Nichola Mallon
North Belfast · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I have had the very moving opportunity to meet families who have tragically lost a loved one on that stretch of road. That was an important opportunity for me to hear at first hand their experience and the experiences of the local community as they try to go about their everyday business while living in close proximity to a key transport…”
“I take safety on our rural roads very seriously. My Department continues to be actively committed to improving safety on our roads and to work closely with our road safety partners to deliver a programme of road safety education, engineering and enforcement activities.”
“I thank Mr Muir and all the members of the Infrastructure Committee for very constructive working relationships. At times, those working relationships were tense, but they were always very constructive — I mean that.”
“It was important to me to take forward the motor insurance legislation to try to protect people against a hike of up to £50 in their motor insurance premiums. Members will be aware that I took the decision to freeze any hike in public transport fares.”
“That commenced a consultation process that is open until 6 May. I encourage anyone with an interest in this significant project to make their views known during the consultation period. <BR /> <BR />In advance of the major upgrade, it is important that we do what we can to improve road safety.”
“I have announced my intention to extend the concessionary fares scheme to provide free travel for people with disabilities who currently pay half fare and to new operators who have already indicated or expressed an interest in joining. I am aware that many people with a disability have limited travel options.”
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“However, I appreciate that, for other parties, the issue comes down to ideology and the principle of and respect for the right to buy. I respectfully urge Members to look at the success of the house sales scheme as a vehicle to achieve that aspiration. In particular, I urge them to compare it with other homeowner-purchase schemes, such as the co-ownership scheme, which, unlike the house sales scheme, does not deplete an already severely restricted and desperately needed social housing stock. <BR /> <BR />If we look at, for example, 2013-14, we see that co-ownership assisted more than 1,200 households in acquiring their home. By comparison, between 2012-13 and the end of January 2016, which is a period of four or five years, 1,623 Housing Executive tenants availed themselves of the right to buy their property.”
“<BR /> <BR />To further complicate the issue, we also have the recent decision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to reclassify housing associations. Whilst the house sales scheme is not specifically referred to by the ONS in its decision, in all probability, its existence or not will be a factor in deliberations on the reclassification reversal. As such, its suspension would support that outcome, which is an outcome that, I think, all parties in the Assembly support. <BR /> <BR />Critically, the continuation of the scheme in the face of a housing crisis created by a failure to build the levels of new-build social housing units required is the compelling reason to support the motion without the amendment.”
“In light of those facts and the fact that the number of new-build social housing units to be delivered in this mandate falls below what is required to meet demand, to our minds it is counterproductive for the Executive to, at the same time, pursue a policy that reduces our social housing stock. That is particularly acute, given the added dimension of the scheme having no mechanism for taking into account housing need in areas of high demand, such as in my own constituency of North Belfast. While purchase levels under the house sales scheme have fallen significantly in recent times, that still results in a depletion of urgently needed social housing stock, often in areas where it is needed most and at a time when it is needed most.”
“I support the motion, and I thank Fra McCann for bringing it to the Floor today and giving us the opportunity to debate the issue. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP supports home ownership. We support positive measures to assist as many people as possible to purchase their own home in a way that is affordable. The issue we have with the house sales scheme is that we currently have a housing crisis. As has been highlighted in the Chamber several times of late, there are almost 40,000 households on the social housing waiting list, of which 23,000 are living in housing stress and over 15,000 are statutorily homeless.”
“Given the call by the CEO of the Titanic Quarter for another major attraction in Northern Ireland, what is the Minister's assessment of whether greenways could be that attraction?”
“This is certainly a positive measure. Anything that encourages people to save is a positive measure, but it is important that we put on record the reality faced by many homes in the North. It is a fact that people struggle to pay essential bills. While this is a positive measure, it is important to realise that many families in Northern Ireland do not have the disposable income to access or benefit from this saving scheme. We do not mean to be negative at all, and we support the motion, but we just want to add that caveat about the reality that is faced by many individuals and households across Northern Ireland.”
“Can the Minister explain the lack of coherence and consistency coming from the Executive? We have a Finance Minister making statements about the need to regenerate our towns, cities, communities and high streets and then a Minister for Communities who today announces that the tools needed to make that happen — the transfer of regeneration and community development powers to councils — will not happen.”
“We need to reduce educational inequalities so that children in poverty achieve as well as their peers and have an equal chance of a future without poverty. We need to address homelessness for families with children by providing additional resources for housing. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP and the Ulster Unionists met today with the anti-poverty sector, and I want to thank all those organisations — there were many — that came to meet us to discuss what needs to happen if we are to seriously tackle poverty. It is fitting if I end with a comment that very much found consensus in the room. It was very simple but striking:”
“Yet, we still await the childcare strategy. In the meantime, excellent childcare facilities like that provided by the women's centre childcare fund, which also helps to empower mothers in areas of high deprivation, are facing the very real prospect of having to close their doors and turn away those mothers in need. <BR /> <BR />If we are to successfully tackle child poverty, we need to have coordinated early intervention support to families in crisis, including those affected by bereavement, family breakdown, illness and substance misuse. We need integrated early years support to help ensure that children living in poverty can reach their developmental goals before they start school. We need to reduce the costs of education.”
“We need to ensure that when decisions are taken on benefit sanctions, it is very clear that we measure the impact that they will have on the children in those families. That does not happen at the moment. <BR /> <BR />Other targets that should be included in a robust, overarching anti-poverty strategy include strengthening employment rights, given that 45% of those living in poverty are in work. It must contain plans to keep people in work and help those who are out of work, including our disabled, to find work. Social clauses in procurement have an important role to play. The provision of high-quality, affordable childcare is critical because of not only the evident benefits to the child but the employment and financial benefits that it brings to their parents and, through an increased tax base, to the wider economy.”
“<BR /> <BR />We are continually asked by the DUP and Sinn Féin, "So, what would you do?". Let me take the rest of my time to delineate some of the critical interventions we believe are required if we are to prevent another generation from being consigned to poverty. <BR /> <BR />You cannot and you will not lift individual families out of poverty without an enhancement of household income. It is as simple as that. Yet the reality faced by our poorest and most vulnerable is one of cuts to their income when they are already struggling to make ends meet. This is thanks to an Executive that have handed their fate to a Tory Government who, rather than seeing the human impact, see nothing but austerity. <BR /> <BR />We need to have benefit levels set to a minimum standard sufficient to meet the income needs of families.”
“However, you would be forgiven for thinking that this had never happened, because the Programme for Government, and the amendment tabled by the DUP, delete and dismiss this definition and legal ruling. Perhaps the DUP will share with us its rationale for that deletion. A question for Sinn Féin today is whether it continues to support the DUP in this deletion and dismissive approach. <BR /> <BR />The truth is that you cannot address poverty without clear targets. It is because of the deletion of Mr Justice Treacy's ruling and the lack of detail in targets, timelines and budgets that the SDLP cannot support the DUP amendment. We need targets. If we are to get serious about tackling poverty, we must have targets. This is not just my view; it is the evidenced truth to which all research and experience point.”
“It is exactly the definition provided by Mr Justice Treacy in his ruling last year, when the Committee on the Administration of Justice, the human rights NGO, with the support of the Public Interest Litigation Support service, had to bring a judicial review to force the Northern Ireland Executive to adopt an anti-poverty strategy. Given the importance of his ruling, I hope you will indulge me if I read out just a part:”
“<BR /> <BR />The first and most fundamental requirement to achieve this outcome is for the overarching anti-poverty strategy to include a proper and agreed definition of poverty that is consistent with international standards on socio-economic rights and reflects material deprivation and an income that falls below an adequate standard of living. <BR /> <BR />This definition, and, as a direct result, the long-term plan and allocation of resources, must, as the motion points out, be tied to neutral criteria that measure deprivation irrespective of community background or other affiliation. This definition exists.”
“If this reality does not shock us all into action, what will? Certainly, the new Programme for Government; the Children's Services Co-operation Act, for which Mr Steven Agnew deserves great credit; the draft children and young people's strategy; and the requirement for an anti-poverty strategy, albeit following the essential legal challenge last year, provide a new impetus for a concerted Executive action on poverty, and child poverty in particular, which remains consistently high and consistently higher than poverty rates for working-age adults and pensioners. However, these cannot be parallel processes. If we are to seriously tackle poverty, there must be a coordinated and interconnected approach within an overarching strategy.”
“If you live in one of the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland, you are more likely to experience the horror of infant mortality, as infant mortality rates are 16% higher in the most deprived areas than in the least. Suicide rates are three times higher, self-harm admission rates are four times higher and twice as many people experience mental ill health in our most deprived areas than in the least deprived areas. For men and women, if you live in one of our most deprived areas, you face fewer years of good health and a shorter life expectancy.”
“I am only too familiar with that injustice in North Belfast, where many people come to my constituency office and share with me their struggles to make ends meet. They are forced to rely on the generosities of charities and food banks. Many of them are living with their children in hostels for indefinite periods, and so many, many more are living in substandard accommodation, literally choosing between heating their homes and eating. All of this is having a devastating impact on their physical and mental health, because a life in poverty is one that cripples your educational and employment opportunities and it literally steals years from your life. <BR /> <BR />The facts speak for themselves.”
“It is with sadness that I propose the motion, which has, as its genesis, the unacceptable and shameful fact that one in five people living here are living in poverty; that over 125,000 of our pensioners live on low incomes, with over 18,000 of them forced to spend their senior and final years living in severe poverty; and that according to the Department for Communities' own statistics, more than a quarter of our children — that means a staggering 122,000 — are living in relative poverty after housing costs. <BR /> <BR />It means that one fifth of our population, at every stage in their lives, are living in poverty. Babies are being born into a life of poverty, and the only exit from poverty is at the point of death.”
“Is the deputy First Minister completely satisfied that no conflict of interest exists in Charter NI or any other organisation funded by the social investment fund?”
“Why did the Minister cite Brexit as the reason initially for putting the project on hold, given the commitment from the UK Treasury to fund any structural projects awarded EU funding beyond the point of any Brexit?”
“Does the Minister agree that the decision that has been taken by the British Government not to release £5 million in funding because of a lack of detail in the Executive's plan to address paramilitarism is deeply embarrassing for the Executive?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Will she consider at some stage meeting some of the relatives of the victims to listen to their case?”
“I will go back to Hansard, but I asked the question again because I am still unclear. May I, then, ask the Minister whether the Executive stand over the Agriculture Minister's statement during the referendum that agriculture here relies on subsidies and there is no reason why they would cease outside the EU? Given that, can he shed any light on how much will be given in subsidies to Northern Ireland farmers and for how long post any Brexit?”
“Which is it? Are there bids or are there not? If there are bids, as is stated on page 3 of his statement, why do he and his ministerial colleagues refuse to share them with the relevant Committees and the House?”
“Flip one page over, under "Internal Reallocations". There he stated:”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I ask him to clarify what appears to be a confusion, if not a contradiction, in his statement. In his opening remarks, he said:”
“The Minister will not be surprised by the content of my question, which relates to the devastating, ongoing problem of mental health and addiction among our young people, not least in my own constituency of North Belfast. I wholeheartedly welcome the Minister's commitment to exploring specialist treatment, on a regional and all-island basis, for our young people who are struggling with mental health and addiction problems. Could the Minister shape her thinking on that matter further? Does it involve the provision of a specialist treatment centre or a unit for dual diagnosis, particularly for those at the most acute end of the problem?”
“I appreciate the Minister giving way, seeing that he has already given way once during his response. He will be aware that Members have asked for clarity on where the increased figures before us have come from. Will he point us to where he has publicly announced the increased figure prior to today's debate, or will he have the maturity and the honesty to admit that they have come in response to the Opposition motion before him today?”
“Once again, when we debate the critically important issue of housing, the DUP spends most of its time not addressing the substantive issues but attacking the Opposition.”
“Does the Member not find it interesting that Sinn Féin lectures the SDLP about its shortcomings when it took the housing portfolio, but, in nine years, Sinn Féin refused to take it because it clearly does not deem it important enough?”
“I am very interested to learn where those figures came from, and I would like to know exactly when and how the Minister made that announcement, because, as far as I am aware, it certainly was not made in the House, which leads one to suspect that it is in direct response to the motion brought forward by the Opposition today.”
“The Housing Executive has that power in legislation, but, again, we have no detail on how the Executive plan to finance that, so I look forward to hearing further detail on that from the party beside me. <BR /> <BR />I turn briefly to the DUP amendment. It refers to delivering:”
“My colleague will go into detail on the amendments before us, but I will make just a few comments. I have to welcome the honesty in the Sinn Féin amendment. It is the first time that I am aware of an Executive party being open about its failure to deliver, admitting that, since 2007-08, the number of people in housing stress has got worse. Although we welcome the honesty in its amendment, what I cannot understand is why Sinn Féin brought forward an amendment on housing without making reference to a single target of at least one new-build house. That will not bring any comfort to the many people who are struggling and waiting desperately on a new home. <BR /> <BR />The amendment also calls on:”
“We will undoubtedly face the question from across the Chamber of how we plan to pay for all of this. We have the money drawn down from the European Investment Bank (EIB), with which I know the housing associations that are party to that are keen to get moving. That will allow us to build some 5,000 new social homes. We also brought to the Minister's attention the potential for Barnett consequentials from the home building fund that was recently announced at the Tory party conference. We invite the Minister to give us an update on that today as well.”
“Given that almost a half of housing association stock is already at or above the local housing allowance cap, we also ask the Minister to share with us his plans to protect those tenants.”
“Over 500 disabled households are waiting for wheelchair accessible accommodation, with no certainty or comfort in sight. Those families deserve better. The families living in hostels deserve better. They deserve more than honeyed words. They need to be given certainty and comfort, with a clear commitment to build an ambitious number of new homes each year. <BR /> <BR />In respect of the land supply issue, the Minister is aware that the Housing Supply Forum brought forward a series of crucial and meaty recommendations. We invite the Minister to provide the House today with an update on that report. <BR /> <BR />The Executive must give clarity on the impact of welfare reform on the many social housing tenants.”
“The SDLP welcomes that initiative, and I ask the Minister to provide an update to the House today on the progress of that project and what consideration he is giving to the vesting of land and the use of compulsory purchase orders, where and when required, to tackle the persistent obstacle of land availability to build new homes in real time. <BR /> <BR />We also invite the Minister today to share with us discussions he is having with local government to ensure that we maximise opportunities in the devolution of planning powers and the development of local area plans and, in particular, what plans he has to bring forward the transfer of regeneration powers to maximise the opportunity that lies within local government. <BR /> <BR />The truth is that thousands of our citizens are waiting — and waiting — on the housing list.”
“We need a clear commitment to build a set target of new homes, which contains within that a commitment to build homes for complex needs and older people. That will ease the greatest pressure on the housing system: the shortage of supply, not least in my constituency of North Belfast. <BR /> <BR />Of course, to make that happen, land must be identified and made available. In response to a question for written answer that I posed on this issue, the Minister said that he had commenced a public land for housing project, to identify land suitable for reuse for housing.”
“Perhaps today the Minister will give us an update on how his negotiations with the UK Treasury are going in respect of a derogation; what contingency plans he has in place if legislation is not brought forward within that time frame; and how that might impact on the target of building new social homes. <BR /> <BR />It is right that we debate the issue that, above all else, is the game changer in tackling our housing crisis: that is, the need to make land available and to build new homes. It is not a vague indicator to "improve the supply of suitable housing", which lacks definition and, as a result of using vague and ambiguous terms such as "improve" and "suitable", leaves this indicator too open to subjective interpretation.”
“Since I was elected to the House, we have debated two housing-related motions. The first was brought in the name of Mr Fra McCann, calling for reform of the common selection scheme, particularly in the area of the award of intimidation points, and the SDLP was fully supportive of that. The second motion was brought by the Ulster Unionists and ourselves, calling on the Executive to detail their structured and timelined response to the reclassification of our 22 housing associations. That was a development of profound financial consequence for housing associations' ability to finance and build critical new homes — the focus of the motion before us today — and the wider financial consequences for the Executive to carry out their functions with an additional £1 billion added to their balance sheet.”
“I thank the Member for giving me the opportunity. When the SDLP held the housing portfolio, we built more houses than any Minister prior or since.”
“The fact is that thousands upon thousands of our citizens are sitting in poor-quality, overcrowded housing not suitable to their needs. Citizens are living for months on end in hostels with their children or they are sofa-surfing at the discretion of friends and families. Meanwhile, their health deteriorates, educational attainment is challenged and economic opportunities are reduced.”
“Having access to a good-quality, safe and secure home increases your life chances multifold, especially when children are involved. Housing is, without doubt, an enabler for health and well-being and it is key to tackling disadvantage, driving economic growth and job creation and building a better environment and a more equal, shared and safe society that respects diversity. <BR /> <BR />Housing is both an end and a means, yet, sadly, it has not appeared in the draft Programme for Government as a strategic outcome. By the Executive's own figures, as of June this year, as I pointed out, we had huge numbers of people on the social housing waiting list and deemed to be in housing stress. A staggering and shameful 15,500 people are deemed to be statutorily homeless.”
“As my colleague pointed out, that motion, without any consultation with the SDLP or the other signatories, was changed by the Business Office, substantially altering its intention and outworkings. Regrettably, when the error that was made by officials was brought to the attention of the Speaker's Office, it was not corrected, and the motion that appears in the Order Paper is not the motion that was submitted by the SDLP. However, the original motion is the one to which I will address my comments. <BR /> <BR />There are five human rights that are essential if each of us is to fulfil our potential: the right to food, healthcare, education, work and a home. I have argued, and will continue to do so, that access to a good-quality, safe and secure home is the anchor and the glue that holds the other facets of a person's life together.”
“As my colleague pointed out, on 4 October at 11.07 am, the SDLP submitted the following motion verbatim to the Business Office:”
“It is because of them, and because of those who are suffering this torment and have not spoken out, that we must act.”
“<BR /> <BR />My colleague Mark H Durkan outlined why we have included a specific reference to justice support workers in our amendment and why access to those workers for all victims is crucial. We ask the Minister to share with us her views on that proposal, which I can assure her has the support of Women's Aid, the Men's Advisory Project, Men's Action Network, Nexus and Victim Support NI. As I draw my comments to a close in the reduced time frame, I want to put on record that I pay tribute to all the organisations, staff and volunteers who work with victims, but, most of all, I want to pay tribute to the courage of the victims who have spoken out.”
“Psychological abuse and the exercise of fear and control can be as bad as, and often worse than, physical abuse, and it is shocking that, under our current legislation, an abuser can break the spirit and will of their victim and can ruin their lives via psychological torment without breaking the law. The SDLP therefore welcomes and commends the fact that the Minister has given a commitment to tackling this injustice by outlawing coercive control in the North within the ambitious time frame of one year. Tackling domestic abuse, rape and sexual crime is not the task of one body, but it requires one approach, and that is one of zero tolerance based on three strands: prevention, protection and prosecution.”
“While it is positive news that the reporting of these incidences has increased, the truth is that domestic abuse and sexual crime is still significantly under-reported because of the nature of the physical and mental abuse and often the intimacy of the relationship with the abuser, especially when children are involved. It can also be because of the abuse of power and authority and the fear of not being believed or being vilified when it is a large institution, a perceived celebrity or an organisation against an individual. <BR /> <BR />As many Members have pointed out, domestic abuse includes violence but is not just violence.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Home is a place where you should feel safe, a place where you can go after a hard and trying day and close the door and feel relaxed and protected. Yet, for many women and men, the reality is very different. It is the place that they fear the most and the place wherein lies the greatest danger. The proliferation of this abuse in our society is shocking. Incidents of domestic abuse have reached a 10-year high. According to the very latest statistics, police respond to 78 reports of abuse in the home every day. That equates to one report every 18 minutes.”