Philip Smith
Strangford · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I welcome this public inquiry and thank the Minister for his consultation on the process. Unfortunately, this is yet another failure of this dysfunctional Executive — that the Northern Ireland electorate will go to the polls without an output from this inquiry, due to the failure to set up an inquiry well over a month ago when we first ca…”
“Why has the Minister not insisted on a preliminary report so that the Northern Ireland electorate can go to the polls with some relevant information on the scandal? Why has he not confirmed a timeline for publication and outlined a process for the independent appointment of the two panel members referred to in the report?”
“I have to say, though, that, in most people's eyes now, having the fingerprints of a SpAd on anything will not be seen as much of an endorsement. <BR /> <BR />I have questions that, I hope, the Minister will reflect on and address when he gets an opportunity to make his comments on the regulations.”
“First, why did it need the threat of an election to generate a response to mitigate the impact of the scheme on the public purse? The Minister, as we all know, has had the Northern Ireland Audit Office report since July. Lack of action to date has already cost taxpayers over £16 million since then.”
“Have we not learned the hard lessons from the failures of the scheme?The question is raised in the report of the Examiner of Statutory Rules of whether this instrument is intra vires under section 24 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 because of its incompatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically article 1 of prot…”
“Like Mr Bell, I sincerely hope that these proposals end the £85,000 per day cost of the RHI scheme, but the proposals must be more than a pre-election panic measure in the hope that the public will forget the incompetence and the arrogant response to the scandal.”
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“The bottom line is that a UK-wide referendum vote was taken, a decision was made and we now need to move forward as a United Kingdom, not component parts, to obtain the best deal for our country. <BR /> <BR />On Friday, the First Minister said that we needed a period of calm, stability and leadership, but she also stated that there was no contingency plan. Surely it is a bizarre situation when the First Minister has not planned for the outcome that she campaigned for, especially when the result was going to be close and uncertain. Where is the Northern Ireland Executive's contingency plan? We are all aware that we have received billions from the EU in recent years, and there are billions still to come during the next Budget phase until 2020.”
“Mr Carney showed a steady hand and provided reassurance to the markets. The question is this: are we similarly well prepared? I hope that we are but fear that comments from the deputy First Minister suggest otherwise. When asked what our contingency plans were, he clearly said that there were none. His only contribution was to add more uncertainty with a proposal for an unnecessary and unwinnable border poll. <BR /> <BR />As we move into a period of economic turbulence and political uncertainty, it is foolhardy in the extreme to seek to add further instability, especially when, as officials recently told the Finance Committee, Northern Ireland's deficit with the Treasury is currently £9·2 billion, making any prospect of Irish unity an economic non-starter.”
“Trying to calm the market free fall in the pound, he also said:”
“Our economic and political environment fundamentally changed with last week's referendum result. On Friday, Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, said:”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. No doubt we will dance on this issue again. The Minister has previously said that the corporation tax reduction cannot be confirmed until the secondary benefits have been negotiated with the Treasury. Was this crucial detail not confirmed in the so-called Fresh Start Agreement because the wool was pulled over the Executive's eyes or because the Executive genuinely dropped the ball?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and comments. As he rightly says, the Strangford constituency, which includes Ards, is close to Belfast, but so too are other areas that have fared much better: Newtownabbey, for example, got £295 of investment per person and Antrim got £265, compared to just £33 in Ards. What actions will the Minister take, unlike his predecessors, to ensure that Strangford receives its fair share of funding in the future?”
“<BR /> <BR />It is my belief that the Budget does not meet the needs of Northern Ireland and is a symptom of inaction and failure to reform in the previous nine years. That is the critical point: the Executive failed to change and failed to reform, resulting in today's financial pressures, which are leading to a deteriorating service, despite the monitoring round additions today. The Budget just highlights the scale of reform and change still required. As I said yesterday, it is using sticking plasters to cover major financial wounds. We will oppose it.”
“The Housing Executive should be reclassified to allow it to borrow money and build its own homes rather than relying entirely on housing associations. It could borrow against its assets of 90,000 houses and the income stream of £280 million a year. <BR /> <BR />It is estimated that £6 billion is required over the next 30 years to upgrade our housing stock to a minimum standard. Also, the Housing Executive said that refinancing £410 million of historical debt at cheaper interest rates could release additional funds for investment. I see potential there, and I am more than happy to work in partnership to drive that forward if that is a suggestion the Minister wants to proceed with.”
“<BR /> <BR />There was also much comment yesterday about corporation tax and its reduction. We all know that it is a key policy to transform our economy. I heard commitments from the Minister — Mr Murphy and others commented as well — stating that all would be fine and we were just working out the details and getting the best deal. Does the Minister believe that potential investors will understand those subtleties, or does he share my concern that we are, at best, sending mixed messages? <BR /> <BR />The Minister also said that he would be creative in borrowing, asking whether we had ideas to allow the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to borrow off balance sheet and pay off via rents. The Minister asked for positivity, and I am happy to be positive on the issue. The potential should be explored.”
“I do not want to sack any doctor, nurse or health professional, but I want change in how we deliver our health service. That is a very different approach. The £67 million that the Minister announced today is very welcome, but, as he says himself, it does not address the underlying issues. <BR /> <BR />I may have misheard the Minister during yesterday's debate, but I thought that he said that Northern Ireland would be better off outside the UK. I assume that I was hearing things, as I cannot believe that anyone would be able to make that case when we still require a £9 billion subvention from Westminster. We all wish, obviously, that that was not so, but I look forward to the Minister maybe detailing his proposals to reduce our dependence on the wider UK public purse.”
“The key question I have is this: what is the net impact on our schools? We have heard about the increases today — I welcome them — but when will heads know what their real budgets are and be able to plan the delivery of education for the next school year? <BR /> <BR />The health budget continues to grow as a percentage of our total Budget. In 2010, it was 42%, and now it is over 47% of the overall funding pie. We know that reform is needed as well as investment, although I was surprised yesterday at how Mr Storey again couched some comments about opposition parties on the issue. From memory, I think that he asked us whom we wanted to sack as part of the change process; I do not believe that that is a measure of anybody's commitment.”
“Of course, some change has happened — the reduction in the number of Departments, for example — and I welcome that, but, to date, too little has been done to free up the resources needed to target our key front-line services. <BR /> <BR />Mr McElduff, Chair of the Education Committee, rattled off a number of figures relating to education yesterday. From memory, I think that he talked about £35 million coming in for pensions and £20 million more in the monitoring round process. Bearing in mind how little notice we had today, I would be keen to get Mr McElduff's lottery numbers for the weekend, because he could predict what was coming out today. He also talked about pressures that education faced. He talked about £1,000 per teacher for National Insurance increases and a further £10 million pressure for every 1% rise in teachers' pay.”
“Secondly, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive also holds significant amounts of land: 500 surplus and nearly 300 underdeveloped hectares, both of which could be considered for further divestment. Thirdly, we could bring forward a cull of arm's-length bodies or quangos, as was agreed in 2011 but, surprisingly, since forgotten, especially as they are now under the auspices of more streamlined Departments, which should facilitate that change. Fourthly, we could focus on reducing administration costs in Departments, as six of the outgoing Departments have increased their spend since 2011. <BR /> <BR />Overall, as I said yesterday, the Budget challenges are exacerbated by the failure of the previous Executive to reform and to drive change.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I believe that the resources and how opposition is facilitated in Westminster is fundamentally different from what is on the cards here. That needs to change, or we will not have the effective government that we need in this country. That is something that needs to be improved. <BR /> <BR />As I said, the Minister and others said that they wanted proposals from opposition. I have a few that he can maybe review in due course. First, the asset management unit in the Strategic Investment Board has calculated that the Executive had over 1,100 hectares of industrial land on their books, little of which has been disposed of in recent years.”
“makes any plans to increase borrowing dependent on Treasury approval? <BR /> <BR />Yesterday, the Minister and others said that they wanted proposals from the Opposition, although the attitude of the Executive to date in providing information and facilitating the opposition process suggests otherwise. However, there are certainly potential areas for revenue generation.”
“Thirdly, does the Minister agree that the UK Government's previous statement that they would legislate to ensure:”
“Secondly, will the Minister provide an update on the commitment in Fresh Start to establish:”
“I believe that there are a number of actions that the Minister could implement to instil greater confidence in his borrowing and spending intentions. First, will the Minister echo the commitment in the 2016-17 Budget:”
“That, of course, left the coalition Government with the task of moving the country away from bankruptcy by reducing public-sector debt as a percentage of GDP and adopting a fiscal model that would balance the books. Whilst we disagree with many of the Westminster Government's spending priorities and policies, we do not wish to see Northern Ireland emulate the disastrous New Labour policy of borrow and spend, especially to cover revenue shortfalls rather than making capital investment. It is the Government equivalent of using the mortgage to pay for a shopping spree and a few good nights out. <BR /> <BR />In yesterday's debate, Mr Storey said that there was no "money tree" in Stormont. I hope that the Minister took that point on board.”
“because of its electoral relationship with the Conservative Party two elections ago. I will give a quick reminder for those with a short memory — a bit of a history lesson. Under Prime Ministers Blair and Brown, the Labour Party racked up, by 2009-2010, an annual Budget deficit of £170 billion. Proportionally, that is higher than when we required the IMF's assistance in 1978. You will, of course, remember the infamous quote from the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne:”
“Yesterday, the Minister and his colleagues in the DUP referred to the Ulster Unionist Party as:”
“The Minister said that today's statement is significantly different from those of previous monitoring rounds. He is right in that this Assembly used to be informed not only of allocations but of bids. Looking at his statement today, I see no indication whatsoever of the pressures Departments had identified and bid for. Can the Minister explain why this information was left out of the statement? Can he give a commitment that, after today's proceedings, he will circulate it to the House?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Under Standing Order 16, I am formally asking for this item of business to be adjourned until next Monday, 20 June, to give parties time to consider the content of the statement.”
“As such, under Standing Order 16, I am formally asking —”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Allister alluded to this to a degree, but this morning, the Assembly was given less than an hour to consider a 37-page statement on the monitoring round. In addition, as far as I am aware, no Committee has been given a detailed briefing before today's announcements. Any opportunity for scrutiny has been strangled by the DUP/Sinn Féin Executive, who appear to be genuinely terrified of genuine accountability.”
“<BR /> <BR />In conclusion, the Estimates before us are the symptom of inaction and failure to reform in the previous nine years. No doubt, in a week's time the Minister will be back in the Chamber to announce monitoring review changes, and I hope he is successful in finding additional funds to help Health and Education. However, I am afraid that it will be no more than a sticking plaster. These Estimates show the scale of reform and change needed, and I urge the Executive to get on with it.”
“Desertcreat, the Maze, Belfast Northside, Casement Park — I could go on — all show a lack of capability to draw down funding and deliver on investment. <BR /> <BR />Of course, that brings me to longer-term funding. The Minister has stated that he wants to grow the funding pie, but additional debt brings its own challenges: the more we borrow, the more interest we pay, leaving less to fund services. Interest is already forecast to hit £200 million a year in the near future, before we add more. We are already the most indebted devolved Administration, with over £1,000 debt per person in Northern Ireland, compared with £400 per person in Scotland, and that is before university and housing association debt is included.”
“I am also concerned that, during last week's Finance Committee, the Minister said that the Executive had not yet agreed whether a cut to corporation tax is affordable. This has resulted in much media speculation, with commentators stating that we are witnessing the start of the Executive's U-turn on this key policy. Perhaps the Minister could use his summing-up of today's debate as an opportunity to end speculation around the Executive's commitment to corporation tax reduction. <BR /> <BR />One potential opportunity is in the increasing capital sums that allow for investment in major projects like roads. However, once again, the previous Executive's record has been patchy at best, with failure after failure to progress major projects, thereby missing the opportunity to boost local construction as well as enhance our infrastructure.”
“Cuts to higher education would be bad in any circumstances, but they are ridiculous given that the Executive have based their future economic strategy on building a knowledge economy, using reduced corporation tax to transform our private sector.”
“School heads now openly warn that the only way to balance budgets is to cut the number of teachers and increase class sizes, yet 41% of the education budget is still held centrally, compared with 10% in other jurisdictions. Of course, we continue to pay for duplication, from teacher training to school facilities. This is more failure to reform and change coming home to roost. <BR /> <BR />It is also disappointing that the Executive's budget allocations for our higher education institutions have been identified as a soft touch over recent years. Expenditure for teaching grant fell by over 24% between 2010 and 2015, and, in today's Estimates, the trend continues with a consequence of fewer staff and fewer students.”
“That is a critical point: failure to change and failure to reform resulting in financial pressures that lead to a deteriorating service. We await the outcome of Bengoa review, but I hope that this opportunity for change will not gather dust like its predecessors. Additional money was found, pre-election, to tackle waiting lists, but these ad hoc funding allocations, much like the monitoring round process, are too often like using sticking plasters to cover major wounds. <BR /> <BR />Education is another major source of financial concern. A 0·8% budget reduction for schools is now increased to 8%, as the outgoing Minister refused to fund superannuation, National Insurance and teacher pay increases.”
“<BR /> <BR />I know that it is form during a maiden speech to promote your constituency, but the people of Strangford already know that they live in one of the most beautiful constituencies in the UK. I believe that they would prefer us and me today to devote my time to highlighting the Budget issues in our public services. <BR /> <BR />Our two largest Departments, which provide the schools and hospitals that we all care about, are in financial crisis. The new Health Minister told us on Monday that she needed an increase in funding to tackle, in her words, "excessive waiting times". The Health Minister went on to say that her Department's waiting list crisis had been caused by:”
“How long ago the panic of "Vote Arlene to stop Martin" now seems, as the workings of the pre-agreed partnership are exposed. <BR /> <BR />Treasury austerity measures have, of course, impacted on the Estimates, but other regions and countries in these islands have fared much better in equally challenging financial circumstances and without the benefit of a generous £9 billion subvention, the Barnett formula and the additional money from Fresh Start. The bottom line is that the Estimates do not meet Northern Ireland's requirements, and the blame lies squarely with the DUP/Sinn Féin Executive for failing to progress reform and change in the public sector during the previous nine years. Their inaction and prevarication have got us to that point, and attempts to blame others will not wash.”
“As this is my maiden speech, it may be helpful to give some personal context. My work background has been about managing change in the public and private sectors. I worked in consultancy for many years, helping businesses and organisations to drive change proactively and, sometimes, in reaction to events. Latterly, I have managed in the public sector. I understand the difficulties and challenges of making change happen in our local public sector. The Estimates come before us today in a challenging financial environment for the Northern Ireland Executive, but the Minister's party continually parrots that the English Tories are to blame for all our ills. I know that the other party of government is now copying that mantra, as the forging of the new coalition Executive continues apace.”
“I shall do my best to be uncontroversial. <BR /> <BR />The motion on the Main Estimates is, to a degree, a technical process, as the Minister has said, providing approval of expenditure for the remainder of this financial year for a Budget agreed in the previous mandate. The Excess Vote motion includes over £68 million incurred by Department of Finance superannuation due to the incorrect rate being used to calculate the interest on scheme liabilities. I have already raised that issue in Committee and have been assured that it is essentially a technical accounting issue in the AME budget that will have no real impact. <BR /> <BR />Many Members to speak today will focus on spending lines from specific Departments: my intention is to look at the bigger picture, the overall scope of the Estimates and how we have got to where we are.”