Paula Bradshaw
South Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“They were places where those who were vulnerable were concealed, young mothers were stripped of their babies and children were stripped of their identities. Let us be resolute in our remembrance of what happened behind the doors of those institutions.”
“At all stages, the Committee has set out its clear support for the legislation's overarching aims and principles, which are to establish a statutory public inquiry into the systemic failings associated with mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses between 1922 and 1995 and to create a statutory redress scheme for t…”
“Again, I refuse to call them "mother-and-baby homes", for we now know that there was nothing homely about them. What the Bill can and must do is offer a tangible declaration that the state accepts its responsibility.”
“As Chairperson of the Committee for the Executive Office, I welcome the opportunity to speak at the Final Stage of the Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill.”
“Key points were also made in relation to redress: the need to ensure that the Executive Office introduces clear guidelines for the scheme as soon as practicable; the need for the Executive Office to widely communicate and promote the scheme to all victims and survivors, including those who live overseas; and the need for the Executive Off…”
“The First Minister and deputy First Minister tabled a number of amendments that gave effect to the Committee's intent across a number of clauses. In several instances, the Committee chose to withdraw its amendments in favour of the Ministers' wording, where that better reflected the broader book of the law.”
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“Yet, the Bill is silent on helping families to provide that nurturing and supportive environment. It offers no support at all for women who opt to proceed with the pregnancy; it simply removes their choice, and then says, "You're on your own". <BR /> <BR />We are now clear that many issues around disability rights have been legitimately raised by Heidi Crowter and others, but those apply primarily to providing support for pregnant women, not to removing their choices. The Bill sponsor has known that since the court judgement in September, but he has opted to do nothing about it in the Bill. Most of all, it will not reduce the number of women seeking healthcare.”
“I quote again from the Heidi Crowter judgement:”
“I quote from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists:”
“I appreciate her contributions to the Health Committee, because they gave a lot of focus to our deliberations. The Bill sponsor and others ignored the outcome of that court case, of course. It was noted in the judgement that the legislation already requires an opinion to be, "formed in good faith". That means that the opinion is based on literally decades of training and practice, as I have already outlined, and specialist expertise. It was also made clear that it was misleading that cleft palate, for example, would suffice for an abortion after 24 weeks. Again, I already demonstrated that that would not happen here. The test, to repeat, is good faith. By ignoring the judgement that was approved by the court and handed down in this case, the Bill sponsor continues to ignore some essential but basic points.”
“That does not sound like coercion to me. Consider these words carefully: it will prevent a patient-centred approach for distressed women, ignore clinical complexity, essentially prevent medical professionals from doing their job and result in women travelling for health care. Whatever the objectives of the Bill, those would be the outcomes if it became law. <BR /> <BR />I am grateful to Dr Hunter, who provided the Committee with the example of one of her patients whose first baby died in utero at 26 weeks. She was then forced to travel to England when she was told that her second child had a serious brain abnormality and would have no quality of life. How tragic was that? <BR /> <BR />I will now look at the recent case that was courageously brought by Heidi Crowter.”
“The British Medical Association noted that the legislation:”
“Thank you for the intervention, but we had the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists at the Health Committee and we put those questions to them. I have outlined how they refuted that allegation. I was really impressed, and I hope other Health Committee members were equally impressed, by their professionalism and dedication to their field of medicine. They were absolutely affronted that anyone in the Chamber would accuse them of trying to coerce anyone into having an abortion. <BR /> <BR />I will move on. The Bill sponsor likes to ignore the professionals, but I do not. For example, let us consider what the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists had to say on the issue:”
“The Bill sponsor likes to ignore the professionals but I do not.”
“Those working here attend yearly events and meetings and seek to learn and exchange information as medical evidence emerges and is peer-reviewed across Great Britain, Ireland and around the world, not only in that subspecialism but in pathology, psychology, neuroradiology, paediatrics, cardiology and so on. Many of the trainees who are based here will train in London, Dublin and across the world and then bring that expertise back here. As I pointed out, they are highly specialised and committed to that field of medicine.”
“It is, therefore, worth reading into the record the academic background and credentials of those medical professionals who work in that field and support women facing those diagnoses. At Committee, we heard that, after years of studying for their medical degrees and time spent as junior doctors, it takes nine years to become a consultant in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, then there is a three-year training programme to become a specialist in fetal medicine, followed by one year of research and two years of working in a fetal medicine subspeciality. Some go on to do a doctorate in the field, which takes another four years. On top of that, we heard that the UK is a world leader in fetal medicine.”
“Some have been, rightly, disgusted at the claims that have been made, and I tried to make an intervention during the First Minister's contribution on this point. I place on record the response from Dr Manderson to the Health Committee when I asked him about the potential for doctors here to coerce women into abortions for a cleft lip or a club foot. Those claims were made not only today but the last time that we debated the Bill in the Assembly. He said:”
“For example, given that the Bill is silent on access to screening, those with means and money will be able to go private, but those without will not, resulting in a clear reinforcement of inequality. It has also been well established that the Bill will lead not to fewer abortions but to more travel for abortions. That is much harder for those without the means. The Bill clearly reinforces a socio-economic imbalance, particularly against women. Anyone who seeks to emphasise the need for socio-economic rights as an absolute political priority will surely oppose the Bill instantly. <BR /> <BR />At this time, I am more concerned than ever about the implicit and, sometimes, explicit attacks on medical professionals, which has formed part of the promotion of the Bill.”
“Therefore, in order be compatible with international human rights standards, those who prioritise human rights, a bill of rights and making rights-proofing a fundamental part of our legislative process will surely want to be assured that the Bill is compatible with the recommendations of the CEDAW report, as contained in paragraphs 85 and 86; yet no so such assurance has been received. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission specifically stated that the legislation is clearly "contrary" to the required human rights standards. <BR /> <BR />At this stage, I add that it is not just women's rights, including the right to access healthcare and to make choices for their health and well-being, that are at issue here; the evidence that we have received at Committee and elsewhere clarified that social and economic rights are at issue.”
“The UN convention that is of relevance to the Bill is, of course, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. It has applied in the UK since 1986, and I make particular reference to the 'Report of the inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women' in 2018.”
“She also noted that using the convention in any effort:”
“All human rights are balanced, but those who prioritise rights-based approaches should note well that the chair of the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Theresia Degener, in 2008, stated:”
“Amnesty International also advised the Committee that international treaty bodies have consistently found that denying access to abortion, including in cases of severe fetal impairment:”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for its written and oral evidence to the Assembly, including its definitive reminder that CEDAW identified through its inquiry that the old law created "grave and systemic violations" of human rights for women in Northern Ireland. Likewise, Amnesty International highlighted the fact that the CEDAW inquiry concluded:”
“On top of that, it is hard to see how anyone who has prioritised human rights and, indeed, a bill of rights as a central part of our future would delay for one moment before opposing a Bill that fundamentally breaches them. <BR /> <BR />I made a statement in the Assembly in March this year ensuring that we would hear from the human rights experts around this proposed legislation. It was entirely right to establish the human rights issues, and anyone who is serious about rights-based approaches and a bill of rights must then legislate accordingly once the human rights issues have been established.”
“I fully acknowledge and support the right of those in the trans community to access reproductive healthcare provision in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Although I disagree with them profoundly, I can see why, on the grounds of moral conscience, based on religious doctrine, people may be uncertain about this Bill. What I cannot understand is why anyone who agrees with me on the fundamental point that the best person to choose whether to proceed with a pregnancy is the woman herself would not instantly outright oppose a Bill with the clear and single intent to tamper with that choice. No one who tweeted "trust women" or told us how women should never again be exiled to Great Britain to seek healthcare should pause even for a moment before opposing this Bill outright.”
“I rise to support the opposition to clause 1 and, indeed, clause 2 standing part of the Bill. I am opposed to the Bill for a vast range of reasons, including, technically, its incompatibility with the law as passed by the UK Parliament and with the UK's international human rights obligations under CEDAW. However, in the end, I come back to one practical and fundamental reason: that the best person to choose whether to proceed with a pregnancy is the woman herself, with the advice of medical professionals with decades of experience in this field. These decisions should be based not on legal documents but on human sentiment and knowledge. I want to place on record, at this point, that when I talk about women, I include pregnant people.”
“Does the Minister agree that those of us who have been on the Health Committee and who lead on health for our parties should do our own due diligence, read outside the information that is provided to us at the Committee and look across the world for the evidence on the issue?”
“This is more of a point of interest. The Health Committee was advised that the Department had done some attitudinal surveys around why people have or have not taken the vaccine. That work has been done, and it was to feed into future communications.”
“I do not dismiss all the arguments of those who oppose COVID passes. However, like the Health Minister, the Infrastructure Minister and many other Members, I have not seen those who are against the passes present us with a serious alternative that will prevent death and serious illness while keeping businesses open. In an ideal world, we would not have to take this step, but, in an ideal world, there would not be a deadly virus out there. In this less than ideal world, we owe it to ourselves and to one another to get vaccinated and regularly tested. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I thank all the Health and Social Care staff who will continue to battle the deadly virus through Christmas. I hope that they get some rest during that period.”
“We need to encourage vaccination and much more regular testing in general. We need to encourage other mitigations in other locations, such as ventilation and face coverings, and we need to reinforce the messages around basic hygiene and social distancing.”
“<BR /> <BR />There was always the prospect that the policy would be required, and it was beyond disappointing to hear at the Health Committee that it came as a surprise to officials in November. Planning should have been put in place for that as an option many months ago. We still seem to be unable to grasp what is meant by getting ahead of the virus. Ultimately, this is about mitigating risk. There was always the prospect that such a mitigation would become necessary. I hope that business owners will recognise that ensuring that those in their venues are low risk actually reduces the risk for people entering them and, importantly, ensures the safety of their staff. It is thus likely to increase custom not to decrease it. <BR /> <BR />COVID passes are one of many tools.”
“It should have been clear from the outset that the choice here is broadly threefold: accept a high death rate from the virus, even though that rate is preventable; introduce further restrictions, including closures, which is surely intolerable with vaccines and widespread testing; or encourage widespread vaccination and testing. In other words, it is in the interests of hospitality and leisure and all of us to go with the last of those and encourage widespread vaccination and testing. By ensuring that, we have the best chance to prevent death and illness while enabling businesses to operate relatively normally. That point should have been made from the very outset.”
“<BR /> <BR />Therefore, while I share some of the ethical concerns around this, too often, they descend into a suggestion, implicit or sometimes explicit, that people should not take responsibility for reducing that risk before entering high-risk venues. We need to be very clear in the Chamber that absolutely everyone should take that responsibility, and, sadly, given the evidently reducing level of compliance with other mitigations, it is reasonable to ask for evidence that they have taken that responsibility. <BR /> <BR />My second concern is around communications. That is something that I have raised in every health protection regulations debate in the Chamber.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although I view some of the concerns raised around the ethics of that as legitimate — indeed, as a liberal, I would not want to live in a society where no objections were raised to steps such as that — I am afraid that, too often, those concerns became deliberately overstated so as to draw an emotional response that was not warranted. In the same way that it is reasonable not to permit smokers to enter high-risk venues in the interests of public health or not to permit intoxicated people to be in charge of vehicles in the interests of public health and, upon receipt, to prove specifically that they are not intoxicated before driving, it is also reasonable to ask someone entering a high-risk venue during a public heath crisis whether they have taken reasonable steps to reduce that risk before entering.”
“I support the regulations though not without having considerable concern in two areas. First, it is worth being clear about what we are voting on. We are voting on COVID passes. It is notable that so many people still insist on using the erroneous term "vaccine passports". We are doing something different from what was introduced in Scotland in October. We are implementing a system that means that, to enter venues where there is a high risk of transmission of the virus, a person will have to demonstrate reasonable proof that they are low risk through immunity, be that through vaccination or acquired, or of non-infectiousness.”
“I thank the Health Minister for his statement. At our recent meeting of the all-party group on cancer, we took evidence on the minimum unit price of alcohol, and it was stated that one of the success factors is when neighbouring jurisdictions have a similar price set. What discussions has the Minister had around that? Is that the direction that he is considering?”
“Thank you, Finance Minister, for the draft Budget. I was pleased to see the financial allocation to implement the recommendations of the truth recovery design panel's report on mother-and-baby homes. There is a little bit of concern amongst the women and adoptees that a lot of that funding could be taken up by admin and back-room costs. What reassurance can you give them that the allocation is for front-line services to support them?”
“Thank you, Minister, for the update on this. I welcome the speeding up and ramping up of the vaccination programme. Minister, will you please provide clarity for those who are housebound and who, in the first round, received their vaccine from their GP or district nurse?”
“Thank you, junior Minister. My concern is about some of the discourse in the media last week that the working group was not really able to make significant progress up to this point on a joint action plan. What more can be done at this stage to advance the recommendations in the report?”
“I did not intend to speak today — I did not want to repeat my previous contributions to debates — but I want to place on record my thanks to the departmental officials who came to the Health Committee. Their enthusiasm and passion for bringing about the change that is required to alleviate the huge pressures on our health and social care system were palpable. I wish them well as they go forward with this. As a Health Committee, we will, no doubt, continue to put the Health Minister under pressure around the transparency of and accountability for the reform that is required. That is what we intend to do. For now, I thank the Committee Clerk, his team and the departmental staff for their work on the Bill.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, I spoke to you before Question Time about back pay and pay increases for agency staff who work in the Civil Service. When will they get that payment?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. It focuses on the benefits of bilingualism in early years, yet a British Council report showed that, as of the middle of this year, none of the 18 main recommendations of the Northern Ireland languages strategy has been implemented at a system-wide level, and the primary-school modern languages programme was abandoned here in 2014-15. Without implementing the strategy and putting that scheme back in place, how would you seek to take forward the words in your statement?”
“Thank you, Minister. The school said that when it asked for guidance, there was none. My supplementary question relates to high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Are you going to purchase those for schools as well, just to purify the air?”
“Minister, there is a lot of rumour and speculation that you will have a circuit breaker coming up to Christmas. Can you confirm or deny that?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your response. Yes, some of the figures are very encouraging, but there remain some constituents of mine who have not yet received their card. I had correspondence from a constituent today who was advised on 26 November that his details had been verified, but, as of today, he has still not got his card. Minister, there are a lot of people who are relying on this £100, not least the people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. What will you do for the people who have not received their card? Will they be compensated?”
“We have heard today about issues such as asthma and cancer, and we have a duty to those whom we represent to put forward health policy and regulations that protect people's health not just now but in the future. <BR /> <BR />It is not expected that the smoking in cars legislation will frequently need to be enforced; indeed, in the first four years of application in Scotland, no penalties were applied, and we expect people to go along with it in recognition of the protection that it is designed to offer. I welcome, however, the Department's commitment for a full and comprehensive communications action plan to ensure awareness of the new rules before they come into force. Fundamentally, the regulations are about good public health, and there is no better time than now to bring them in. I strongly commend them.”
“That is, of course, always developing, and the regulation has to be updated to stay in line. The Tobacco Retailer (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 have been updated to define the fixed penalties involved, and I very much welcome that clarity. <BR /> <BR />It is important to congratulate all those who have been involved in the campaign for this step. I pick out in particular Cancer Focus; Cancer Research UK; Action Cancer; Chest, Heart and Stroke; and the Stroke Association. They have lobbied for this for many years and will be delighted that we have got to this stage. As a Chamber, we are stating clearly how we expect people to behave responsibly towards the most vulnerable.”
“In this case, those other people are a particularly vulnerable group: children. <BR /> <BR />As the Chair of the Health Committee indicated, I was slightly concerned about a couple of areas of the regulations. Those areas will be addressed by departmental officials, and they relate to motorhomes and fines. The Minister indicated that the fine is £50 but that can be reduced to £30, if it is paid quickly. I am concerned that £30 will not cause much damage to the purses of some people, and that those people will flout the regulations. Nevertheless, the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations are complementary, reinforcing that adults should not in any way be able to make children victims of smoking. Regulation 3 usefully defines the term "nicotine product".”
“I am delighted to support the regulations. We on the all-party group on cancer have been campaigning on this for many years. I thank the officials from the Department of Health for drafting the regulations during the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, it is about protecting people under the age of 18 from the impact of tobacco and, as the Minister and Mr McGrath have already outlined, from the impact of cancer. The regulations are long overdue. Nonetheless, they are here today. They match those elsewhere in the UK. We note that enforcement falls not just to councils but to the police; that is to be welcomed. In the current context, the regulations give an important sign that we legislate to ensure that people take responsibility not just for their own health and well-being but for that of other people.”
“Minister, do you have any plans to provide funding to support buy-to-rent in order to address some of the housing shortfall?”
“First Minister, how satisfied or assured are you that the commissioner has enough resources in her office to deal with all the queries from victims and survivors?”
“Thank you, Health Minister, for your statement this morning. I am pleased to hear that there are enough vaccines for the booster programme. I hope that that is rolled out quickly. <BR /> <BR />My question is about the concern that there is in the wider community because of the new variant. Are you going to update any guidance and advice for those who were previously asked to shield and/or their carers?”
“We need to ensure that, as a society, we are not constantly building barriers to access and that we see people as valued members of society and not as burdens. We must champion rights and equality. We need to reform welfare assessment and live up to our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. <BR /> <BR />I note that the first ever sitting of the Disabled People's Parliament will take place in the Chamber on 3 December. I wish all its members all the very best in their endeavours.”
“As a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights, I was struck by the heartfelt evidence that Mr Tony O'Reilly from the Northwest Forum of People with Disabilities gave when he highlighted how disabled people do not feel that they have rights in Northern Ireland and how, instead, they are seen as being resource-based and resource-intensive. What was clear was the need for issues affecting people with disabilities to be seen through a human rights lens, which makes it all the more frustrating that the DUP has now decided to obstruct that Committee's progress on its important work. <BR /> <BR />It was only a few weeks ago that I called for a single equality Bill for Northern Ireland, but we need to do so much more than catch up with the rest of the UK.”
“With the current high levels of community transmission of the virus, there will be rising concern, especially given that 60% of deaths from coronavirus in the UK have been of people with disabilities. That is a staggering statistic and one that truly drives home the devastating impact that the virus has had on disabled people and how government, at times, has failed to protect them. <BR /> <BR />While COVID-19 has exacerbated issues around access and health inequalities, people with disabilities have long faced physical and systemic barriers in our society.”