Judith Cochrane
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />If I may, Mr Speaker, I want to mention one other thing that gave me some added focus as the Bill progressed. Many of you will know that, just as I was launching my consultation, I got the news that Dad was seriously ill.”
“They had a very heavy workload but made sure that they made the time to engage with me and to complete the report. I formally presented to the Committee three times, once after no sleep and wearing the same clothes as the previous day after pulling an all-nighter here, but these things happen when you give yourself tight timescales and ar…”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank all the Members for their engagement tonight. If they could all write me a job reference, that would be really helpful. If all that is true, I should be very employable. I also thank everybody else who has engaged with me during the stages of my Licensing Bill.”
“I might even manage to deliver on the goal of having a clean, tidy house, although I cannot imagine that Jonny will let me take over the role of cooking again just yet.”
“I would like to express my condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the prison officer who, we heard, tragically died today. As we complete this Assembly term, it is clear that there is still so much to be done to stamp out dissident republicanism.”
“I thank the Member for his question. The Member will be aware that, in the recently completed roof project, the Assembly Commission took the opportunity to refurbish or replace all of the existing roof-mounted mechanical and electrical services and, where appropriate, to incorporate renewable technologies in the scheme, specifically photo…”
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“— on spending that money to develop quality teaching?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Does he believe that the free school meal percentage of school population threshold actually allows for the money to be targeted at the children it is designed for, given that the calculation means that some schools with more pupils on free school meals are receiving less additional support than some smaller schools? Should there be more of a focus —”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Is the Member aware of the different concessions that were put in place through the Stormont House Agreement and which were going to protect people for the next three years? People who may not even have been entitled to certain benefits were still going to receive protection, but at least that was a decision that we were making, to take that money out of our block grant, rather than just suffering penalties. It was a decision that we could take in order to protect those people. People were not going to lose out for the next number of years.”
“Parties need to decide now whether they want to continue to be part of the problem or be part of the solution and work towards a resolution to try to recover financial sustainability and restore some faith in the devolved institutions.”
“No, I will move on, thank you. <BR /> <BR />Those are just a few of the examples that show how nonsensical the approach is from some parties. If Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Greens want to truly protect the vulnerable, they need to focus on protecting services rather than trying to protect votes. Yes, they might have some headline-grabbing lines but, when you drill down to reality, they are the ones who are harming the most vulnerable. <BR /> <BR />We are in a financial hole, and the progress of this Bill today will not get us out of it. We simply cannot leave this issue to drag on over the summer recess. Nor can Ministers continue to spend without due caution to the uncertainty that we face.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. He might want to look at some of the figures that show that, if you implemented welfare reform, whilst there may be some families who are worse off, perhaps by £31 a week, more households would be better off by £37 a week, 90,000 households would have no change whatsoever and there would be households that would be able to benefit from having up to 85% of their childcare costs met, rather than 70%. You might want to look at your figures.”
“It has been said that, for every £1 invested in early years education, we save the state £17 in remedial action at a later date. Yet, the early years fund could be cut by £2 million this year, which is almost 80% of its whole budget for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />That £2 million figure might sound familiar. Oh yes, it is the amount that we are wasting every week by delaying on welfare reform. To be clear, the early years programme is predominantly administered to the top 20 disadvantaged wards across Northern Ireland. So, if Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Greens really want to protect the most vulnerable, I suggest that blocking welfare reform and the Stormont House Agreement is not the right way to go about it.”
“Again, there is a disproportionate, negative effect on the most vulnerable, and Sinn Féin, SDLP and the Greens seem content for those young people to be denied that opportunity. <BR /> <BR />Let us consider the impact of the current financial crisis on early years. Because of the budget cuts, we are seeing the Department locked down on protecting school core budgets. That might be acceptable if we were ridding the system of duplication and waste, but we are not. Instead, we are seeing threats to early years provision, despite the evidence that the nought-to-six age group is critical in changing outcomes for future years.”
“<BR /> <BR />Perhaps we should look a bit more at how exactly parties are protecting the most vulnerable by wasting £2 million per week on penalties. First, we have heard about the cuts to university places. Many students are being forced to travel to England, Scotland, Wales or down South to find a place and will end up with greater levels of student debt than if they had stayed at home. Furthermore, as the competition for Northern Ireland places becomes even greater, it is likely that those from the most deprived backgrounds will be the ones to miss out on places, because patterns show that those who are coming out of grammar schools tend to achieve better A-level grades and, therefore, get the places, even though those who do not necessarily get the A-grade results at A levels at age 18 are often the ones to flourish at university.”
“That means investing in and advancing things like the devolution of corporation tax and other economic levers to create jobs, as well as investing in skills to get people into work. It does not mean sticking our heads in the sand and continually taking more of a hit in our block grant, which prevents us from investing in the things that we need to invest in. <BR /> <BR />Of course we want to protect the most vulnerable, but not by condemning them to a life on benefits. What the SDLP is doing by not supporting the Budget, and what Sinn Féin and the Greens are doing by not progressing on welfare reform and Stormont House, is taking away the ladder that allows people to move out of the benefit trap. With every week that goes past, another £2 million is wasted and another rung is taken off that ladder.”
“By contrast, in Northern Ireland, we have, for instance, Danske Bank's chief economist this morning saying that it is ironic that just as the economy is getting back on its feet, this current political uncertainty is likely to dent any recent progress. <BR /> <BR />In an ideal world we would spend as much as we like on public services, but in the absence of a magic money tree we can only spend what we are given and what we raise additionally. We have seen before in this House how keen parties are to explore additional revenue-raising. If parties do not like what is being provided to us by the Treasury and they want to spend more, we need to prove that we are able to grow our tax base to become more self-sufficient. The reality is that, in order to do that, we need to grow the private sector.”
“We are here to add value and make a difference, to make sure that whatever money we have is not being wasted due to duplication of services as a result of division in our society, and to show creativity and innovation in the policies and types of projects that we put in place in order to meet our particular circumstances. It is significant that no other part of the UK has taken the approach of sticking their heads in the sand and deliberately causing further financial uncertainty. <BR /> <BR />Both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, despite their opposition to austerity measures, have introduced Budgets reflecting the cuts that have been passed on from Westminster. They are making devolution work as best they can in order to grow their economies.”
“That is making the pressures on our public services even greater and even more acute and, ultimately, it is having a detrimental impact on the most vulnerable. <BR /> <BR />We have heard over and over from Sinn Féin that it is not here to administer cuts on behalf of the UK Government, and, yes, to some extent it has a point, but it has to recognise the wider constitutional reality. We are part of a UK framework, and that is currently where our finance for public spending comes from. So while I agree that this Assembly is not here to administer cuts, it is because we are not here to simply allocate money in exactly the same way that it is used in other parts of the UK.”
“<BR /> <BR />Of course, most of us have very deep concerns about the cuts made to the Northern Ireland block grant over the past number of years and the very real prospect of further cuts in the immediate years to come, but if we are going to fight that process and join forces with Scotland and Wales, as has been suggested, to present a common front, surely our position will be strengthened if we are able to show that we are capable of acting in a mature and responsible manner now and resolving the financial pressures that we face this year. <BR /> <BR />The issue is quite simple: failure to deliver on the agreements of Stormont House and Stormont Castle, and the failure to face up to the realities of welfare reform, are plunging us into financial uncertainty.”
“I rise on behalf of the Alliance Party to support the Budget Bill passing its Second Stage because it is the least irresponsible thing to do. It is far from ideal, but we believe that it is the only solution available if Departments are to continue to try to deliver some services to people in Northern Ireland and to pay our public-sector wages. However, we are well aware that it does not resolve this latest mess that we find ourselves in. Passing this Bill will, however, buy some more time for those parties that say that they want to protect the vulnerable to come to their senses.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. What is she doing to promote examples of innovative partnerships between arts and business sectors working with young people such as CultureTECH and Seagate, or Translink and the Cahoots theatre company?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. He referred to the partnership between the Prison Service and Belfast Met and the North West Regional College: is that a new model for the delivery of learning and skills?”
“Those who oppose the Supply resolution and Budget Bill are, in effect, voting for bigger cuts, and I have yet to hear a credible alternative. I have heard talk of a fantasy Budget, but I think that the bigger issue is the fantasy economics from some Members of the House. The fact is that Northern Ireland is in a major hole. I therefore urge all Members today to be part of a solution and vote for the motion, so that we can continue to work towards a resolution and recover financial sustainability.”
“<BR /> <BR />Of course, passing the Supply resolution does not in itself change any of the underlying financial and political challenges, but it will at the very least provide some space and opportunity where agreement can be found on implementing welfare reform, delivering the Stormont House Agreement and working towards balancing our books. This is now the time for all MLAs to show maturity and responsibility, to rise above narrow party politics and to show a willingness to confront difficult challenges. <BR /> <BR />Actions in recent weeks by the nationalist parties and the Greens are making Northern Ireland ungovernable and threatening the survival of the institutions. Indeed, it was quite ironic to hear a Sinn Féin MLA talk earlier about others as being "blinded by ideology".”
“The consequences of not passing the legislation are a complete financial vacuum, no decisions on the way forward, financial uncertainty and likelihood of very severe cuts to follow. Avoiding or minimising that eventuality is of primary importance. <BR /> <BR />I believe that Mr Allister's amendment could actually stop any process that accepts the implementation of welfare reform, the Stormont House Agreement or any unilateral action by the UK Government to continue with other aspects of the Stormont House Agreement, so Alliance will oppose the amendment.”
“We subsequently supported, however, the Supply resolution in February to give the Departments the legal authority to begin to spend in the new financial year. I suppose you could say that we opposed the Executive policy on the Budget, but, as the decisions had been taken democratically, we then faced up to our responsibility in government and supported the mechanisms to turn the previous policy decision into reality. We are now in June, and the second Supply resolution and Budget (No. 2) Bill need to be passed to put in place the remainder of the Supply decisions and legal spending power. Without that, we will be subject to even greater pressures. <BR /> <BR />Our central objective must be to do whatever we can to reduce the scale of cuts to public services and to the various levers for economic development.”
“No financial decisions are being taken to ensure that the Northern Ireland Government remain in budget, and the absence of delivery on welfare reform brings considerable financial consequences and risks the Stormont House Agreement, including the financial assistance opportunities for progressing a shared future, dealing with the past and rebalancing the economy. <BR /> <BR />It is clear that proceeding with the Supply resolution and the remaining Budget legislation is the least irresponsible option before us. I say that even though Alliance opposed the current Budget at the Executive in January. We did that because we believed it was not sufficiently strategic and because some difficult yet necessary reforms were not being pursued.”
“I knew that Mr Wilson was referring to 2015-16. <BR /> <BR />I call on the House to show responsibility today by passing the Supply resolution and the Budget legislation to begin the process of recovering financial sustainability. At this moment in time, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly collectively are acting in an irresponsible and irrational manner, and it is easy to understand why many people are cynical and frustrated with us all and their support for devolution is being tested. At present, there is no clear financial framework in place.”
“No, I will not give way, thank you. I want to move on. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion, albeit with a degree of reluctance.”
“I will give way to Mr Wilson if he wants.”
“I have argued the point with my concerned constituents and explained the rationale behind it. It was, however, brought in at a time when not as many preschool places were available. It was, therefore, important to make sure that those children got a place. What I am saying to you now is this: if it were to be removed, would it have such a detrimental impact? It is now just providing a headache. It is giving people an excuse to say that that is why they do not have a place when the evidence is starting to show that it is not. There are nearly enough places now, and it should not matter whether people do not get their first preference.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will leave it at that for the moment. I think that I have asked enough questions. I thank the Minister for his attendance and look forward to his response.”
“<BR /> <BR />That still leaves the issue of the outstanding capital works required to provide permanent accommodation for all pupils on the Strandtown site. Further to the Minister's visit to Strandtown at my request, plans have been drawn up for new wings, but I am concerned that the plans include a large new kitchen area that would be owned by the Education Authority. Can the Minister confirm that, if money is available for some capital build through the schools enhancement programme, the Strandtown pupils will not be expected to forfeit classrooms at the expense of a kitchen for the Education Authority? Obviously, this may be irrelevant if there is no money at all, so, again, I would welcome an indication from the Minister of the likelihood of there being money under the programme going forward.”
“I know that the Minister would be so disappointed if I did not, given the number of times that I have hassled him about it. The Education Authority has finally agreed to submit a development proposal to match the intake number at primary 4 with the admissions numbers for primary 1 in Dundela Infants' School, Greenwood Primary School and Belmont Primary School. I am obviously delighted that the blood, sweat and tears have paid off, although it would have been preferable not to have had to fight so hard for it given that it was always the common-sense approach. I trust that, when the proposal comes before the Minister, he will be swift to approve it, if only to keep me out of his office.”
“<BR /> <BR />I was given an assurance that future plans would not be drawn up behind closed doors by civil servants and that there would be open and transparent engagement going forward. I welcome that approach as I think that many schools and stakeholders have creative ideas and need to be included in area-based planning. We also need leadership from elected representatives. Some will champion a cause for political gain when they really need to consider the wider educational needs of the whole community. When difficult decisions need to be taken, whether it be a school closure or amalgamation, they need to be honest and focus on actually bringing the community with them, rather than raising fears. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I would like to specifically raise the issue of Strandtown Primary School.”
“Indeed, last month, at a meeting with the Education Authority, I queried the issue of future primary provision in the Dundonald area, as I have already begun a process of surveying residents in the new housing development in order to ascertain likely future demand. However, I met only the officers who are responsible for the Belfast district, and it would appear that the matter was not on their radar at all. They were focused on other smaller pockets of increased demand further into east Belfast. It could mean that they propose smaller but costly changes there, less than two miles away from a better and more cost-effective solution. If there is one thing that comes out of this debate, could it be that the Minister directs those in the Education Authority to move away from arbitrary lines on a map?”
“I ask the Minister to enter into direct dialogue with school principals' representatives to look at the concept of greater autonomy, incentives and disincentives in the system to ensure the reduction of shadow activities in the Education Authority. As a start, the layer of administrative burden for employment matters, financial transactions and admissions could be removed and those savings directed straight into the classroom. <BR /> <BR />At the same time, we must continue to focus on area plans, which should not be seen as static. Recent high birth rates in my constituency will have an impact on primary provision in years to come, as will some of the new large housing developments. It is important that the Education Authority and the Department foresee the challenges and are equipped to deal with them.”
“Change needs to be made in terms of self-evaluation, challenging standards and pedagogy. With the greatest respect to our civil servants, it is the school leaders and not the Education Authority who will be able to take this forward. <BR /> <BR />I also have concerns that the new Education Authority has been created with administrative control of over £400 million of expenditure on schools, whilst the budget that is being controlled by the actual schools is £800 million. The balance between school-administered and centrally administered amounts is already the lowest in most Western countries. I do not think that it is the best way to ensure investment in the classroom. When budgets are so tight, the focus must be on reducing the administrative burden, particularly somewhere as small as Northern Ireland.”
“Whilst I understand that the centrally administered amounts for certain programmes can be beneficial, they do not always deliver the desired outcomes. For example, the additional funding allocated due to free school meals might be a way of assisting those from a disadvantaged background, but, when it is allocated as a percentage of school population thresholds, it can mean that some schools with more pupils on free school meals receive less than smaller schools. It needs to be addressed. Furthermore, much of the money allocated from central budgets does not actually lead to the rise in school standards that we look for. If we genuinely want to raise standards across the board, there should be more focus on supporting successful schools to provide the support and ambitious targets for clusters of schools.”
“In East Belfast, there are few, if any, examples of our successful, popular schools being supported, whilst unpopular schools are receiving high levels of support in the form of subsidy, favourable advice and intensive curriculum support. It appears that the current system simply rewards underachievement. There are massive differentials in the part of the budget being administered by schools, with some receiving £2,400 per pupil in the last funding round while another school in the Belfast area received an average of £3,800. There are also further centrally administered amounts, which bring the pupil difference to one school receiving almost twice as much as another.”
“Should we look at the schools that have offered quality education, strong leadership and are financially viable to see whether we should expand some of them, or should we focus on improving the schools that are seen to be failing in order to make them a more acceptable choice for parents? Those are the sorts of questions that need to be asked but do not appear to have been adequately asked in recent years. That is why we are starting to see pressures in the primary sector. <BR /> <BR />I believe that area planning should, first and foremost, be about developing a network of sustainable schools, raising standards and matching provision with the demand for places, but raising standards should not just be about throwing money at poorly performing schools.”
“Most parents try to select a school based on its educational reputation, location, links with the community, family connections and the quality of leadership shown in that school — indeed, many of the same criteria that are assessed under the sustainable schools model. It is no wonder how distressing it can be for parents when they are asked to list five, six or seven choices for their children. <BR /> <BR />Parental choice is important, but I appreciate that not everyone will receive their first preference. However, given the increase in population evidenced with the demand for preschool places in recent years, we need to ask what is being done about proper area planning in East and South Belfast.”
“— apart from the fact that it is a long way from Gilnahirk. <BR /> <BR />Is the Education Authority simply the same structure as our previous boards, with an additional layer of bureaucracy on top? Perhaps I am being harsh, but the Education Authority needs to do more to ensure that relevant information is provided to parents. <BR /> <BR />I will move on to primary-sector provision. There has been a distinct rise in the number of my constituents who have been unable to secure a primary 1 place for their child in their first, second, third and, sometimes, fourth preference. As a parent, I know how much interest you take in ensuring the best educational start for your child.”
“Surely, with the new Education Authority, we should have a more joined-up approach across the old education and library board boundaries, or is that too much to ask for?”
“Every year, I see examples of those who have missed out on a more suitable setting because they marked unrealistic choices on their forms. It is clear that more needs to be done to encourage parents to visit the settings in advance and talk through the admissions criteria. <BR /> <BR />I do not know how many times I have raised this issue, but I continue to see parents being sent lists of options for preschool and nursery settings that are miles away from their homes. If someone lives on the Gilnahirk Road and has applied for a place at Kings Road and Dundonald nurseries but has been unsuccessful in securing a place, does the Minister think that it is appropriate to send a letter to the parents telling them that there are places free in Portavogie but not telling them that there are places in Ballyhackamore?”
“I think that all it does is to make it more difficult to explain to constituents why their child has not been allocated a place in their first choice of setting. They see the criterion as being unfair on working parents. <BR /> <BR />I have analysed intake figures in many of the East Belfast providers, and it appears that the majority of children who are placed under social disadvantage would still receive a place in the same provider if that criterion were removed, because they would get in under the distance criterion. I ask the Minister again to review the ongoing need for that criterion, because it is creating more of a headache than it needs to. <BR /> <BR />With preschool provision, I ask the Minister what more can be done to provide better information to parents to assist them in making the choices on their application forms.”
“In reality, therefore, far more children could be unplaced, and I ask the Minister to outline today what he is doing to assess the number of children who will not receive a preschool experience but are not included in his unplaced figures. <BR /> <BR />That leads me on to ongoing complaints about the social disadvantage criterion. I have spent many hours trying to explain the rationale behind that approach to constituents. I agree that it is important that those children receive a place. However, given that the Minister has committed to ensuring that every child who wants a place will receive one, there is a question as to whether that criterion is still required. Is it causing more of a headache in the system?”
“<BR /> <BR />I am sure that the Minister will be able to quote figures showing that only a handful of children are unplaced for the 2015-16 school year. However, I do not believe that that is an accurate reflection of the situation. I have heard of many parents who do not apply for a place or cannot take up a place because it is simply impossible to juggle that with their personal work circumstances. Some parents, for example, pay £48 a day to have children dropped in a day-care environment, which then sends them to an afternoon session for two and a half hours with a preschool provider. There are others who want their child to have the benefit of preschool education but simply cannot afford the expense, and there are no other options to combine it with their work.”
“Members will be aware that, further to my proposals, there have been a number of changes to the application process in recent years, through the two-step process, which gives priority to those in their immediate preschool year over those in their penultimate year, and through the removal of the July/August criterion. There has also been an increase in the number of places provided by new nursery schools, such as the one in Dundonald, and by some day-care providers. We continue, however, to hear complaints from constituents about the lack of preschool provision. Whilst this may be due partly to parents' unrealistic expectations, it is surely an issue that requires constant review and improvement.”
“I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue once more in the House. I should probably start by declaring an interest as a mum of children at primary school in East Belfast and as a member of the board of governors at Strandtown Primary School. I also take the opportunity to thank the Minister for attending today and for his previous assistance to preschool and primary education in my constituency. I hope that the debate will be constructive and allow Members for East and South Belfast not only to raise their concerns but to put forward proposals to resolve what appears to be an escalating problem. In recent days, issues with secondary-level provision have been in the press. However, today's focus will be on the primary and preschool sectors. <BR /> <BR />I will start with preschool provision.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and welcome the strong focus being placed on improving the employability prospects of prisoners and the resulting impact on reducing reoffending rates. What more can the Prison Service do to engage with the private sector to seek its support in this important initiative?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I appreciate that the rates convergence scheme has cushioned the blow for some constituents, but what advice can you give to those who have been informed that they must now purchase a new bin that will fit the refuse vehicles of the new council area that they now find themselves in, so that they can have their waste collected?”
“Other important measures include skills analyses, job design and coaching and mentoring to make sure that people are in the right job, which is also essential for good mental health. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, workplace absenteeism is costly and, if not addressed, it will restrain our public sector from delivering services to their full potential. Reducing sickness absence is a must, and the report highlights a number of effective strategies that are worth pursuing. I commend the report to the House.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have an ageing population, which means that people are working longer, but it also means that there is likely to be a greater prevalence of chronic illness, which is likely to affect those in work and those with caring responsibilities. We need to continue to come up with innovative ways to address the changing needs of the workforce. It is normal for the work environment to change as people's careers progress, and that may entail physical changes to the work environment as well as changes to the terms and conditions of employment. Introducing more flexible working, where we can, can be key to supporting employees' health and well-being as they get older.”
“Most families now need two incomes, which results in much more pressure on juggling priorities at home. We therefore need to look more at what workplace flexibility is offered to see whether it can help to reduce absence. <BR /> <BR />The report highlights the importance of the effective use of the return-to-work interview process. Making adjustments early on really helps to iron out some issues and can prevent the long-term absences that we often see. The report also referred to early interventions, such as referral to physiotherapists or cognitive behavioural therapy. These are recommended as a way to reduce the likelihood of small absences becoming larger.”