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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“I also want to thank all the members of the group — men and women, importantly — for developing a draft gender-sensitive action plan and for their support for the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly women's caucus. <BR /> <BR />AERC concluded that the under-representation of women in politics in Northern Ireland is a serious issue that must be addressed as a matter of urgency. It recommended that the Assembly should establish a working group on a gender-sensitive Assembly, which should be made up of an equal number of male and female members. That group was established on 10 February, and its membership comprises male and female MLAs.”
“The work of Politics Plus has been excellent and has sought to strengthen the role of women in political and public life through various programmes such as the women in politics programme, the women in public life programme, the experts in residence programme and the young female leaders academy. Politics Plus has also had a crucial role to play in supporting the establishment of the Speaker's reference group on a gender-sensitive Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly women's caucus. As vice-chairperson of the Speaker's reference group on a gender-sensitive Assembly, I want to acknowledge and thank the chairperson, Karen McKevitt, for all her work as chairperson of that group and for proposing the motion.”
“Many Members this afternoon — Paula Bradley, Caitríona Ruane and Trevor Lunn — highlighted the work of AERC, which has been crucial in examining this issue. Trevor endorsed the recommendations in the report, and I am sure that that can be continued and pursued.”
“That is an amazing accomplishment, and I am sure that others will agree with that. <BR /> <BR />I thank Claire Sugden for her contribution to the debate. She reminded us that, whether we are a man or a woman, we would not be here without a woman, and that is our mother. I congratulate her on her two years as a Member; I certainly feel that she has made a difference in the many things that she has done. <BR /> <BR />I echo the comments of all other Members who spoke and congratulate the Speaker on taking the initiative in proceeding with all his work in this area. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge the work of the Assembly Executive and Review Committee and the secretariat staff who supported the Committee in its inquiry into women in politics and the Northern Ireland Assembly.”
“I thank Mrs Pengelly for highlighting the issue and join her in supporting that. <BR />Raymond McCartney focused on the events this week. Again, I add my thanks and recognition to women who have served in previous Assembly mandates in this place. I think of our Ulster Unionist Members — I am not sure whether they are attending the get-together tomorrow — Joan Carson and Pauline Armitage. So, I add my thanks to previous female MLAs. <BR /> <BR />Seán Rogers referred to many female role models from Florence Nightingale to the amazing Calamity Jane. I would also like to recognise — I am sure that many will agree with me — another role model for many of us in Northern Ireland, and that is Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth, who has reigned over the United Kingdom for over 60 years.”
“Mr Trevor Lunn said that if we set an example others will follow, and I think that that is a very good point. He also said that we should not use the old saying anymore that behind every man is a good woman, and that is very much the case. At this stage, behind every woman in the Assembly, there is a great team of support, whether it is a husband, a mother or a grandmother. We need that support behind us so that we can spend long hours in this place and dedicate much of our time to this job. I would like to place on record my thanks to my support mechanism at home in Mid Ulster. <BR /> <BR />Emma Pengelly talked about the global threat to female liberty. Women may be more inclined to think about issues of compassion, but we all — men and women — should consider that.”
“It was like going back to university for a lot of us. Boy, times have changed when can use your camera phone to take photographs of the notes in front of you rather than having to scribble everything down. It was a great opportunity, and I agree with her sentiments about it. <BR /> <BR />Ms Ruane also mentioned that we are supported by men in our parties, and I agree that that is important, too. Indeed, I would not be standing here without the support of all the men in the Ulster Unionist Party who encouraged me to stand in Mid Ulster, and I thank them for that continual encouragement.”
“That assistance is gained through ensuring that women are given the right support to allow them to succeed. <BR /> <BR />I want to go through some of the issues that all the contributors mentioned this morning. Everyone raised really good points. I congratulate Paula, who said that the Assembly has empowered her. Many of us have done things that we never thought we could do in our term as Assembly Members. I am glad that the Assembly has empowered her and so many women around here. Of course, it has empowered men and women, but we really want to unlock the potential of women. There is a lot to be said about finding the right balance of men and women in the Assembly and in so many places in society. <BR /> <BR />Caitríona Ruane mentioned that the highlight of her work in this area was the trip to Sweden.”
“As vice chairperson of the Speaker's reference group on a gender-sensitive Assembly and as an Ulster Unionist MLA, I very much welcome the opportunity to conclude on this debate, pertinent as it is on International Women’s Day. I will add my voice to all the others wishing everyone in the Chamber and further afield a happy International Women’s Day. <BR /> <BR />It is clear that women have pushed through the sticky door or the glass ceiling or whatever metaphor you wish to use. They will continue to do so, but, all too often, not enough manage to follow the pioneers through. I have said in previous discussions like this that conditions need to be set up so that women are given the same chance in politics as men, as in the STEM sector, in business, on boards and so on.”
“I thank the Minister for that detail. I was interested to hear about the communication. That is vital because it is all right for us to change legislation here, but we need to get that message to the young people. There is a lead-in time for the change in legislation for young drivers, but the Minister said that the legislative change to it being mandatory to wear a helmet when riding a quad will come in "as soon as possible". How will that be communicated to those riding quads right across Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Minister for that detail. The First Minister will know that 10% of all people who lost their lives in the Troubles were from Mid Ulster, yet less than 10% of the support funding for victims and survivors is allocated to my constituency. Is the First Minister willing to look at that anomaly and attempt to address it?”
“<BR /> <BR />As for amendment No 2, we were content to support it at Consideration Stage and are happy to do so at this stage.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, he is reading from the same page as I am, I think. A brief description of the incident should certainly be included in the guidelines that the Minister and his team will draw up afterwards. Most certainly, when anyone drills down into the detail of any bullying incident, they will be able to understand what has happened from the beginning to the end. On the face of it, we need to include the method. It is like creating an additional column of an analysis. You would be able to look down and see physical, verbal and cyberbullying. In my mind, it makes for better analysis. We do not want to create woolliness and an impossible situation to analyse. I am minded to oppose amendment No 1.”
“If we are going to analyse what has happened and how to make improvements, it is important that those three items are included.”
“I will, but just a second. Clause 3(2)(c) states:”
“Clause 3(2)(b) mentions the method, and clause 3(2)(c) —”
“Obviously, that is the amendment that I brought through at Consideration Stage. The reason behind that was the obligation of a school when it wants to report bullying incidents. Clause 3(2)(a) states that the record must:”
“I rise as Ulster Unionist education spokesperson to look at these amendments. It is important that we get this legislation correct. We need to address bullying in our schools from all sources, no matter what they are. Anecdotally, cyberbullying has been on the increase, so the legislation that brings forward the reporting of bullying incidents is an important part of being able to analyse what is happening so that we can address any patterns and make improvements in practices across schools in Northern Ireland. I am particularly referencing amendment No 1. It proposes to take out "state the methods of bullying" and to include:”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Will he explain why he introduced the four-year limit before students start to repay loans?”
“Why does the Minister insist on topping up the number of places for teacher training at a time when we are critically short of nurses and engineers?”
“That is probably a couple of questions. If the —”
“I thank the Minister for his response. I would be interested to hear about the discussions with the Equality Commission that the Minister said are ongoing. One suggestion that has come to me recently relates to teachers who are outside the three-year limit and whether they would be willing to take a pay reduction so that they would be treated along the same lines as those who are newly qualified within the three years. I wonder whether the Minister would take that into consideration, because they would then qualify for the limited funds that the Minister is allocating to this scheme. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, does the Minister recognise the fundamental problem that there are too many teachers being trained —”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Can she provide an update on the legal situation with respect to essential repairs at the MAC, which were due at the end of the month? Considering that today is a leap day, they have had an extra day.”
“I conclude by reiterating my support for the ministerial amendments but not for those of the other Members, well intentioned as they may be.”
“That was reaffirmed in the Belfast Agreement. While we support shared education in the context of integrating education, the integrated sector already has legislative support for its promotion. We support those existing regulations but we are unconvinced that the amendments tabled here are necessary and in the right place in the Bill.”
“The Ulster Unionist Party supported shared education in the context of a long-term integrated future and we support "integrated" education in its widest sense, as a movement rather than a particular sector or type of school. The problem is that, although these amendments refer to integrated with a small "i", our understanding, certainly in the wake of the Drumragh ruling, is that, legislatively, when we talk about integrated education, we are actually talking about integrated with a large "I"; in other words, the specific sector. The integrated sector already has protection in statute in Northern Ireland in section 64 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, which imposes a statutory duty on the Department of Education in Northern Ireland:”
“We are content with the wording of the clause as it sits and we do not feel that further amendment is necessary. The sharing will include those of different religious beliefs; not only Protestants and Roman Catholics but all religions, and I am content with it as it is. <BR /> <BR />I turn to amendment Nos 8, 10 and 11. Amendment No 10 is in Mr Lunn's name and amendment No 11 is in Mr Agnew's. They are different versions of the same thing and they add the word "integrated" to the duties of the Department to encourage and facilitate and — in Mr Lunn's amendment No 8 — the duty of education bodies to consider in devising and delivering policies.”
“It seems to us that the ministerial amendments, namely amendment Nos 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 14, are essentially tidying-up amendments framed by legislative draftspersons. We find nothing particularly objectionable in them. I believe that amendment Nos 1 and 4 are connected. I seek some clarification as to who or what might be excluded by amendment No 5; maybe the Minister could provide some examples. I listened acutely to the Minister, but maybe he could clarify amendment No 6 again and just go over the detail of the reason for leaving out clause 1(5). I am content with the other amendments tabled by the Minister. <BR /> <BR />Looking at amendment No 2 compared with the ministerial amendment No 14 — sorry, it was amendment No 3; that is right. I want to refer to amendment No 3. Clause 1 includes the words:”
“The Ulster Unionist Party wants Northern Ireland to be set on a course to create a single state education system. That is in line with the vision of the first and last Ulster Unionist Education Ministers, Lord Londonderry in 1921 and Basil McIvor in 1974. If shared education is a vehicle to create that single system, we will support it. I am very concerned, however, from last night's debate and this morning's vote on our amendments to the Employment Bill, that many in the House do not share that vision and want to retain barriers between sectors. Despite the rhetoric, there is still no real consensus on what shared education is about and where it should lead. That is the context of the Bill before us. <BR /> <BR />I turn to the amendments proposed at Further Consideration Stage.”
“The Shared Education Bill has evolved from being an A4 piece of paper with four short clauses into an eight-clause Bill after being amended at Consideration Stage.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way on the issue. First of all, if the Member is tall and whatever and is being bullied, the feeling that he is being intimidated surely is sufficient to say that there is an imbalance of power. That may be easier to define than to say that someone small is being overbearing.”
“I think that the example that the Member provides to the Floor is similar to incidents that may happen in special schools, and the Chair referred to that. I think that there is flexibility in the Bill, and in the guidelines that will come after it, to provide for schools to be flexible and to understand different behaviours of children at different stages in their life. However, the imbalance of power might be easier to understand if I say that the child being bullied feels a level of intimidation. They feel lesser, to an extent. Maybe that is easier for the Member to understand.”
“Just to clarify, from what I can understand, it is legislation. It is the Accepting Schools Act 2012. I quoted the part about imbalance of power from that legislation.”
“A method may be recorded, but I feel that it should be in the Bill. That may require definition at Further Consideration Stage, and I am open to that. <BR /> <BR />The final three amendments relate to the motivation of a bullying incident, which also created debate in the Committee. I am content with amendment No 12, tabled by the Minister, but I feel that amendment No 13 should be supported to provide the ability to amend the list of motivations. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I will draw my remarks to a close. I look forward to the further progression of the Bill.”
“Putting in that amendment gives an option, but it does not create uniformity across schools, so I have concerns with that. <BR /> <BR />I move now to amendments to clause 3, which relates to the duty to keep records of bullying incidents. We are minded to support amendment Nos 9 and 10. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 11, which the Ulster Unionist Party tabled, proposes that the method of bullying must be included in the recording of incidents. That is our belief. We believe that it is important to provide the ability to look back and analyse the most common form or type of bullying, whether that is verbal, physical, cyber, social exclusion, material or indirect. Good analysis will provide for the possibility for specific needs to be identified in order to change or improve guidelines in an area. Proper recording allows proper analysis.”
“Amendment No 8 does not provide an obligation and instead acts as encouragement. There are many issues that should be included as part of a school's pastoral care policy in a similar way, yet they are not included in the Bill. I have concerns that amendment No 8 may create a lack of uniformity across schools when the Bill is attempting to create uniformity in how schools address bullying.”
“<BR /> <BR />Amendment No 6, which has been brought forward by the Committee, put the onus on schools to review their measures at least every four years. It is important to examine their recording to analyse the need to change ways of dealing with particular behaviour or bullying and update them, especially considering changes in technology and the need to address its dangers. The period of four years was chosen as that was the term of a board of governors, and I was pleased that the measures can be reviewed more often than that if necessary. <BR /> <BR />There was much debate at Committee Stage with regard to cyberbullying and whether to include a responsibility on schools to deal with incidents that happen outside school. I am minded to support amendment No 7 rather than amendment No 8.”
“Believe you me, I regularly log into the school information management system (SIMS) database to read about instances when my children's behaviour has not been what it should be have, whether they have been late to class or forgotten homework books. From what I understand, that is where the reporting of indiscipline or bullying incidents would be recorded. As I said, I ask those Members who do not support amendment No 2 to provide an example of where it is difficult to define an imbalance of power. <BR /> <BR />Moving on to the clause 2 amendments, it is important that, in working to address bullying in schools, not only do we clearly define what bullying is but that the Department also provides clear and unambiguous guidelines to schools.”
“I am concerned that leaving out "imbalance of power" from the definition might result in a weaker definition, and that this legislation, which is written to address bullying in schools, may try to address all aggressive behaviour and indiscipline. Those issues are dealt with in other legislation, and if there is a feeling in that regard, surely it should be addressed in that legislation rather than in this Bill. There could also be an unfair and inaccurate inflation of bullying incidents due to a weaker definition. <BR /> <BR />As a parent, I am aware of the system in schools, which has reports on each pupil's behaviour.”
“The National Association of Head Teachers, in its presentation to the Committee, also supported the idea that the definition should include a power imbalance as international best practice. Its representatives said that schools and teachers:”
“Professor Smith has also confirmed in personal correspondence that the new European Anti-bullying Network decided in December 2015 to include "imbalance of power" in its definition of bullying. <BR /> <BR />In Ontario in Canada, which seems to be leading in legislation in the area, in its Accepting Schools Act 2012, the definition of bullying states:”
“Furthermore, Professor Peter K Smith from Goldsmiths, University of London, said:”
“Research in Norway by Dr Dan Olweus states:”
“Think of two boys who regularly fight in the playground or the school bus, where there is no clear victim of bullying and they both seem to enjoy the fight. That type of aggressive behaviour is not to be condoned but must be dealt with under the school's disciplinary policy rather than an anti-bullying policy.”
“That is a good amendment and means that incidents, whether an individual incident or a repeated act, are included in the definition. I therefore support amendment No 1. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 2 was tabled by me and my colleague Danny Kennedy. It proposes to include in the definition "an imbalance of power". As I have said, there are policies in schools that deal with behaviour and discipline, as well as such things as adhering to the school code of conduct and so on. Therefore, I think that it is important that we identify bullying where there is an imbalance of power. That clearly states that there is a victim who finds it difficult to defend himself or herself. <BR /> <BR />Members will agree that there can be numerous and various forms of aggressive behaviour in schools that will not be defined as bullying.”
“Amendment No 1 refers to the definition of bullying; indeed, that created much debate in the Committee. It amends the wording to:”
“Of course, the legislation must not be seen as stand-alone; schools are already very well aware of other obligations in pastoral care, behaviour and discipline, as well as adhering to specific school codes of conduct. <BR /> <BR />As a mother of three children and as a past child, I am well aware of the behaviours that go on in school. I have watched my own children develop, mature and change how they deal with the other little personalities in their class and in their school year. Fortunately, I have not had any of my children suffer at the hands of a bully at school, but, as an MLA, I have helped other parents to deal with the after-effects of bullying incidents and ensure that the various authorities adhere to their appropriate responsibilities. <BR /> <BR />I will refer first to clause 1.”
“I welcome the opportunity, as Ulster Unionist education spokesperson, to speak to these amendments. I welcome the progression of the Bill, which aims to address bullying in schools. Of course, as Members have said, it cannot realistically be completely eliminated, but it is something that school principals, staff and parents take very seriously, as they must. Appropriate steps must be taken to reduce bullying and to stop it once it has been identified. I add my thanks to the officials who appeared at Committee and to the Committee staff for all their work on the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I recognise that much good work is already ongoing in many schools across Northern Ireland. This legislation will tie down the obligation on all schools to take action on bullying and create uniformity of shared good practice across all schools.”
“I thank the Committee Chair for giving way on this issue. Just to clarify, I challenge Members who do not want to support this particular amendment to provide an example of where, theoretically maybe, an imbalance of power cannot be identified?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will he join me in asking either of the Sinn Féin Members who spoke this afternoon to clarify, or get clarification from the Minister, on whether he actually has written to OFMDFM, because we have received conflicting messages about whether there has been a letter? Maybe that letter and the response could be put in the Library for other Members to see.”