Mark Durkan
Foyle · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“That review involved an extensive engagement exercise with charities, regulators and funders, aimed at creating a more modern and proportionate regulatory system.”
“When the review was commenced in 2021, many organisations were still in the midst of responding to the pandemic. Since then, they have faced a succession of new and evolving challenges. The ending of European funding programmes, on which so many in our communities relied for decades, has left a significant gap.”
“<BR /> <BR />The broad principles behind the Bill are sensible. The changes will modernise charity regulation, strengthen the Charity Commission's ability to intervene where misconduct or mismanagement occurs, improve information sharing and, importantly, reduce unnecessary red tape, particularly for smaller charities with limited adminis…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today. Before turning to the detail of the legislation — there will not even be that much detail in the debate today at Second Stage — I pay tribute to our charity sector. Across every constituency, charities provide support that changes and saves lives every single day.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst the SDLP supports legislation that removes unnecessary bureaucracy, we should not kid ourselves that administrative reform alone will secure the future of charities and organisations in the voluntary and community sector.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Like other Members, I welcome the fact that we have reached this point. There seems to be consensus among Committee members and, I am sure, all Members that the introduction of these measures will save lives, which begs the question of whether the 10-year delay in introducing the measures had an opposi…”
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“That is important in the long term, as people living with cancer cannot afford to wait. She outlined, as did many contributors, the fact that there are humans behind the statistics and that people deserve better. <BR /> <BR />In her contribution, Catherine Seeley began by commending the Marie Curie nurses, and I certainly echo that commendation, having seen at first hand the tremendous work that they do. She urged women to book a screening as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a call that I also echo. She spoke of the tireless efforts made by staff and the Department. We also recognise that, but, I am sorry, the figures do not lie. "This problem is not new", the Member said; therefore the problem has been not solved. We need to see it solved and we need to work together to get it solved. She actually described the motion as:”
“He fought a very long and hard battle with cancer. Sadly, he ultimately lost that battle. So many Members from so many parties have attended in the two years since his death coffee mornings we have run in conjunction with Macmillan in his memory. That is cancer bringing us together and making us unite. I know how touched and appreciative his wife, Julie, is that there is support for that event from right across the political spectrum. <BR /> <BR />Ms Dobson says we need to be equipped and ready to respond to the increase in demand brought about by public awareness campaigns. Indeed we do. There needs to be proper workforce planning. We need the right people in the right places, and we need enough people in every place. She spoke of the importance in that regard of longer-term budgets.”
“She spoke of the sense of fear and dread and of the impact that a cancer diagnosis has on someone and appealed for a calm and measured approach to today's debate. She highlighted the very real and serious impact of diagnosis being delayed and how that can result, ultimately, in fatal outcomes. She described the performance of some trusts as atrocious. Indeed, on occasion, they do give cause for concern. That is what led to the motion. But we all have to recognise, which we do, when trusts are doing well, and I pay tribute to the Western Trust specifically in this regard. She spoke of her own experience at the hands of cancer, and everyone in here will have their own harrowing tales of loved ones lost. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP family lost someone very dear to us; a member of staff in this Building, Stephen McKiernan.”
“<BR /> <BR />Crucially — a few Members referred to this; indeed, the Minister herself referred to it — we need a new, comprehensive cancer strategy that sets ambitious goals and allocates sufficient resource to ensure that cancer services can improve outcomes, meet rising demand and reduce the undeniable variation in care that exists across the North. I welcome that the Minister has now committed to such a strategy. Obviously, she has given it the due consideration she said she would. <BR /> <BR />I will touch on some of the contributions Members made. The motion was proposed by Jo-Anne Dobson. She referred to an announcement by a previous Health Minister of £40 million that was allocated specifically to deal with waiting lists, but it was later revealed that £18·5 million of it was spent elsewhere.”
“The Executive should conduct a review of diagnostic capacity, including direct access for GPs, and outline steps to ensure that capacity can meet rising demand. <BR /> <BR />The health service needs to develop national data sets for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. That would support ongoing evaluation of how services are performing or, in some cases, sadly, not performing. The Department should review workforce capacity and treatment services to understand where there are shortfalls in staff and set out how they will be addressed. The Department, with the trusts, should undertake work to clarify why operating standards for cancer are not being met.”
“We do not just want to talk about issues that matter to people; we want to see changes that have a positive effect for and on people. It is difficult to think of a more positive effect than ensuring that people get timely access to quality healthcare when they need it and reducing the number of people who need that healthcare in the first place. <BR /> <BR />The motion makes specific reference to cancer services. Yes, we heard from the Minister in the Chamber today and recently in response to a question for urgent oral answer from me on cancer services. We have had questions for urgent oral answer, but patients — people — want to see urgent action. I call on the Minister to implement the recommendations of Cancer Research UK's report on cancer services here in Northern Ireland.”
“Our role is to challenge government to do better, to deliver more, to deliver better and more efficient services and, on this matter, to provide better care for people living here. There is no doubt that we can, we should and we must do better. <BR /> <BR />There has been much derision — misplaced, in my opinion — from the Government Benches about motions brought by the Opposition thus far. This is not about politics; this is about people.”
“I rise to wind up on the motion. I thank all Members and, indeed, the Minister for their contribution to what should have been a largely constructive debate on an issue that should unite us all. I thank and pay particular tribute to those who shared personal and painful experiences with the House. <BR /> <BR />This is Opposition day, and our role as the official Opposition and, I am sure, that of members of the unofficial opposition is not to oppose everything that government does. We recognise and acknowledge the good work that has been done and the good work that is being done, and we certainly recognise the unbelievable and heroic work of people in our health service: doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, porters, the whole shebang. We could not ask for more from them.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer so far. I recognise the problems that have existed in some places where schemes have been carried out. However, does the Minister recognise the environmental as well as the economic benefits that such lighting brings and perhaps the possibility of replacing more street lights? We do know the pressure that the Minister's maintenance budget is under, but there might be more access to capital for such an environmentally friendly scheme.”
“Can the Minister tell the House how many bicycles there are in Beijing?”
“I will bring the Minister back to the A5. Following the delays that the project has encountered thus far, how confident is he that, this time, the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed and that the Department has a robust case that will not be brought down in the courts by opponents to the scheme.”
“I welcome the commitments that the Minister has given on the work that she will do on mental health. What percentage of her budget is allocated to mental health services?”
“Expanding their role, as our amendment proposes, has the support of Nexus, Men's Action Network, Victim Support, Men's Advisory Project, Women's Aid and others. It would be a shame if it did not now get the support of the Assembly.”
“The workers' role includes accepting referrals directly from the PSNI; acting as a liaison between victims and officers to ensure a coordinated and timely response to requests for information from victims; providing support to engage with the criminal justice system by acclimatising victims to the courts and meetings with solicitors; and encouraging engagement with police. Furthermore, these workers ensure that all possible additional avenues for support are communicated to victims and accessed if and when required. In connection with that, I have raised with the Health Minister the completely unacceptable waiting time for counselling services across our trusts. <BR /> <BR />There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the impact of justice support workers from the police and, most importantly, from victims.”
“What are these justice support workers? They are specialist, domestic violence support workers for victims, and they engage with police and the criminal justice system. There are justice support workers in only three policing areas here; two in Belfast and one in Derry supported through inconsistent part funding. It is a shame that not all victims of domestic abuse have access to that vital support. <BR /> <BR />The extension of the scheme would have a hugely beneficial impact on victims; it would enable better access to justice, facilitate early engagement with specialist support, reduce the re-traumatisation of victims and, ultimately, perhaps, save lives.”
“That is 40 years of helping women and families in distress, and, every year, it has to help more women and families in distress. I take this, and every opportunity, to re-emphasise to the Minister, and to the Executive, the need for Foyle Women's Aid's One Safe Place in Pump Street in my city and the need to support that much needed project. <BR /> <BR />Our amendment focuses upon extending the provision of the justice support worker scheme to all policing districts. We have consulted Women's Aid on this amendment and based the wording on its calls and on the calls of other groups. Those groups want to see the introduction of the scheme to all policing districts across the North and effective legislation to criminalise coercive control and the pattern of abuse to which victims are subjected by their abusers.”
“<BR /> <BR />Studies have proven similarities between coercive control and political terrorism. We must salute the courage of victims who have managed to break free of the shackles of such relationships, and we must do everything in our power to give more power to more victims to do the same. We must also acknowledge, as previous Members have, the fantastic work of the many individuals and organisations that support victims: Victim Support, Men's Action Network, Men's Advisory Project, Nexus and more. Recently, a new organisation in my constituency that was set up to help victims of such abuse, La Dolce Vita, was awarded official charitable status. <BR /> <BR />I also make particular mention of Foyle Women's Aid for which this year marks its 40th anniversary.”
“If he were in the Chamber, this would all sound familiar to Mr McCann, who, and I do not think that this is any secret, is a huge fan of 'The Archers', after that show's gripping Rob and Helen storyline that did so much to highlight this very sensitive and important issue. <BR /> <BR />Sadly, domestic abuse is not confined to our airwaves, nor is it manifested only through physical violence. Often, physical attacks occur only after a victim has been cut off from support networks, emotionally abused and manipulated to the point that they are more likely just to accept physical violence or are too afraid to leave. Many of us will know people who have been through this. More worryingly, many of us will know people who are going through this, and we do not even realise it.”
“However, far from being rendered obsolete as a result of this announcement, our amendment has become all the more relevant. The amendment asks the Minister to extend the justice support worker scheme to ensure that patterns of abuse can be identified, meaning that when she does bring the legislation forward to capture controlling and coercive behaviour, she will be able to criminalise patterns of abuse and coercive control. Coercive control is a calculated pattern of psychologically abusive and controlling behaviour, designed to isolate, manipulate and terrorise a victim into complete fearful submission.”
“We cannot afford to let this happen. We need the PPS to work to improve prosecution and conviction rates to give victims and survivors faith in the system, and we all need to work together — not just the Executive — to support victims and survivors, and give them back faith in humanity. <BR /> <BR />I will move on now to our amendment. There has been a very positive public response to Minister Sugden's statement early in her ministry that domestic violence and abuse would be a key priority during her tenure. Her announcement on 'The View' last Thursday night that it is her intention to capture coercive and controlling behaviour will also have been well received by any right-minded person — even one who had just drafted an amendment calling on her to do just that.”
“The appallingly low rates for rape prosecution and conviction highlighted by the previous Member to speak are really shocking, in fact, they are worse than shocking — they are really saddening. While the motion quite rightly encourages victims to come forward, what confidence can any victim have that justice will be done; that it will be in any way worth reliving that anguish and pain? Some may find it even harder to bring themselves to report a rape, following the fallout of the Ched Evans case over the weekend. I am commenting not on the verdict but on the hysteria around it and the ill-informed opinions emanating from barroom barristers and cyberspace solicitors, not to mention the online and offline identification and abuse of the victim, which is sure to scare some people off actually reporting a rape.”
“This welcome motion should concentrate all of our minds and efforts on alleviating the suffering of the victims and survivors of these heinous crimes, and on reducing the number of people — women and men — subjected to this physical and mental torture in the first place. Our amendment adds to the motion, calling for immediate, practical and legislative steps that can be taken in a relatively small time frame that will have a really big impact in protecting victims from further sustained abuse. We also welcome the Green Party's amendment. I do not think anybody could oppose it; however, I regret that we do not have a motion or amendment combining the two before the House today.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. I very much welcome his assertion that the days of the silo mentality have gone. This predates the Minister's time in the Executive, but I recall the Department of Education's budget having to be ring-fenced last year, or perhaps the year before, in order for Sinn Féin to support the Budget. It would do so only with that proviso.”
“I recall in a previous role words of support for this proposal from the Minister. Can the Minister now give the Assembly an assurance of his commitment to making this medical school a reality?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. I place on record my gratitude for the Executive's intervention and investment in City of Derry Airport. Will the Minister inform the House whether he or the Executive have any plans, working in conjunction with Derry City and Strabane District Council, to encourage and increase the use of City of Derry Airport?”
“— other external sporting and community organisations.”
“I think we have to be mindful that, while there is a lot of talk about obesity and children being overweight, we are also seeing huge, increased pressure on children — boys and girls — to have the perfect body, and we are seeing an increase in the number of young people — again, girls and boys — with eating disorders as a result and other mental health issues. <BR /> <BR />The importance of physical activity cannot be understated. The importance of a healthy and balanced diet is also huge. We have to do all we can to ensure that the next generation get both. Schools have a massive role to play, and we have to ensure that they get the support to do so. There are the Sure Start and early years programmes, which need to be supported too, as well as —”
“So, obviously, there is work to be done with parents through early years programmes. I always say that the early years are not quite Vegas, because whatever happens there does not stay there; it carries on throughout life. <BR /> <BR />More needs to be done to educate and empower parents. We have to recognise that there are challenges for parents bringing up children today, and any parents in the Chamber will recognise the demands on them and the demands from children. Exercise is competing against TV and on-demand cartoons — you do not just have them for an hour a day any more — computers and consoles. Also, we have to recognise the pressures on children today.”
“While we have heard — the sugar tax might be a case in point — of increasing the price of foods that are deemed unhealthy, I would like to see us do more work to reduce the price of healthier foods, making them more accessible and certainly more affordable for young people. I know that there are young people in my constituency who are maybe four or five years old and have never eaten a banana or an apple. It is frightening to think that. <BR /> <BR />School is only part of the picture, and that is a point that Mr Lyttle made very well. I think that it is also reflected in a briefing I got from John McBride from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who said that one in five children in the UK is overweight or obese by the time they start school.”
“I thought that I might have got more than an extra minute for that one. <BR /> <BR />The link between exercise and healthy eating is inextricable. Much has been done in the area of healthy eating, such as what is available and on offer to young people in schools and, importantly, what is not.”
“The benefits of exercise are much more than physical. That does not apply just to young people, but it certainly applies to them in terms of the benefits to one's mental health. Young people learn when they are involved in sports, particularly team sports. They learn about social cohesion and how to interact with others. They learn the value of things such as teamwork that are invaluable as they go on in life. The link between —”
“Look at what happens in Scotland, home of the deep-fried Mars bar: compared with the exercise that they get, we really have an awful lot of catching up to do.”
“As health spokesperson for our party, I support the motion and the amendment. It is as health spokesperson that I have been appointed to speak on the motion, although I tried to extricate myself from doing so by arguing that this is much wider than a Department of Health issue. The presence of the Finance Minister to respond to the debate indicates that the Executive get that, which is to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />What we have heard today demonstrates clearly that the key to reducing the massive, overwhelming pressure on the health system lies not in the Department of Health but elsewhere. Education has a key role, and that is reflected in the motion and expanded on in the amendment. The statistic cited by Mr Lyttle and others — only 4% of children in school get the required amount of physical exercise — is shocking.”
“We just had Question Time with the Minister for Communities, during which he failed to answer two questions that I put to him. Now that he is supposed to be responding to the debate, might he do that?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Given all the work that the Department is doing allegedly to support the work of vital food banks, does he not find it strange that, in response to a recent question for written answer that I tabled to him, he was unable to tell me how many food banks we have here in Northern Ireland?”
“On the subject of benefit fraud, is the Minister in a position to tell the House how much money has been lost over the past year through benefit fraud and how much has been lost through error?”
“I thank the Minister for her answers thus far. I also very much welcome this scheme and many of the Minister's initiatives, as outlined, that will alleviate pressure on our GPs. On the issue of recruitment and retention of GPs, does the Minister see that a new medical school in the north-west could go some way to increasing the number of people coming into and remaining in general practice?”
“I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for her answer. In the light of the awful figures we heard today; the increase in the number of people suffering from cancer, as she outlined; the data gaps in treatment; the fact that people here do not have the same access to life-improving drugs as those living with cancer in other jurisdictions; and the concerns about the workforce for cancer treatment, does she accept that we should have a cancer strategy for Northern Ireland?”
“What precise mechanisms have been put in place by the Department and, indeed, in the Department, to ensure that the Prisoner Ombudsman's recommendations arising from the Sean Lynch report are implemented faithfully and in full?”
“I congratulate the Minister on the work that has been done on road maintenance, although sometimes I wonder whether Transport NI fixes the potholes or just moves them around so that you cannot memorise them. Does the Minister have a ballpark figure for the cost to the Department through claims for damage caused to vehicles due to poorly maintained roads?”
“Day and daily, children and families had to drive past Altnagelvin on their way to Belfast to get work done and treatment given that they could and should have been getting closer to home. It would have made life a lot easier for everyone. <BR /> <BR />The report from Epilepsy Action NI is a very useful document. It highlights many issues, many — if not all — of which will be touched on today by other Members. It is very sad that a lot of these issues are not exclusive to epilepsy and you see very similar things, particularly with other neurological conditions. <BR /> <BR />To conclude, I echo Ms Dobson's call for action. It is well and good that we have these debates and raise the issues and air our concerns, however what people really want to see is action coming out of them. That is how we will be judged at the end of the day.”
“Thank you. I can assure the House that I will not need the extra minute, but I certainly concur with what Mr Beattie says, and I am sure that the Minister will too. She has previously made public the importance of cross-departmental collaboration on a whole range of issues, and this is certainly one of those, given the massively important and early role that educators play in people's lives. <BR /> <BR />I will go back to the issue of the shortage of staff and a situation that materialised or developed in my own constituency a few years ago. We had a brand spanking new piece of ECG machinery to carry out tests and give treatment to people suffering from epilepsy, however there were no nurse or staff there to use it.”
“<BR /> <BR />The shortage of specialist staff is an issue that, I am sure, causes great concern to all MLAs. Sadly, it is not a problem that is exclusive to the condition of epilepsy.”
“However, on reading through the information pack, I was surprised at just how common epilepsy is and how many people we see every day and possibly talk to every day who are living with the condition and doing their best to keep it invisible. However, it needs to be treated; they need to be treated. They need to have the security of knowing that they will be taken care of, that their condition will be managed and that they will be helped to manage their condition. That is why I think that a database is not a particularly big ask, and I do not think there should be much, or any, resistance to it. It could be a cost-effective means of establishing who needs what care. It will make it easier for people to get the care that they need, and, importantly, it will make it easier for people to give the care that is needed.”
“I also support the motion and would like to congratulate the proposer and members of the all-party group on Epilepsy, who have worked hard and worked together to bring the motion here today. It is something that I expect everyone to be singing from the same hymn sheet on. For that reason, I am not going to speak for too long today. I know that my colleague Gerry Mullan, who is a member of the all-party group, will speak later in the debate and make some more substantive points. <BR /> <BR />Regarding the condition itself, and the impact that epilepsy has on individuals — a few Members have referred to that — it is fairly evident that this condition can be extremely debilitating.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. The Minister refers to the EU rule on the need for equalisation. No one in the House today has disputed the need for equalisation, but what the Pensions Act 2011 did was accelerate that equalisation. That is the point that I was making.”
“The UK Government can and do move the goalposts on legislation when they want to make the nets smaller, to save them more money and to cause people more hardship, but they expect us to believe that they cannot do it when it comes to righting wrongs and ensuring justice. Let the message to Westminster from the Assembly today be very clear: we support this campaign and demand fairness for these women.”
“<BR /> <BR />Transitional protections and mitigation measures for those negatively impacted by welfare reform are welcome, but where is the protection for the women who have worked all their lives only to see their promised pensions taken from them and their retirement age raised? Even the former pensions Minister, Ros Altmann, has said that the Government got it wrong and has called for more help for the women affected. She, like the motion, recognises that women were not adequately informed. <BR /> <BR />The Tory Government have said that the matter is settled: Parliament voted for it, and that is that. Not only is this attitude completely dismissive of the women affected — I pay tribute to WASPI for keeping up its fight — but it is complete bunkum.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention; I was running out of time. The Member voted for the amendments or similar ones in Westminster. The cost of our amendments — they were costed — would have been in the region of £257 million and would have come as a huge relief to the 7,000 women who would have been impacted on positively had they been passed. <BR /> <BR />As an Assembly, we missed an opportunity to show that we are capable of challenging the shackles of parity in a mature and progressive fashion. Some people might even ask what the point of the Assembly is. I also recall an attempt at that time by the then Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, to secure accelerated passage for the Bill so that it would not even have been debated in the Chamber.”
“When we debated the Pensions Bill nearly five years ago, the SDLP proposed amendments, which we believed were fair, realistic and workable, to slow down the equalisation. We put particular focus on women born between 1951 and 1953, who are being particularly harshly treated by these changes. The amendments were very similar to those the DUP and Alliance Party voted for in Westminster but were unable to support here for fear of breaching parity. They chose, as did the UUP, as it happens, to slavishly follow the Acts and actions of the UK Parliament. <BR /> <BR />In rejecting those amendments, the Assembly missed an opportunity not only to reduce the negative impact that we are hearing about today that the changes will have on so many of our citizens but to show that we are capable —”