Paula Bradley
North Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I am especially grateful to all the women who, especially in my first mandate here, were a constant support and encouragement to me as a new MLA. Nothing ever prepares you for this role, but many inside and outside this Building are the glue that holds it all together.”
“I thank them for their support, especially over the last week, with the phone calls, emails, cards and flowers, but, most of all, for allowing me to be part of their lives, sometimes at the most difficult times. Secondly, I want to thank my party, of which I have been a member for 20 years.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will try my very best to get through these three minutes without tears in my eyes, though I doubt that that is going to happen. <BR /> <BR />I will begin by thanking you, Mr Speaker.”
“After much discussion with officials concerning the objectives of the Bill, the detail of an SMI loan, the process of registering and removing the statutory charge and how and when an SMI loan is repaid, the Committee was content with the Bill as drafted. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the Final Stage of the Bill.”
“I welcome the Final Stage of the Bill. It is probably the shortest Bill that the Committee considered, but it is no less important, as it aims to protect owner-occupiers in receipt of an income-related benefit from the threat of repossession.”
“I know that I have caused a few headaches over the past two years, but you have always delivered week in, week out and put the needs of the Committee first and foremost. You have made my role as Committee Chair so much easier. For all that you have done, I am truly thankful.”
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“The welfare system was developed from an ideology to help those who could not help themselves; it was designed to be a hand-up and not a handout. Unfortunately, over the years, our system has evolved into one where claimants are finding that they are better off out of work than they are in it and where young people are so disillusioned that they now view the welfare state as almost a career choice. We are bombarded with TV shows that depict those who have made a clear choice to live off the taxpayer. The welfare system cannot sustain that, and, more importantly, people who genuinely need help find themselves tarred with the same brush and feeling a stigma about accepting the help that they, of course, so genuinely need.”
“In my view, the Stormont Castle agreement, along with the various measures negotiated, as the Minister said, by my party colleague Nelson McCausland, endeavoured to protect those who may be hit worst by welfare reform. As the Minister also stated, all Executive parties sitting around the Chamber agreed to that. <BR /> <BR />I find that some people sitting in the Chamber today are completely arrogant to the fact that, for some reason, the economic realities of this present economic world do not apply to Northern Ireland. That astounds me. I believe that the Stormont Castle agreement was the best compromise between facing our responsibilities as elected representatives and protecting the most vulnerable of our electorate.”
“I rise to speak in favour of the Final Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. I thank the Minister for bringing it forward, and I thank him for his opening comments. <BR /> <BR />I believe that when we, as Members, were elected to the Assembly, the public entrusted us to protect the best interests of all society, including the vulnerable, and also to ensure that we maintain good financial control. Often, this is a difficult balancing act, and it involves making some very difficult and unpopular decisions to ensure the long-term viability of this region of the United Kingdom. Both the Republic of Ireland and other regions in the United Kingdom have seen austerity measures being put in place. Welfare systems in both jurisdictions have been overhauled to reflect the different economic landscape that we find ourselves in today.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and for his honesty, and I welcome the fact that the review will take place. If my memory serves me right, the Assembly set down the fee of £350, and that is what I want to lead on to. In my experience, through my office, I have found that that figure has been a great deterrent. When the Minister is looking at his review, will he look at that figure again? Also, is this means-tested?”
“— to benefit those we are elected to represent.”
“<BR /> <BR />The BBC 1 programme made serious allegations that the former Minister had inappropriately acted in his role as Minister, bringing political interference into the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. On examining the evidence, I cannot support a report with that view. Indeed, I believe that the preponderance of the evidence suggests that the actions of the former Minister in asking the Housing Executive, in partnership with the administrator, to consider extending the termination had the best outcome for Northern Ireland Housing Executive tenants. It is my belief that the former Minister, at all times, strived to ensure openness and transparency in his dealings, taking advice when necessary and working at all times —”
“It would appear, through the evidence received by the Committee, that the former Minister's actions were motivated purely by the desire to ensure value for money for the taxpayer and the public purse — a role that all of us in the Assembly are charged with. I agree with the minority report that the former Minister acted appropriately in that matter also. In order to facilitate this aim being met, the former Minister therefore requested that the Red Sky contract should be extended beyond 14 July 2011. That was merely a request, not a direction, and therefore was not to give any private company an unfair advantage. It was also noted that the former Minister always referred to the awarding of contracts through an open procurement procedure.”
“The evidence received was that the former Minister was again overt in the meeting, making it transparent that the issues involved were a matter purely between the administrator and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. That ensured that those present should have been aware that the former Minister's attendance was merely in a role to listen to concerns as per the advice he had received. Again, I agree with the minority report that, in this respect, the former Minister acted appropriately. <BR /> <BR />In light of what the former Minister had heard at the meetings, Mr McCausland corresponded with relevant personnel advising that he felt that a forensic investigation should be made of other contractors in order to avoid a repeat of the issue experienced by Red Sky.”
“No. The Member will have plenty of time of his own to discuss it. <BR /> <BR />The advice that the former Minister, Nelson McCausland, received was that he was free to meet whomever he chose. According to the permanent secretary, that was correct and the Minister simply had to be cautious about what he discussed at any meetings and his role at meetings. I, therefore, agree that, in that respect, the former Minister was acting within the remit of his authority. <BR /> <BR />Prior to the meeting, the former Minister received advice about the limitations of his role at the meeting. He was informed that the cautious approach was appropriate when discussing any contractual affairs.”
“With that in mind, I find that I cannot support the main report tabled by the Committee but, instead, support the findings in the minority report, which was included in the appendix of the main report. <BR /> <BR />The first point that the minority report investigates is that the former Minister had acted appropriately in attending meetings with East Belfast MLAs. It is my belief that it was contained in the evidence that the Minister had checked the legality of such a meeting and, therefore, he attended in an overt attempt to ensure that his actions were correct.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will start off by saying that, when the Committee began to investigate the appropriateness of the actions of the former Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, in relation to the termination of the Red Sky contract, it became clear very quickly that certain members of the Committee brought with them a preconceived idea about the events that they were being asked to investigate. That being the case, in my opinion, any report would be extremely biased and would be based not on the evidence before them but rather on that presented by a television programme. There was no premise of "innocent until proven guilty" but, rather, trial by media.”
“I rise as a member of the Committee for Social Development. I am thankful that we have finally got to the stage of debating the issue in the House after what has been almost two long years of work, evidence-gathering and listening quite often over and over again to the same evidence-gathering and coming to the same conclusions. In my opinion, the past two years would have been better spent getting on with the programme of DSD and achieving some of the goals that we wanted to achieve in this mandate. We have now left ourselves a very short timescale to achieve some of that.”
“I also thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. In my question, I looked at full-time employment as well. We know that all our children are different, whether they have a learning difficulty or not; some go on to further education and, for others, that is not what they want to do. Does the Minister agree that there is a role within the public sector? I know that some councils and other public bodies have schemes that are open to children with learning difficulties. Does the Minister believe that there is a role for that and that it should be more uniform?”
“<BR /> <BR />I support all the Committee's recommendations and I believe that relatively low numbers of people will be affected negatively by the Bill, while the improvement to other people's lives will be significant. I also believe that the issue of pensioner poverty will be positively addressed. At present, our system is extremely complicated and off-putting to many who need it most. I support the Final Stage of the Pensions Bill.”
“Indeed, often, those unpaid carers do not identify themselves as carers and instead see themselves as just carrying out the role of a family member. <BR /> <BR />As the Chair of the Committee said, there were concerns about the introduction of the bereavement support payment. Although those concerns and others have been addressed, I remain concerned about the disadvantage to those who are not married but are in cohabiting partnerships. I recognise the difficulty involved in identifying which relationships meet the criteria and which do not, especially in the aftermath of the loss of a partner. I also have concerns about workers who find themselves on zero-hours contracts and about whether those people will be able to access pensions.”
“As we know, the Pensions Bill is part of a package of reforms. This legislation will bring us into line with the other areas of the United Kingdom. The key aspect of the Bill is that it will simplify the pensions system and bring in a single-tier pension, which should make it easier for users to navigate. <BR /> <BR />There are a number of positives in the Bill. It will simplify the pensions system and provide clarity on the future of our pensions system. The Bill also allows those who previously may have been at a disadvantage under the old system to be on a more equal footing. That is people such as carers and the self-employed, as long as they meet such requirements. However, it is not perfect, as many people who act as carers are not officially notified as such.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Does the Minister agree that every effort must be made to ease the transition for pupils who are going from Newtownabbey to the Monkstown school, given that they live in an area of high deprivation in north Belfast? Does he also agree that there is at least a moral argument that pupils should not have to meet the three-mile criterion?”
“I thank the Minister for her answers so far. Can she confirm that consideration will be given to those libraries that are in neighbourhood renewal areas, such as Rathcoole in north Belfast and other parts of north Belfast, where there are considerable problems with low educational attainment? What role does the Minister believe libraries should play in that?”
“I welcome the opportunity to make a few very brief comments on the Consideration Stage of the Bill. As I said previously on the Bill, changes to our pension scheme are necessary not only to make it in line with Westminster but to meet the changing demographics of our society. I agree with the Chair's comments, especially in highlighting the concerns about cohabitees and informal carers. I hope that the Department will undertake to review and monitor that situation. <BR /> <BR />The Bill was thoroughly scrutinised, debated and agreed in Committee, and as this debate is about focusing on the amendments, all of which are technical, there is very little else to say. Of course, I will not prolong the debate any longer, other than to say that I support the amendments.”
“As the chair of the all-party group on sexual health, I welcome the Minister's response, albeit that I impress on him the pressures that our GUM clinic up in the Royal is facing. As the Minister will be aware, we have a reduction in cervical cancer due to a good vaccination programme in our girls, albeit that we still have not provided that for our boys. We also have a reduction in teenage pregnancies. What is the Minister doing to further reduce this number?”
“As the Committee for Justice and the Examiner of Statutory Rules have scrutinised the rule and are content with it, there was no need for the Ad Hoc Committee to take further evidence. Mr Speaker, the Committee asks that the Assembly approve this report, and I commend it to the House.”
“I welcome the opportunity to conclude this short debate on the Ad Hoc Committee report. I would like to thank the Committee Chairperson for opening the debate and to thank Mr Ross, Chair of the Justice Committee, and Mr Elliott for their contributions. In any of our debates in the Committee, nothing was raised of any of the issues that have been brought up today. As this is a straightforward statutory rule, there is very little that I can add to what has already been said, except perhaps to summarise. <BR /> <BR />As the Chairperson mentioned, the purpose of the rule is simply to add the PSNI to the list of criminal justice organisations to which the AGNI issues guidance on human rights standards.”
“As a representative of North Belfast, I thank the Minister for his answers. What exactly has the strategic advisory forum achieved?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Like him, I have had taxi drivers in my office who have applied for licences and have been left in debt because of the Department. What measures can he put in place to speed up the process or even to compensate those taxi drivers who applied in plenty of time and who, because of delays in the Department, are left unable to work?”
“I thank the Member for bringing that up, because it is a very important point. We were talking about meritocracy and the merit principle, but the merit principle has been in for some time in the Civil Service, and yet we still have not seen that increase in women promoted to the top jobs. Would you comment on that?”
“I would like to think, Mr Speaker — I know that I am very late — that this time next year or the year after, I will not be standing here having the same conversation.”
“I think they have a lot to answer for, and this came up time and again in the submissions. The 10 minutes that people see on the news at night about this party, that party or other parties having debates and arguments is not really the life of an Assembly Member, and it does not show a true reflection of what we do and how we work together. <BR /> <BR />I will finish off, Mr Speaker, by saying that this is timely and that we do need to see changes. It also shows that we are debating this matter — albeit we debate it only once a year, and we need to debate it more than that — and that we are evolving and maturing as an Assembly where we can now put this on the table and say, "We need to make changes".”
“I certainly will. <BR /> <BR />Thank you very much for your intervention; it was very welcome. <BR /> <BR />As I said, I met a cross-community group of women from Ardoyne not that long ago. What did they want to talk to me about? They wanted to talk to me about health, education, suicide and legal highs — all the problems that are happening in their community. Way down at the bottom of their list were the orange and green issues of Twaddell and the parade. That was important to them, but other issues were much more important. We need to look at how we deliver our politics and send out the strong message that we, as an Assembly, do many more things than argue and debate over orange and green politics. <BR /> <BR />That leads me on to the press and the media.”
“We have so much to say and so much to give. <BR /> <BR />Working with our local communities, I see an underlying current of strong, capable women who want to put their point of view across but are so much put off by this political institution and what it is. Time and again within those groups, women come and speak to me about the issues that matter to them. I recently went to see a cross-community group of women from Ardoyne. <BR /> <BR />If anybody would like to come in at any stage and intervene to give me an extra minute, I would appreciate it.”
“I thought, "Oh my goodness, is that the message we are putting out from the Assembly; is that a true representation of what we are in Northern Ireland?" I went on to tell them that I grew up in a working-class family, lived in a housing estate and was a single parent of two children by the age of 23, and still managed to break into political life and still managed to have an important role in the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />I think that we need to dispel a lot of the myths that surround politicians in Stormont. We also need to look at our culture in Northern Ireland. We have a culture where the woman's role is seen very much as the caring role, which we are, and, of course, I am happy to be that, but we are so much more than that. We are so much better — not that we are better than that but that we are more than that.”
“Like many other female Members in the Chamber, I go out regularly to speak, especially to women's groups — especially to young women's groups — and the feedback I get time and again is the great barrier that women face and how we are projected as women in the Northern Ireland Assembly. I remember being at an event not that long ago that was run by the Northern Ireland Women's European Platform (NIWEP) and Youth Action in the MAC, and Megan Fearon was with me at that event. <BR /> <BR />I sat with a group of young educated women, and their explanation of a politician was as follows: middle-aged, middle class, graduate and male.”
“Under the terms of reference, we examined the barriers that women face when entering politics, with particular reference to the Northern Ireland Assembly, initiatives to assist women entering politics, including positive actions, and the role of current Members. You will note from the Committee's conclusions that it was agreed unanimously that under-representation of women must be addressed by the Assembly as a matter of urgency. <BR /> <BR />I will turn to the submissions received in relation to the barriers that women face when entering politics, which are under the following headings: institutional barriers; political barriers; socio-economic barriers; and individual or psychological barriers.”
“Therefore, it is very timely, albeit, as my colleague said, other issues will, I imagine, take up the news and media tonight. We will be very fortunate if we get as much as five seconds on the news tonight, but let us hope that someone out there actually sees that this issue is equally important to the others that will be discussed today.”
“I think I also need to give a vote of thanks to the Business Committee for tabling it today, because I know that there was a bit of difficulty in doing that. <BR /> <BR />As other Members have said, it is very timely that we are discussing this today, having seen over the weekend — on Saturday, in Belfast, and on Sunday, all around the world — women and men going out to join together to seek equality for women and to remember those wonderful pioneers in our history who came before us to make a difference, political and societal.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I, too, welcome the opportunity, as one of the only two female representatives on the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, to talk about our review on women in the Northern Ireland Assembly. I thank everyone who was involved in what has culminated in what we have before us. I thank the Committee Clerks, those who provided us with written and oral evidence and the Icelandic Parliament and the Welsh Parliament for their valuable help. I also say a big thank you to Michael Potter for the wonderful, wonderful research papers that he presented to the Committee on many occasions. No matter what we asked for, he seemed to be able to turn it up. <BR /> <BR />As others have done, I welcome the fact that we are having the debate today, the day after International Women's Day.”
“I also thank the Minister and welcome his statement. Following on from the Chair's comments, what are his plans to strengthen local cardiology skills?”
“I thank the Member for tabling the question. Recently, the Committee for Social Development had a briefing from the task force, and it highlighted, as you have, that early intervention is one of the key priorities that needs to be addressed. What is your Department doing to encourage homeowners in distress to seek advice early?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer thus far. I am certainly in agreement with him that this is one reason why other patients have to wait longer for appointments. Has the Minister considered setting a target for the number of cancelled appointments? Could that improve the situation?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he elaborate on and outline the volume of lending by banks to local business?”
“I thank the First Minister for his answer. As we know, most of the money for culture and the arts in Northern Ireland comes via DCAL, although there is considerable investment through other agencies, including those responsible for good relations and community engagement. Can the First Minister confirm that culture and the arts will be integrated into the Together: Building a United Community project?”
“I look forward to the course of the debate, what has to be said, and, of course, to the Minister's response.”
“When we look at housing benefit and child components, I hope that he will highlight that those are not affected under sanctions if someone is in full receipt of both.”
“I welcome the amendments resulting from the Stormont House Agreement and thank the Minister for setting out reasons for those amendments. I believe that the Minister will respond later, and I look forward to that. <BR /> <BR />I also thank the Minister for bringing up the issue of just cause. We know or we all should know that, in our current benefits system, just cause can be used as a reason why some people fall into making claims that they should not have made or do not turn up for appointments that they should have turned up for. Just cause is a very relevant reason, and I am glad that the Minister brought it up and that we know that it will pass on into universal credit as well. <BR /> <BR />I would also like to highlight the issue of sanctions, and I will ask the Minister to comment on it later.”
“I know through experience of many cases in my office that this is especially true of people who have worked for an employer for many years and, through no fault of their own, found themselves unemployed and having to apply for benefits. Because of conflicting information and the difficulties in completing forms, some of those people have found themselves in extreme debt. They have faced court action and been labelled as benefit fraudsters. <BR /> <BR />I am not naive, and I recognise that there are those in our communities who set out with the clear intention of defrauding the system. That is something that, I believe, all Members here would find completely unacceptable. It is for those reasons that we need a clear, unambiguous policy direction that leaves people certain of the penalties for non-compliance and fraudulent activity.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak, albeit briefly, on the third group of amendments, which deals with sanctions. As we heard many times yesterday, welfare reform was designed to make work pay, increase social mobility and engage people to take responsibility. Sanctions was another highly contested issue that resulted in lengthy written and oral responses. <BR /> <BR />There was particular concern for people with disabilities and claimants with children, especially lone parents, given the lack of affordable childcare. It was also highlighted that the current system was difficult to understand, with some people falling into the category of benefit fraud through no fault of their own.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Flexibility allows us to make changes, as we all know and as you have also stated. For some people, two-weekly payments may not be what is required: we may want to change that, but we cannot do so if it is under primary legislation. It is therefore better to deal with it in regulations in case we need to make changes. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I look forward to hearing the rationale for the tabled amendments from all the proposers and, of course, how they propose to pay for some of the changes. <BR />I am happy to support amendment No 35 and the opposition to clause 129 standing part, but I will not be supporting any other amendments in group 1.”
“<BR /> <BR />As most of us should be aware — and I do find it rather strange that the Ulster Unionist Party is not aware of this — payment frequency was agreed as one of the package of measures by the previous Minister, Nelson McCausland, with the Department for Work and Pensions some time ago. The current Minister went one step further last October by proposing that the default position be twice-monthly. <BR /> <BR />This is just one of the many amendments that should be dealt with in regulations rather than through amendments to the Bill. As we know, regulations will allow for greater flexibility and, therefore, the right place for much of what is listed in these amendments is in the regulations. Mr Speaker, these are just two examples —”
“<BR /> <BR />I now turn to amendment No 8. This is another new clause, put forward this time by the Ulster Unionist Party, and relates to the frequency of payment of universal credit. Again, this was an issue about which there was great concern in the Committee and in both written and oral responses. There was grave concern that under the proposed monthly payments claimants would face financial hardship, which would ultimately be borne by the children in those families. It was also well-documented in the written submissions that, instead of having enforced frequency of payment, claimants should have the freedom to choose. Notably, Advice NI commented that the frequency of payment, whether weekly, fortnightly or monthly, should be geared towards meeting the needs of the person and not the system.”
“<BR /> <BR />First, I draw your attention to amendment No 4, tabled by members of the SDLP, which sets out a new clause where a claimant is unable to provide the documentation required to progress a claim. This was a concern raised in the Committee during initial scrutiny, particularly how it might affect the vulnerable and claimants who were homeless or living in temporary accommodation. As most of us know, from dealing with benefit claimants through our constituency offices, third-party verification is accepted under current claims and payment regulations. As we also know, this is being transferred over to universal credit claims and payment regulations, and it will allow for third-party verification to continue as it is at present. Mr Speaker, this is just one example of an amendment in group 1 that is not required.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, in this group we address the duties of the Department, administration and assessments. Having studied the fairly lengthy list of amendments, I am drawn to the conclusion that many are either not required or will be dealt with in the regulations. Indeed, Mr Speaker, if some proposers of the amendments had been members of the Committee for Social Development when we were scrutinising the Bill, they would have known that much of the detail will be dealt with in regulations rather than through amendments to the Bill. You will be glad to hear that I do not intend to speak on all the amendments — and I will keep the rest of my speech brief — but I want to address two of them.”