Sandra Overend
Mid Ulster · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“My thoughts are with the Black family, who have been put into the public eye once again due to the failings of the judicial system, the very system in which David served so faithfully.”
“On this, the last day the Assembly will meet in this place, I thank my colleague Mr Doug Beattie for proposing this important motion. I express my deep concern and share the anger of many people from my constituency of Mid Ulster at the management of the bail conditions for the man who was charged with offences linked to the terrorist mur…”
“<BR /> <BR />There is an argument that suspects have an entitlement to bail due to the length of time that they spend on remand. However, the answer to that must be to speed up the process of administering justice and not to grant bail in such cases.”
“It emerged that, having failed to sign in with police on 18 November, it was not until 23 December when police called at his bail address that they found the flat had been cleared out, and, in fact, evidence suggested he had been gone a few weeks by that stage.”
“To allow this type of situation to occur once could be seen as being careless. For it to happen twice in the same year is clear evidence of a culture that needs to change and of a policy that needs to change. Bail is seemingly too easily given out and not stringently enough managed.”
“I thank the Minister for that. I wonder whether he is optimistic that he will deliver that programme in the days that remain, given the fact that clubs have been waiting since last March, when the consultation process ended. An announcement was promised before Christmas. How confident is he that there will be something for local clubs?”
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“Bearing the Supreme Court decision in mind and given the lack of any agreed Brexit position by the outgoing Northern Ireland Executive, does the Minister have any idea as to how the Northern Ireland economy will be put on the agenda in London?”
“I thank the Minister for that. I wonder whether he is optimistic that he will deliver that programme in the days that remain, given the fact that clubs have been waiting since last March, when the consultation process ended. An announcement was promised before Christmas. How confident is he that there will be something for local clubs?”
“I thank the Minister. Does he agree that a revised code of conduct for councillors must draw a distinction between strict regulations for councillors involved in quasi-judicial decisions, such as members of planning committees, and areas where councillors must have more freedom to represent the concerns of their electorate?”
“Members will be able to read that for themselves. I join my colleagues in calling for the Justice Minister to reflect on the failings that have clearly been identified and to review policy urgently —”
“I refer to today's 'News Letter' article about bail policy concern, in which the Chief Constable, in reference to the dissident threat —”
“<BR /> <BR />There is an argument that suspects have an entitlement to bail due to the length of time that they spend on remand. However, the answer to that must be to speed up the process of administering justice and not to grant bail in such cases. It is my firm belief that terrorist suspects should remain in custody for as long as is necessary to allow judicial proceedings to be completed. <BR /> <BR />I find myself astounded at the events that have been referred to today. Terrorist suspects and anyone who is involved in a murder case should not be granted bail unless there are exceptional circumstances. Recent events have had a very negative effect on trust and confidence in both the police and the criminal justice system. The system is not working and needs to be changed.”
“To allow this type of situation to occur once could be seen as being careless. For it to happen twice in the same year is clear evidence of a culture that needs to change and of a policy that needs to change. Bail is seemingly too easily given out and not stringently enough managed. There does not seem to be any understanding of the sensitivities of cases involving murder and terrorism. There needs to be a strong deterrent to breaching bail conditions. The public should not be put in danger as a result of the lax supervision of suspects. The rights of the accused appear to take precedence over the rights of the families of the victims in these cases. Of course, that causes people to question just whose side the justice system is on.”
“Again, that should not have been allowed to happen. Our thoughts must also be with the Ismay family because of the hurt that has been caused to them by those failures.”
“My thoughts are with the Black family, who have been put into the public eye once again due to the failings of the judicial system, the very system in which David served so faithfully. <BR /> <BR />The appalling failings in this case have understandably caused much anger across mid-Ulster, an area that has suffered more than most at the hands of terrorism. Faith in the justice system has been damaged, particularly amongst victims. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, this case is not the only example of a man charged in connection with a terrorist murder being allowed to breach his bail conditions. Christopher Robinson, the man charged with the murder of prison officer Adrian Ismay, was granted bail in May 2016 but was subsequently rearrested a number of times for allegedly failing to comply with terms set by the court.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am regularly in contact with the Black family, and I know they feel, as Kyle Black said publicly:”
“It emerged that, having failed to sign in with police on 18 November, it was not until 23 December when police called at his bail address that they found the flat had been cleared out, and, in fact, evidence suggested he had been gone a few weeks by that stage. The accused was supposed to check in at a police station five times a week, yet he had not been seen by police in seven weeks. <BR /> <BR />Over time, judges cut the number of days per week the accused had to sign in with the police from seven to five and ordered that his electronic tag be removed. It goes without saying that he must be returned to custody immediately. Unfortunately, those responsible for this inexcusable situation have demonstrated a total lack of respect towards the family of the late David Black.”
“On this, the last day the Assembly will meet in this place, I thank my colleague Mr Doug Beattie for proposing this important motion. I express my deep concern and share the anger of many people from my constituency of Mid Ulster at the management of the bail conditions for the man who was charged with offences linked to the terrorist murder of my constituent prison officer David Black. <BR /> <BR />I was shocked to learn through media reports that the accused in this case has not been seen by the police since November. It is absolutely disgraceful that this man was allowed to disappear while on bail. Indeed, as we previously heard, this is a man who already made headlines when the authorities previously allowed him to attend a spa break in Fermanagh. <BR /> <BR />The facts of the case have been rehearsed.”
“There are so many issues that I could raise here. As I said at the beginning, it gives me no pleasure to see this Executive failing. The people of Northern Ireland deserve better.”
“Whilst some may not like my choice of words, we must remember that it is a criminal offence to let animals suffer, yet this Executive has wilfully sat back and allowed people to dwell in pain on waiting lists. I have had countless constituents tell me that, in their desperation, they have gone back to their GPs and simply been prescribed further pain medication. It is a sad and damning indictment of this ongoing Executive that, in 2017, the NHS, the most cherished of public services, is tolerating pain rather than treating it. Whilst it would be easy to look at waiting lists —”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, it is an ongoing concern across Northern Ireland and not just in Upper Bann. <BR /> <BR />The fact that, as we stand here today, there are 250,000 outpatients waiting on an appointment is shocking. Worse still is the fact that the number of those waiting longer than 52 weeks has jumped from 20,000 to 40,000 over the last year. There are many tens of thousands more inpatients waiting for day treatment as well as key diagnostic tests. <BR /> <BR />These are real people that we are talking about here. These are people with real lives, real jobs and real families, who are being forced to wait a disgraceful length of time to be seen or to receive treatment.”
“<BR /> <BR />Of course, an even more immediate failure of the Executive has to be the frightening situation in our health service. The scale of the current crisis engulfing our health service is completely unprecedented. The fact that, as we —”
“The DUP Education Minister's complete inaction has left schools and other services provided and funded by his Department in an extremely precarious and tentative state. By this stage, much more should have been achieved by the Minister. None of this is rocket science. These are basic functions of government. <BR /> <BR />In my view, the overarching failure of successive Education Ministers has been the inability to agree on a joint strategy for education in Northern Ireland. All we have seen is a continuation of pet projects and schemes. No amount of these schemes and projects will ever solve the crisis in our education system. Instead, they will ensure its perpetuation. We need an Executive that will tackle these issues head on for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland.”
“The impact of these failures has been shown most recently in proposals from the Education Authority to close a number of outdoor education centres across Northern Ireland. Recently, there was a leak from the Education Authority of further proposals to make cuts to school transport. What other leaks will there be over coming months? Will music lessons in schools or some other well-used service be next for the chop? <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, it is no secret that the Education Authority is being used as a vehicle to avoid the responsibility for decisions to initiate cuts. It is the front man for controversial proposals. On numerous occasions, we have heard the Minister utter the phrase, "These are not my proposals", but the Minister must take responsibility for proposals along with any final decisions made on these matters.”
“There is the failure to find a resolution to the long-standing dispute over teachers' pay; the failure to confirm three-year budgets; the failure to deliver a childcare strategy; the failure to deliver an integrated campus at Strule within budget; the failure to deal conclusively with the issue of post-primary transfer; the failure to spend the £50 million allocated for capital projects this year under the Fresh Start Agreement; and the ongoing inability to deal with, and complete failure to agree on, a sustainable way forward for education in Northern Ireland. With the looming threat of the area planning process, the Minister and his Executive colleagues are looking to front-line services like schools to find the savings.”
“<BR /> <BR />As education spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party, it would be remiss of me not to begin with the complete failure of the Executive and the Education Minister to deliver for our young people and deal with the long-standing issues faced by the Department of Education, the Education Authority and, most importantly, the front-line services that we all rely on: our schools, our youth services and childcare.”
“It gives me no pleasure to outline the failures of the Executive. Clearly, the Executive parties are in election mode now. Only a few weeks ago, the DUP and Sinn Féin were representing each other in TV studios. Now, one from each party speaks on the radio, and they are poles apart. <BR /> <BR />It is easy to sit back and complain about the situation and the fact that we are returning to the polls, but this motion was tabled before the election was called. It is easy to refer to the failures of an Executive in place since May last year.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to ask the Minister a question. The paradoxically entitled Fresh Start Agreement included a commitment of £500 million of funding from the Treasury to be spent on shared housing and shared education projects. Will the Minister explain why,18 months into a 10-year timescale, the Executive have spent only £500,000, which is 0·1% of the total amount?”
“That is something that needs to be brought to the debate: in these environments our young people find they have talents that, in a classroom, they do not realise they have. They must be given the opportunity to continue that at Bushmills.”
“I support what other Members have said about the consultation: it seems to be flawed, and it is suggested that it has predetermined outcomes. <BR /> <BR />Stephen Moss, a British natural historian who talked about shared education said:”
“I support the calls by my colleague and by the Member for North Antrim Mervyn Storey to suspend the consultation. There are a number of points about the consultation that cause me concern. The statistics have already been well rehearsed. When I consider the high demand for Bushmills, I do not understand why it has been targeted for closure. I share the concern that there is no real strategy for outdoor education centres. The Education Committee was told that the £1·3 million of savings was the instigation for the decision, yet there is no overall strategy for outdoor education centres. As my colleague Robin Swann has stated, there are funds available elsewhere that could plug the gap from sources such as shared education and T:BUC, and I support that call.”
“I thank the Member for securing the Adjournment debate this afternoon. The centre at Bushmills is the one most used by schools in the Mid Ulster constituency. My three children have all been there at least twice with their primary school. They travel there with other local rural primary schools and use it as an opportunity to get to know children in the neighbouring areas. As has been mentioned, Knockloughrim Primary School and St Brigid's Primary School are in the Mid Ulster constituency and their use of the centre for shared education is second to none. In fact, Knockloughrim and St Brigid's said that shared education becomes easier after they have been to Bushmills, as spending time together helps to break down the barriers, so that really is a benefit.”
“I thank the Minister for that update, although I am sure that he shares my frustration that we are still waiting for the consultation to come out next year, four years after such a strategy was agreed. I thought that that was due to happen around the time of the election. <BR /> <BR />Will the Minister ensure that the strategy is live? Technology changes constantly, and we need to make sure that such a strategy keeps up to date.”
“I thank the Minister for that information, but I am concerned. I believe that they did not make it to my constituency of Mid Ulster, specifically the Karro Food Group in Cookstown, and instead prioritised a visit to the Giant's Causeway from Dungannon, a route that actually goes through Cookstown. I may need to register an interest in this question because my husband supplies pigs to Karro, but I really would like to hear an explanation from the Minister in that regard.”
“I thank the Minister for outlining that her review should be complete by April of next year. Is she aware of a cross-departmental gapping and mapping exercise on Internet safety that was headed by OFMDFM during the last mandate that might feed into her review on stalking? Will the Minister make a point of accessing that study?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses. I understand that teachers are taking action over pay, workload and job security. What is the Minister doing to reduce the workload on teachers, including cutting down on paperwork and other non-teaching duties, to enable them to spend more time doing what they do best: teaching? What is he doing to help on job security issues?”
“Opportunities for training, continuing professional development and sharing of best practice are underdeveloped in the early years sector. What plans does the Minister have to include those opportunities?”
“That is the same presumption against rural closures that the DUP and Sinn Féin voted in support of in May 2013.”
“Will the Member agree that, in the sustainable schools policy, rural schools are defined as all schools outside Belfast and Londonderry? Earlier, the Minister referred to schools closing in Magherafelt, Newry and elsewhere. That is a nonsense.”
“I am certainly aware that schools have been written to, Minister. I have heard stories from schools about the letter being very vague. They need detail on certain proposals.”
“Does the Member acknowledge that in May 2013 Sinn Féin actually voted in favour of a statutory presumption against rural school closures? Is she flip-flopping on that now?”
“Will the Member agree with me that the figures on empty school desks need to be reanalysed and that the schools that were built 30 or 40 years ago do not necessarily have the same number of empty school desks now as they did then, so whenever we base decisions on figures such as those, that should be looked upon first?”
“Is he afraid that a measure such as this will expose flaws in his agenda? If so, he has serious questions that he needs to ask of his proposals. If he is not afraid, he will have no issue with putting protections in place for those living in rural areas. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I hope that this afternoon's debate can be a constructive one. We all want an improved education system for our children. Mature decisions need to be made with regard to planning for the future — mature decisions not masked in fear.”
“<BR /> <BR />These are simple checks and balances that can help ensure that closing a rural school is really the only option available and that all other options and costs to the community have been considered. In 10, 20 or 30 years' time, when many of us are long gone, there will be another Education Minister with his own agenda and perhaps another strategic area plan. Legislative measures such as the examples that we have suggested will give long-term transparency and accountability around decisions being made on rural schools, putting simple checks and balances in place to ensure that all options have been considered. <BR /> <BR />At the end of the day, this is the education of our children that we have in our hands. Indeed, the Minister has more responsibility than any of us, and I hope that he is not afraid of accountability.”
“<BR /> <BR />The legislation in England has been in place since 2006 under section 15(4) of the Education and Inspections Act. This legislation does not mean that a rural school will never close, but the case for closure should be strong, and a proposal must be clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area. <BR /> <BR />When producing a proposal, the proposer must carefully consider the likely effect of the closure of the school in the local community; educational standards at the school and the likely effect on standards at neighbouring schools; the availability and likely cost of transport to other schools; any increase in the use of motor vehicles, which is likely to result from the closure of the school and the likely effects of any such increase; and any alternatives to the closure of the schools.”
“Rather than punishing rural areas with threats, fear and school closures, the Minister needs to work with schools to find innovative ways of ensuring that a quality education can be delivered in rural areas. <BR /> <BR />In Wales, 78 rural schools have closed since 2010, which is approximately 20% of the school stock in these areas. Many argue that the presumption against rural school closures has come too late, as some children as young as four and five are travelling for up to an hour to reach the nearest school. I do not want to see that happening in Northern Ireland. I would like to see children in rural areas protected against this. A statutory presumption against rural school closures will go some distance in ensuring that this takes place.”
“<BR /> <BR />Legislation such as that which we are proposing was passed in England in 2006 and in Scotland in 2014, and, in Wales, the current Education Secretary, just last week, announced changes to the school organisation code, which will see the inclusion of a presumption against rural school closures. <BR /> <BR />The rest of the UK has recognised the special place that rural schools have in their communities. They recognise that pupils in rural areas deserve the same opportunities as children in other areas and recognise the challenges they face, such as small pupil numbers, budget and resource pressures, and greater difficulty in recruiting teachers, head teachers and staff.”
“What I am not clear on is how exactly the proposal, which would see the decimation of rural schools, would solve these problems. <BR /> <BR />Rather than addressing the funding crisis, the Minister is using it to drive his own agenda of school closures. He is creating a state of panic and fear in rural areas, where parents are wondering whether the school that their children attend will still be around in three, four or five years. If a school is labelled as unsustainable, as the Minister has done, it drives parents and pupils away in fear and plunges the school into a further state of crisis.”
“A second concern, and I have said this before, is that any area plan should be proposed with gusto, highlighting fabulous opportunities that should be forthcoming and educational advantages that should be realised. How, as the Minister has suggested, will the closure of schools improve the quality of education? We still have no indication of this. It is simply presumed that bigger schools are better schools and smaller schools are inferior. I suggest that many teachers, principals and, indeed, parents and pupils will be offended by this statement. The Minister suggests in the plan that we continue to face some challenges, and, indeed, there are eight listed in the consultation document. I am not in disagreement with him on the challenges listed. Indeed, I could add a few myself.”
“The new plan will change nothing. Unless the Minister has a few billion in his back pocket to fund capital development, I do not understand how this is to be orchestrated. What savings are to be made? The plan states that 80% of the budget given to schools is used for staff salaries, but the same amount of teachers will be needed to teach the same amount of pupils. To my knowledge, the only saving that may be made is to the small schools support factor, which sits at 3·82% of the aggregated schools budget. To be honest, the Minister is fooling no one if he is going to insist that that measly sum makes the dispersal of thousands of children worthwhile.”
“Perhaps a little more time and support would allow those schools to get back. <BR /> <BR />Another important issue is that 80% of the post-primary schools on the list, and 88% of primary schools, are in rural areas — 88%, Mr Deputy Speaker. What are those areas to do if their schools are attacked with closures? Where will those children go? Thousands of children will be dispersed into alternative schools. Where will they be taught? Out on the tarmac? <BR /> <BR />The consultation document states that:”
“Instead, it threatens struggling schools with closure, targets rural communities and creates a sense of panic in the schools system that takes the focus away from children in the classroom. <BR /> <BR />Our first major concern is that the plan is based on bad statistics. In answer to questions for written answer from the Ulster Unionist Party leader, the Minister indicated that 439 primary schools and 104 post-primary schools will be in budget deficit by 2019. According to the sustainable schools policy, that is a measure of sustainability. First, while all those schools will be showing a budget deficit in 2019, 11% of the primary schools on the list are actually showing clear evidence that they are reducing their deficits, so to put them on the list is particularly unfair.”
“It is with great concern that the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP bring this motion to the Floor of the Chamber. The draft strategic area plan for school provision, as put forward by the Minister of Education, is flawed. It is concerning that it is based on the same sustainable schools policy that underpinned the previous area plan and was called into serious disrepute by the Public Accounts Committee only a few months ago. It shows a complete failure on the part of the Minister to seriously address the issues that are faced by primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland, not least of which is the funding crisis, but, importantly, there are also systemic problems with underachievement and educational inequalities.”
“Will the Minister outline whether he has had any discussions on the back of his engagement with key stakeholders in the higher education sector? What are his views on any increase in tuition fees, considering the shortfall of over £50 million in university funding?”
“Can the deputy First Minister explain his assessment of the approaches of the devolved Administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh?”
“I also raise the Minister's announcement in mid-September of 280 public-sector jobs to help deal with credit and child maintenance payments in GB. I hope he can explain how that announcement could be made at that time, yet he is looking at how to take jobs away from Cookstown.”