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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“I rise on behalf of the Alliance Party and will, of course, support the motion. Indeed, the motion provides a very welcome opportunity to restate to the House that the Minister announced over the summer that she will bring forward a reference group to engage with representative organisations in the community and voluntary sector to explore the role and remit of a new victims of crime commissioner for Northern Ireland. That, in fact, goes well beyond what the motion calls for, as it is a commitment not to whether there should be a commissioner, but how. I know that the sector was delighted by that announcement, as were individuals such as Mr Charles Little, with whom I have been working, and who have been calling for that position for many years, including during the suspension of the Assembly.”
“Thank you. Minister, you will be aware that in South Belfast, over the next few years, there will probably be about 800 to 1,000 new homes, primarily in the Castlereagh South area. Where are you around area planning for post-primary provision there?”
“We want support to be given to the Minister today so that she can move as quickly as possible on this issue. We would like unanimous support for our amendment.”
“That will be the best way for the families to outline just how important their campaign for a sense of truth and justice is, and for the Minister to outline the many steps that she has already taken towards achieving this and ensuring that disclosure forms a part not just of parole but of enhancing the prospect of finding out what happened to their loved ones. <BR /> <BR />Having a debate such as this helps the process of detailed consideration of the most appropriate and efficient way towards meeting the interests of families who have suffered such appalling grief and trauma. The motion is a useful step as it prioritises the issue and helps to clarify many of the issues around it. We hope that the amendment, which enhances the motion, will make it legally secure.”
“<BR /> <BR />We will consider all means of ensuring that the parole board gives significant weight to non-disclosure so that the family's objectives can be met. If we can get there by any means in the next few months rather than the next few years, that is what we will do. With that in mind, it is highly unfortunate that the COVID situation has impeded a formal meeting between the Justice Minister and the families. I am assured that one will take place urgently as soon as it is feasible.”
“Again, that is why the amendment is important: to make what we are pursuing legally watertight and deliverable as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />We need to be clear that any Charlotte's law would deliver the same as Helen's law, namely that, quite correctly, the parole board would give significant weight to non-disclosure. We also need to be very aware, given that we do not know when a similar case might occur, that even a swift legislative intervention to deliver a Charlotte's law would be unlikely to fit into the legislative programme during the current mandate. This means that years could pass with no change. That is not something that the Minister, my party colleagues nor I are prepared to wait for. Again, that is why the amendment is important.”
“As Paul Frew referred to, we have seen too many other instances of trauma being exacerbated by political inaction in this House. This must not become another. <BR /> <BR />The amendment is also important because it emphasises that we already have the benefit of seeing the route forward adopted in England so as to ensure that it is legally watertight. A lot of work went into Helen's law. It needs to be emphasised that what is required is cooperation in locating remains or identification before release. However, that is not quite what the motion goes on to say. It does not reflect exactly what Helen's law delivers. To try to do something that is, in effect, what Helen's law delivers, as implied by the final part of the motion, would inevitably mean greater complexity and more time taken up. That is in no one's interest.”
“To be clear, therefore, our amendment is designed to strengthen the motion by outlining the steps necessary to achieve a legally watertight route to ensuring cooperation in finding remains and identifying victims that forms a statutory part of the parole process and, thus, maximising the chance of locating the remains or at least knowing what happened to them. <BR /> <BR />To rob someone of their life and then to rob their loved ones even of the knowledge of their remains is despicable beyond words. That is why we welcome the Bill passing through the UK Parliament known as Helen's law and the support for it expressed by the Chamber today. We want similar steps to be taken here in Northern Ireland, but we feel that it is essential to outline how those steps will be taken. We also recognise that we must move carefully but quickly.”
“I support the amendment. The motion clearly has considerable merit, and I commend its proposers. This is a very important topic. We cannot fail to be touched by the anguish felt by the families of Lisa Dorrian and Charlotte Murray. We are also filled with admiration for the families' campaigns in their and others' memory. <BR /> <BR />No one should be in any doubt that we are all fully in favour of a process that requires cooperation in locating victims' remains to be considered as a fundamental part of parole, and work is ongoing to strengthen that.”
“They will also enhance a child's sense that they can influence the world around them and live as independently as possible, with all the positive effects that has on their mental well-being and that of those around them. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I place on record my appreciation of the work of the audiology staff and the speech and language therapists who are trying their best in an environment of COVID, staff vacancies and the waiting lists that we have discussed today. I look forward to hearing from the Minister what steps will be taken urgently to ensure that children with learning difficulties do not miss out on basis interventions and procedures that would ensure that they do not suffer from communication deprivation, with the inevitable consequence for mental health and education.”
“The particular issue, it seems, is that, if the early interventions do not occur and the referral to specialist services — directly to do with hearing or even in an area such as counselling — does not happen, the impact can be long-lasting. Again, a small intervention missed means that a significant problem can develop. <BR /> <BR />This is the concern when we hear lines like "Urgent procedures are being prioritised". A minor implant may not seem like an urgent procedure; an early assessment of communication may not seem like an urgent procedure; an audio appointment, the outcome of which will help the family unit make empowered decisions, may not seem like an urgent procedure, but any of those steps taken now may well avoid the need for urgent procedures later.”
“Delays add significantly to overall stress and strain and, ultimately, to the prospect of falling behind peers and subsequent poor mental health. <BR /> <BR />The four-tier spectrum of mental health provision from early advice at primary level through to specialist assessment and services, multidisciplinary teams and, finally, specialist outpatient or inpatient units is established and is vital for all children and even more so for children with hearing difficulty. If even tier 1 is not happening, the impact can be long-lasting. That means that child and adolescent mental health services, specialised for children with hearing difficulties, had never been more important than before the pandemic; the pandemic makes them even more so.”
“Another is the audio appointments referenced in the motion, which enable those informed choices to be most effectively made. <BR /> <BR />This is, of course, about future educational attainment, as the motion states, but it is also about so much more. One area of particular concern is the impact that the absence of some of these small detections or interventions will have on mental health, immediately and in the future. Data on the area is not good, but it is estimated that 40% of children with hearing difficulties develop mental health problems, nearly double the incidence in the general population. The main reason for that, research suggests, is communication deprivation. That is exactly why, as the motion states, audio appointments and implant procedures are so important.”
“I support the motion. Children with learning difficulties are, of course, all different, but one thing that unites them is a desire to live as independent a life as possible. Like everyone else, they want to influence the world around them and develop healthy and stable relationships. Sometimes, it can be the smallest detection or intervention that enables that. That will, of course, usually mean interventions that affect the whole family, particularly when the children have been born to hearing parents. Empowering parents to make informed choices, for example, on treatment or communication options is one of the small but vital interventions that are necessary early on. Another, as we heard, is the relatively minor implant procedures that can have such a major impact.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your response. You will be aware that before we had the house parties, we had the house clearances, where they were dumping excessively in the alleyways, attracting all sorts of vermin, and engaging in antisocial and very inconsiderate behaviour. It is clear to me that the HMO Act as it stands is not strong enough, nor are the enforcement powers given to the council. I am wondering, given the experiences of the past few months, what you are planning to do to make the situation better.”
“In the spirit of New Decade, New Approach and the moves to take forward legislation for the Irish and other minority languages, would it not be a good idea?”
“Minister, I have heard you mention several times in the Chamber how you will work once the new commissioner is in place. It is 45 months since the Hart recommendations were made. What is preventing you and the deputy First Minister from making a joint apology in the Chamber?”
“I thank the First Minister. I met Executive Office officials probably three years ago, and they were talking about the terms of reference for this research. Is there any way that you could push that forward? Obviously, a lot of the victims are very distressed at the delay.”
“Minister, how will the rescinding of these convictions affect the Access NI records relating to the offenders, and will possible future employers be told?”
“As I say, we need to be assured that, going forward, things will be done differently at those hospitals. We know that there is a lag between being infected and then suffering from the disease, so I would like to hear from the Minister about what additional measures are being put in place at the two locations to stop the spread of the virus. <BR /> <BR />Before I draw my remarks to a close, I thank the Health Minister for being here today. He has had two very long days, and it is not an easy job.”
“My concern is that this is kicking the can down the road in many ways and will not put in place, in quick time, changes to infection-control measures. <BR /> <BR />My second point is about the fact that, as John O'Dowd referenced, we had incidents in Antrim Area Hospital and these two hospitals, and I am sure that there have been others. As a member of the Health Committee and as a health spokesperson, I have always been keen to ensure that there is transparency about outbreaks and clusters so that the general public, the people who work in the hospitals and the relatives of the people staying in them have access to that information. It is so important that we all act responsibly, even more so when there are incidents such as this going on.”
“I suppose that a lot of work went on in trying to keep this hospital and other hospitals free from infections and that that work was put in place very readily. What has the trust responsible for Craigavon Area Hospital and for Daisy Hill Hospital learnt and what is it doing in quick time to move from the original plans to keep hygiene controls in the hospitals in place and what is it doing now? I am concerned about the serious adverse incident process. Over the years, I have spoken to bereaved parents and relatives who are so concerned about SAIs. They say that it is about marking your own homework, they are always delayed and that only certain people get involved in them and that they really do not get to the nub of the problem.”
“Mr Speaker, I did not realise that I had only three minutes, so I will have to skip through my speech. I thank the Member for bringing the issue to the House and giving me opportunity to record my sincere sympathies and those of my party for the relatives of those who have sadly lost their lives. Hospitals should be safe places, and I am sure that those working in them will be devastated by the deaths. <BR /> <BR />Months ago, the surge plan came in from the Department of Health. I suppose that, at that time, it had been put together in great haste and that it had learnt from previous pandemics and outbreaks. In the Health Committee, we came across the new term of "institutional amplifiers".”
“Following on from this morning's debate, Minister, I raised with the deputy First Minister yesterday the issue of sharing best practice around the memorandum of understanding. I came across this, which is what they have in Dublin around the restrictions. As you know, I pushed from the start for us to introduce sign language to the press briefings. I also think that we need very clear imagery. You hear a radio or a television, but it is hard to digest. Can we look at using something like this across all the websites and social media platforms?”
“<BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I think that there is still goodwill towards the Executive and the messaging, not least given the fact that people are still so supportive of our health service and other front-line workers and the sterling work that they do, but the missteps over the last few days have eroded confidence, and there is mass confusion now. With regard to these regulations and the guidance around them, we need to communicate better, with less confusion and more clarity, to deliver full compliance.”
“In most other jurisdictions, the rules are much simpler. As soon as you enter a public building, you are obliged to wear a face covering, with the exception of when you are seated to eat or drink, and, obviously, some people with health conditions will be exempt. At the minute, you need to wear a mask in a shop, but you do not need to wear one in a coffee shop. You need to wear one in a bar, but you do not need to wear it a restaurant or a hotel. That is overcomplicated, confusing and counterintuitive, but it does not need to be that way.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am also concerned by our inability to enforce guidance in any meaningful way. For example, people who have booked weddings for 200 guests face the choice of losing thousands of pounds of deposits or of proceeding with them, even when they recognise weddings to be at high risk. There is no specific rule that enables them to cancel in the interests of public safety and be assured of a refund. Risk assessments seem to consist too much of people marking their own homework. We need to consider whether guidance, based on sound scientific advice, should, in fact, be enforceable or at least whether events that are bound to breach it may be preventable. <BR /> <BR />As I have just referenced, even for face coverings, which is the topic of two regulations in this set, the rules are too complex.”
“Many of them have to go home because they do not even have washing machines because of how the houses have been developed. <BR /> <BR />There are specific circumstances in the Holylands. Some of HMOs are occupied by members of the Roma community, many of whom work in meat-processing plants, and we know that there are specific vulnerabilities with those workplaces. Not least, then, we have the settled community in the area, and I know of residents in their 80s and 90s. It is a horrendous place. There is only one corner shop, young people go into it not wearing masks and not social distancing, and the local people are feeling incredibly vulnerable. <BR /> <BR />As I say, I do not appreciate getting side swipes in the Chamber because I continue to raise this issue. It affects not just my constituency; it affects the whole of this country.”
“However, in order to avoid detection, they have now moved into the alleyways to have their parties. Despite all the words said in the Chamber in the past week about how compliance would be enforced, it is not happening. <BR /> <BR />As the Chair of the Health Committee pointed out, I asked, last week, if we could have guidance. Whether it is guidance for HMOs or for students, I do not care, but we have to have something that relates specifically to the people in that area. As I keep pointing out, whether in the Chamber, the Health Committee or in the media, we have up to nine people living in these houses and they are deemed to be one household. They go home at the weekend, play for their sports club or visit their granny.”
“I have been raising the issue of the Holylands with the Health Minister and the Chief Medical Officer since the start of March. I chair and facilitate the Holyland and Lower Ormeau, HALO, group in the area and have been working with the residents for years. Therefore I am acutely aware of the issues there. I said that parties had been going on in houses since June. I misspoke. I meant that, once the restrictions started to lift and people could go back to their houses, the parties had resumed. <BR /> <BR />I have been receiving communication all morning from residents in the area and from people in the HALO group, because the parties were still happening last night. Six people were standing on one side of the garden wall, and there were people standing in the street.”
“None of what I am about to say is aimed at discouraging compliance — quite the opposite. However, the public needs to understand the rules, and the reasons for them, in order to comply with them. There should, at all times, be absolute clarity. If, for example, our concern is social gatherings in urban spaces, apply the rules to all social gatherings in all urban spaces. It should not have taken 10 days to work that out. What is more, make the rules simple, understandable and enforceable, as once we start trying to determine one rule for the work garage, another for the living room, and yet another for the garden, we have lost people. <BR /> <BR />I was not going to raise the issue of the Holylands, but, again, there was a side swipe at me about it in the Chamber yesterday.”
“<BR /> <BR />They have piled on more and greater confusion. On the one hand, restrictions were to be tightened; on the other, they were to be eased. We ended up with the farce of a press statement from the Department of Health that restrictions applied in certain areas while the annex to the press statement announced that they applied to certain other areas, too. Having spent a week trying to work out whether Castlereagh was in Belfast, we ended up having to include all of Northern Ireland. Providing such a confused response does not bode well for public confidence in what the Executive Office is doing with the regulations, nor for the practical likelihood of public compliance, not least since we have seen so many people who are unsure what the rules are and where they apply. <BR /> <BR />Communication is about creating understanding.”
“No, I will not. I took enough nonsense from your party over the weekend. Thank you. <BR /> <BR />If there was one advantage to how previous regulations were worded or implemented, it was simplicity. Everyone knew that they could cross their threshold for specific purposes only. As we have opened up, things have become more complex. What we are aiming for at all times is voluntary compliance. If enforcement becomes a significant issue, it is because we have taken a wrong turning. Voluntary compliance will come about if the rules are clear and if the reasons for them are provided in a transparent manner. It has to be said that there is nothing in the announcements by the Executive Office and the Department of Health over the past 10 days or so that qualifies as either clear or transparent.”
“We cannot shut down scrutiny just to protect a Minister; we are not going to do that.”
“It is ludicrous that the scrutiny body for health protection regulations is not going to be able to get the draftsman of changes to come along to support its deliberations and its thinking around that.”
“2 regulations applying from 24 July, we have at least had them the right way around. They specifically make prohibitions on public health grounds rather than not allowing us to cross our front door without specific reason. <BR /> <BR />For all that, we remain in a situation in which civil liberties are remarkably constrained and we do not have constant scrutiny to ensure that that is absolutely necessary for the sake of public health. Because I am so annoyed, I will raise a point that came up at the Health Committee last week. We received notification that it was not always going to be possible to have a departmental official to come along and speak to us about the proposed health protection regulation changes.”
“I rise to support the health protection regulations as amended. Before I move to the substance of my speech, I would take exception to the comments made by Robbie Butler. I do not believe that these are petty squabbles. The concerns that I am going to raise very much reflect what my colleague on the Health Committee said, are not petty and we are not politicking. We are raising legitimate concerns on behalf of our constituents. This is a debating Chamber. We have every right to do that, so do not try to quash that. The Member said that it is almost impossible to find and access the relevant information, and that is the concern that we are raising today. <BR /> <BR />In this case, it is not quite as necessary as last time to point out that the regulations run profoundly contrary to my party's liberal instincts. As for the No.”
“Minister, can you provide us with information on what your Department's role and responsibilities, if any, are on the new enforcement group?”
“I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber. Are we getting to the point where some of the health services in this hospital may need to be moved to a neighbouring facility to accommodate this? I am concerned that some people may not turn up for appointments if they are concerned about hygiene control in this location.”
“Some great work goes on around that in my constituency of South Belfast where thought goes into how we get everyone involved — the police, the shops, the schools and all the voluntary organisations — to make life easier for people with dementia and their carers in everything from ensuring ongoing access to services and assistance to designing streets and shops in such a way that they can continue to get out and about and be independent for as long as possible. <BR /> <BR />This is an enormous challenge for us all, but it is one that matters a lot. I support the motion.”
“<BR /> <BR />When we speak of removing stigma, there is also the stigma for carers, or, at least, the sense of not wishing to trouble others with their own sense of living grief. We have to consider that as well. <BR /> <BR />It is something that we all need to be prepared for, given our ageing population and the inevitable increase in the number of us who will have to care for people with dementia. That is why I am keen to support the motion for dementia-friendly neighbourhoods.”
“A lot of carers themselves are elderly and may have health conditions. It is a trying time for people in their retirement years. The Assembly is right to focus on the health service and the broad public services but we must also recognise those broader issues. <BR /> <BR />For people who live with it, dementia brings significant change. That often leads to other difficulties, such as depression, itself quite possibly undiagnosed among those in the early onset stages. For carers, too, it brings a form of living grief. Organisations such at the Alzheimer's Society, Dementia UK and TIDE, which began operating in Northern Ireland in the past year or so, are increasing their work in that area having realised that it is such a vital issue.”
“My father-in-law at one point had six telephones. He just kept taking out a new contract, and then had to keep going back to explain his circumstances. He did not have his full dementia diagnosis at that point, so it was difficult. <BR /> <BR />The next part of the process is recognising and making necessary legal arrangements for power of attorney and suchlike, and all aspects of caring for people with dementia Those can draw little attention but cause the greatest practical difficulties, particularly at the outset. <BR /> <BR />There needs to be awareness of dementia across all sectors, particularly the role played by carers, and in not just caring directly but in managing so many other things, from access to the right healthcare to household administration and finance.”
“The support is there; we just need to connect the dots. <BR /> <BR />We are fortunate in Northern Ireland in that the rates of dementia diagnosis are among the highest and quickest in the UK. However, it remains, perhaps, harder than it should to secure a diagnosis, and the differential between trusts remains a concern. Diagnosis is vital for a host of reasons, not least to gain access to the right treatment and a pathway that can enable people with dementia still to live life to the fullest extent possible. <BR /> <BR />I will add one key point to the motion, from personal experience. The issues for people with dementia and their carers often extend well beyond the health service, and, indeed, well beyond public services, such as entering into telephone contracts accidentally or, via scams, cancelled.”
“That can, to some extent, be the luck of the draw. Some live in tightly bound communities with plenty of neighbours to help out; others are less fortunate. The issue then becomes not just lack of support but lack of knowledge about how to get support. That is why the motion implies a need to raise awareness across the community so that people who develop dementia, and their carers, know that if, sadly, the time comes, that support is there and that we do all we can to avoid people living in isolation. <BR /> <BR />I pay tribute to dementia navigators. I came across a constituent a year and a half ago who was at her wits' end. She was caring for her husband and was very isolated. I told her about the navigators, and a few weeks later, when she telephoned me back, she was a changed woman. She was thrilled with the support that she got.”
“I support the motion. From the strength of feeling I see in the Chamber, I am sure that it will get all-party support. <BR /> <BR />As many have mentioned, a key aspect of the motion is carers. It is estimated by the charity Together in Dementia Every Day (TIDE) <BR />that carers for people living with dementia are, in effect, paid 20p per hour for their work, yet their contribution in the most difficult of circumstances is invaluable to us all. <BR /> <BR />The motion talks about:”
“I appreciate that it was really brought in because of the COVID lockdown. Given the small numbers, are you minded to continue it?”
“I just want to come back to the issue of the Holylands. Minister, you mentioned the house that 35 people came out of: that has been going on since June. House parties have been going on for months and months. Will you bring forward guidance for houses in multiple occupation, given the unique circumstances, where you could have nine people in one house from different parts of the country?”
“Thank you very much for letting us back in, Deputy Speaker. My question relates to the forthcoming health meeting. As MLAs, we have many emails in our in-boxes around waiting lists and delays because of the reconfiguration from COVID. To what degree will you look at an all-island approach to getting those waiting lists down and sharing capacity?”
“The ambition for the all-island memorandum of understanding was that there be greater cooperation and alignment across the island. However, the nature of restrictions reimposed in Belfast versus Dublin is different, the statistical analysis presented by the Chief Medical Officers is different and the communications are different. Can you provide some examples of where the memorandum of understanding is working or has worked?”