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 welcome the opportunity that the recall presents for the Assembly to engage with a Northern Ireland Minister of Education on a significant challenge that our schools face. I regret that an Assembly recall was necessary to make this engagement possible. I believe that this is the fourth time that a DUP Education Minister has been recalled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The DUP can present that as the targeting of an Education Minister or it can reflect on the nature of the engagement that has taken place between the Assembly and the Education portfolio. We need calm and measured leadership, so I will do my best to be as measured as I can.”
“Thanks very much to my Education Committee colleague for giving way. Does the Member recognise that the issue to which the other Member referred was not identified last week but has been an ongoing issue for many weeks and, indeed, months? The burden being placed on our school leaders in relation to contact tracing has been well known for some time. Regrettably, this is a delayed intervention, however welcome it may be.”
“The Member will recall that, in my capacity as Chair of the Education Committee, I asked the then Education Minister, Peter Weir, whether he was concerned that the decision on Strangford Integrated College would be judicially reviewed. His response was, "We get judicially reviewed all the time".”
“I will be brief. I had asked the Member and Chris Stalford to find a quote of me calling for the test to be "cancelled", as they both say, prior to November of last year. You can bring that to the House. I presume that you would also challenge the expert panel on educational underachievement, which called the system a systemic inequality.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I do not really intend to spend too much time on this because it is far off the Bill, but there are people who try to perpetuate a narrative that I single-handedly cancelled academic selection last year, which suggests that I have significant powers beyond those that exist. AQE and PPTC were forced to cancel tests due to a global pandemic that had strict regulations on the movement of people. The Education Committee called for contingencies as long ago as May 2020, but they were not put in place. I regret the experience of children and young people as a result of that. Please, please, do not misrepresent me as the cause of every ill that arose from that, when so much effort was made to avoid it.”
“I will try to say this as respectfully as I can, because I realise that this is a reasonably sensitive issue. There is a degree of accuracy in saying that the excellent school to which he refers, which affords excellent support, had to withstand the level of opposition that is being put forward to this reform today. Maybe another Member from South Belfast can testify to that in more detail. The Member referred to the fact that this will be difficult. This is significant change; indeed, it is my recollection that Peter Robinson went as far as to say that it is morally wrong that we separate children on the basis of community or religious background at the age of five. We will have to do more than we have done to date, which is just saying "Yes, we wish that children be educated together".”
“Are you saying that the review that you commissioned on integrated education was not strategic?”
“The independent review of integrated education. You keep saying that this should be done in a "strategic manner".”
“The Member keeps referring to the reform of education being done in a "strategic manner". He is the Minister who commissioned the independent review of education. Was that done in a non-strategic manner?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. The issue of the independent review of education has been raised a number of times, but, given that there is a report from the Department of Education specifically on recommendations for integrated education from 2016, why would progress not be made on that report?”
“I thank the Member for that intervention and piece of information. There is also a wide range of recommendations that it supports and wishes to see implemented. <BR /> <BR />That brings my remarks to a close. I sincerely hope that the House takes the opportunity to support a more integrated approach to education and allows the Bill to pass, in order for it to receive more detailed scrutiny at Committee Stage.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Again, it has been raised. The clause refers to "a presumption" unless there are "special circumstances". I am sure that the proposer of the Bill will refer to that in a bit more detail when she is given the opportunity to do so. <BR /> <BR />In closing —.”
“That question has been asked and answered a number of times. I am referring to an independent review of integrated education that reported in 2016. Five years on, it is entirely legitimate to seek the proper implementation of its recommendations, notwithstanding the need for wide-ranging reforms across education, which, hopefully, the independent review of education in its entirety will also recommend.”
“There are, I think, 40-odd recommendations in total, but Members probably get the idea of what it says. <BR /> <BR />The Bill is consistent with many recommendations in the Department of Education-commissioned independent review, the report of which was published, I believe, by the previous Minister of Education, Peter Weir. The Bill presents every party and every Member with an opportunity to demonstrate actual support for an integrated approach to education, the implementation of a Department of Education independent review on integrated education and the reform of education, the like of which has been recommended for decades and is supported by people across the community in Northern Ireland and beyond.”
“That is the Department of Education's independent review. It also recommended:”
“Much has been made of parental choice. In my constituency of East Belfast, poll results have found that a majority of parents, approximately 76%, support their school becoming integrated. As I mentioned, parents felt that good educational standards were the most important factor when choosing a school, and reflecting a particular faith background was viewed as the least important factor. The majority were also in favour of a joined-up approach to future planning for education and housing to help to improve good relations, which is a subsection of clause 2. <BR /> <BR />The Department of Education commissioned an independent review of integrated education. The review reported, I believe, in 2016. It recommended:”
“That is a significant increase of 3% on the proportion of first-preference applications to post-primary integrated schools that did not result in admission in 2017-18. It is getting worse. Since 2013-14, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of first-preference applications to post-primary integrated schools that do not result in admission: 11 percentage points. That represents an increasing oversubscription to post-primary integrated schools.”
“<BR /> <BR />Despite all the above, the Executive Office's good relation indicators for 2018-19 found that 21% — 21% — of first preference applications to post-primary integrated schools did not result in admission.”
“That was followed closely by a desire for children to be educated together. Two thirds of respondents supported their school officially becoming an integrated school. That seems to fly in the face of some of the comments made here today. The overall view was that political leaders have done little or nothing — this is the actual wording of the poll, so apologies — to facilitate and encourage integrated education. Some 60% of respondents felt that politicians actually hold up the accessibility of integrated education. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster University Economic Policy Centre has also established that there is a significant financial cost of separation in our education system, which could be up to £90 million per year. Yet the Department of Education states that our education system is in financial crisis.”
“<BR /> <BR />The public response to the cohesion, sharing and integration strategy consultation was clear in its support of integrated education, yet the Executive Office declined to include provision for integrated education in the final Together: Building a United Community strategy developed from that consultation in 2013. <BR /> <BR />The Fresh Start Panel report on the Disbandment of Paramilitary Groups in Northern Ireland recommended that the Executive set ambitious targets to measurably reduce segregation in education as quickly as possible. That was in 2016. <BR /> <BR />A poll on education in 2018 found that good educational standards — I am glad that I can agree with Mervyn Storey on something — are by far the most important factor to many people when choosing a school.”
“King's colleague Representative John Lewis also frequently encouraged supporters of integration to do all that they could to get in the way. We will not be intimidated or misrepresented from getting in the way on behalf of all children and young people in Northern Ireland. The Bill presents every party and every Member with an opportunity to demonstrate actual support for an integrated approach to education, such has been recommended for decades and which is supported by people across the community in Northern Ireland and beyond. <BR /> <BR />The international peace accord, and this jurisdiction's founding document, the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement of 1998, stated clearly that integrated education is essential to reconciliation and the promotion of tolerance at every level of our society.”
“When he was told by the establishment to slow down on his dream for children learning together, he stated clearly in his response that it was no time to engage in delay and, perhaps most powerfully, that it was no time:”
“<BR /> <BR />There are persuasive rights, good relations, educational and economic imperatives for integrating education in Northern Ireland, and the time for reform is now. I must admit to being somewhat surprised by the hostility expressed by some Members today to children learning together, and I regret that more of them are no longer present in the Chamber to engage directly with them, given how much they had to say about me when they were here. <BR /> <BR />In their contributions, some Members were balancing on the head of a pin to justify their position on educating children together, and I hear the words of Martin Luther King Junior ringing in my ears.”
“It is a privilege to speak as Alliance Party education spokesperson in support of the principles of the Integrated Education Bill, as proposed by my colleague, Alliance integrated education spokesperson, Kellie Armstrong MLA. At the outset, I recognise the extent of the consultation undertaken by Kellie Armstrong on the Bill. It is my understanding that a 12-week consultation was undertaken on the Bill, with over 800 responses received and multiple key stakeholders engaged, such as the CSSC and CCMS. <BR /> <BR />Building a united community has been a key mission of the Alliance Party since its foundation. The Alliance vision for education is an integrated and sustainable system that delivers equal opportunity for all children to develop their unique personality, talent and ability together.”
“What, precisely, is that based on? Evidence?”
“I appreciate the Member giving way. Respectfully, I presume that the Member will accept that a report is not implementation. Indeed, in citing the amount of reports that have recommended implementation on integrated education, does the Member not take a red face at the lack of delivery of those recommendations?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Much has been made of moral choices. Does the Member agree, as the Department of Education has stated, that the education system in Northern Ireland is in financial crisis? Does the Member accept that separation in our education system in some way contributes to that financial crisis? If, indeed, he objects to the proposals, does he have alternative proposals to support a more integrated, sustainable approach to education in Northern Ireland?”
“I think that the Education Minister was replaced the last time I spoke in the Chamber on education. I hope that the current Minister does not meet with the same fate. I am grateful for the early engagement that the Minister has given to me and the Education Committee in her role. <BR /> <BR />Equal educational opportunity is key, and we hear increasingly that, to achieve that, equal digital educational opportunity is key. Other jurisdictions are working towards one appropriate digital device and internet connectivity per pupil. What is the Minister's assessment of the extent of the digital inequality in Northern Ireland that is faced by pupils? Will she work towards that aim of one appropriate device and internet connectivity per pupil in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Justice Minister for continually acknowledging the pain and trauma experienced by the Bloody Sunday families and, indeed, all victims of unjustified violence in Northern Ireland and for responding to the decision with the leadership that was demanded. Does she agree that an urgent need remains to implement a properly funded, comprehensive process for dealing with the past, a framework for which has been well established by the work of victims, Eames/Bradley, the Haass/O'Sullivan talks and the Stormont House Agreement, and in the absence of which, trauma will continue to affect people across Northern Ireland for generations?”
“Given the importance of messaging to vaccination and the ongoing nature and risk of this infectious disease pandemic, why has the Executive's COVID-19 weekly press conference ceased?”
“I welcome the Education Minister to her post. I am sure that she will agree that the childcare strategy is long overdue. I welcome the specific date for the childcare strategy insight lab, in partnership with the all-party group on early education and childcare, and I seek an update on the delivery of the flexible school-starting age legislation, which is also long overdue.”
“I thank the junior Minister for his answer, although it is fairly different from the responses that I have received previously on this matter. Will he support my proposal for private Member's legislation to remove the exception of teachers from the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998?”
“Belfast City Airport is a key employer in my constituency of East Belfast and is vital to the connectivity of Northern Ireland. What is the Economy Minister doing to help workers affected by the Stobart Air liquidation, to help Belfast City Airport to secure alternative carriers to serve those routes and to deliver the long-overdue regional aviation strategy for Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Member for giving way briefly. Does he agree that meaningful action to address the upwards of £100 million cost of division or separation in education would be a good place to start in releasing funds that can be redirected to the front line?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will the Member agree that addressing that issue from a budgetary point of view will require close cooperation between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and that pooled budgeting should perhaps be explored in order to address the completely unacceptable waiting lists for assessment and awarding of statements of special educational needs?”
“There can be no further delay to the childcare strategy; the funding formula review; the emotional health and well-being framework; or the new SEN framework, including the SEN regulations and code of practice. Alliance's vision of a well-resourced, innovative and integrated education system that will deliver high-quality educational opportunity for all is more relevant now than ever. The people of Northern Ireland demand better, and we in the Assembly and the Executive must work together to deliver that.”
“The failure to deliver on that, to date, is an unacceptable record of the Education Minister and his Department. We need to see urgent action in that regard. The Education Committee has also engaged with young people, on various occasions. Dedicated investment in a children's and young persons' recovery plan and budget is needed urgently. <BR /> <BR />I will speak briefly as an Alliance MLA. There is considerable interest today in the people who hold the Ministries, and I wish Peter Weir all the very best for the future and welcome Michelle McIlveen to her post as Education Minister. The interest of the Alliance Party, however, is very much in the decisive action and fundamental reform that are needed to arrest the financial crisis and address the inequality and separation that exist in our education system.”
“I note that the outcome is anticipated to take 18 months. That brings it into the ambit of a new Assembly. I wish the panel well in delivering the education reform that our young people need and deserve. <BR /> <BR />There are a few other urgent issues in Education, such as investment in a childcare strategy, holiday hunger and period poverty. Initiatives are needed to address those systemic impediments and barriers that people experience, on occasion, according to gender, and which can have long-lasting impacts on their quality of opportunity. The Education Committee welcomed the funding for holiday hunger during COVID-19 and hopes that more sustainable funding can be found for that measure. <BR /> <BR />There can be no further delay in relation to investment in a childcare strategy.”
“<BR /> <BR />The financial crisis affecting the education of our children and young people means that we need an Education Minister capable of decisive action to address the issues and to implement the independent review of education that was agreed in New Decade, New Approach, which will focus on efficiency and movement towards a single education system. According to the 2021-22 budget distribution table for Education provided to the Education Committee on 22 April 2021, the Minister had provisionally set aside £4 million from the Education budget to progress in 2021-22, where possible, the actions arising from the review. Since that is a New Decade, New Approach commitment, the Executive may decide which actions they support and are prepared to fund. The Education Committee welcomes the review and will hear from its panel in due course.”
“<BR /> <BR />The allocation of so much additional money to address COVID issues may well be masking the underlying financial crisis in education. Education continues to face extensive, unavoidable cost pressures and rising service demands associated with delivering statutory and policy obligations. The Institute for Fiscal Studies annual report on education spending found that real-term cuts in school spending, per pupil, since 2009-2010 have been largest in Northern Ireland, at about 10%, and that the total budget fell in real terms by 5%, meaning that pupil population growth of 6% led to larger cuts in spending per pupil.”
“I note the Secretary of State's comments regarding the integrated transformation of schools referenced in recent media. <BR /> <BR />The Education Committee also hopes to engage, in the near future, with the Construction Employers Federation to hear its perspective on major and minor works at schools across Northern Ireland. School accommodation must be fit for purpose. It is my understanding that there is a 40% gap between the 2020-21 final budget of £74 million for minor works for schools and the £47 million for minor works in the initial budget for 2021-22. That deficit is a serious concern, considering the impact that it will have on the condition of the school accommodation in which we educate our children and young people — accommodation that is already in a dangerously poor state of repair.”
“<BR /> <BR />A need of £64·7 million has been identified, but, as far as I am aware, it has not been included in the final Budget for teachers' pay, the Bright Start scheme, school summer schemes, the Youth Service's summer programme, the Engage II programme and Sure Start. It would be useful to hear more about that. <BR /> <BR />I move now to capital. The Fresh Start Agreement provided funding for a number of initiatives aimed at building a shared future. I note that the Secretary of State confirmed provision of the additional amount of £28·4 million in 2021-22 in capital DEL for shared education and housing. I look forward to exploring that with Department of Education officials, on 23 June, at our next budget briefing.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Education Committee had an informal meeting with Apple at which it considered the introduction of one digital device and internet connectivity per child, and it heard of projects of that nature that have been rolled out across Scotland in particular local authorities, including Glasgow, to some effect. That would certainly address some of the many issues that we have heard about of children having difficulty accessing education during periods of remote learning and the disruption that that caused to families with variable capacity to provide such equipment. I note that the Department of Education also anticipates a teachers' laptop refresh and has a priority 1 capital bid of £19 million for that. I understand, however, that it is, as yet, an unfunded COVID-19 bid for 2021-22. We are eager to hear more about that.”
“so I will try to keep it moving. <BR /> <BR />Our children and young people have made a significant sacrifice to protect all of us during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we must make sure that the Budget, particularly the Education budget, invests in their education and future. It is my understanding that £42·3 million of confidence-and-supply capital money is anticipated for ultra-fast broadband. The Education Committee trusts that that will go some way to addressing rural connectivity, which acted as a barrier to digital equality and equal educational opportunity for many families during the period of blended and remote learning.”
“I will try to move this along as quickly as I can. I understand that this speech has now potentially spanned two different Education Ministers”
“However, I understand that the Minister has accessed £5 million of that for mental health and counselling initiatives. The Education Committee has urged the Education Minister to seek further funding of that provision, given the waiting list for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), which is already at 400 pupils.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Education Committee welcomes the £28·3 million that has been made available to the Department of Education to meet pressures that relate to recovery, support and re-engagement for children and young people but will monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of that investment. Education Committee members have expressed serious concern about the extent of controlled assessments and, effectively, examination of so many pupils on their return to school and the lack of monitoring of the impact of that approach on the mental health recovery of children and young people. <BR /> <BR />Twenty million pounds of confidence-and-supply resource funding for deprivation and £10 million for mental health were anticipated but not confirmed at the time of the Committee's briefing.”
“<BR /> <BR />In March, I referenced the Committee's priorities with regard to special educational needs; recovery initiatives and mental health support for pupils coming out of lockdown; and issues of digital equity that have been raised by the pandemic context of blended and remote learning. The Education Committee was seriously concerned about governance and value for money in the provision of special educational needs support by the Education Authority (EA). Although the Education Authority's budget has not been finalised, the Department assisted with providing some greater detail. Hopefully, when the full reform plan and budget have been agreed, we will have greater insight and security on the arrangements to ensure that there is compliance with commitments in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Order 2005.”
“That model of Budget scrutiny makes us one of the few legislative bodies in the OECD countries that fail to authorise spending plans prior to the start of the Budget year. I hope that, in the next mandate, the Executive will bring the Assembly in from the sidelines of public spending decisions. The new Fiscal Council must play an important role. I will not dwell on that point, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, but perhaps the Minister will reference that matter in his remarks later, within the warning that you have given. I know that he also recognises the need for reform.”
“In April, the Education Committee raised concerns about how it could carry out effective scrutiny in those circumstances. The Committee has also consistently expressed its concern about the consequences of the one-year, as opposed to five-year, Budget framework. <BR /> <BR />On 19 May, the Finance Department issued its in-year monitoring guidance. I do not doubt that Education officials have worked and communicated as best they could with the Department of Finance in the in-year process, but the passage of a Budget Bill is supposed to be predicated on meaningful, full and timely consultation to allow Assembly insight and influence. In fact, the Vote on Account that has taken place allows the Executive to get on with their spending proposals, while Committees attempt to mine the granular detail from bundled spending programmes.”