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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“We need to have clarity on how much money will be saved by the replacement of the five education and library boards with the new single Education Authority. We have not forgotten about the £16 million that was spent in preparation for the Education and Skills Authority (ESA). Anecdotally, I hear that the top management of the education and library boards have been rebadged and retained in the Education Authority but that the lower-ranked officers have been culled, putting those who remain under considerable pressure. It is a disgrace that, on the verge of the school summer holidays, there is such uncertainty in the Department of Education's budget for 2015-16. <BR /> <BR />I will now make a few brief comments on the budget for the Department of the Environment. The initial settlement for 2015-16 proposed a reduction of 500 staff.”
“Since the start of the new financial year, we have seen significant funding cutbacks in education: cuts to early years, cuts to the Sentinus STEM promotion programmes, cuts to the primary school modern languages programme, cuts to the Book Trust Bookstart scheme and cuts to community education initiatives. Where do we stand now, with the Stormont House Agreement on ice and a provisional Budget that ignores the reality of the financial stalemate? <BR /> <BR />The agreement included a capital investment of £500 million in shared and integrated education to be delivered over 10 years, with individual projects to be agreed between the Executive and the Westminster Government. The fact that that is in abeyance will surely have consequences for the entire education budget, unless the shared education process is being abandoned at birth.”
“He expressed satisfaction with the Budget outcome for his Department. However, at the end of March, with less than a month to go to the start of the new financial year, the Minister briefed the Education Committee and dropped a new bombshell about teacher redundancies. He said:”
“We made the point that the priority must be to protect the aggregated schools budget; the money going to front-line teaching needed to be protected. <BR /> <BR />In January, post the Stormont House Agreement, the final Budget was agreed, chiefly between Sinn Féin and the DUP. Minister O'Dowd announced that his resource budget for 2015-16 was to be £1·9142 billion. That was a reduction of around £30 million from last year's resource budget, but it is a larger per annum figure than any of the years from 2011 to 2014. <BR /> <BR />In a press statement issued on 19 January this year, Minister O'Dowd said:”
“No firm set proposals have emerged from the home-to-school transport report. As for protecting front-line services, tell that to the schools that, because of the head-in-the-sand approach of Sinn Féin and others to welfare reform, live in a state of complete uncertainty about their budgets for the next financial year. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Unionist Party voted against the unbalanced 2015-16 Budget agreed by a majority on the Executive in January. It is worth rewinding to the draft Budget, which was consulted on last December. We remember the doomsday scenario, when senior officials told the Committee that an estimated 2,500 teaching and support staff jobs in schools would have to be cut by April 2015. The Ulster Unionist Party, like many others, responded to the consultation.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with the first part of the Minister's statement, but the second part is much more arguable. The following questions must be asked of the Department of Education. Has the Minister of Education taken difficult decisions? Has he minimised waste, promoted the efficient delivery of public services and sought to protect front-line services? <BR /> <BR />In terms of taking difficult decisions, area planning has been a piecemeal and sectoral process, and it has had no joined-up planning, as referenced in the Committee report in debate last week. As for minimising waste and promoting efficiency, we know that, over four years, the Minister of Education has made no attempt even to look at the recommendations of the performance and efficiency delivery unit (PEDU).”
“I speak on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party on the Budget — "provisional", "phantom" or otherwise — primarily in relation to the Departments of Education and the Environment. I welcome the new Finance Minister to her post, and I am sure that she wishes that it had happened in more fortuitous circumstances. <BR /> <BR />Last Monday, the Finance Minister said:”
“Chris has touched on the question that I wanted to touch on. I am sure that the Minister will agree with me that, to increase the number of the economically active right across Northern Ireland, childcare should be a big priority for the Assembly. Will she assure us of her commitment to that?”
“Will the Minister give an assessment of the scale of the problem of abandoned horses across Northern Ireland and provide an update on the consideration being given in her Department of the redefinition of a horse from a domestic to a farm animal, which would greatly enhance the welfare of abandoned horses?”
“I thank the Minister for the vast figures he outlined there. While I recognise that, on paper, his Department does well on capital receipts, does he accept that much of it comes from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive using public funds to pay his Department, so it is not true revenue in people's eyes? Given the extent of surplus lands owned by the Housing Executive, for instance, does the Minister believe that the target he referred to, and which he is well under way to reaching, is possibly too low?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. Does he support minimum sentencing for those found guilty of domestic abuse-related crimes?”
“I agree that it is a worrying time for those who have applied and have not yet had confirmation of their future. Will the Minister outline how much every month of the delay on the agreement or finalisation of the voluntary exit scheme is costing the Executive?”
“Does the Minister fully agree with the review's finding that the ECU has delivered considerable gains with evidence of capability and capacity, given the apparent impunity with which fuel smugglers and polluters can operate along the border?”
“Given that the HIA inquiry has added a module investigating the paedophile activities of Father Brendan Smyth, does the junior Minister agree that it is unfair that some victims are excluded from the HIA inquiry on the grounds of where the abuse took place rather than because of the nature of the abuse?”
“Does the Minister believe that there is currently sufficient childcare provision to enable parents to take up part-time training courses or employment?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. It was pleasing to see that the interim air quality report has been completed. Considering that 42% of households in Northern Ireland are in fuel poverty, does the Minister still agree with me that the banning of certain types of coal and other solid fuels may exacerbate the problem? Can the Minister inform us how he plans to engage with the industry?”
“<BR /> <BR />Can this process be truly described as area-based planning when the maintained sector has already planned its own future with little regard for shared education, and open hostility to integrated education? There is continuing uncertainty in many parts of our divided education system, and no leadership has been shown by the Department or the Minister. Of course, we debate this report with a growing recognition that we are on the verge of another Budget crisis and that the £500 million extra money for shared education is very much in doubt. How will that affect area planning needs? It needs to be thought through. I trust that the Minister will address that when responding to the debate. <BR /> <BR />Mr Deputy Speaker, I will end there. I support the Committee motion.”
“The reality is that sectors have reorganised and rationalised their estates, independent of others, before and after the process was launched quite some time ago. Recent debates in the Assembly have suggested that there is no consensus about where we should be going in a vision for our education system. It seems abundantly clear to me that the Minister has no inclination to take on vested sectoral interests. There is a policy vacuum and an attempt to reorganise a fragmented system where some sectors have their own sectoral bodies with their own agenda and some have been allowed to unilaterally rationalise their own schools estate. That has led to confusion.”
“Has the area planning process lived up to the rhetoric? Throughout the process of listening to schools and parents across Northern Ireland, we have heard of cases where schools in some sectors were protected at the expense of schools in other sectors just around the corner. Meanwhile, there was also the issue that an area plan was developed without consideration of schools across the border. Before you think that I am referring to the Republic of Ireland, I mean across the borders of different education and library boards. I speak as a member for Mid Ulster, where we have schools in the North Eastern Education and Library Board and the Southern Education and Library Board. It is imperative that the area plans look across that particular border. <BR /> <BR />So far, area planning in education has not lived up to what it was meant to do.”
“In the Assembly, on 22 October 2013, he said:”
“I actually think that this is not strong enough. Cross-sectoral solutions were explicitly meant to be the norm, dating back to the start of the process, with the viability audits and the first area plans produced by the education and library boards. After all, the Minister said when launching this process on 26 September 2011:”
“The process would have moved along more smoothly if all the various bodies had worked within the same process and at a similar pace. If the whole school estate ideal was to work together for the betterment of all our children, I am afraid that that did not happen either. <BR /> <BR />I consider the most significant recommendation of the Committee report to be number 5:”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this debate. I add my commendation to the Committee Clerk and the Committee staff for all their work on this issue. As the Chair of the Committee said, the inquiry began back in 2012, which was long before I was a member of the Education Committee. However, one could not fail to be acutely aware of the area planning process ongoing in every constituency. <BR /> <BR />The future of primary and post-primary schools was sent into disarray, not knowing how the area planning process would proceed. There then followed a time of contemplative action. The first recommendation that area planning should happen in a "transparent and consistent manner" is a common-sense approach. It is one that you might not expect to have to suggest because that should already have been a given, but sadly not.”
“Setting aside the Minister's shameful actions to date on the issue, not least the blatant disregard for public money, does she think that some of the proceeds of the sale of surplus lands could be put into a community fund for the Roe valley?”
“Ms McGahan mentioned the difficulties experienced in south Tyrone. I apologise on behalf of Tom Elliott, who is unable to be here this afternoon. I am sure that he is well aware of the circumstances in that area. It is interesting to hear the details: there is no waiting list, but they are experiencing difficulties with getting places for young people in the area. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response on those issues.”
“The knowledge and awareness of issues surrounding individual circumstances, along with their experience and access to excellent facilities, mean that they are often best placed to provide this level of care for patients of all ages. They are also best placed to provide a range of services, being able to use this expertise to ensure that any respite is provided in an age-specific way. <BR /> <BR />Each patient is an individual, and care providers know that there is no single way to treat all patients. Care is required to be available locally to ensure that these people are treated as individuals and given the care that they need and deserve.”
“Many families have children of all ages who require high levels of specific respite care. It is vital that families are given the support and assistance that they need to ensure that they can live as normal a life as possible, often under incredibly difficult circumstances. It is essential, in order to promote the inherent dignity of each individual patient, that they are given treatment and care that is age-appropriate. This specific treatment helps to maintain and promote health benefits, physical and mental, for those people, which will, in turn, help to enhance their quality of life and that of the families who care for them daily. <BR /> <BR />For many families, the facilities provided locally are the best environment for respite care.”
“The issue raised by Ms McGahan is important to so many families across Northern Ireland. There is not one of us in this place whose constituency office has not been contacted by families who desperately need care for their ill, vulnerable and often elderly relatives. In this case, however, the issue in hand is the younger people who are often ill or have special needs and need age-appropriate care. As we debate the issue, it is worth remembering that it has a human face that is familiar to us all. Indeed, much of the respite care provided in our care homes and communities has been under threat over recent times. <BR /> <BR />There are vulnerable people of all ages who require respite care, and it is easy to presume that this sort of care is required only by elderly people.”
“He went on to say that we must lobby hard at Westminster to reduce tourism VAT and that he was committed to doing that. I am delighted that, as the newly elected MP for South Antrim, he is now able to pursue this issue.”
“You are going to have to let the Ulster Unionists continue to promote the two new MPs in the House of Commons for a while yet. <BR /> <BR />I refer directly to what Danny Kinahan said at the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation's tourism summit in March past. He said:”
“— that the two new Ulster Unionist MPs are due to assume their places on the green Benches to raise the standard of representation at the mother of all Parliaments.”
“At that time, the Labour Treasury Secretary, John Healey, claimed that the cost to the Treasury was too much. The arguments that the Labour Minister used in 2004 were regurgitated in 2012, almost verbatim, by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, the Conservative David Gauke MP. Mr Gauke is to remain as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, so clearly there is a job of work ahead for our newly elected MPs to persuade. It does not seem that our Northern Ireland MPs have made much progress on the matter over the past decade at all. So, in that regard, it is excellent news —”
“The Assembly debated the issue on 10 September 2012, but it had been on and off the political agenda for a very long time before that. Indeed, over 11 years ago, on 24 February 2004, East Antrim Ulster Unionist MP, Roy Beggs, led an Adjournment debate on it in the House of Commons. He urged the Government there to introduce a reduced rate on tourist accommodation to 8%, down from the then rate of 17·5%, to bring it in line with other European Union states. He wanted a pilot scheme to be introduced in Northern Ireland to test the effectiveness of a cut. He said:”
“The potential benefits for Northern Ireland are measured in significant boosts to GDP, job creation and additional tax take. We should seek a concessionary 9% VAT rate to be applied to the hospitality sector to negate the marketing disadvantage with the Republic of Ireland.”
“The Ulster Unionist Party wants to reduce tourism VAT to 9% across the UK. We could look to the Isle of Man to see how that could work. The Isle of Man has also operated a concessionary VAT rate on hotel accommodation, which has been judged to be a direct stimulus to that sector. Given that Northern Ireland's tourism competes with the Republic of Ireland, which enjoys a 9% VAT rate for that type of purchase, the 11% differential is clearly off-putting for potential visitors to Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, which represents 85% of the hotel sector in Northern Ireland, reports in its tourism 2020 analysis that the UK has the third highest VAT rate in Europe and is one of only four EU states that does not have a concessionary VAT rate for hotel accommodation.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the debate. I support the motion. <BR /> <BR />This is a non-devolved matter, so we need not only Executive lobbying but our local MPs to act in unison. I believe that there is consensus on the matter in Northern Ireland and a growing consensus across the United Kingdom, driven by the Cut Tourism VAT campaign. It is clear that Northern Ireland is in an uncompetitive position, as we have just 15% of the island of Ireland's tourism spend from overseas visitors. The 11% differential is just too significant to ignore. <BR /> <BR />Tourism is the only export industry subject to VAT. At 20%, we have the third highest VAT rate in Europe, and we are one of only four countries in the 28-member EU that does not have a reduced rate for accommodation.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement, and I fully appreciate the importance of seeking to reduce the number of young people entering the formal justice system. I know very well the good work of the PSNI in my constituency. They work with young people on the verge of offending behaviour, as the Minister has referenced. <BR /> <BR />Can the Minister assure us that the notions of punishment and deterrence will retain a key role in the system?”
“This is a very serious issue and it is ongoing even in my constituency of Mid Ulster. Can the Minister state what impact the National Crime Agency (NCA) being able to operate in Northern Ireland is likely to have on measures to break up the criminal gangs responsible for fuel laundering?”
“I congratulate the Minister on his new position. He will know more than most about the uncertainty surrounding the monitoring round. Can he detail the most recent estimated funding pressure for his Department this year? In particular, what service in what trust is he most concerned for?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. I had hoped to ask about the June monitoring round as well, so I will adapt my question: does the Minister feel that River Care Ltd in Cookstown, which works in the Ballinderry river, will be eligible under the funding that is now available?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I note that he welcomed continuing cooperation to support compliant road goods haulage and drivers' hours regulations. Has the Minister identified any gaps in the success of that enforcement?”
“I thank the Minister for that information. I note some of the large companies mentioned in his first answer. When the Minister first floated this matter, he indicated that there may be a need for incentives for employers to support higher-level apprentices. Is this still an option to encourage small businesses to take apprentices?”
“I thank the Minister for that positive response. From my time on the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, I remember that the Minister appointed a go-to person in Invest Northern Ireland to look at Horizon 2020 and its funding opportunities. Will the Minister consider having in Invest Northern Ireland such a single go-to person with particular knowledge of funding opportunities to work specifically with agricultural businesses and to grow the farming sector in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Minister for her response and the information that she has provided. How much does she feel this decision could be attributed to the relative strength of the euro and dollar exchange rates in terms of room pricing? Does she agree that all Northern Ireland MPs should be arguing for a reduction in VAT on tourist accommodation right across the UK?”
“OK, thank you. I thank the Minister. Does the Minister agree, given that the arts sector, including the performing arts, is a major contributor to the health and well-being of our people, that serious efforts need to be made to deliver the finance needed for it?”
“Considering the importance of angling in South Antrim, will the Minister provide an update on the study to establish the baseline of the fish population in Lough Neagh?”
“What exactly is the role for private-sector childcare providers, and how do they qualify for funding?”
“Does the Minister agree that the new local economic development powers are equally important for the new councils?”
“I appreciate that officers have a crucial role to play in this. Will the Minister liaise with the Minister of the Environment on training needs for councillors and officers? A lot of attention has been paid to planning powers in the new councils.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Does the Minister not agree that, while it is fine to look at North/South mobility for teachers — as the Minister refers to in the second paragraph, regarding teacher qualifications — that his priority should be for teacher mobility within and across sectors in Northern Ireland? Could the Minister clarify at what point, between 9 and 10 February this year, he changed his mind and decided that keeping the requirement for maintained primary and nursery schools to have a certificate in RE was a good idea?”