Pat Sheehan
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree that the Minister's School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill was poor legislation and a missed opportunity?”
“The last point that you made reminded me of one of the witnesses — a young girl — who came to the Committee. During the winter, she wore her own overcoat, but she had to take it off 100 yards from the school gate because she was not allowed to wear it into the school.”
“Agus iad ag ullmhú le haghaidh scrúduithe GCSE agus ard-leibhéil, féadann an imní agus an éiginnteacht sin drochthionchar a imirt ar a n-oideachas agus ar a bhfolláine.”
“Is scannalach go deo an foréigean ciníoch a chonaic muid le seachtain anuas. Tá ionsaithe ar theaghlaigh, ar thithe agus ar ghnólachtaí doleithscéil, agus tá siad dochosanta. Níor cheart eagla a mbáis a bheith ar dhaoine neamhurchóideacha mar gheall ar a gcine, a gcúlra ná a gcreideamh.”
“One of the reasons, Daniel, is that, if we were to have blocked the Bill at the Executive, the SDLP would be saying tomorrow morning "This place is dysfunctional. You're blocking legislation. Sinn Féin is blocking legislation, and the DUP is blocking legislation". No, we are not blocking legislation.”
“I have not once today argued against inspections. Not once. The Bill is about one thing and one thing only: intimidating and punishing teachers.”
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“We set about trying to shape the legislation by producing amendments that mean that the legislation would do exactly what we want it to do. In that sense, we were prescriptive, but it was not the Committee on its own. I am not a legal expert, and I do not think that the Chair is either, but we brought in legal experts to advise us, and they were not just from the Assembly. The commissioner from the Human Rights Commission came in and gave us legal advice. We took legal advice from them and from drafters in the Bill Office. We are not making it up. We did not wake up one morning and say, "I have a great idea. Let's use this formula of words". It was all done with advice. On occasions when we were not exactly sure that the advice was right, we asked the Bill Clerk to look at it again. On some occasions, that happened.”
“First, I want to touch on an issue that the Education Minister raised during his contribution. He said that the Assembly had passed flawed legislation. That may well be true, but it is also true of every other legislature in the world. Nothing will always be perfect. We will do our best to make sure that it is. Sometimes, the Assembly might fail. It has not failed often. <BR /> <BR />The Minister also said that he was not a legal expert; nor are members of the Committee. We took advice. All of us approached this on the basis that we wanted to do something to help hard-pressed families and parents who, sometimes, spend exorbitant amounts of money on school uniforms; not for every school but for some schools.”
“You mentioned the guidelines, and the Minister was clear today that the guidelines follow the legislation. That is contrary to what we were told in Committee; in fact, officials told us in a private meeting with the party that we would be reassured, when we saw the guidelines, that there would be no need for amendments. I wonder whether my memory of the discussion on guidelines is similar to yours.”
“That being the case, why was the Committee promised that it would be given sight of the guidelines as far back as March and April?”
“I know that you are new to the Committee, Jon, but the Committee took evidence from one young girl in particular who attends a well-known school in Belfast, and her family is quite economically challenged. They cannot afford the school overcoat, so when she is 100 metres from the school, she takes her own overcoat off and carries it into school, but she still has 100 metres to go, whether it is raining, snowing, freezing or whatever. It is not just a matter of children being excluded from school, albeit there are children who are effectively excluded from schools because their parents know that they would never be able to afford the uniform. In some cases, it is 600 or 800 quid. I understand that you want to support the Minister's amendment, but I do not think that your rationale for doing so has been very convincing here today.”
“That is exactly why we worked with others across the Chamber, particularly the Alliance Party and the SDLP, in the Education Committee, to table wide-ranging amendments so that, no matter which Minister may be in post, families could be assured of consistency and fairness regardless of who holds office. <BR /> <BR />Finally, while we support this group of amendments, again, I must mention the missed opportunity. We tabled amendments on children's rights, on equality, on making reasonable accommodations for pupils with additional needs and on uniform reuse schemes, all of which were considered not to be part of the Bill and that, therefore, cannot be debated today. Perhaps, in due course, we will get an explanation of why that is the case. Sin a bhfuil le rá agam.”
“We should all have that attitude in trying to get our children into school, because we all know about the long tail of underachievement here. <BR /> <BR />There is a wider issue. To date, as I have mentioned, neither the DUP Education Minister nor his Department has produced the draft guidelines that will accompany the Bill. Never mind that we were promised the guidelines; it is just not good practice, if we are serious about legislating properly, that the Department and the Minister should promise us guidelines but we do not get them. We are being asked to blindly trust the Minister, and we are not prepared to do that.”
“That means that pupils could still be punished for uniform breaches as long as the punishment is not judged to be undue. The point of the Bill is to stop unfair penalties on families, not legitimise them with wriggle room. We will oppose that amendment. <BR /> <BR />For Members' information, we recently spoke to a principal whose school has an excellent uniform policy. Parents are able to purchase the uniform of that school for £2 less than the uniform grant. With the Bill, the Minister could have done the same thing for every school. One of the big issues in our schools is absenteeism. Many children are absent because they have not conformed with uniform policy. That principal told us that he does not care what children wear, as long as they are in school.”
“If the Minister were serious about trying to marshal support for the legislation, the guidelines would have been available long before today. <BR /> <BR />As I said, the days of schools ignoring guidance cannot continue. Families are relying on the legislation to make a difference. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 11 removes ambiguity, and amendment No 12 requires directions to schools to be published. Parents need to know when a school has been instructed and compelled to change course. <BR /> <BR />I will touch on amendment No 10, tabled by the Minister. It would undermine any limited protections that the Bill might have offered to children and young people. It proposes to insert the word "undue", which, in my opinion, raises the threshold for intervention.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention, and I agree wholeheartedly. Any legislation must garner the confidence of the House in the Minister's seriousness about the intention behind it. It seems that the Minister is involved in a bit of window dressing, saying, "Look at me. I will bring in legislation that will make uniforms more affordable". In reality, we have thus far seen no evidence that that will happen. The Chair of the Committee will know that we were promised that we would see the guidelines. At one stage — probably April or May; maybe even before then — we were told that we would see them the following week. When they did not arrive, we were told, "It might take us a couple of weeks. We have to dot the i's and cross the t's". Where are the guidelines? We still have not seen them.”
“If schools ignore statutory guidelines, what will the Minister and the Department do? Will they say, "Come on, play the game. Get your act together and implement a fair and affordable uniform policy in your school"? The school will say, "Minister, sling your hook". What will the Minister do? The days of schools ignoring such guidance cannot —”
“I wonder whether the Minister has spoken to any schools about implementing those guidelines. I am pretty sure that he has not.”
“Families deserve full transparency and a clear rationale from the Minister if no cap is introduced. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 9 gives the legislation some teeth by compelling intervention when schools ignore the rules. Is that not just simple and straightforward? If you tell a school what it has to do, and the school says, "No, we do not like that and will not do it", should there not be some sanction for that? There are already guidelines, although they are not statutory, on school uniforms and school uniform policy.”
“I listened to the Minister — this is why I am so concerned about his intentions — when he was asked about that in a radio interview, and he could not even mildly criticise what that school had done. That was very disappointing. It showed that the Minister is not really serious about building affordability into the legislation. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 4 requires guidelines to be laid before the Assembly. That is democratic oversight: pure and simple. If we want parents to trust the process, we cannot have decisions taken quietly, behind closed doors, by the Minister and his colleagues. As my colleague Daniel McCrossan said earlier, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant". <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 8 forces the Department to report on uniform costs, to assess the impact of any cost cap and, if no cap is introduced, to explain why.”
“<BR /> <BR />Amendment No 1 puts a clear duty on the Department to review guidelines at least once every three years. Families deserve the reassurance that those rules will not gather dust on a shelf. The cost of uniforms is not static. In recent years, we have seen the impact of inflation as well as the behaviour of some schools and suppliers, all of which drives up prices for families. Recently, we saw that a school had introduced a new blazer for its high performers. No one objects to schools acknowledging excellence in their school, but what that school did was to say that, if you were a high achiever, you could get a £180 woollen blazer to show how good you had been.”
“We are not even sure what impact it will have. I suppose that what the Minister wanted was for the Assembly to give him the power to make guidelines. What the Committee wanted was for the Bill to be much more prescriptive, because, whatever guidelines the Minister may intend to implement at some stage, another Minister could come in and change those guidelines. If the Bill were more prescriptive and issues such as affordability and equality were included in it, we would be in a much stronger position. <BR /> <BR />The amendments in group 1 ensure that any guidance that comes out of the Bill is not only written but enforced and monitored. I will speak briefly in support of amendment Nos 1, 4, 8, 9, 11 and 12. I will not support the Minister's amendment No 10.”
“I would like to be able to get up and say that I welcome the Bill as far as it goes. Unfortunately, it does not go very far at all, and that is the difficulty with it. We on the Committee had a very productive Committee Stage. The Committee heard evidence from many witnesses, including from schools, teachers, parents, the Children's Commissioner, representatives from the Human Rights Commission and others. There was an opportunity to include in the Bill affordability and equality, not just for boys and girls but for children with special needs, so that they would also win from the legislation. The Minister and his party, I have to say, were opposed to practically all the amendments that were brought forward by the Committee. That is unfortunate. What we are left with is a watered-down piece of draft legislation.”
“Níl aon pháirt rómhór ná róbheag — tá páirt againn go léir le himirt le deireadh a chur le dúbhearta Iosrael in aghaidh na daonnachta. Is bagairt bhradach í Iosrael atá ag sárú ar an dlí idirnáisiúnta agus ar chearta an duine. Baghcat, dí-infheistíocht agus smachtbhannaí an t-aon dóigh amháin a stopfar coireanna Iosrael. Nuair a chuirfear stop le feachtas marfach Iosrael agus nuair a thabharfar na daoine atá ciontach os comhair na cúirte sa Háig, beidh síocháin, dínit agus dóchas ann do mhuintir na Palaistíne.”
“Tá sé ríthábhachtach go seasfaimid le chéile in aghaidh chinedheighilt, fhorghabháil agus chinedhíothú Iosrael, agus go dtacóimid le hiarrachtaí idirnáisiúnta comhordaithe. Tá na duisíní long ag taisteal trasna na Meánmhara faoi láthair leis an bhac mhídhleathach ar Gaza a bhriseadh. Meastar gurb é global Sumud flotilla an cabhlach sibhialta comhordaithe is mó riamh. <BR /> <BR />Cáinim go láidir an t-ionsaí a rinneadh aréir ar long de chuid an chabhlaigh a bhí sa Túinéis. Léiríonn an t-ionsaí sin nach bhfuil a dhath trom ná te ag Iosrael ná ag lucht a pháirte. Cuirim in iúl mo dhlúthpháirtíocht do na céadta gníomhaithe atá ag glacadh páirt sa chablach. Má sheasaimid i leataobh agus gan a dhath a dhéanamh is ionann sin agus an bua a ligean leis an olc.”
“Sna 24 an chloig seo caite, tá Benjamin Netanyahu i ndiaidh ionradh talún a dhéanamh i gCathair Gaza, á rá le saoránaigh na cathrach "a bheith ar shiúl anois". Cá rachaidh siad? Tá siad sáinnithe. Tá normalú á dhéanamh ar an ghlanadh eitneach os ár gcomhair. <BR /> <BR />Dé Sathairn 6 Meán Fómhair, chuaigh baill de chuid Shinn Féin i gcomhar leis na milliúin gníomhaithe ar fud an domhain le Lá Domhanda Gníomhaíochta do Gaza a cheiliúradh. Rinne Comhghuaillíocht Dhomhanda na Palaistíne, a bunaíodh le déanaí, rinne sin comhordú ar lá domhanda gníomhaíochta, agus é mar aidhm aici comhghuaillíocht idirnáisiúnta leathan a thógáil le féinchinntiúchán na Palaistíne a chosaint.”
“Tá na híomhánna scanrúla de pháistí a mharaigh fórsaí Iosrael as eadán a chéile, cibé acu trí ionsaithe aeir nó talún, tá sin ar an rud is scanrúla ar fad. Is smál ar an chine daonna é a bhfuil ar siúl in Gaza. <BR /> <BR />Dar le hOifig na Náisiún Aontaithe um Chomhordú Gnóthaí Daonnúla go bhfuil líon oifigiúil na mbásanna ar taifead anois níos airde ná 63,000 duine. Is páistí iad 29% den líon iomlán — sin 18,400 páiste. Níl ciall do náire ag Benjamin Netanyahu ná ag a chomhchiontóirí agus iad ag marú mná agus páistí neamhchiontacha. Níl aon fhadhb acu iriseoirí a mharú; níl aon fhadhb acu dochtúirí ná oibrithe cabhrach daonnúla a mharú ach oiread agus iad ag iarraidh cuidiú leis na híospartaigh den chinedhíothú seo.”
“Le 23 mhí anuas, tá muid ag amharc ar chinedhíothú agus é á chraoladh beo ag a íospartaigh féin. Chonaic gach duine againn sa Seomra na híomhánna uafásacha de choirp chráite, mhaslaithe, coirp páistí agus leanaí nuabheirthe san áireamh, chonaic muid sin ar an teilifís s’againn nó ar na meáin shóisialta ag teacht ó Gaza. Déanann Palaistínigh in Gaza taifeadadh ar an bheatha dhosheasta acu gach aon lá — an bás, an t-ocras agus an léirscrios — rinneadh an tuairisciú sin a mhaolú san Iarthar, nó tá an tIarthar ciontach chomh maith i gcoireanna Iosrael. Ach níl a dhath ar bith normálta faoin rud atá ar siúl; níl a dhath normálta faoin bhás agus an léirscrios a bheith ina gcuid den ghnáthshaol.”
“— education here will not be reformed. Will the Minister not accept that and accept the evidence?”
“Until that egregious practice, which damages children and the system, is ended —”
“In his statement, the Minister said that we will benchmark against some of the highest-performing education systems elsewhere. If we benchmark against the education system in the South of the island, the evidence shows that we lag miles behind it. Far more young people in the South go into third-level education, and far fewer leave school without qualifications. <BR /> <BR />Our big problem here is the long tail of underachievement. Bob Salisbury, a well-known educationalist, once said that we had the longest tail of educational underachievement in western Europe. In comparative studies of the systems North and South, one of the big differences that the spotlight has been on is academic selection.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a ráiteas.”
“The point that I was making was that there has not been real accountability of the funding that has been given to special needs, thus far. If the Minister can demonstrate value for money with the funding that he is putting into it, all of us would be in a different position when it comes to going to the Finance Minister, on his behalf, to ask for more money.”
“If he does not want to prioritise funding for children with special educational needs, he should say that. <BR /> <BR />Our children deserve better. They deserve dignity, certainty and respect. They deserve a system that plans ahead and works for them, not against them.”
“We need proper forward planning, real collaboration between Health and Education and an end to the practice of expecting the non-selective sector alone to deliver inclusive education. Every school, including the grammar schools with the greatest resources, must take their fair share of responsibility. <BR /> <BR />At Question Time today, I heard the Minister again say that he needs more resources from the Finance Minister. Let me remind him that, Audit Office and PAC reports reveal that, despite the fact that hundreds of millions of pounds of funding has been put into special educational needs, neither the Department nor the EA was able to show value for money or efficiency. The Minister has his own budget: he can prioritise to where that budget is directed.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have also seen failures beyond the classroom. Just last week, parents contacted my colleague Danny Baker distraught because their children had been left waiting for school transport that never arrived. Families who secured a placement for their child now discover that the bus is not turning up to get them. How can that be acceptable? <BR /> <BR />The Education Authority and the Education Minister have failed those children time and time again. Hundreds of children with special needs still do not have a suitable placement. Many of those who do cannot get the support that they need or transport to get them there. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin is clear: we need a SEN-first approach that puts the needs of the children at the very centre of the placement process, not as an afterthought.”
“That information just does not exist. <BR /> <BR />There is a deliberate over-reliance on our non-selective schools and schools in working-class communities to carry the heaviest burden of SEN provision. A few months ago, just before recess, senior leadership figures in the Education Authority revealed to me that not one grammar school had been asked at that stage to establish specialist provision. I had to drag that answer out of an official. I had to ask him at least five times how many grammar schools had been asked to set up specialist provision, and none had. That is an absolute disgrace. Those are often the schools with the best resources and the most resources, and they should share the responsibility of supporting some of our most vulnerable children. That is not inclusion. It is not fairness, and it certainly is not planning.”
“The problems go deeper than a few delayed placements: they are systemic. There has been a marked and sustained rise in SEN diagnosis, the trajectory of which was crystal clear, yet the Education Authority and the Department utterly failed to plan strategically for that rise. <BR /> <BR />There has been the continuing failure of the Department of Health and the Department of Education to work together, as Nuala McAllister has just mentioned, in any meaningful way to provide joined-up support for children with additional needs. We have interrogated officials, as well as the allied health professionals union, and none of them was able to tell us how many children with a particular need are in our system and how many children with speech and learning difficulties need behavioural therapists and occupational therapists.”
“Some children are on reduced timetables, while others are placed in schools where the necessary facilities, required staff and wrap-around support have not yet been put in place. Families still live with uncertainty, anxiety and stress as they try to plan for their children's future. That is not a success story but a damning indictment of a system that, year after year, fails to plan, fails to prepare and fails to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children.”
“This summer, we have seen yet again a crisis in special educational needs placements, with hundreds of children and their families facing an anxious and agonising wait for support and certainty. While, on paper, the number of those awaiting placements has been reduced significantly, that does not tell the whole story. Many of the so-called placements offered to families do not exist in reality.”
“How many of those schools have specialist provision? The answer is two. Half of primary schools with over 60% of children receiving free school meals have specialist provision. We are in a crisis with SEN placements again. Crisis and SEN: it is the same every year. What is the Minister doing to end the chaos that happens every single year? Why not put our children with SEN first?”
“We also need places in mainstream schools for children with special educational needs. The responsibility rests solely, and the buck stops, with the Minister. <BR /> <BR />That having been said, it is also clear that children with special educational needs are being discriminated against in the sector. It took me five times of asking the director of children's services in the EA at the Committee last week before I could get an answer to this question: when did the conversation begin with grammar schools about establishing specialist provision in them? The answer was this: this year. I do not know when this year. It could have been last week, but the fact is that not one grammar school in the North has specialist provision. There are 125 primary schools in which less than 10% of children receive free school meals.”
“I want to comment on the issue that the Minister raised at the end of his contribution. There has been a lot of toing and froing about who is responsible for children with special needs not getting a placement. The answer is quite clear: the responsibility lies with the Department of Education and the Education Authority. They are responsible for strategic planning and for ensuring that there are enough special schools here. Apparently, we need up to 11 special schools in order to meet the need.”
“Níor chóir dochar a dhéanamh do pháiste ar bith san áit ar chóir dó bheith sábháilte nuair nach bhfuil sé sa bhaile; níor chóir do aon tuismitheoir a bheith buartha faoi cad é atá ag tarlú taobh thiar de dhoirse na scoile. <BR /> <BR />Tugaimis tús áite do pháistí, ach déanaimis beart de réir ár mbriathra. Tugaimis cluas le héisteacht dóibh sin a lig linn an imní a bhí orthu agus a d’inis dúinn a dtaithí saoil. Tá an t-am ag an Roinn beart a dhéanamh; tá an t-am ag an Aire beart a dhéanamh.”
“<BR /> <BR />Nuair a deir na daoine sin atá freagrach as sláinte agus folláine a chosaint nach féidir leo tacú a thuilleadh leis an phróiseas, ba chóir dó sin a sháith imní a chur ar gach duine sa tSeomra. Chan ag cur locht ar an fhoireann atáimid; a mhalairt atá amlaidh. Caithfimid a chinntiú go bhfaigheann siad oiliúint agus tacaíocht le go dtig leo meas a bheith acu ar chearta na bpáistí. Níl an íde mhídhaonna inleithscéil a choíche, is cuma cé chomh dúshlánach atá na dálaí. <BR /> <BR />Creideann Sinn Féin i gcur chuige oideachais atá bunaithe ar chearta, cur chuige cuimsitheach, atá feasach ar thráma agus atá ag cloí go hiomlán lenár ndualgais ar chearta an duine. Tacaímid leis an rún mar go n-éilíonn sé trédhearcacht, freagracht agus athchóiriú práinneach.”
“I thank the Member for that intervention. <BR /> <BR />Ní teagmhais aon uaire iad na teagmhais sin. Léiríonn siad go bhfuil ag sárú go leitheadach ar an chóras cosanta agus maoirseachta páistí agus nach bhfuil cosaintí láidre do pháistí á gcur i bhfeidhm mar is ceart, go háirithe dóibh sin a bhfuil riachtanais bhreise orthu. <BR /> <BR />Tharraing an Coláiste Ríoga Altranais, ar foras gairmiúil gradamach é atá ag obair ar an líne thosaigh, tharraing sin siar ó thascfhórsa na Roinne Oideachais ar shrianadh agus leithlis. Ní gan machnamh domhain a dhéanamh i dtús báire a glacadh an cinneadh sin. Tharraing an coláiste siar cionn is nach dtiocfadh leis seasamh leis an dréacht-treoir, nó, dar leis nach raibh gealltanais shoiléire ann go bhfuil an treoir ag cloí le cearta an duine agus leis an fhreagracht.”
“When Cara Hunter says that that is corporal punishment by other means, she is absolutely right. That is what happens: normalised behaviour. A child tethered to a fence — a child tied to a fence.”
“I was heavily involved after the scandal at Muckamore, where restrictive practices — I am not talking about the physical abuse — such as seclusion were used on a regular basis, even though they were supposed to be used only as a last resort. On some occasions — we are talking about some of the most vulnerable people in society, with some of the most severe learning disabilities — people were placed in seclusion 70, 80 or 90 times a month. That was not done in secret. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority was carrying out inspections and was able to see the records and did not raise a red flag. Here is the learning from that: behaviour like that becomes normalised. That is why someone thought that it was OK to tie a child's hands to a chair with the straps of his school bag.”
“Lo and behold, there was a photo in the yearbook of the young child tethered to a fence. We know the story of Harry Shakespeare and how he was strapped into a chair, because we have heard his mother tell it many times. His parents were not aware of that at the start. That is why I asked the Minister how he knows that that is not the norm. In most cases, the parents do not know about it.”
“Many Members have talked tonight about restrictive practices, but not many, apart from Cara, went into the detail of what we are talking about. People listening in may not be acutely aware of what sometimes happens in our schools. One example is of a young autistic boy who was stimming in class. Stimming is what autistic children do sometimes, when they feel anxious or under stress. They make rapid movements of their hands or rock in their chair, stuff like that. That child had his hands tied to a chair with the straps of his school bag, on the basis that it was for the good order and discipline of the rest of the class. <BR /> <BR />The Education Committee learned of another case, that of a young boy who was tethered to a fence. That boy's parents knew nothing about it — nothing at all — until the school sent the yearbook home.”
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt inniu go láidir ar son an rúin, nó tá an-imní orm faoi chearta, sábháilteacht, agus dínit na bpáistí inár gcóras oideachais. <BR /> <BR />Bhí an dearcadh ag ár bpáirtí riamh gur gá caitheamh go cúramach, daonnach le páistí agus, thar aon rud eile, meas a bheith againn ar na cearta atá acu. Dá bhrí sin, chuir ar cuala muid sa Choiste Oideachais le linn ár bhfiosrúcháin faoi pháistí á srianadh agus á gcur ar leithlis, chuir sin ár sáith imní orainn. <BR /> <BR />Ná bíodh aon amhras ann: nuair a chluinimid fianaise gur ceanglaíodh páiste de chathaoir lena mhála scoile féin nó gur ceanglaíodh páiste eile de sconsa, caithfimid ceist a chur orainn féin: cén cineál córais a ligeann dá leithéid tarlú? Cén teachtaireacht atá á tabhairt againn do na daoine is leochailí faoinár gcúram?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.”
“I ask you to clarify that it would have been in the Minister's gift to come to the Chamber and make a statement about the issue of placement of children with SEN. However, he decided just to tag three minutes on to the end of his contribution to the debate. That is the point that is being made. It was an afterthought about our children who cannot get school places to get the education to which they are entitled.”
“On a point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.”
“Just a quick question: how do you know that it is not the norm? In many instances, parents find out only by accident that their child was the subject of a restrictive practice, such as being tethered to a fence.”
“A few weeks ago, when the Minister announced his budget allocation for 2025-26, he promised to bring forward the most extensive employment programme of recent times. Will the Minister give some details of the programme or say when we are likely to see a timetable for its publication?”