's experiences of domestic abuse. Has the Committee consulted educational settings on that provision?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Obviously, there has been unanimous support for information sharing between police and schools through the Operation Encompass approach that is provided for by the Bill. To help lead the ongoing efforts of the Education Committee, can the Member advise us whether the Justice Committee has consulted teaching and non-teaching staff with regard to the resources and training that they will need in order to implement the relevant provisions that are proposed in the Bill?”
“We must work to ensure that the home is the safest place for everyone in the community. The legislation that has been brought forward by the Justice Minister is an important action to help us to achieve that aim.”
“<BR /> <BR />Alliance will also support amendment Nos 19 and 20, which provide for guidance relating to the Bill's provisions. My party supports the provision of guidance on key aspects of the Bill, including what is deemed to be domestic abuse, abusive behaviour, the new domestic abuse offence, evidence gathering, sentencing and support services. Such guidance will assist those who investigate offences, those who pursue criminal proceedings, and community and voluntary sector partners. <BR /> <BR />Alliance will also support amendment No 24 on reporting, although I believe that it may need further consideration at the Bill's next stage. <BR /> <BR />My Alliance Party colleague John Blair MLA has spoken on the other amendments in the group. I will therefore bring my remarks to a close.”
“Absolutely. I welcome that intervention. Committees must enhance their cooperation on a number of key public policy issues. I will give my commitment as Chair of the Education Committee to ensure that we keep that issue a key priority. <BR /> <BR />Research overwhelmingly identifies domestic abuse as a contributing factor to school drop out and exclusion, youth homelessness, and risk-taking behaviour. The Operation Encompass approach aims to mitigate that harm by enabling early intervention and immediate support for the child. Responsive support of that nature in the school setting should mean that children can be better safeguarded against the impact of such domestic abuse. Alliance will therefore support the passage of the amendment to Further Consideration Stage for further amendment at that stage.”
“Information shared by police prior to the start of the school day, after officers have responded to a domestic abuse incident, can help schools to give appropriate and timely support to the child. <BR /> <BR />As we know, domestic abuse has been identified as an adverse childhood experience that can lead to physical and psychological harm to a child.”
“Group three contains important amendments in that regard. They include amendment No 18, which would give power to make regulations for the purpose of informing a school that a child saw, heard or was present during domestic abuse. That provision would enable police to share information with schools and to deliver approaches such as Operation Encompass, an approach that has been taken in other jurisdictions and is to be piloted in Northern Ireland. It is my understanding that the aim of Operation Encompass, as referred to by other Members, is for police and education information sharing to enable schools to offer immediate support to children and young people who experience domestic abuse.”
“Seeing, hearing or being present during an incident of domestic abuse can profoundly affect a child's physical and mental health for life.”
“<BR /> <BR />As Alliance education spokesperson and chair of the Assembly all-party group on children and young people, I welcome the response in the legislation to the serious impact of domestic abuse on children.”
“<BR /> <BR />The focus of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Assembly has necessarily been on the emergency response to COVID-19, but we must continue to progress key priorities such as tackling domestic violence, the impact of which we know has increased during social isolation, as perpetrators have exploited the emergency in order to commit domestic abuse. <BR /> <BR />Thankfully, this legislation, introduced by Justice Minister Long, sends a clear message to perpetrators of domestic violence and coercive control to say, "You will be brought to justice", and to say to victims, "You are not alone. We will support you". I pay tribute to the many organisations that work to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in the Consideration Stage of the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill on behalf of the Alliance Party. The Alliance Party is clear on this matter: domestic abuse is a heinous crime. I welcome, therefore, the leadership that is being shown by the Alliance Party leader and Justice Minister, Naomi Long, to progress this important legislation, and I welcome the work that she is doing to deliver a safe and shared Northern Ireland for all. I also recognise the work of Department of Justice officials and the previous Justice Minister, the members of the Justice Committee and all respondents to the Committee Stage of the Bill.”
“Participation in sport is vital to the physical and mental health of young people. What work are the Executive doing to establish the impact of youth sport on the transmission of COVID-19, and when will youth sport be allowed to recommence?”
“I thank the Minister for her support of active travel. Does she, however, agree that there has been underinvestment in active travel infrastructure? Would she consider an active travel Act to make it a statutory responsibility for a minimum percentage of the Department for Infrastructure's budget to be spent on active travel?”
“I thank the Minister for the work of her Department to upgrade the Toucan Crossing at the Braniel section of the Connswater community greenway in east Belfast. <BR /> <BR />Will the Minister provide an update on her Department's work, in conjunction with councils, on the potential transfer to councils of responsibility for the Comber greenway, thereby enabling the high-level, ongoing maintenance and upgrade of that community asset?”
“Many family carers are at the end of their resilience due to the disruption of not only domiciliary care but respite care and day services. Will the Minister give an update on the publication of a plan for the resumption of those services, as voted for by the Assembly on 7 July?”
“The subregional association football stadia funding programme was to be allocated as long ago as 2016. What funding has been allocated for that programme for the financial year 2021-22? Is this not the time to make a vital capital investment in not only sport but in construction?”
“I thank the Minister for his update. It is a moral stain on the history of Ireland that those innocent people, who suffered the most heinous injuries and injustice, have waited a lifetime for the victims' pension. Indeed, many have died and are dying waiting for it. I welcome the commitment given by the Justice Minister to administer the scheme. When will the Finance Minister meet the UK Government to secure the funding necessary to deliver that unacceptably overdue assistance for victims?”
“How many P7 pupils have had to self-isolate since schools reopened in August?”
“I note the concern for pupils with complex needs that the Education Minister has expressed in the statement. However, the families of children with complex needs in Northern Ireland, who feel abandoned by him during COVID-19, need action, leadership and support rather than concern. I ask the Education Minister this: why did the £11·3 million Engage programme funding for school restart not include special schools when it was launched in September?”
“I believe that the Alliance Party and the people of Northern Ireland will get fully behind that task and will continue to work closely with the people of the United States to ensure that it is a time for healing, a time for peace and a time for progress for both our peoples.”
“The United States and Northern Ireland have close ties that bind our people together. The US has been a close friend to the peace process and to the social and economic well-being of our region. Alliance Party members have played key roles in developing and maintaining that special relationship, so we congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who, as the first woman and first woman of colour to be elected vice president in the history of the United States, will inspire people across the world. <BR /> <BR />President-elect Joe Biden quoted Ecclesiastes 3 in recognising the work that he and the vice president-elect have to do to unite the United States of America. He said that it was "a time to heal".”
“I thank the Minister for her update. Will the Minister seek to increase the budget for the subregional football stadia fund in line with any increase to the regional stadia fund? Will she give her assurance that the subregional football stadia funding will be allocated to clubs before the end of this mandate?”
“The Department for Communities' individuals emergency resilience programme requires musicians to use that aid on a project basis rather than as income replacement to account for all profit. The Department reserves the right to retrieve all or part of the aid on this basis. How does this approach compare with other Executive grant aid for employees? Is it fair to place those conditions on musicians who have lost all sources of income as a result of COVID-19?”
“Minister, what evidence is her Department and the Executive considering with regard to the impact of grassroots youth sports on the transmission of COVID-19?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. What is the Environment Minister's timescale for the enactment of a climate change Act? Would it not be better for him to add his support to the passage of the cross-party climate change private Member's Bill?”
“— providers to set the tests in January and February for admission to post-primary schools. I hope that the Minister takes action to put alternative contingency plans in place.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. As I said in my opening remarks, I do not think that it is edifying or a serious response to this important matter to go down the route of using rhetoric. <BR /> <BR />I regret that I am out of time and cannot reference the many substantive contributions throughout the debate. There has been an attempt to describe this as a fractious or divisive issue, yet Members from many of the political parties who contributed to the debate were of one voice. That one voice is fairly clear to me: it cannot be fair for the Education Minister to allow private transfer test —”
“What has he done to lead on the non-academic criteria that are being used by schools? I have not heard a substantive proposal from him on what the non-academic criteria ought to look like. Yet, his Department has a circular on what the criteria should like, one of which is having a sibling at the school. The circular recommends against going beyond that in terms of family relations, but there are criteria there. <BR /> <BR />The Minister then attacks me, as he has become prone to doing, in relation to intellectual dishonesty. Well, that is a new one that I have heard. The Alliance Party is clear: we are against selective schools. It is my understanding that grammar education is an approach to education, not a system of academic selection. As I said in my opening —.”
“My colleague Kellie Armstrong asked some extremely legitimate questions about what advice he has sought and received from the Public Health Agency and the Minister of Health on the risks involved in bringing together that number of children, outside their bubble, in order to sit four transfer tests in January and February. I ask this: if there are Members of the House who have loved ones in shielding circumstances, how would they feel about sending them into the circumstances that the Minister is planning to support in January and February? <BR /> <BR />The Minister responded to the issue of the admissions criteria being used by other schools that have courageously decided to postpone the use of academic selection in this transfer-test year. His Department has a circular for all grant-aided schools on admissions criteria.”
“<BR /> <BR />He referenced the Education Order that provides that schools' boards of governors set the admissions criteria. As I said in an intervention, the Assembly and the Executive have enacted exceptional changes in law during this time. We have changed the fabric of our way of life, so to say that he cannot intervene in those ways is, I think, an abdication of responsibility. <BR /> <BR />The Minister referenced safety measures — limited safety measures — such as masks, handwashing, no food and entrance arrangements.”
“We need to engage respectfully with each other on the issue. It is regrettable when the debate descends below respectful engagement. Even though opinions differ, there are points of engagement, and I really wish that the Assembly and the Education Committee, if it has time, would engage substantively on the issue and take views from all MLAs and all concerned parties. At the end of the day, that is at the heart of what the survey was about. <BR /> <BR />The Minister referenced mitigations that he put in place to address educational inequality during lockdown, but, in my opinion, there was a lack of specificity. He referenced laptops and Chromebooks, and yet, in a debate today on post-primary transfer, he cannot specify how much of that resource has found its way to primary 7 children.”