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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“If we are going to invest millions of pounds in it, we need to make sure that we utilise its full benefits. <BR /> <BR />The inquiry has raised a number of interesting issues and opportunities for change. Our goal should be that the Civil Service and the wider public sector should strive for operational excellence. We therefore ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel to examine the recommendations in the report and implement any changes that will create maximum benefit and efficiency in the public sector.”
“Although many will agree that it is good practice to save your work into a shared space, first for business continuity purposes but also to allow quicker information sharing, it was met with a lot of resistance. If we are to succeed in this area, lessons need to be learned from those types of projects. Often, project staff are more concerned with ticking boxes at project board meetings than actually ensuring that the technology is configured to take into account the various idiosyncrasies of different business areas. Having project team staff who have the skills to draw out information from staff and feed that into the development process makes it more likely that the technology will succeed. At the end of the day, technology like that will better allow for flexible working in the future.”
“There is a real opportunity to rationalise workspace requirements across our public sector, but at the same time capitalise on the benefits of staff not always having to travel to specific office locations, which are often Belfast-centred. Indeed, we could be losing out on vital talent who live further afield but are not able to travel every day. Therefore, we need to fully explore and embrace technology so that we can deliver flexibility. I believe that we are still some way off where we should be on this, but it is not that easy to achieve in practice. <BR /> <BR />In a previous role, I was involved in implementing the electronic document record management system in the Civil Service.”
“If we are to achieve a culture of flexibility, public sector organisations need to become more agile so that they are able to constantly innovate around employee working arrangements. I believe that the Minister understands that, and it is one of the reasons behind him setting up the public sector reform division, which has a specific aim to help stimulate innovation in service delivery and policy design. <BR /> <BR />Current working practices often dictate the need for allocated desk space. However, the need is often based on the amount of staff-owned paperwork, and, in many cases, the spaces can be unoccupied for a significant part of the day.”
“However, even when the benefits of flexible working arrangements are clear on paper, the ability to successfully embed them can be hampered by a number of barriers. <BR /> <BR />The most commonly cited barriers tend to be cultural in nature and, unfortunately, public sector culture is probably the most difficult to crack in comparison with other sectors. That can be due to low staff turnover, which is often seen as a positive workplace trait, however it also means that work patterns have often become entrenched over the years. That problem of a stagnant corporate culture can be further compounded, as there are few opportunities for entry at all levels into the Civil Service. We are, therefore, losing the opportunity to bring new, fresh thinking to challenge the old ways of doing things.”
“Therefore any progress on the matter could face some stumbling blocks early on, as there is often a drive for uniformity over and above considering actual business need. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that the need for flexible working is growing. We are no longer a nine-to-five world, and demands for access to services and information are increasing. The public sector has a role there to consider how it is delivering its services. During the evidence session, we heard of many of the benefits of flexible working arrangements, including increased employee productivity, better business continuity, reduced work-related travel, greater retention and more women in senior roles. All of those are worthy outcomes.”
“I welcome the opportunity to add comment to the debate on the report on the inquiry into flexible working in the public sector in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The context for the inquiry has already been set and stated by others. It is important to note that whilst the Committee examined the full range of flexible working opportunities, there was a particular focus on flexible working locations, such as satellite offices and shared office space. That is the area which potentially creates the greatest opportunities for savings but also benefits for staff. It is also important to note that a one-size-fits-all policy approach on the matter is not appropriate, as any flexible working practices need to be designed in line with business need.”
“Therefore, we should also call on the Minister to examine the current practices to ensure that there is optimal support and symptom palliation for those whose illness is terminal. <BR /> <BR />If we are to reduce the number of deaths due to pancreatic cancer, we must not only work to improve diagnosis but continue to combat the three greatest risk factors: smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol intake. Prevention, as we all know, is better than cure.”
“That said, there is an onus on the Minister and his Department to encourage GPs to make use of freely available and validated diagnostic aids; for example, the Macmillan cancer decision support tool, as well as open-learning opportunities that have already been referred to, such as the Royal College of General Practitioners' pancreatic cancer e-learning module. We should also be ensuring that GPs have access to CT scans etc as already mentioned by others in the debate. <BR /> <BR />Although the motion focuses on boosting early diagnosis to improve survival rates, we should also acknowledge that, even with those improvements, there will still be many who will not reach that five-year survival mark.”
“before specialist referral, and there is solid data to support that. However, we need to be careful not simply to blame our GPs for being selective about referring patients who present with common and usually benign symptoms. Furthermore, as there is no specific biological marker to indicate the malignant disease, it can be extremely difficult to detect and diagnose pancreatic cancer, especially in its early stages. <BR /> <BR />In my constituency, East Belfast, patients report high satisfaction with their GPs, despite struggling to access appointments in a context of increasing demand, and I believe that we need to support our GPs in their decision-making and recognise their value as gatekeepers to an overburdened secondary healthcare system.”
“<BR /> <BR />I note that the motion acknowledges:”
“So, it is clear that there is work to be done. <BR /> <BR />The motion states that pancreatic cancer accounts for 6% of all cancer deaths in Northern Ireland, and we should note that it is predicted that, by 2030, it will have overtaken breast cancer as the fourth most common cancer killer. We must, therefore, understand the reasons behind that in order to try to improve survival rates. Other Members have already spoken about the fact that only 10% of pancreatic cancer patients undergo curative surgery, or perhaps that should be more accurately referred to as "surgery with curative intent". The main reason for this seems to be that, for many, at the time of diagnosis, the cancer is too far advanced for such surgery to have an impact and, therefore, it is the issue of early diagnosis that requires our pressing attention.”
“Like many similar campaigns for other types of cancer, this campaign provides an opportunity to celebrate with those who have survived, remember those who have been lost to the disease and raise awareness of the illness. It is also an opportunity for the Assembly to assess our current approach to tackling the disease and whether more can be done to prevent or treat it. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Naomi Long MP, who has often spoken of her concerns about this devastating illness, recently asked the Secretary of State for Health to provide estimates of the variation in survival rates for pancreatic cancer among UK regions, and the response was telling. England currently has a five-year survival rate of 4·7%; Wales, 5·4%; and Northern Ireland, just 3%, which lags far behind the European average of 6·9%.”
“I, too, welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate today, which comes before the House at the start of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. What other measures has she taken to prepare for possible adverse weather conditions over the winter months?”
“The Minister repeatedly states that the draft Budget prioritises the economy, but the figures show that there is still an emphasis on protecting areas where efficiencies could and should be made. As a result, there are fewer resources for the Department for Employment and Learning, for instance, and that will reduce our ability to ensure a strong skills pipeline. Will the Minister therefore consider reallocating more resources to this area from, perhaps, the social investment fund, which to date has shown very poor delivery, and, by doing so, truly meet the objective of prioritising our economy?”
“It is disappointing that the former Social Development Minister was not so proactive and did not instigate that type of research, meaning that the current Finance Minister has had to step in and do his job for him. How will the Minister avoid the new research becoming an excuse for Sinn Féin and the SDLP further to defer a decision?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I want to respond to his comments about hypocritical Ministers. Does he not agree that Ministers, whilst receiving resources, still have a right to vote against a process that they do not feel meets the best strategic needs of Northern Ireland, which is similar to DUP Ministers accepting money for their Departments in the first mandate whilst not attending the Executive? Also, looking to the year ahead, can the Minister reassure the people of Northern Ireland that the Executive will be able to make and adopt a strategic approach to the 2015-16 Budget?”
“We had a positive trip, and the manner in which he conducted meetings with senior members of the Kosovan Assembly and their Prime Minister could not be faulted. <BR /> <BR />I take this opportunity to wish him well and a return to good health as soon as possible.”
“I echo the comments of those who spoke in acknowledging Willie's role as Speaker. In the Chamber, I always welcomed his fair and balanced approach. Indeed, I had direct of experience of him being politically impartial and dealing firmly with a member of his own party when behaviour had been somewhat unparliamentary. <BR /> <BR />As a member of the Commission, I had direct experience of the work he did as an ambassador for the Northern Ireland Assembly not just in Northern Ireland but further afield. I travelled with him to Kosovo, along with the late David McClarty, a year or so ago. Once I managed to tune into their particular sense of humour, I had a good relationship on a personal level with them, too.”
“I believe that today we can send a strong message to the UK Government to encourage them to take the correct decisions, with regard to the inclusion of Kincora in the Woolf inquiry and ensuring that the inquiry is empowered to access all files and witnesses required to uncover the truth, which many feel has been hidden for so long. <BR /> <BR />I hope that there will be full support for this motion.”
“It is therefore imperative that the UK Government authorise disclosure of all relevant information held in order to examine and fully address the persistent allegations surrounding Kincora and other such homes. It would be extremely concerning if any limitations, including the use of the Official Secrets Act, were allowed to restrict the effectiveness or undermine the credibility of this inquiry. <BR /> <BR />The victims and survivors of Kincora deserve justice but, to date, they have been left as outsiders. If the correct powers are granted to it by the Home Office regarding witnesses testifying who are subject to the Official Secrets Act, the Woolf inquiry is the way to properly consider the allegations and help the victims put their nightmares to rest.”
“Only the inquiry that is about to take place at Westminster would have the powers to examine the necessary material and to call the witnesses required to uncover the truth about the abuse and any subsequent cover-up at the home. <BR /> <BR />A number of former military intelligence officers have recently come forward to indicate publicly that they possess information that would be of interest to an inquiry with regard to Kincora and also their willingness to give evidence, including on the alleged blocking of police and army investigations by secret services. At least one of them has also indicated that he was unable to disclose some information to an earlier inquiry because it would have been deemed a breach of his obligations under the Official Secrets Act.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst we do not want to hinder progress for those victims who have seen the HIA process as a step forward, given the allegations of the senior level of visitors to Kincora, we believe that the Home Office's inquiry would be a better vehicle by which truth could be established and where a more thorough and substantive investigation of allegations can take place. I understand that the Woolf inquiry will look into how child abuse allegations against senior public figures were handled by the Government, and I believe that there are parallels with, and a potential connection to, the circumstances surrounding Kincora. These are extremely serious allegations and need urgent attention.”
“<BR /> <BR />The current Northern Ireland inquiry, as it stands, is limited in its terms of reference and its statutory powers to summon witnesses. The head of the inquiry, Sir Anthony Hart, recently spoke out to confirm that he does not have the power to compel MI5 and military intelligence witnesses to give evidence or Whitehall Departments to release files. That fact was also highlighted by Amnesty International and my colleague Naomi Long when they called for Kincora to be included in the overarching UK inquiry. That view has been echoed not only by other politicians from various parties but by former army captain Colin Wallace, who was discredited and jailed for his efforts to expose the abuse back in the 1970s and then finally cleared.”
“What differentiates Kincora from other cases are the allegations that persist that the Government and their agencies, such as MI5, had full knowledge of the allegations at the time and acted to prevent appropriate investigation taking place. There is further suspicion that MI5 and the security agencies were complicit in the abuse in order to collect information that could be used to blackmail those in positions of power. It is also thought that the abuse that took place in Northern Ireland did not only involve victims and perpetrators from Northern Ireland, and there have been suggestions that children were moved between different locations where abuse took place. Indeed, a former army captain said that he was aware of boys being brought from different children's homes to be abused in Kincora.”
“It also echoes the repeated calls of my colleague Naomi Long MP to the Home Office to ensure that present investigations comprehensively assess what took place at Kincora, as it is clear that none of the previous probes had the power that they needed. <BR /> <BR />I said that the Kincora Boys' Home is one of a number of children's homes subject to investigation by the historical institutional abuse (HIA) inquiry, which was established by the Assembly and began public hearings in January. Whilst I appreciate that investigating abuse should, in normal circumstances, be the responsibility of the devolved Administrations, we do not believe that that alone is appropriate in this case.”
“Perhaps even more disturbing are the allegations that members of the intelligence services were also complicit in covering up the scandal. Indeed, there are specific allegations that the secret services, over an extended number of years, used their knowledge about a paedophile ring at the boys' home for the purposes of intelligence gathering while actively blocking police investigations that could have ended the abuse. <BR /> <BR />The motion is designed to shine a light on the magnitude of the allegations concerning Kincora.”
“It is partly the fact that some of the rumours have turned out to be true that has reignited interest in Kincora in east Belfast, as well as the fact that Kincora is one of a number of children's homes currently subject to investigation by the historical institutional abuse inquiry. <BR /> <BR />We know that three senior care staff from Kincora were jailed in 1981 on 23 counts of abusing 11 boys. However, there are concerns that there were more victims and more abusers during the period between 1960 and when the home was closed in 1980. There have been allegations that senior politicians, military personnel, paramilitary figures and businessmen from Northern Ireland and Great Britain were involved in both the commissioning of abuse and the subsequent cover-up.”
“Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to raise this important issue today. Child abuse is a devastating crime that traumatises people at an early age, and the consequences stay with them for the rest of their life. Perpetrators need to be stopped and brought to justice, yet, so often, our systems have failed young victims by not hearing or believing them when they cried out for help or by failing to protect them from those who sought to harm them. <BR /> <BR />Recently, we have been made aware of particularly troubling cases of abuse involving powerful people and celebrities and a growing belief that some of those people did not act alone but were part of a network of abusers who were too well connected to be touched.”
“The right to have a faith and to practise that faith in private and in community with others is not a western construct but a basic and fundamental human right. Regardless of whether it is in Northern Ireland or northern Iraq, it is a right that should apply universally. On those grounds, I give my full support to the motion.”
“Anyone discovered in clandestine religious activity may be subject to arrest, arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture or even public execution. <BR /> <BR />The barbarism of the recent beheadings shown on YouTube has rightly shocked people, but how many of us are aware that, in the period between the first and second beheading, Saudi Arabia beheaded over 130 people? It still bans churches, yet we still send trade missions to the Gulf states and are often more silent than we ought to be when it comes to their abuse of human rights and suppression of religious freedom. I am not saying that we should not send trade missions, but we need to be consistent in our calls for freedom of, and freedom from, religion at home and abroad if it is to be meaningful.”
“In a watch list from Open Doors detailing countries where persecution of Christians is most severe, Somalia and North Korea also feature prominently alongside Syria and Iraq. In Somalia, pressure is increasing on the tiny Christian community in that Muslim-majority country. Islamic leaders and Government officials publicly reinforce the idea that there is no room for Christians and that there is a strong drive to purge Christianity from Somalia. Meanwhile, for the twelfth consecutive year, North Korea is where Christian persecution is most extreme. The godlike worship of the leader, Kim Jong-un, and his predecessors leaves no room for any other religion, and Christians face unimaginable pressure.”
“<BR /> <BR />The focus of the motion is on the persecution of Christians in Syria and Iraq, but, as others have already said, it would be wrong to assume that Christians are unique in facing religious persecution or that they are the only group deserving of aid and protection. My party colleague Naomi Long MP secured a similar debate at Westminster on the persecution of Christians, but she has also hosted a debate on the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran. She has rightly stated, as have others, that the defence of freedom of religious belief, as defined by article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is important not only for Christians but for everyone. <BR /> <BR />We should also not lose sight of the fact that persecution is a real and persistent issue in many other countries.”
“Together with their international allies, they must do all that they can to protect those suffering from persecution in an already desperate situation. Further to that, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office should seek to engage with religious groups and national Governments to identify such atrocities and address their impact. I encourage all those who have not already done so to join my colleague Chris Lyttle and me in signing the current e-petition that calls for the Foreign Office to take decisive and immediate action to support those facing persecution in Iraq.”
“However, it is not just Christians who are affected. There was a mass exodus of up to half a million people from Mosul as ISIS have been attacking all, including moderate Muslims and those from other religious minorities in northern Iraq who do not subscribe to its particularly radical interpretation of Islam. The real enemy is not Islam itself but its fundamentalism. <BR /> <BR />In the light of the worsening situation, I believe that it is imperative for the Westminster Government to take urgent and appropriate action to provide aid and protection to those persecuted people. As an Administration deeply immersed in Iraq and Syria, the UK Government cannot afford to ignore such an affront to civil liberties.”
“I, too, welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. In recent months, I have watched in horror and disbelief the reality of religious persecution in each of those nations as it has been brought abruptly into focus by the international media. In June, the Sunni militant group ISIS attacked Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, resulting in almost the entirety of its Christian population fleeing, mainly to the relatively safe Kurdish region, where they have since found themselves in extreme hardship and in need of vital aid. <BR /> <BR />The militants' ultimate aim in both Iraq and Syria is to create an ultra-Islamic state. That means that Christians are becoming more vulnerable in all spheres of life, with many reported to have been abducted, physically harmed or killed, and many churches damaged or destroyed.”
“Perhaps we could prioritise public protection through health, policing and justice and invest in the future by focusing on skills and the economy. However, whatever priorities might emerge, there is no doubt that the Executive need to step up to the mark and tackle the cost of division and the difficult issues of reform, including those in health and education. They also need to find other ways to raise revenue. We cannot continue as we are.”
“Surely we owe it to the people of Northern Ireland to show some competence. Instead of paying penalties, which helps no one and affects everyone, we should make a proper assessment of what the reforms will mean to individual households and then take a strategic decision to allocate some of our block grant to address that with Northern Ireland-specific solutions. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that, overall, the public would like to see Northern Ireland showing some maturity and making a realistic and informed assessment of the financial pressures on all public services in Northern Ireland and using that to develop a strategic Budget for 2015-16, which could perhaps —”
“The apparent crisis in health, coupled with the other budgetary problems, is further compounded by a lack of progress on welfare reform. The penalties have already been referred to: £87 million in this financial year. It is time that the nationalist parties faced reality. The current welfare system does not work. That is why we have so many people coming into our constituency offices seeking our assistance. Northern Ireland simply cannot afford to run its own welfare system. There is plenty of electioneering going on, but unfortunately all that is doing is costing us millions of pounds in penalties. We have already secured some flexibility around the bedroom tax. We now need to reluctantly accept the main model but, at the same time, devise a set of Northern Ireland proposals to help our most vulnerable, who may be adversely affected.”
“<BR /> <BR />By stating that we were not happy with the approach taken at the last monitoring round, I am not saying that Alliance is averse to considering additional resources for priority areas, such as health and social services. However, before we do that, major questions need to be asked about how the Health Department has ended up in this crisis. It is clear that there were structural problems in health and social services at the outset of the Budget period. That has, no doubt, made it more difficult to deal with the required funding reductions. However, the Health Minister was given full flexibility to move money internally in his Department's budget. That should have allowed him to make better progress on reform.”
“Alliance Ministers opposed it because, although they accept that using monitoring rounds to make adjustments to baselines in-year is perhaps the only viable way to deal with emerging issues, we argue that these changes need to be made with proper strategic consideration of the impact of any cuts when protecting other Departments. Instead, in the June monitoring round, we saw the protection of Education without any justification being offered, when this is an area where there are huge inefficiencies in existing expenditure, with a segregated education system and numerous empty school places. For instance, if Education had borne some of the same cuts, the 4·4% Budget reduction would have generated about £70 million. Taking on even the 2·1% cut would have produced about £30 million.”
“Yes, I will cover that in one moment. <BR /> <BR />As I said, rewriting the Budget now would produce a roughly similar outcome and provide only a three-month window during which to implement any necessary cuts. That could massively increase the risk of individual Departments and the system as a whole breaching expenditure limits, which would carry massive consequences from the Treasury. <BR /> <BR />We have already seen, through the approach to the monitoring round, the problems associated with making significant adjustments to the Budget in-year. Indeed, Alliance Ministers opposed those changes at the Executive. Minister Kennedy had the opportunity to clearly voice his dissatisfaction with that process but decided to abstain.”
“Even the timescales for that process would mean that no decisions would be taken until near the end of the year.”
“Thank you again, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. <BR /> <BR />While the motion raises an important issue, namely the viability of our current Budget, the call to bring forward a new Budget at this stage is not really feasible. As others have said, we are in the final year of a four-year Budget, and that four-year approach was adopted to try to give certainty over a number of years to allow effective planning and stability. Departments, along with their arm's-length bodies, need certainty ahead of financial years in order to act responsibly and to allow them to deploy their allocated resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. The notion, therefore, of rewriting the 2014-15 Budget is unwise.”
“I thank the Minister for that very positive information. Can he give us some further information as to what progress is being made to implement the new apprenticeships strategy?”