Mike Nesbitt
Strangford · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Think public service, wisdom, generosity and courtesy. Think integrity, insight and curiosity, the lack of which is a key criticism of the two public inquiry reports of recent days.”
“I spoke during Members' statements earlier about the untimely passing of the Western Trust's chair, Dr Tom Frawley CBE. I repeat my condolences to his family, his friends and his many admirers.”
“I absolutely share the Member's ambition to see people living in the community. The trusts provide a range of evidence-informed programmes for individuals who are awaiting assessment. For children and young people, early intervention teams deliver proactive needs-led programmes that are neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Western Trust has assured me that it has undertaken a comprehensive early engagement exercise with stakeholders, involving all political parties, local businesses, service users, community groups, the Patient and Client Council (PCC), local media, community planning partners and Departments, including mine and D…”
“The role played by social workers in delivering safeguarding and family support interventions is complex and challenging. The work frequently pivots on multidisciplinary collaboration, with parents and carers positioned as partners in the formulation and delivery of safeguarding and support plans.”
“I fully recognise the impact of the current delays on individuals and families. The situation has arisen due to a combination of factors, including funding that falls short of objectively assessed need and previously missed opportunities to reform health and social care delivery.”
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“They were validated, and, if they still needed the procedure, they were put on a list to be seen — at the Mater Hospital, as it happened — within a couple of weeks. Those are really efficient, transformative procedures, but we need to continue to be proactive. We need to be ambitious in delivering the equitable, resilient cancer services that our people deserve. By the way, mega-clinics have maximised patient input: they saw 22,866 patients between January 2021 and September of this year. <BR /> <BR />Transformation is key: it is happening, but we have a long way to go. In that context, early prevention and detection are more important than ever, and our aim is to improve the health and well-being of our citizens while reducing the pressures that our Health and Social Care services face.”
“Within hours of checking in, you will have your diagnosis and your result. If the result is bad news, you will immediately be put on a pathway. The RDCs have created additional CT and MRI imaging capacity. In this financial year, that is expected to provide an additional 8,973 CT scans and 4,913 MRI scans, targeting patients who have been waiting longest following red-flag and urgent referrals. <BR /> <BR />I have visited the mega-clinics, and they are really efficient. They are a key component of transformation. They offer significant benefits to the HSC, alleviating pressures across the system by targeting large cohorts of patients in a one-stop shop. When I went to see one earlier this year, people who had been on a waiting list for a long time were coming in.”
“Notable progress related to cancer includes the regional endoscopy centres established as part of the wider reform. They play a significant role in tackling lengthy waiting times. Focused work in that area is delivering results. In August, waiting lists were 62% lower, which represents 24,410 fewer patients than were on them at their peak. Patients also benefit from that regional service. They can undergo their diagnostic endoscopy procedures sooner than in their local trust. Those centres have carried out 17,025 procedures since their inception. <BR /> <BR />Members mentioned the two rapid diagnostic centres delivering a streamlined regional vague symptom pathway for patients with complex, non-specific symptoms who would not otherwise be eligible for a red-flag referral. I have visited both the RDCs.”
“That saw the waiting times on the regional list reduce from the high of 10 weeks, which was absolutely unacceptable, to a less unacceptable seven weeks and two days. That was on 7 November of this year. We have gone quite rapidly from 10 weeks to 7 weeks and two days. As long as we continue that journey, I will remain convinced that the regional list was the right thing to do. <BR /> <BR />Reducing the waiting lists demands long-term, collective responses from across government. It requires sustained and substantial investment through multi-year budgets, workforce development and system-wide transformation. Work has been taken forward under the elective care framework to reform and improve the efficiency of Health and Social Care (HSC) here.”
“It demonstrates the scale and ambition of our response to ensuring quicker access for those requiring time-critical care. It does not solve the problem, but a quarter of a million patients is something to be acknowledged. <BR /> <BR />Earlier this year, as Members will know, we moved to the regional list for breast assessment. I believe now, as much as I did at the time, that it was the right thing to do. However, it is about doing two things: first, removing the postcode lottery, where, depending on which trust you reported to, there was a significant variation in waiting times; and, secondly, getting the waiting lists down across Northern Ireland. Through further focus and prioritisation, additional breast assessment clinics last month delivered 374 appointments.”
“I absolutely recognise that. It is not just nurses but the entire gamut of work provided by the charities. I was in Enniskillen for the opening of Cancer Focus's new drop-in centre, which has proved at least as successful as it had imagined. When I was first briefed about the centre, I thought, "Are they being ambitious?". No, they were not. Cancer Focus knew its market. Cancer charities know their market, whom they serve and what they need. <BR /> <BR />Since April of this year, more than 122,000 red-flag or time-critical patients have been seen, diagnosed or treated across the trusts and through partnerships with the independent sector. On the basis of current plans, the figure is expected to rise to around 226,725 patients.”
“<BR /> <BR />Systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) funding will close the long-standing 20% gap against haematology and oncology stabilisation plans and support improved performance against the 62-day target. We are also increasing the number of cancer nurse specialists (CNSs), and those posts are absolutely essential to supporting patients and ensuring that every individual receives expert guidance and continuity of care throughout their journey. Recognising the need to make services more accessible, we are funding the expansion of phlebotomy hubs across Northern Ireland to allow patients to receive essential blood work closer to home, help reduce pressure on cancer centres and streamline access to SACT clinics. In this financial year, £1 million has been allocated to the third sector for a new cancer charity grant scheme.”
“The ECF plan describes a combination of measures to tackle our waiting lists, including maximising the existing infrastructure, the expansion of core capacity in a range of specialties and partnership working with the independent sector. Notably, there has been investment in cancer services. To answer Mrs Dodd's question, £13 million has been devoted to endoscopy, and that should resource sessions to cover all uncommissioned sessions by March 2026, followed by subsequent expansion into evening and weekend working thereafter. Some £12 million has gone on diagnostics, which will potentially deliver continuous multi-annual expansion of CT and MRI sessions until March 2029. Multiple specialties, including urology, breast, dermatology and gynaecology, will receive investment to reduce waiting times for red-flag and time-critical patients.”
“She is right to say that over £70 million of that £80 million is going against the deficit. <BR /> <BR />The elective care framework implementation plan, which was published in May of this year, details how the money will be spent. There is £85 million for red-flag cancer. That funding is not new, as I said, and it has to be redirected from other areas of healthcare.”
“It was broken down into three pots: £85 million for red-flag and urgent cases; £80 million to build capacity; and £50 million to tackle the waiting lists. Only that £50 million was new: the other money was ring-fenced. The Department of Finance made it clear from the get-go that the £80 million for building capacity was not ring-fenced and that the Department would look at alternative uses for it if we did not feel that we could spend it in a timely manner in this financial year, or if there was something even more significant to be done. The significant thing, as the Member will know, is the existing gap, which we have brought down from £600 million to a lot lower. However, I still have a real concern that we will not balance the budget by 31 March.”
“Yes, I want to reduce waiting times across the system, and I want to embed the changes that will lead to those better outcomes. As part of that, a revised elective care framework (ECF) was published in May of last year. It set out a five-year road map to reduce waiting times. If fully funded, the actions will help close the demand-capacity gap and tackle the long waiting lists. <BR /> <BR />In line with the Programme for Government, the Executive earmarked funding in the Department's 2025-26 budget to support waiting list activities. Mrs Dodds mentioned the breakdown. I will get into more detail on that. She said that the Executive ring-fenced £215 million. In fact, if you check the paperwork, particularly that coming out of the Department of Finance, you will see that it was "up to" £215 million.”
“I have said on the record that this area, along with other key areas of health and social care, requires substantial additional investment. Mr Dickson mentioned some of the capital costs for machinery. Some of that machinery is really creaking; in fact, one machine, in a very important area, needs replaced urgently. <BR /> <BR />In that context, of course I acknowledge that cancer patients are waiting far too long. Nobody in the Department takes that lightly. The performance on waiting times is clearly unacceptable. I will not rehearse the figures; many Members have. Starting treatment within a targeted time frame from diagnosis is so important in delivering the best outcomes and increasing the likelihood of a successful treatment.”
“That is not an insignificant sum of money, but it is when one considers that the strategy funding plan assumed a recurrent investment of £55·7 million by year 4 and of £145 million by year 10, the final year. Therefore, gently, I say this to Members: if you accept the validity of the strategy, and you support it, can you accept that the budget for Health should be based on objective need and not on a crude percentage of the Executive pot? There is a significant gap in available funding, and that stands up against what is required to ensure the implementation of the strategy. It is simply not possible to deliver all the activity that is envisaged under the strategy with the £10·6 million that is allocated.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I begin by echoing your sentiments of thanks to all Members who have spoken, but particularly those who shared highly personal experiences. I often say that all healthcare is personal, but that is particularly so when it comes to such a condition as cancer. <BR /> <BR />I am heartened, because I get a sense that nobody thinks that the health and social care workforce is anything other than fully focused, committed and dedicated to doing better on timely outcomes. However, let me cut to the chase: it always comes back to funding. We have a cancer strategy, and since the 2024-25 financial year, £10·6 million has been invested, recurrently, into the implementation of that strategy.”
“My answer is that I do not want to take a greater and greater percentage of the Budget; I want to shift left into a neighbourhood delivery model that concentrates on prevention and early intervention. That is what we will do over the course of 2026. In the meantime, however, we will deal as best as we can with the winter pressures, which are additional to the 365 pressures that our health and social care workforce have to deal with every day.”
“It is an initiative and a development. It is new. You cannot magic it out of the ether without money. <BR /> <BR />The idea that the Department gets over 50% of the Executive's Budget is a bit of a red herring. Remember, we got the Executive and the Assembly back up and running at the beginning of last year by persuading Treasury that the block grant should be based not on a crude headcount but on assessed, objective need. When we are looking at the Health budget, why do we go back to that crude count and say, "You have got just over 50%"? Why do we not sit down collectively and decide on the assessed objective need to deliver world-class health and social care?”
“I am glad that the Member has engaged with the sector. The four workshops were oversubscribed because people wanted to engage with the Department. We have engaged with the sector in great detail. <BR /> <BR />The final point to which I will refer was, I think, brought up by Mrs Dodds. The Northern Trust does not have the Hospital at Home service but is starting the process to put that in place. Mrs Dodds said, "But, there are only 10 beds", and that that is great for those patients who end up being one of the 10 who get those Hospital at Home service domestic beds. That is fair enough, I suppose, but it is a start. What I question is this: how can you say, "You can only afford to do 10 beds", then say, in the same breath, "Ah, but the Department of Health gets over 50% of the entire Executive Budget"? Hospital at Home costs money.”
“<BR /> <BR />There were seven outputs from those four big conversations: the identification and risk stratification of frailty in the over-65s; supporting people to be well and cared for at home; avoiding admission for end-of-life care, which I mentioned; the provision of appropriate or sensible care — some clinicians are risk-averse, so someone might get an X-ray, a CT scan and an MRI scan when doing so is not necessarily in the best interests of the patient or the hospital flow; a frail, elderly pathway for ED attendees; clinical advance care planning; and a fractured neck of femur pathway improvement group. Those were the seven categories. <BR /> <BR />I want to make another point or two, but I will give way to the Member.”
“We will support social care delivery in the community, improve system flow from hospitals and avoid ED attendance and admission for end-of-life care for those whose preference is to be at home. That is a big issue. We know that people who are terminally ill want to pass away at home, and we are concerned about some people sending sick people to emergency departments, where there is no bed for them, when they had a bed in a care home. We need to think about that.”
“I will go through some of the points in the plan. One is tackling ambulance handover delays through a new approach to collaborative working. There is the vaccination programme, and I again encourage all MLAs to encourage their constituents to get a vaccination, if they can. We have initiatives with Community Pharmacy, such as the Living Well and "Stay well this winter" campaigns. There are Pharmacy First services across community pharmacies, including the sore throat service, which has proved popular and effective. There is additional assistance for GP practices. Improving mental health and learning disability bed pressures will reduce the demand on emergency departments and ensure that the right care is available in the right place.”
“The NHS in England is talking about millions of vaccinations this week alone. The latest dashboard for us, which covers the week up to 2 November, has shown a doubling in community-acquired emergency hospitalisations because of flu. In the week to 2 November, it was 52 people, and that is exactly double the number in the week before. The vaccine uptake could be a lot better. In people over 65, it is over 50%, but, among 18- to 64-year-olds, it is only 21%. Here is another figure that was the same last year, in that it was troubling: of all trust-employed health and social care workers, it was 15·8%. We may be dashing towards additional winter pressures due to the flu this year.”
“— because the big issue, which has been identified by several Members, is with the flow not at the front door but at the back door. It is a lack of community capacity. If anybody thinks that you can click your fingers and, in one financial year, sort out the fact that we do not have enough people delivering care packages at home and we do not have enough care beds in the community, they are delusional. This is a step in the right direction. <BR /> <BR />What concerns me at the moment is not the plan but the fact that this year's flu is coming early. We know that the flu comes every year from the southern hemisphere. We are seeing an unusually early start to the flu season. Surveillance data shows that it is increasing among children and rising across other age groups, and here we are on only 10 November.”
“If anybody wants me to get them back together so that you can say, "What you have come up with is really disappointing", just say so. I will not say that to them. That is up to you. I do not know why anybody thinks that it was going to be so radical that this winter was going to be fine —”
“Mrs Dodds wonders about the implications for service delivery, and so do I. However, until I know what my budget is and make a decision on that percentage, we cannot deal with what the service delivery issues will be. <BR /> <BR />As to the winter preparedness plan, many Members have made a lot of the fact that I said in January that, for this winter, we would start with a blank sheet and get all the stakeholders in the room. That is exactly what we did, and that is the genesis of the plan. Everybody knows that there were four workshops, which were oversubscribed. I would imagine that, if I were to go through the list of everyone who attended the four workshops, I would be talking about well in excess of 100 people who are all health and social care professionals.”
“However, as a sign of good faith, I will put some money up front and into workers' pay packets so that, for once, instead of having to wait months for what they are entitled to, they will get something up front. It will be before the two pay bodies make their recommendations. When they do that, if those awards are higher than the percentage that I have given at the start of the financial year, I will make up the difference. If — this is very unlikely — the two pay bodies are so stingy that we have awarded more than they recommend, the workforce will get to keep the additional. However, as I say, that is extremely unlikely, and so do the unions and the professional bodies. <BR /> <BR />That is the plan. I cannot tell you what the percentage will be because I do not know yet what my budget will be for next year.”
“I will start in reverse order, by addressing the amendment, which I find very welcome. The Minister of Finance promised me up to £100 million towards pay, but the amendment is much more definitive than that: it talks about "£100 million". Therefore, the proposer's powers of persuasion with Mr O'Dowd are admirable compared with mine. I thank her for it. <BR /> <BR />In next year's pay awards, I have made it clear to the unions and the professional bodies that, as soon as I am aware of what my budget is for 2026-27, the first thing that I will do is make what I call a "down payment", which will be a percentage. This is a pay award, not a pay rise. This year, it is 3·6% and 4%, and that is not a pay rise with inflation where it is. They are pay awards.”
“I understand why you ask the question, but, if you have been listening to me over the last few days, you will know that I have stopped giving timelines because, as a Department, we keep saying that we will do things by a certain date or month but tend to honour them in the breach. All I can say is that it will be done at pace.”
“Mr Clarke has given me some homework, which is to find a disused shop that we could turn, at speed, into a sensory room.”
“I cannot tell you exactly where it will be, but it will be a big building. As I said in my opening remarks, the direction of travel is towards recognising the benefit of sensory aids for children who have anxiety, stress and neurodivergent needs that we have to deal with. <BR /> <BR />We are in a positive and proactive position. The point has been made that sensory rooms are not a luxury; they are a necessity for many children. Their presence can transform a child's hospital experience from one of fear and distress by taking them out of a clinical situation and putting them into something much more homely, acceptable and calming. I have asked my officials to maintain regular contact with the Belfast Trust. We will monitor progress and provide updates as the work continues.”
“Encouragingly, the trust is exploring the use of charitable funds to acquire the necessary equipment. Those funds can be allocated to projects of that nature. That approach demonstrates resourcefulness during a challenging financial time, and it demonstrates how the generous contributions received from the public of Northern Ireland can help support the well-being of its youngest and most vulnerable children. Charitable contributions have long played a vital role in enhancing hospital services and the experience of patients, and I am keen that the initiative resonates with donors and supporters.”
“I thank the Member. I was unaware that there may be a disused shop. A shop is probably a good size for a sensory room. I will look at that. Notwithstanding that, the current direction of travel is the trust investigating the procurement of a mobile sensory unit. That would allow the equipment to be brought directly to children when they are in the hospital. It is a flexible solution, and it could provide much-needed support.”
“I am not convinced that the garden area is big enough, and the trust is not convinced that it is big enough, but I have asked the trust to take one final look at that garden area to see whether it could get in a sensory room, because those sensory rooms are not particularly big. In fact, because they are one-on-one, they are pretty small.”
“However, it is an old facility, and that makes it difficult to change the building, despite the need to include a sensory room particularly close to the paediatric emergency department. The trust has confirmed that it has actively considered the inclusion of a sensory room but feels that the current layout and capacity constraints make it unfeasible, at present. However, I have asked the trust to look at it again, because, as Órlaithí or anyone else who has been there will know, there is a corridor round to your left, just past the entrance, and then there is what they are calling the garden area.”
“They have given much attention to the needs of the child and thought about sounds, echoes, tactile issues and the sort of visuals required. This is so cool — I hope that we do it with our children's hospital — the window-cleaning contract stipulates that the window cleaners who will be going up and down the outside of the building have to wear superhero outfits. How cool is that for children who are stressed out and sick? It is magnificent. I cannot impose it on the trust, but I hope that it sees the sense of doing that. <BR /> <BR />At the moment, my officials are engaging with senior staff at the Belfast Trust. We are exploring the possibility of introducing a sensory room at the current hospital for sick children.”
“<BR /> <BR />As Members will be aware, construction of a new state-of-the-art children's hospital is under way on the current Belfast Trust site. It is a 10-storey facility, which will accommodate up to 155 inpatients and include 10 theatres. It represents a significant step forward in delivering a world-class service in world-class facilities. It is expected that it will be completed by 2030. The hospital will be designed with the needs of children and families at its heart. I am confident that sensory support will be an integral part of that vision. Mr Donnelly talked about co-design. I am keen on that. Some months ago, I was in Dublin and visited its new children's hospital — it is not yet open, but it is pretty much complete and just needs to be commissioned.”
“<BR /> <BR />In a hospital sensory room, you will typically find a variety of specialist equipment and features that are designed to help children and young people to manage stress, anxiety and sensory-processing challenges. The tools are often selected to provide calming, stimulating or regulating sensory input across multiple senses, including sight, sound, touch, smell and movement. The goal is to create an environment that feels safe and predictable and which is responsive to the child's needs. Much of the equipment is mobile. That allows it to be repositioned or repurposed as needed, and it adds to the versatility of the space. It also means that it can be individualised for a child's needs.”
“They are portable units that bring sensory equipment directly to the child when they are in the hospital. That flexibility is particularly valuable in settings where space is limited, as is the case with the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Equipment in those settings can stimulate or sooth through visual, tactile, auditory or olfactory means, depending on the individual's needs. For example, visual stimulation can include bubble tubes, fibre-optic lights or projection systems; tactile stimulation can be provided by textured or padded walls, or soft furnishings; auditory elements might include calming music or white-noise machines; and olfactory equipment may include aromatherapy diffusers with soothing scents.”
“I have visited a lot of EDs, and I am struck by how bright they are, by necessity; how noisy they are, because of demand; and how unsuitable they are for people with neurodiversity issues. <BR /> <BR />Sensory rooms are not just limited to supporting children with diagnosed conditions; they provide comfort and regulation for any child or young person experiencing heightened stress or anxiety such as at a time of trauma or in the middle of a medical crisis. We can supply that support in two main ways. First, through a fixed sensory room: a dedicated space within a facility designed and equipped to provide a consistent sensory experience. Those rooms are often tailored to meet the specific needs of the population they serve, and they can include a wide range of equipment and design features. Secondly, there are mobile sensory pods.”
“The growing importance of those spaces, along with the wide range of equipment and aids that they offer, are now well recognised as valuable tools for professionals working in those clinical settings. Those spaces are designed to meet a wide range of needs, and they are proving to be especially beneficial in high-stress environments such as emergency departments, where children and young people, as has been said, become overwhelmed and overstimulated really quickly. EDs are often loud and often bright. They are chaotic places that can be distressing for any child, especially those with autism spectrum disorder or ADHD, and also those with anxiety, mental health challenges, developmental disabilities and other sensory processing disorders.”
“To follow on from Mr Baker, and to be fair to the Belfast Trust, these sensory rooms were not a thing when the hospital was built, so the issue is space, and a mobile is where I would be putting my money for where the trust will get to. <BR /> <BR />It is only in recent years that there has been this big shift in thinking about how we understand and respond to the needs of individuals with sensory processing challenges. The shift, of course, is driven by a deeper awareness of neurodiversity and the unique ways in which people experience the world around them. Sensory rooms and sensory pods are at the forefront of the movement because they offer safe, therapeutic environments where individuals can regulate their sensory input.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As Mr McGrath said, the spirit of harmonious agreement has really broken out. We could be on for a hat-trick on Monday, but I would not bet on that because I have seen the running order. <BR /> <BR />To Cheryl Brownlee, thanks for bringing the debate. We are in agreement. It is an area where, for once, I am not going to say that the biggest issue is finance and money. It is not. It is actually space, and I will come to that in a second. <BR /> <BR />Multidisciplinary environments are becoming an increasingly vital part of paediatric healthcare, particularly for children with neurodiverse needs or sensory processing conditions.”
“I understand that they will be given sight of the reports before they are made public, yes, by an hour or so.”
“If you can do it in 10 seconds, it is yours.”
“<BR /> <BR />Linda Dillon asked for a women's action plan, and Sinéad McLaughlin said that I believed that an action plan was "sufficient". I have never said that. We do need a strategy. I am saying that, in the remainder of the mandate, what is practical is to deliver an action plan ahead of delivering a strategy in the next mandate.”
“I pledged to keep communication open with the women and families whom I previously met, and I will fulfil that pledge. I urge all Members to read the three screening-related reports due to be issued on Wednesday. <BR /> <BR />Diane Dodds asked about how the contract was awarded to the Belfast Trust. It was open to any trust to pitch. Accreditation for HPV testing was one of the criteria scored, but the decision by the implementation project board to commission Belfast Trust was informed by a range of factors. I am told that the Belfast Trust scored highest in the process and was awarded the contract. The scoring was reviewed by an independent appeals panel on 3 July 2025, and it endorsed the original result.”
“The vast majority of women who attend screening — approximately 90% — test negative for HPV. They will not have had any negative impact on their screening outcomes, as that report will return them to a three-yearly smear as part of the screening programme. For women who test positive for HPV, there will be minimal to no additional impact to their turnaround times. Those samples require secondary testing by cytology screening to determine the final report. That process is more complex and manual, and it requires additional time. As I have said, reporting for that step has continued on site during the equipment downtime and remains unaffected. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I acknowledge again that this remains a difficult and challenging time for all who have been impacted on.”
“I have spoken to the permanent secretary about, as a matter of urgency, finding the capital to find a replacement piece of equipment, because there have been issues with the HPV testing equipment and it is reaching the end of its working life. However, all laboratories have contingency arrangements to deal with scenarios such as this, and since the Belfast Trust enacted its contingency plan for HPV testing with Gateshead, there has been no backlog in HPV testing. The plan will continue until technical issues are resolved. <BR /> <BR />As of 31 October, around 13,522 samples have been sent to Gateshead, and the results are sent back within 21 days of samples being sent there. Let me emphasise that they are sent to GPs, and it is up to the general practitioner to pass them on to the patients.”
“<BR /> <BR />Turning to the issue of the equipment in the regional laboratory, it is important to note that cervical screening and HPV testing are two separate processes, that cervical screening in the Belfast Trust has never been paused, that cervical cytology screening is the step that is undertaken after primary HPV testing, and that reporting for that step has continued on-site during the equipment downtime and remains unaffected. I confirm that, at this time, the HPV testing equipment is operational again in the regional laboratory. Trust staff are committed to having the service back to full operational capacity within the next short number of days. However, that machine, it seems to me, is nearing the end of its life.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention. I will certainly note that. I have a next step in mind. I will make clear in my written ministerial statement on Wednesday what that intention is. I take on board what the Member has asked to be included in my thinking. <BR /> <BR />The senior management of the Southern Trust previously acknowledged that there was underperformance by some screeners in its laboratory and in its oversight system. It recognised that that was a completely unacceptable breach of governance procedures, and that it represented a system failure.”
“I will give way to the Member, but I will say this: one report was ready to be published, but I asked for it to be held back so that all three could be published at once, which means that we will not have some sort of swinging effect of one publication's taking people to a certain conclusion and a second one's taking them to another.”