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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“Will the Minister commit to talking directly to prison officers about this issue to find out about the dangers, their needs and whether the staffing levels are inadequate, as my colleague Doug Beattie said to the Minister?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. I am sure that one quote from a prison officer will touch the Minister as much as it touched me:”
“I urge the Minister to speak directly to the Construction Industry Group of Northern Ireland if he has not spoken to it already — I believe he has not. The Minister will know that Mid Ulster is a hub of not only manufacturing but construction employers. When I speak about Mid Ulster, I speak not only for the construction industry but about the infrastructure improvements we want there. On that basis, can the Minister give a commitment that, and a timescale for when, Cookstown can expect a bypass?”
“I thank the Minister for detailing that. Will he give consideration to providing things like overtaking lanes or slow lanes along the A29 so that the business and rural traffic can flow nicely together with commuters, because it is a very important road?”
“I notice that the Minister did not share any knowledge on the ownership of the entire schools estate between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In any future meetings, will the Education Minister initiate such a discussion along similar lines to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Republic of Ireland and possibly learn from that?”
“The Minister successfully managed not to answer my initial question about whether he had or had not seen the document. Is he as surprised as I am that that document, which forecasts such a major impact on the Northern Ireland economy and finances, was not disclosed either before or during the referendum or even in last week's Brexit debate?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. During yesterday's Opposition day debate on NAMA, Sinn Féin and the DUP combined to remove from the motion references to damage to Northern Ireland's international reputation. As a frequent visitor to our key market of the United States of America, does the Minister not agree that the NAMA scandal has had a negative impact on our political and business reputation?”
“Will he give serious consideration to a new capital build for Kilronan special school?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. I do not know whether he has the statistics to hand, but can he detail the number of pupils attending Kilronan School and whether the school has met the demand for places over the past five years? I know from speaking to people in the school that that is an issue in our local area in Mid Ulster.”
“I look forward to receiving that information. I am sure that he will appreciate the large number of entrepreneurial people in my Mid Ulster constituency and how important broadband is to them. I really would like the Minister to be able to advise what the autumn review will involve, what contracts will be examined and what timescale is expected for its completion.”
“Does the Minister agree that it is vital for public confidence in the planning system that councillors do not act on party-political grounds? In that regard, will he investigate the actions of Sinn Féin councillors in Belfast, who last week voted en bloc against a planning application for a 30,000 square foot grade-A office space near Central Station?”
“The Minister said he was determined to ensure that people in Northern Ireland claiming benefits can do so as easily as possible, and that he would not want to make it difficult for them, but there is a proposal to close the local jobs and benefits office in Cookstown. If the consultation turns out to be a fait accompli, can the Minister assure me that claimants from places like mid-Ulster and the surrounding rural area, who will lose their local jobs and benefits office, will not be out of pocket by having to travel to Magherafelt or somewhere else to sign on?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for some of that information. Some groups in my constituency of Mid Ulster have had to resubmit their applications due to costings, and for other reasons. Can the deputy First Minister inform the House how many groups have had to resubmit applications or costings and how that will affect the delivery and timing of the projects?”
“I thank the Minister for that. He will note that the author of the report restates the underlying weaknesses in our economy, which need addressing. How does the Minister respond to the suggestion that the Chancellor's talk of a stimulus package in the UK should be replicated in Northern Ireland? Do the Executive plan to do that?”
“As this is a pressing issue and one that will only grow in the future, we simply cannot sit idly by with legislation that is well past its use-by date. I commend the motion and the SDLP's amendment and look forward to the continuing debate.”
“I feel that an important extension of this strategy would be to provide teachers with the necessary skills to educate children and young people about online stalking, reporting procedures and inappropriate internet behaviour.”
“<BR /> <BR />Furthermore, as my party's education spokesperson, I feel that more action is needed on educating and informing children and young people on how they can keep themselves safe online and, on this specific issue, how to notice stalking and how they should report it. Stalking is not an isolated matter, and we know that there are links between it and sexual abuse and violence. As such, there is need for a joined-up approach, so, for example, the strategy on stopping domestic and sexual violence and abuse in Northern Ireland covers schools having to teach on sensitive subjects such as child abuse and domestic and sexual abuse.”
“Where the stalker is unknown to the victim, which is often the case online also, this has been referred to as stranger stalking, and this activity sits outside the stopping domestic and sexual violence strategy set out in March this year. <BR /> <BR />Added to this, stalking, particularly online stalking, is not a specific offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Given the advances in social media and technology over the last two decades since the Act was introduced, we need to seriously consider, as my colleague Doug Beattie said, whether the current legislation, which is different from that in GB, is fit for purpose to protect and safeguard victims in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />We know from a survey conducted by Bedford University five years ago that online stalking is now more common than physical stalking. In addition, the report found that in many cases the stalker was a complete stranger or a casual acquaintance to the victim. This shows how the nature of stalking online can be different from face-to-face stalking, where, more often than not, the stalker is known to the victim. With social networking sites and forums on the internet playing a bigger part in our social lives, there is now more opportunity than ever before to meet and interact digitally. With people increasingly uploading personal information online, there is a greater chance of that being misused for contacting an individual with the intention of stalking, intimidating and abusing that person.”
“Therefore, it is important to talk about stalking not only in the physical sense but, importantly, in the digital sense. Members, especially those from the previous Assembly mandate, will know that, for some time, I have campaigned and advocated for greater internet safety, especially for our children and young people, in the form of a comprehensive, cross-departmental internet strategy. Young people in particular, who are most clued-in to technology, are not always aware of the risks of engaging in online activity. From my experience as a mother, it seems that parents are always having to play catch-up when it comes to understanding the new programmes and applications that our children have access to daily. This means that any debate on stalking must give considerable focus to stalking that takes place online.”
“I am pleased to contribute to the debate, and I support the motion and the amendment. Everyone has the right to be protected from stalking, no matter what form it occurs in, and to have to the right to support if and, unfortunately for many, when it occurs. The reality is that, for many, stalking remains a hidden issue. This is mainly for two reasons. First, reporting figures do not reflect the full scale of stalking because much of it goes unseen and unreported. Secondly, as many Members have already referred to, without a sound definition and understanding, stalking can be downplayed as banter or as something that is just in the victim's imagination. <BR /> <BR />Nowhere are these two issues around the hidden nature of stalking more true than in the online world, which many have referred to.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. There is no mention of breaking down the barriers and moving towards a single system so, while this framework is aspirational, it lacks the central and overall vision that is so badly needed for education.”
“Where is the aspiration to break down the barriers between the many and varied sectors that make up our education system?”
“<BR /> <BR />Indicator 15, "Improve child development", aims to measure an age 3+ health review using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire in the red book formerly known as the personal child health record. In contrast to the other indicators, this is something new and, indeed, rather specific and focused. So, the argument used by the Ministers that this document is only at a high level and does not get into detail is lost in this case. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am disappointed that we stand today with only a framework rather than a detailed Programme for Government as promised in the Fresh Start Agreement. Are you going to tell me that my time is nearly up, Mr Deputy Speaker? In regard to educational indicators and outcomes, it is very high level and without specific detail.”
“However, there is no mention of the particular problem of persistent underachievement in parts of Northern Ireland. Numerous reports published over the past 10 to 15 years identify where this attainment gap exists. The research has clearly identified, in particular, that boys from a working-class Protestant background are doing significantly worse than girls from a middle-class Catholic background. I am surprised that such necessary targeted interventions are not mentioned. Initiatives like the signature projects in numeracy and literacy proved successful but were cut in the previous mandate. Will these or similar make a comeback? We do not know this from the 'Draft Programme for Government Framework'.”
“Certainly, there has been a lobby to do this. <BR /> <BR />Indicator 13, "Improve the quality of education", again is motherhood and apple pie stuff. Of course we all want that. We also want the Education and Training Inspectorate to be changed to be more effective and to work alongside schools in a better fashion to enable schools to make improvements. There were a number of key recommendations in a previous Education Committee's report that, so far, have not been implemented. <BR /> <BR />By increasing their qualifications, indicator 14 wants to:”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I am sure that you recall, in the last mandate, the Ulster Unionist Party's attempt to remove article 71 of the Fair Employment and Equal Treatment Order 1998, which is the exception for schools under fair employment law that allows them to discriminate in the employment of teachers on the basis of religion. I thought for one moment that the 'Programme for Government Framework' might pledge to remove this fair employment exception, especially since, as recorded in Hansard, all parties said that they supported such a move; but, no, that is not in the document. The aspiration to improve the educational outcome of those receiving free school meals is a commendable one, but there is no mention in the framework of looking at the free school meals measurement to assess whether it remains a fair measurement of deprivation.”
“Indicator 11, "Improve educational outcomes", will be measured by the increase in the percentage of school-leavers achieving at level 2 or above, including in English and maths, but the unanswered questions remain. Are GCSEs the only method of measurement? The Chairman of the Education Committee, who is not in his place now, referred to that earlier. Will they consider other qualifications? More than that, are our young people actually job-ready with these qualifications? <BR /> <BR />I nearly got excited when I read the heading "Reduce educational inequality", which is indicator 12.”
“Of course, who could disagree with that, but how do we achieve that outcome? We look at the indicators, and numbers 15 to 11 refer specifically to educational outcomes.”
“<BR /> <BR />One key outcome in the draft Programme for Government refers to the Department of Education:”
“In particular, I refer to the supporting of the start-up of a secondary school with a first-year intake of only 14 pupils, just because it is an Irish-language school. Will the new Education Minister go against any ministerial advisory group recommendations and seek to follow a personal or joint DUP/Sinn Féin political agenda? <BR /> <BR />While the last Education Minister was proud of taking politically biased decisions and going against the ministerial advisory group's recommendations on a value-for-money decision, I am not sure that we are moving into a new era in education. None of those questions is answered in the draft Programme for Government framework, and the actions of the Education Minister so far have not given me any confidence in the matter.”
“Only the second ministerial visit by new Education Minister Weir was to an Irish language secondary school in Belfast — Coláiste Feirste — which received a £15·5 million extension from the Department's coffers. <BR /> <BR />The visit probably raises more questions than it answers. Unfortunately, the answers are not found in this draft Programme for Government framework, which begs this question: what are the Programme for Government priorities for education? Will the 2016-2021 mandate see further such investment? Will the people of Northern Ireland see a change in the Education Minister compared with the last Education Minister when it comes to future decisions on funding for new secondary schools?”
“I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Deputy Speaker, on your new role. <BR /> <BR />As the Ulster Unionist education spokesperson, I will critique the education policy in the draft Programme for Government framework. As the Ulster Unionist Party leader said, our position is to scrutinise and critique — not necessarily to oppose — the work of the Executive. We are happy to give support where it is deserved. <BR /> <BR />In the wake of an election in which the Northern Ireland electorate was encouraged to vote for the DUP to keep Sinn Féin out of the First Minister's post, I recall the plea for education to be taken out of the hands of Sinn Féin. After 18 years of education in the hands of Sinn Féin, Northern Ireland now has a DUP Education Minister, albeit that it seems that he is joined at the hip with Sinn Féin.”
“<BR /> <BR />I extend to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and all other Members retiring from this place today every good wish for the future.”
“I referred to cyberbullying simply because our young people spend so much of their time with an electronic gadget in front of them. It is not that we need to discourage our young people from using those gadgets; it is about embracing and accepting them as a way of life. It is important that we take into consideration how life changes for our young people, and, for that reason it is important that our regulations and guidelines are updated regularly. <BR /> <BR />I conclude by welcoming the Final Stage of the Bill. I congratulate all those involved in drafting and scrutinising it. As a member of the Committee, I particularly enjoyed going through the detail of the Bill, and I am glad that we have come to this conclusion.”
“Physical and verbal bullying may be considered to be the most prevalent, but it is worth getting the data recorded.”
“<BR /> <BR />While there was much discussion throughout the Committee Stage on the definition of bullying, the definition in the Bill is quite loose. The guidelines to be issued by the Department will need to provide clear help to the schools. I look forward to seeing those guidelines. The reporting mechanism will be an important tool for schools to enable them to look back and analyse incidents over a period of time and see what can be done differently or better when dealing with particular types of bullying. <BR /> <BR />Cyberbullying has become quite a buzzword and is, anecdotally, on the increase. I am particularly glad that the method of bullying is going to be recorded, so that schools will be able to state categorically whether that is the case.”
“I am pleased to rise in support of the Final Stage of the Addressing Bullying in Schools Bill on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party. <BR /> <BR />This is an important piece of legislation which aims to create uniformity of practice across all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland in how they address bullying and how it is reported. Ultimately, the aim is to reduce bullying and make sure that improvements can be made and that all schools carry out that work. There is a lot of good work already ongoing in many schools across Northern Ireland, but, importantly, that work is now required in all schools. It is important that schools are proactive on the issue of bullying, and therefore guidelines of good behaviour, pastoral care, Internet safety and other such policies must be focused on and regularly updated.”
“I thank the commissioner for that response. The provision of 40 additional places was welcome, but that was four years ago. It is clear that more action is needed for members of organisations and members of the public who come to meet MLAs and staff in the Building. Does he agree that it is unacceptable that they have so few spaces and have to park so far away?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. I am disappointed that it has taken this question during questions for oral answer to get the information from the Minister, as he has repeatedly refused to answer questions for written answer. As waiting times remain terrifying, the Minister's only response is piecemeal funding announcements and pre-election stunts. Does the Minister agree with previous comments from other DUP Members that this spending is totally outrageous?”
“The Bill allows for varied types of sharing to continue, and I trust that the reviewing process will allow for proper analysis of how that sharing increases. The duty upon the Department to encourage, facilitate and promote shared education is crucial to ensuring that sharing increases, not only for improvements in educational achievement but for societal benefits. <BR /> <BR />As Ulster Unionist education spokesperson, I support the Final Stage of the Shared Education Bill and trust that it will greatly increase the time in which our young people are educated together. I hope that the Education Minister and the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister will consider other ways and means of ensuring that, as well as our young people, our teachers come together to work and to learn.”
“The answer can probably be found in the debate on amendment Nos 26 and 27 that were tabled to the Employment Bill two weeks ago, rather than the amendments that were made to what was originally a one-page Bill with four clauses. By that I mean, when looking at the future of Northern Ireland, a truly shared education system should mean sharing teaching staff as well as the students attending the schools. <BR /> <BR />I look at schools across Northern Ireland and see many examples of shared education, with varying degrees of sharing. Some schools are only dipping their toes into the concept of sharing, while others have been successfully sharing resources and ideas and moving between schools for projects for many years.”
“One of the recommendations of that group was for a legislative definition of shared education, which led us to where we are today, namely the Bill's Final Stage. The Shared Education Bill supports the policy with a statutory definition of shared education and provides powers to encourage and facilitate the development of shared education. <BR /> <BR />At the Bill's Second Stage, we on these Benches made the point that recent debates in the Assembly suggested that there was no consensus on the meaning of shared education or on what the end goal was, if indeed there was one. After the Bill's legislative passage, the question is whether we have made any progress.”
“<BR /> <BR />Shared education could, and should, be a supportive mechanism for developing other models of long-term sharing, such as jointly managed schools, integrated schools and federations. The Ulster Unionist Party is supportive of innovative solutions for local situations developed by communities for their children. There has been very good research carried out over the years by the Queen's University school of education on shared education, which was built on by the ministerial advisory group report of 2013. Then the Committee conducted an inquiry into shared and integrated education, which provoked some quite heated debate between certain education sectors. In turn, the proposed policy, Sharing Works, built upon the recommendations of the ministerial advisory group.”
“We had students from the neighbouring Catholic maintained school attending our school to participate in economics A-level classes. That was the extent of sharing way back when I was at school, from my memory at least, but nowadays shared learning partnerships are working very successfully in many areas, including my local area of Magherafelt. We have schools sharing teachers and resources, and now schools are sharing buildings too, so there is great variety in the types of sharing that goes on. That has demonstrated the ability and willingness of our schools, pupils and parents to move to a greater degree of sharing across the traditional religious divide.”
“I am pleased to speak for the Ulster Unionist Party at Final Stage. The party has always been positive about shared education since it first became part of educational parlance in the wake of the Bain report, nearly 10 years ago. That does not mean, however, that we are not critical of how the Bill has been presented or how some have interpreted shared education. <BR /> <BR />Shared education has advanced over recent years without specific legislation: for example, many schools from all sectors have participated in the shared education programme. I recall going on cross-community hikes when I was at high school, in conjunction with the RUC, as it was then.”
“Therefore, while the Northern Ireland Assembly has 23 female Members, which equates to 20% of Members overall, I am particularly pleased that we have created a women's caucus. Our numbers in the Assembly may be small, but we are no less a force to be reckoned with. We have achieved much with our numbers and have much to be proud of. It is up to women to put their shoulders to the door and give it a hard shove, but it is up to Assembly Members to hold that door open and encourage many others to come through.”
“According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union's 2013 'Guidelines for Women's Caucuses':”
“It had its first meeting yesterday and, as the proposer of the motion said, its vision is to have a united women's Assembly caucus that works together, irrespective of political party affiliation, to ensure equality for all, to provide an opportunity for women to exchange and ensure that there is cross-party collaboration on ideas, to form collective platforms on particular policies and actions, and to support one another on issues and areas of common concern. The chairperson of the group, Mrs McKevitt, in proposing the motion earlier, spoke about the proposed objectives of the caucus. <BR /> <BR />In her paper entitled 'Women Legislators in Northern Ireland: Gender and Politics in the New Legislative Assembly', Kimberley Cowell-Meyers stated:”
“<BR /> <BR />Numerous submissions to AERC called for the establishment of a women's parliamentary caucus as an example of good practice that would support existing female politicians and encourage aspiring female politicians to enter politics. As a result, the Committee recommended that the Assembly should facilitate the creation of a women's caucus. With the support of Politics Plus, the Speaker's reference group worked to establish the Northern Ireland Assembly women's caucus, which will be officially launched this evening.”