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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“Of course, there are connecting responsibilities in the PSNI and the Department of Justice. Therefore, Internet safety is an issue that requires cross-departmental working, the drafting of a strategy and accountability to ensure delivery. Yet, two years after the aforementioned gapping and mapping exercise, there has been no action to address the dangers that were highlighted or to propose an efficient and coherent cross-departmental strategy to ensure that all our young people obtain uniform messages and parents have good and updated information and guidance. Therefore, if this Bill will enable such strategic cooperation across Departments in a timely and workable manner, it will certainly prove very useful.”
“We should be doing our utmost to ensure that a more efficient and effective system is put in place so that Departments and bodies work together and avoid duplication. <BR /> <BR />Through my experience of attempting to pursue a cross-departmental strategy for Internet safety, I am only too well aware of the difficulty of achieving that goal. Indeed, I have engaged with the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and it agreed to my request to carry out a gapping and mapping exercise throughout all Departments to see what work is happening now and where improvements need to be made. As Members know, the Department of Education has responsibility for Internet safety in schools and youth services, while the Department of Health has responsibility for safeguarding.”
“I have seen examples of that time and again brought to my constituency office, and I am sure that other Members will agree that that type of attitude is exactly why I am particularly drawn to the intent of the Bill to ensure that each Northern Ireland Department must cooperate with other Northern Ireland Departments to further the achievement of the specified outcomes. <BR /> <BR />All too often, joined-up government has not been evident, as Departments have sought to avoid responsibility. The Bill will close down that option, and that can only be of benefit to our children and young people. We should all be striving to ensure collaboration within government in relation to children's services and greater collaboration between government agencies and Departments in order to improve outcomes for children and young people.”
“A number of key stakeholders were present, and a video presentation was shown in which a disabled school pupil highlighted the difficulties that she had experienced throughout her school career in getting health and education authorities to take action and deliver the care to which she was entitled. It was a powerful example of how Departments, when left to their own devices, often revert to the instinct of seeking to pass the buck to others and hoping that a problem will go away.”
“The objective of a statutory duty to cooperate is to ensure that Departments work together to devise and implement cross-cutting strategies. The intention is to improve outcomes for children by supporting, enhancing and encouraging cooperation to ensure that children's services are most integrated from the point of view of the recipient. <BR /> <BR />Inadequate integration of children's services in Northern Ireland has been repeatedly identified by a wide range of organisations and stakeholders with expertise in the area. Two weeks ago, I attended the event in the Long Gallery at which Mr Agnew expanded on his Bill.”
“Those are all very worthy sentiments, and I believe that the Bill will bring about changes that will increase effectiveness in practice, which is likely to lead to better outcomes. <BR /> <BR />There is presently no requirement for Departments or public bodies to cooperate with each other on the issue of children's services.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, as its spokesperson for children and young people, on the Second Stage of Mr Agnew's Children’s Services Co-operation Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Bill requires Northern Ireland Departments to discharge their functions and cooperate with one another to contribute to the achievement of certain specified outcomes relating to the well-being of children and young people. In terms of the general duty, those outcomes include being healthy; enjoying learning and achieving; living in safety and stability; experiencing economic and environmental well-being; contributing positively to community and society; and living in a society that respects their rights.”
“<BR /> <BR />I conclude by asking the Minister to publish the interim report to provide reassurances that local householders and fuel merchants will not be disadvantaged.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. As the proposer of the motion said, to accommodate the change to smokeless fuel, appliances need to be changed. That is an additional cost in itself. Indeed, to convert all appliances in Northern Ireland would cost in the region of £210 million, I understand. <BR /> <BR />Before any decision is taken, I remind the Minister that any ban on bituminous coal will have a direct and immediate effect on people's pockets, especially those living in rural areas. I am sure that I do not need to remind the Minister that our rate of fuel poverty was last measured at 42%. There has been pitiful success over recent years in tackling our fuel poverty rate, and a ban similar to what is being proposed will only exacerbate it.”
“— but that is the reality of it. Certainly.”
“Very often, people burn the cheapest fuel available to them, so, if it is banned, it is inevitable that costs will increase. Some officials scorn such a suggestion and try to claim that, in the longer term, other, smokeless fuels are cheaper, but we need to remember that the priority for most people is heating their home. That may not go hand in hand with environmental considerations —”
“I am sure that the same can be said for other areas of Northern Ireland, in that there are a great number of installations of wood-burning stoves in Mid Ulster, in an attempt to save money on heating our homes. <BR /> <BR />At this stage, I thank the Minister for recently meeting me, my colleague Tom Elliott, who was the environment spokesperson before me, and members of the Coal Advisory Service. The Minister was open to listening to the concerns of people from the sector, and we requested that the Minister publish the interim report so that the industry can assess whether the study will be fair and unbiased. <BR /> <BR />If a ban were brought in, it would have immediate and significant consequences. Although air quality is an issue to be watched, banning fuels such as a bag of bituminous fuel will have a major financial consequence.”
“However, we accept that the study, by focusing on — I quote Minister Hogan, the former Republic of Ireland Minister for the Environment — "in particular, 'smoky' coal", was always compromised, and, as has been said, there are other fuels worse than coal. <BR /> <BR />In my constituency of Mid Ulster, we have a great number of people who dig peat and use it to heat their home. Although the study is deemed to be biased, singling out smoky coal or bituminous coal, which is the preferred title, it must be said that, as the proposer said, peat briquettes are classified as smokeless fuel in the Republic of Ireland but not here in Northern Ireland. I find that rather strange, since emissions are greater from peat than from bituminous coal.”
“We understand the rationale and why it is important that whatever is being burned in our domestic properties is monitored. When the ban on burning certain fuels in many of our towns and cities was introduced in the 1960s, it had a major impact on smog and general air quality. That was something to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />Over the years, that protection has grown to 16 councils, with well over 100 smoke-control areas. I support that. What I do not support is that, somehow, the next step has been assumed to be a widespread ban on certain types of fuel. Although the motion refers to smoky coal, not even referring to its correct name of bituminous coal, the issue is broader than that.”
“I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate. The Ulster Unionist Party supports the broad principle of the motion. It is regrettable, however, that the flaws in the wording of the motion have diminished the value of the debate. We tried to rectify the inaccuracies with an amendment, but, bizarrely, it was not selected. No doubt the Speaker has his reasons, but, standing here today, they are difficult to see. <BR /> <BR />Whilst the air study is being taken forward by the North/South Ministerial Council, there is no doubt that the Republic of Ireland is really taking the lead on the issue. Northern Ireland has somehow been dragged into it, and it concerns me that, unless the Department starts speaking up on the issue and making its concerns clear soon, we could end up walking ourselves into a foregone conclusion.”
“In conclusion, I support the Bill. It has been poorly handled in getting it to this stage, but I nonetheless welcome the limited progress that has been made.”
“For the record, I believe that there would have been time to introduce this Bill in November, have a short but important Committee Stage and then receive Royal Assent before May, but the delays were seemingly accepted with fear.”
“That is different to what his predecessor suggested when he tried desperately to table the Bill with the powers included on several occasions. <BR /> <BR />In reality, I do not blame the Minister for the current situation. Sinn Féin, with its usual disregard for reason, had no difficulty in dragging out approval by the Executive. It is ironic that it is the pig-headedness of a party claiming to go the extra mile for deprived communities that is responsible for these delays. My party has been warning since the summer that time was running out, and the announcement on 11 November therefore came as no surprise. We were surprised, however, given the Executive's record of steamrollering legislation through the Assembly, that it appeared so downtrodden in relation to the remaining timescales.”
“Considering regeneration has a key association with planning functions and community planning, this delay will be detrimental to the work of councils from the moment they become operational in a few months' time. Because one party decided to play political hardball, these crucial powers are left in a state of limbo for another 12 months. There will be no decisions to use money differently, but, most importantly, local communities are not being given the ownership of the powers they were promised last May. <BR /> <BR />In addition, I note that the original housing elements in respect of HMOs and responsibility for unfitness are no longer contained in the Bill. At the time, the Social Development Minister tried to put a shine on it by claiming that these powers would have been more appropriately considered separately from the Bill anyway.”
“Our councils will have the flexibility to chose whatever support they think best suits their local areas. That may be existing schemes, or it could be their own stand-alone ideas. Some may think that this represents an element of risk, not least of confusion during the move from one scheme to another, but all Assembly parties were aware of that when they signed up to the RPA. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I welcome the fact that this Assembly is at last formally progressing this Bill, it comes, nonetheless, after much frustration. Its journey even to get this length has been typically shambolic and indicative of the lack of leadership at the top of the Executive. As we have heard, squabbling has led to these key urban regeneration and community development powers, which were meant to be conferred on 1 April 2015, being delayed by a year.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill in place of my colleague, Michael Copeland, who would have wished not to have missed this, as regeneration is an issue close to his heart. <BR /> <BR />I will say this at the outset: the Ulster Unionist Party supports the Bill. The reform of local government was meant to be about giving our councils greater responsibilities on which they could deliver more effectively and efficiently. This Bill, if passed, will confer a range of important powers on our councils, such as powers to carry out area-based regeneration, community development and improvement of the environment, and tackling deprivation. Powers such as regeneration are understandably of interest to the Executive and will continue to be so even after transfer.”
“For a party that espouses equality, the Minister, unfortunately, has let himself down. Will he tell us whether it is too late to go back to the DVLA and the Department for Transport at Westminster to ask for an opt-out option?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement detailing some significant changes to Northern Ireland's core tourism body. I, too, recognise the good work and dedication of the outgoing chairman, Howard Hastings, and former chief executive, Alan Clarke. <BR /> <BR />I want to ask the Minister for some detail on the new Tourism Northern Ireland's future links. Can the Minister tell us whether it will have a role in promoting Northern Ireland as a destination with overseas markets, or will it be solely a smaller brother or sister of Tourism Ireland?”
“Sorry. The draft Budget 2015 must be completely redrafted. In the face of budgetary cutbacks, we certainly cannot afford party political decisions made by the Minister of Education.”
“For the Minister to approve this, against the advice of his officials and even contrary to that of the ministerial advisory group on advancing Irish-medium education, borders on farcical. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Members pull on our heartstrings and say that the only alternative to the current budget proposals is to have children starve. Such financial flagrancy, as demonstrated by the Minister in his decision-making, gives the Ulster Unionist Party no confidence that he has any competence or responsibility in budgetary matters.”
“Preschool education faces a cut of £2·5 million, or 15%, and the Youth Council, which supports the youth work sector across the Province, faces a £3 million, or 20%, cut. <BR /> <BR />I highlight those two areas merely to put into some sort of context the Minister's recent decision to fund the opening of a brand new secondary school near Dungiven, at which it is proposed that pupils will be educated through the medium of the Irish language. In the development proposal for that school, which is available to read online, it is estimated that approximately 11 double mobile classrooms will be required at a cost of approximately £600,000, plus VAT, every year, with specialised accommodation increasing the cost. The school's estimated first year deficit is in and around £100,000, and that will have to be carried forward to subsequent years.”
“So, before we go much further, the Minister needs to quantify how much of the expenditure on ESA has not been lost and be clear on whether he expects the new Education Authority to implement the four-year-old PEDU recommendations. In that context, and when debating the draft education budget for 2015-16, we must interrogate the Minister of Education on whether he has demonstrated any financial prudence or acumen at all. <BR /> <BR />As has been highlighted, the proposed 7% cuts in the aggregated school budget have been met with understandable consternation amongst the teaching fraternity. However, even more stark are the threat to the preschool education budget and the proposed cut to the budget of the Youth Council for Northern Ireland.”
“The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) was meant to have been culled and its responsibilities absorbed by ESA. Not only is this not happening under the Education Authority proposals but we now have a new sectoral body for controlled schools that, inevitably, will cost money and does not seem to have been mentioned in the draft Budget. <BR /> <BR />Moreover, recent Assembly questions have shown that the PEDU recommendations have not been implemented, the excuse being that they were predicated on the establishment of ESA. On 4 November 2014, the Minister, in reply to my party leader, admitted that he had not implemented the PEDU recommendations and that they had been put on hold.”
“At the start of this budgetary period, in 2011, the Executive exempted the Minister's Department from cuts on the basis that the performance and efficiency delivery unit (PEDU) had been commissioned to undertake work on the scope for and delivery of significant cost reductions. The PEDU report, published nearly four years ago, highlighted potential efficiency savings in administration. At the Education Committee on 7 December 2011, a departmental official said:”
“The most glaring example of that is, of course, the money that was spent on failing to set up ESA, the Education and Skills Authority implementation team and associated departmental costs. As of the end of the 2013-14 financial year, that came to £18·145 million.”
“I will speak on the issue, and, as indicated, we will support the SDLP amendment. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, let me say that it must be remembered that, although the present acute financial problems appear to have emerged in the summer during the 2014 June monitoring round, we now know that the Executive were informed of their allocations for 2015-16 as part of the 2013 UK spending round in June 2013. The Ulster Unionist Party believes that the Minister has demonstrated a lack of transparency on budgetary matters throughout the 2011-15 budgetary period. At various mini-crisis points, he has found extra money from contingency funds. There has been no demonstration of financial prudence or of the Minister being proactive in making efficiency savings during his tenure in office.”
“I thank the Minister for the detail. He mentioned the capital project for Holy Trinity in Cookstown. Can he provide updates on the development plan in the area and on how the growth of that school might impact on other schools in the area? Will the Minister acknowledge any area-planning difficulties there as a result of the changes to the area covered by the board?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. Since the proposals were announced, I have been inundated with contact from schools in mid-Ulster, explaining how these cuts will have such a dramatic effect on education in the area. The Minister needs to recognise that this cut means mass redundancies, larger class numbers, less special needs provision and a poorer quality environment for education. As he said, the ASB amounts to 59% of the Department's budget. Does he not recognise that he must look for efficiencies in the other 41% of his budget?”
“Can the Minister give a commitment, as her Department enters a budgetary cycle that she admits is immensely difficult, that she will review her decision to spend so much on the new system and, in particular, revisit it to determine if there are any areas in which cost savings could be made?”
“It was interesting to see that e-safety was raised at North/South level, especially since there does not yet seem to be any agreement here as to who will take responsibility for a cross-departmental Internet strategy in Northern Ireland. What did they learn about forming an Internet safety strategy from the Republic of Ireland Government? It is important to see action on this issue as soon as possible.”
“Enabling older people to remain in their own home for as long as it is safe and possible is logical and saves huge amounts of money, not least to the public purse. Does the Minister not see the major flaws in the current proposals, especially in areas where he still allows a totally unfair ban on admissions to many care homes across Northern Ireland?”
“Should I go ahead? Is that fine, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker? I thank the deputy First Minister for clarifying that. Does he agree that the revelations in the BBC 'Spotlight' programme merit a serious investigation into just how that hall and the South Derry Cultural and Heritage Society were funded?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I note the all-Ireland air quality research study launched in February that the Member for Sinn Féin referred to. At 42%, Northern Ireland has one of the worst rates of fuel poverty in the whole of the European Union. Does the Minister accept that a ban on smoky fuels, not just smoky coal, could make those matters worse here in Northern Ireland? What discussions has he had on that issue with the Department for Social Development and groups interested in tackling fuel poverty?”
“Can the Minister tell us, as we stand today, exactly how much the clean-up of the site, as well as preventing future flooding, will cost?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer so far. During this process, though, the Minister has thrown out the rule book on proper process. She has shown contempt for ensuring public value for money and over-ruled concerns of accounting officials not only in her Department but in OFMDFM.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I apologise to the Minister for missing the start of his statement, although I was here for the large part of it. I note that illegal fuel laundering was not discussed at the meeting. It is a longstanding problem here in Northern Ireland and is worth £80 million in lost tax revenue. Is it an issue that the Minister will raise at a future meeting?”
“If we are to believe the Sunday papers, it seems that those behind the scenes have already written off the college at Desertcreat. If the Department's failure to deliver the full package becomes more likely, will he agree to immediate consultations with other Departments to ensure that alternative suitable uses are considered for the Desertcreat site, that the money invested so far is not wasted and that the expectations for economic opportunity for the Cookstown area are not lost?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Will he expand on the notion of the green guidance schemes that he referred to in his statement? Will he ensure that any such schemes can be carried out within current budgetary restraints and current staffing levels?”
“I understand that they may have started in Flanders fields when Mr Kinahan and Mr Rogers were there with the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. I commend the other participants in those discussions, Mr Lunn, Mr McCallister, the DUP and Sinn Féin. Now we find ourselves with this compromise. The public may be surprised to hear about it, and I hope that, at this stage, those in the education sector — the principals, teachers, governors and staff — find that the result of this Education Bill is something that delivers an improved working environment for them and, ultimately, an improved and better education for our children.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the debate. I think that the temper has been more cordial than the initial and previous debates that we witnessed in this Chamber. I could say that they were depressing, with personal attacks as opposed to proper political policy debates. <BR /> <BR />I reiterate the concerns of my party that the Bill was pushed through under accelerated passage. Consultation and scrutiny did not happen, and that is regrettable. It might have been easier to find a compromise if there had have been an opportunity to discuss the Bill in Committee Stage or after public consultation. You never know, we might have been able to come up with a better compromise or solution. <BR /> <BR />I congratulate my colleague Danny Kinahan for instigating discussions between parties to find a compromise.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Until now, there has been a variation in Northern Ireland in the level and shape of local economic development agencies. Given that we are in a transition period, does she agree that we should be trying to learn lessons from the experience of local enterprise partnerships in England, which have been operating for several years?”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. <BR /> <BR />I will continue as I began a few minutes ago. The heavy goods vehicle levy will bring equality among haulage businesses in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and across Europe. We in the Ulster Unionist Party support its implementation and the penalties for those who break the law that has been in place since April this year. We support Northern Ireland hauliers, and we oppose the prayer of annulment.”
“Then again, if the Department of the Environment does not enforce the levy, the Department for Transport will step in to enforce it. As other Members suggested, for a party that is keen to support devolution, it is a rare proposition for them to support and promote it. <BR /> <BR />To conclude, the proposer said that there is no tit-for-tat measure in the Republic of Ireland, but Members know that toll roads exist in the Republic of Ireland, which is that country's policy for financing its roads system. If I travel into the Republic of Ireland, I will pay those road tolls just like any other person from Northern Ireland travelling in the Republic of Ireland. Likewise, it is equally fair that, as Councillor Allan Rainey suggested, those heavy goods vehicles that use the UK roads should make a contribution to UK roads.”
“The primary legislation that introduced the levy uses the provision of a European directive, as was said this afternoon. In turn, that requires member states to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance with any levies introduced. Therefore, that European law requires enforcement of the HGV road user levy across the UK. <BR /> <BR />I will make two points about the way in which Sinn Féin is handling the legislation. By praying against the statutory regulations, it is inviting the possibility of infraction fines from Europe. I would have thought that that party might have learned its lesson following the infraction fines for farm maps through the Department of Agriculture and after coming within a whisker of them for Strangford lough.”
“<BR /> <BR />I wonder whether the Environment Minister, when responding to the debate, could inform us how many operators from the Republic of Ireland have taken up the opportunity to set up registered accounts, whereby it is easy for them to log on and pay the levy. Can he also tell us how many hauliers the Department of the Environment is aware of that have refused to pay the levy so far?”