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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“The cynic in me says that it is to limit waiting lists in the system. I have no doubt that there is very good work ongoing by officials within the Education Authority, and I have talked to various educational psychologists who are working very hard, but there is much to be done to improve the situation. <BR /> <BR />I refer to figures that were revealed in October last year. The figures show that, as of the end of August last year, 105 children were waiting more than 13 weeks for an assessment in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. That is simply not good enough. More often than not, those assessments will find that a child has quite complex needs. It is already an anxious time for families who are worried about their children and keen to have as much detailed information as possible about their condition.”
“Their concern could be about a delay in the assessment of their children or whether they are receiving the right amount of educational assistance. School principals and teachers have also been highlighting to me their exasperation at the system. Often, they are told that they can refer only one or two children during the school year for assessment. Think about how that conversation would go; a school principal has to inform a parent that their child does not have as high a priority as another child in the school. What does that do for a staff/parent relationship? Surely that type of action puts a strain on such a relationship, causes bad feeling and, ultimately, could break down further educational achievement for that child. I wonder what the rationale is behind the decision to allow schools to refer only a limited number of children.”
“Consequently, and in line with the Children's Services Co-operation Bill, members are thinking seriously about seeking to have new statutory obligations placed on arm's-length bodies to cooperate in the delivery of SEN services. Part of our consideration of those new obligations will be coloured by the success or otherwise of the Autism Act in improving access to education for children with ASD. <BR /> <BR />I will speak now as the Ulster Unionist spokesperson on education and a Mid Ulster MLA. In the last five weeks, since the beginning of the school term, I have been inundated with concerns from parents regarding the education provision for their children. On average, there are two to three a week, which is an astounding number.”
“<BR /> <BR />During our consideration of the SEND Bill, the Committee received many explanations and assurances from the Department of Education, Education Authority and relevant Health arm's-length bodies. If these are to be accepted at face value, there is no problem — Health and Education are cooperating marvellously and at every possible opportunity; wonderful protocols are being developed; liaison groups are hitting their stride; and regional allied health professional services in support of SEN, if not always available are, according to officials, imminent. The Committee's problem is reconciling these departmental assertions with the reality experienced by our constituents. I believe that the Education Committee, in this regard, simply does not accept what it has been told by officials.”
“I speak initially on behalf of the Education Committee as its vice-Chairman. I thank the Members who tabled the motion for debate. The subject matter coincides very much with the Committee's consideration of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill. <BR /> <BR />Members have highlighted the increasing demand for SEN support services in schools, the variation in those services across Northern Ireland and the apparent complexity of assessment and referral arrangements. Given all of that, it is therefore unsurprising that a relatively large number of assessments are taking place well beyond the statutory timescales. It is perhaps also unsurprising that most Members frequently face complaints in the constituency surgeries from frustrated parents who simply want to make sure that their child gets the support that they need at school.”
“Can the deputy First Minister provide a progress update on the projects from the social investment fund in Mid Ulster? Can he also tell us when he expects all the money to be spent from the fund, given that £79 million out of the £80 million is as yet unspent?”
“That is a vital aspect of the Bill, and a lot rests on the successful pooling of resources to ensure not only efficiency savings in the long run but the effective implementation of strategies to improve outcomes for children and young people. That will be the true test of these proposals. <BR /> <BR />It is important that cross-departmental work is successful, not only across Ministers but across government officials and workers in various Departments. We need this, and the Bill has the right tools to ensure effective delivery. We will support it, and it will be up to all parties in the Executive to use it to the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland.”
“That was discussed in Committee, and it was noted that using the word "promote" rather than "advance" or "achieve" was easier to measure. However, as with DETI in recent years, where many jobs have been promoted but fewer realised, that could harm the efficacy of the proposals. The flexibility permitted by the Bill would allow areas of weakness and ineffective plans and strategies to be amended, with proper oversight from the Assembly. That seems to strike the right balance. <BR /> <BR />Permitting the pooling of funding and sharing of other resources, although not legal requirements in the Bill, would allow a flexible method of cooperation. Mr Agnew spoke of his hope that through the required departmental cooperation, the pooling of resources will happen organically.”
“<BR /> <BR />The children and young people strategy, guidance on reports on the operation of the Act and the guidance available to children's authorities from OFMDFM should provide clarity to bodies that are to cooperate and ensure effective work towards positive outcomes. I look forward to further amendments to the plan, as per amendment No 5, which I believe is not being moved. However, I am slightly concerned at the phrase in amendment No 2:”
“Will this legislation, if enacted, provide the basis for a better system of cooperation between Departments? It is difficult to say, especially without clearly set out sanctions outside that of judicial review, although that seems to be the only reasonable and appropriate sanction available. <BR /> <BR />The original Bill sought to put into legislation the Government's six high-level outcomes from their children's strategy and establish a requirement for Departments to discharge their functions and cooperate to further the achievements of those outcomes. The Bill, as amended, focuses more on a legal definition of the well-being of children and young people. At the very least, the Bill would, in its current state, create a floor of cooperation below which Departments must not fall.”
“The consultation on the Bill received overwhelming support, and I understand that the vast majority of the amendments received broad support prior to being moved today. I welcome that and the groundwork done by Mr Agnew. The Bill is aimed at all children, and, in essence, it is hoped that it will be a preventative mechanism. It is about creating a culture of cooperation so that all Departments have a role, and all children benefit from the very beginning of their lives. This is a forward-thinking idea, but the question is whether legislation is needed to create this culture. If so, will this proposed legislation be effective? The problem, which has been noted time and time again, is the silo mentality of our Departments.”
“As a constituency MLA, I have been dealing with numerous cases in which children are experiencing difficulties in getting education and health authorities to take action and deliver the care to which they are entitled. I am sure that other MLAs are experiencing that in their own daily work. We have many powerful examples of how Departments, when left to their own devices, can often revert to the instinct of seeking to pass the buck to others, hoping that a problem will go away. Likewise, in my pursuit of the development of a cross-departmental Internet safety strategy, I know only too well, unfortunately, how such an important issue can be dealt with like a hot potato. These attitudes are exactly why I am particularly drawn to the intent of the Bill to ensure:”
“Indeed, the Commissioner for Children and Young People noted that, not having a duty to cooperate:”
“<BR /> <BR />My party colleague Mike Nesbitt has spoken before of the silo mentality in government, as have a number of those who gave evidence to the OFMDFM Committee on the Bill. The ability to cut across Departments and work horizontally is essential for effective policy delivery, and, at present, there is a concerning lack of this type of cooperation. When Dr Alison Montgomery of NICCY gave evidence on the Bill to the OFMDFM Committee, she said:”
“I commend Mr Agnew for getting the Bill to Consideration Stage. It has noble aims and worthy objectives behind it. Although I am not a member of the OFMDFM Committee, which scrutinised the Bill, as the Ulster Unionist spokesperson for children and young people, I have a keen interest in this legislation. <BR /> <BR />The Bill, as Mr Agnew pointed out, is for the benefit of all children in Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to increase the efficiency of service through effective cooperation and to ensure better outcomes for children and young people in Northern Ireland. The lack of cooperation and joined-up government has been detrimental to the people of Northern Ireland time and time again, but, with issues relating to children, failings in their early years have the potential to have an effect on the rest of their lives.”
“Is the Minister aware that, following the delays and prevarications over the community safety college in Desertcreat, there is a great deal of suspicion that Magilligan's location west of the Bann is not helping it when it comes to seeking finance and urgency from his Department and the Executive?”
“When Seamus Kearney was convicted, surely he lost the right to choose freely any day off a prison sentence. Rather, the Prison Service should work in tandem with the prisoner to assess his personal circumstances, his remorse, the risk and whether there is any need for reintegration days. <BR /> <BR />Today, my thoughts are with June and the wider family who have had to put themselves in the public eye, once again, due to the selfish actions of a cowardly murderer. I call on the Justice Minister to support innocent victims and end the hurtful practice of those who are convicted of terrorist-related offences committed before 1998 being granted day release.”
“For a man serving only a two-year sentence, such frequent day releases certainly seem unnecessary and inappropriate. Day releases are primarily given to enable long-term prisoners to reintegrate into society. There seems to be some confusion in policy that provides day release for those who should have served a long-term sentence to have similar day release conditions in their short-term sentence. Surely, the same reintegration day releases are unnecessary and unjustified. <BR /> <BR />Being subjected to media reports that Mr Kearney had applied for a series of day releases, including one for a St Patrick's Day GAA match, has been particularly painful for the family. It certainly seems that a convicted murderer was being awarded days off his sentence as and when he chose for social events and such like.”
“In fact, earlier that day, John had attended the funeral of a UDR colleague. <BR /> <BR />The murder took the hearts of John's family. Not only was a life lost, a husband, brother, son and great friend was taken much too soon. It took 32 years, but, indeed, 32 years later, there was a conviction for the murder, and Seamus Kearney was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison, but, under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, was to spend two years in prison. The Belfast Agreement was by no means perfect, but neither was it an amnesty. When Seamus Kearney was sentenced to two years, there was a legitimate expectation that he would serve the full two years. <BR /> <BR />Day release schemes are designed to help long-term prisoners reintegrate into society towards the end of a long sentence, such as 20 years.”
“It gives me no pleasure that circumstances necessitate my presenting to you, this afternoon, a public petition on behalf of Mrs June McMullin and over 3,500 signatories. However, I am honoured that June and members of the mid-Ulster victim empowerment group who are supporting her through these difficult times asked me to do so. They are here this afternoon in the Public Gallery. <BR /> <BR />On 14 September 1981, June gave birth to her second son in the Mid Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt. It was following a visit to see June and their newborn baby that her husband, RUC Reserve Constable John Proctor, was brutally murdered in the car park of the hospital. Tensions had been high at that time due to the hunger strikes and the IRA having carried out a number of murders in the south Londonderry and east Tyrone areas over the recent days.”
“There are many questions that could be asked of the Minister on GM crops and, indeed, the importation of meat that has come from animals fed by GM crops. Does the Minister agree that the guiding principles should be to follow science in this perspective? Can the Minister confirm that that was the case with his decision yesterday?”
“I thank the Acting First Minister for her response. Given that last year's Employers For Childcare survey indicated that the cost of a full-time childcare place has risen to £162 a week, when does the Minister anticipate hard-working families being able to benefit from the childcare strategy?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. I, too, congratulate all those students across Northern Ireland who received excellent results, as the Minister has outlined. Does the Minister agree that, whilst it is heartening that Northern Ireland pupils maintain a healthy lead in achieving grades A* to C at A level and five or more GCSEs compared to England and Wales, if we continue to diverge from the rest of the UK in the way that the exams are delivered, comparisons will be impossible in a short few years. Does he share my concerns that local pupils may find it harder to gain university places if we do not maintain parity with the rest of the country?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Will the Minister seek the views of part-time higher education stakeholders during the Big Conversation, particularly on the place of flexible/distance learning, which meets the needs of the economy, the people and the communities right across Northern Ireland?”
“In conclusion, in recognising the Childcare Bill that was announced in the July Budget, I join calls for the establishment of a universal childcare model. The advantage of devolved government is the ability to prioritise certain issues. I share the proposer of the motion's disappointment at failing to deliver on putting childcare to the fore in their priorities.”
“When I questioned the Department last week, the junior Minister attempted to deflect the blame towards the Westminster Government, yet was unable to give any reason for such a significant underspend. That is yet another example of budget mismanagement by a dysfunctional Department at the head of a failing Executive, and it is letting down families across Northern Ireland. It is one thing to come up with great ideas and strategies but it is quite another to actually deliver on them. The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister has a reputation for promising much but failing to deliver.”
“It just does not make good sense that someone working and contributing to society and to the economy should be forced onto benefits because of the high costs of childcare. <BR /> <BR />Just last week, following a question to OFMDFM, I found it incredible that, from a budget of £12 million set aside for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister for childcare, just £3·4 million has been spent since 2011.”
“<BR /> <BR />Let me tell you, it is not easy leaving your children behind to go into the workplace, only to be told, in an indirect way, of course, "Well, you brought the children into the world, so you should pay for them and look after them yourself". By not prioritising childcare, that is exactly what the Government are telling them to do. <BR /> <BR />Parents, be it the mother or father, have a contribution to make to society and to the economy. The skills that working parents have are needed to bolster the economy and must be retained in the workforce. Therefore, I support measures to keep working parents in the workforce, like Mrs McKeown featured in the 'Belfast Telegraph' today.”
“<BR /> <BR />Many of us depend on grandparents to help with childcare, usually because of unusual working hours or the ad hoc nature of care needed. Only 45% of parents in the survey used only formal childcare. We can conclude that the impact of childcare costs on families across Northern Ireland is significant, impacting on living standards and career progression. That sentence is key to this debate: it is impacting on living standards and career progression. <BR /> <BR />Affordable and accessible childcare is a key commitment of the Programme for Government. However, the sad reality is that the huge cost of childcare means that many parents who want to work simply cannot afford to. Those, surely, are the type of people whom we want and need in Northern Ireland's workforce.”
“Those are questions that we ask after the usual worries about the quality of childcare and its suitability for my child's needs, especially if they have additional care needs etc. <BR /> <BR />It is clear from the Northern Ireland childcare cost survey 2014, carried out by the Employers for Childcare Charitable Group, that families requiring childcare face a major financial headache. Mr McGlone referred to the costs of various types of childcare, which I will not regurgitate. Suffice it to say that in the 2014 childcare cost survey, 48% of parents stated that childcare consumed around half of their partner's or their own pay, and 27% of respondents said that their childcare bill exceeded their mortgage or rent payments.”
“I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate, as childcare is an important issue to many parents and should be an important issue to the Assembly. Having three children myself, I know only too well the difficulties, some of which are outlined in an article in today's 'Belfast Telegraph' by a constituent from Mid Ulster who pays £2,640 per month for childcare for her five children. <BR /> <BR />Questions and problems that parents face when looking for childcare include: can I find childcare close to my home or on my way to work; is childcare close to the child's school; can my children get transport to the childminder after school; is childcare available for all my kids in the one facility; and do the working hours of my childminder coincide with mine?”
“It is recognised that the Minister's budget is limited, but is she prepared to reconsider her existing allocations to the disability sports' legacy?”
“Can the Minister provide us with an update on her engagement with the Education Minister with regard to the definition of rural schools? Until that definition changes, it completely weakens the prospect of genuinely rural proofing changes to our schools estate.”
“I thank the Minister for that scant detail. I understand that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has gone through its own voluntary early release scheme, releasing 149 staff over the last six months at a cost of over £5 million. Can the Minister explain why, with fewer social houses and significant powers due to be released to local government, the number of high-paid level-9 staff has increased from 23 to 28 over the past two years and numbers of level-8 staff have almost doubled over the past two years, both costing over £1,200,000? Is the Minister simply replacing lower-level staff with high-level management?”
“<BR /> <BR />In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Committee made a coy reference to the row between CCMS and the integrated sector over the former's submission to the inquiry. That row, however, is not confined to some sort of intra-sectoral spat; it reflects the lack of consensus across the political class of where we need to go as a society. As my colleague Neil Somerville pointed out, there is a suspicion that a large element of the political class is going along with shared education as the way to copper-fasten shared-out education. The minimalist recommendations in the report reflect the reality that, at present, there is no consensus on this important issue, and that is a problem that must be faced up to. Thank you, Mr Speaker.”
“The Ulster Unionist Party's view is that we need to encourage a process of integration whereby we support shared facilities and shared classes between schools. The goal is to have children from different community backgrounds being educated together in the same classroom as a matter of course. <BR /> <BR />We have always been supportive of the idea of shared education, but only if it is part of a road map to a more unified, less religiously segregated school system in Northern Ireland. It must be a process, not an end in itself. We do not and will not support a costly exercise in token inter-school contact, especially at a time when we learn that there is not enough money in the budget to carry out basic repairs in our schools across Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will add a few points as an Ulster Unionist MLA and the Ulster Unionist education spokesperson. I joined the Education Committee shortly after the Committee began this inquiry. I certainly was forced to hit the ground running. Significant in my eyes is the fact that many of Northern Ireland's schools would not be so easily categorised if they did not already have a label. Many controlled schools are already integrated, some integrated schools are less about sharing but more about a particular ethos, and some in the Catholic maintained sector have students of other religions enrolled there. So I am pleased to note that there is already a good variety of sharing in schools across Northern Ireland, but we also realise that different schools share in different ways and that there are various levels of cooperation.”
“I turn now to the contributions from the Education Minister. We look forward to the Minister bringing forward the shared education Bill and the Committee having the time to scrutinise and analyse its detail. The Minister talked about the vision for the shared education sector. He agreed with what the Committee said about it being about education and good relations and, at the same time, making use of resources that are available. He also referred to the recommendations that the Committee made in its report. He said that they were already happening within the signature projects, but I feel that more can be done, looking forward. That is the challenge that is set to the Education Minister. It is a difficult road to travel and, certainly, it might be challenging, but we must push ahead with that.”
“Trevor Lunn and Steven Agnew set out a robust defence of integrated education, challenging the choices made in Moy, the assertions made in respect of the reported poor attainment of integrated schools, and the ability of shared education to actually tackle the real divisions in society. Mr Agnew highlighted the all-ability, all-socio-economic-background nature of integrated education and argued that parents faced a dearth of integrated provision. Those Members supported an independent review of integrated education. Members also commended natural mixing or organic integration. I think that there was general support in the Chamber, including from Basil McCrea and John McCallister, for further study of super-mixed schools, with a view to determining the factors which promote these kinds of choices.”
“However, while highlighting positive sharing examples involving schools from different sectors across Northern Ireland, some Members, including Seán Rogers, indicated concerns about the validity and appropriateness of some of those measures, including levels of progression. Other Members, including my colleague Neil Somerville, also referenced worries about how shared education was to be funded particularly if the support agreed in the Stormont House Agreement was not forthcoming. <BR /> <BR />The second theme in today's debate related to integrated education.”
“<BR /> <BR />I felt that there were a number of key things that Members raised during the debate. First, in respect of shared education itself, some Members — the Chairperson, Maeve McLaughlin, Robin Newton and others — mentioned the opportunity which the Department has, with the establishment of the Education Authority, to support a range of enhanced sharing activities which are curricular and whole-school and which should have a measurable impact, in reconciliation and education improvement. Those Members generally indicated that shared education should extend to all section 75 groups, not just to the two largest communities in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />Before highlighting the key themes in the debate, I would like to briefly remind the House about why the Committee undertook this piece of work. As the Chairperson said earlier, the way in which we educate our children in this jurisdiction rightly or wrongly in many ways defines our identity. If we seek to improve on that, it is critical that there is both clarity and clear objectives in respect of an important policy area like shared education. <BR /> <BR />At the start of this inquiry, there were a great many questions about how shared education would impact on the integrated sector. I believe that the inquiry, by endeavouring to define the former, and today’s debate have provided some answers and perhaps some surety in that regard.”
“On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank all those who contributed to the debate. I particularly thank the Minister for coming along and providing his response. The Committee did a lot of work and gathered a lot of evidence from a large number of contributors, and I would like to reiterate the Chairman's earlier words of appreciation to the witnesses and to the Department for its help in putting together the inquiry report. I would also like to add my thanks to the Committee Clerk and the officials of the Committee for their sterling work on this report. It is the Committee's hope that, even if the Department disagrees with some or all of the recommendations in the report, it will nonetheless study its content and find some of the information useful and enlightening.”
“I would like to ask OFMDFM why it has failed to spend the £12 million that was set aside in the Programme for Government for accessible affordable childcare. What is its assessment of the number of people stuck on benefits who would rather be in work but cannot be because of this OFMDFM failure?”
“— on the Commissioner for Standards. If the Assembly is even to return in September, it collectively needs to get its act together.”
“While the world is looking at Greece, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is business as usual here. This entire episode is a complete waste of time, a waste of the Committee's time and a waste of public money, because goodness knows how much has been wasted —”
“It looks likely that the opportunity of corporation tax has been squandered, and crucial public services all around Northern Ireland are starting to unravel as we hand back £2 million a week to Westminster. Instead of talking about the fact that the Assembly cannot pay its bills, we are talking about the fact that a 62-year-old man, not only a Member of this House but a Member of Parliament, could not say sorry when he was clearly in the wrong.”
“Well, it must have done, because it has lodged a petition of concern. I want to be clear: the DUP — the largest party in Northern Ireland and the current holder of the office of First Minister — has tabled a petition of concern on the failure of one of its MLAs to say sorry. That is, frankly, quite pathetic. The original comment was misguided but not fatal. How Mr Wilson and his party have responded in the seven months since is pitiful. <BR /> <BR />Let us just look at the context while we have this debate. This is the last major discussion in the Assembly before the summer recess and it comes at the end of what has been a totally dysfunctional and underwhelming year as far as the Assembly and Executive are concerned. The Assembly only today passed a Budget that does not add up.”
“He proceeded to call Mr Allister a thug — not necessarily the worst form of abuse, but unparliamentary and unbecoming of the language that an experienced political operator should use. A complaint was subsequently lodged, and Mr Wilson was, indeed, found to have broken the code of conduct. He has since been given multiple opportunities to apologise but, every time, has refused to do so. As a result of that stubbornness, the Committee on Standards and Privileges has been forced to bring the debate, simply because Mr Wilson was not mature or reasonable enough to say sorry. <BR /> <BR />The whole thing gets even more ridiculous. Instead of letting this debate run its course, the DUP, for whatever reason, felt that this comment has a disproportionate impact on one community.”
“At the outset, I add my sympathies to the commissioner, Douglas Bain, on his recent loss. <BR /> <BR />It is with some frustration that I take part in the debate, especially considering that it marks the end of a disappointing year in the performance of the Assembly. The facts of the case are clear. In brief, Stephen Brimstone was appearing before the Social Development Committee to account for his role in alleged wrongful political interference in the Housing Executive. In the opinion of Mr Sammy Wilson, he was a weak and vulnerable witness, despite being an experienced political adviser. Mr Wilson took exception to the manner of questioning by Mr Allister.”