Steve Aiken
South Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, as well as the move to reduce the cost to the Assembly of vacant non-domestic properties and to increase liability so that we will not have so many vacant properties, you will be aware of the Dilapidation Bill and of the conversations that have been taking place in Wales and Scotland about…”
“Instead, that most dysfunctional Department, under the most inept Sinn Féin Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a series of grossly over-superannuated permanent secretaries, gave the money back.”
“We know that her Department spends more on legal cases, fighting judicial reviews and being chastised by judges for legal ineptitude and on vesting land and ripping out hedges and fencing and then trying to unvest it and paying even more money to put back the fences and hedges that it took out.”
“We can hardly blame the current permanent secretary, as she has just taken up her post, but, surely, her predecessors must bear some accountability or responsibility, especially considering the senior civil servants' salary scale of between £146,000 and £163,000, with, of course, their taxpayer-funded pension contribution of 34·2% — £218,…”
“It must be said that £181·3 million is a lot of taxpayers' hard-earned money. It is money that is raised from local commuters, vehicle owners, farmers, local businesses, logistics companies and, above all, our constituents — those vital people whom we are elected to represent.”
“The Minister will be aware that, under the public appointments guide published by the Executive Office, it is clear that she is supposed to take independent advice before appointing board members. What independent advice did she receive, particularly about the board members selected?”
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“On behalf of the Finance Committee, I thank the Minister for his opening remarks on the Supply resolutions relating to the spring Supplementary Estimates and the Vote on Account. The Minister's officials have kindly provided written and oral explanations of the Estimates and the Vote on Account at a number of Finance Committee meetings. On behalf of the Committee, I thank him for this and express the hope that these useful engagements will continue in a spirit of cooperation, as indeed they have done, for the remainder of this mandate. <BR /> <BR />The Committee finds these exchanges with officials most instructive. In fact, members learn something brand new every time officials come to speak to us.”
“— where things will get progressively worse.”
“We will have no say in over 60% of the legislation that will come to Northern Ireland, and yet here we are, tinkering around the edges and somehow believing that more protocol is the solution. In fact, the protocol is the problem. The sooner we recognise that the protocol is the problem, the sooner we can move on and improve the situation. <BR /> <BR />I have not heard anybody in the Assembly say that the Irish Sea border is in any way a good thing. I have not heard anybody in Northern Ireland say that the Irish Sea border is helping Northern Ireland. I regret to say that we are now in a situation —”
“The fact that it was not a particularly polite reply and that it reminded me of your position and how facile you thought mine was is neither here nor there. There was no response from the SDLP, the Alliance Party or the DUP. <BR /> <BR />What we are dealing with right now — 54 days in — is a significant problem that is getting worse every day. In the next couple of weeks, we will have to deal with more and more implications. We in the Assembly will be presented with legislation that will be enacted in Northern Ireland that we have no say in whatsoever. We will not be able to amend it; we will hardly be able to scrutinise it. The Examiner of Statutory Rules will bring things before us that she has absolutely no say in whatsoever. I have written to the Attorney General in an attempt to get some clarity on the legality of that.”
“I must say thank you to Sinn Féin, as it was the only party that bothered to reply to me.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The Member will have no problems whatsoever, as someone who believed very strongly that we should have remained, with the major implication being that the damage has been done, but that is past. The issue that we now have to deal with is the Irish Sea border and the implications that that has for Northern Ireland, and for every single one of us, our companies and our consumers. <BR /> <BR />As you said, you are looking for particular solutions, and you mentioned other parties. I have to remind the Assembly that, as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, I have written to all the other parties on several occasions. Over the past couple of years, when the Executive was in position, I asked them to join together to take a combined approach to make sure we would not have something like the Irish Sea border.”
“Might I remind everyone that Northern Ireland is, or was, a fully integrated, interdependent and interconnected part of the United Kingdom. The entire Northern Ireland market — manufacturing, logistics, agribusiness and the rest — is based on what some of us knew in the past as a circular trade. Members will have heard me say in the Assembly many times, as the ex-chief executive of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, that the billion euros a week worth of trade North/South and east-west was, in fact, a fully circular trade. That circular trade has been fundamentally damaged by the Irish Sea border and the Northern Ireland/Ireland protocol.”
“How can bringing across bare-root trees to Northern Ireland possibly be interfering with the European market of half a billion people? <BR /> <BR />It has been 54 days since the protocol was introduced. Yesterday, export health certificates came in for the first time. I want to read into the record the remarks made by Richard Ramsey, the well-respected Ulster Bank economist. He said:”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing the motion to the Assembly today and the SDLP for tabling its amendment. It has taken quite a long time, but I am glad to see that they recognise the importance of both North/South and east-west trade. My party has said for three years that we need to get an arrangement that works so that we can have frictionless trade North/South and east-west. Here is the reality: the Northern Ireland GDP and market represents 0·02% of the combined markets of the United Kingdom and the European Union. If ever there was a place to put into practice the importance of no borders North/South or east-west, it was here, in order to demonstrate a commitment to the future of Northern Ireland and a proper commitment to the Belfast Agreement.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Just for the record to be correct, we should acknowledge the fact that the European Union invoked article 16. That is a matter of record.”
“I thank the Minister very much for giving way. Does the Minister agree that the protocol is the problem, not in any way the solution?”
“We want the fiscal council to be put in a legislative framework as quickly as possible so that it is in statute in order to guarantee its independence. Will the Minister outline how he sees the relationship developing, particularly around the Procurement Board that he chairs, the independent board on infrastructure and other independent oversight boards that are being looked at?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for her comments so far. Did Maroš Šefcovic give any indication that he was listening to the very legitimate concerns of the people of Northern Ireland, particularly those of the unionist community, about the very invidious and divisive nature of the Irish Sea border and the fact that the protocol is part of the problem, not part of the solution?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I declare an interest, as one of my daughters will be going through the transfer test procedure, if it goes ahead, later this year. <BR /> <BR />Minister, we have been pushing hard for transfer tests to take place in the primary school setting. Are you having any engagement directly to see whether that can take place?”
“The Minister may not be aware, but, this morning, Maroš Šefcovic said that he will meet Northern Ireland businesses and civil society on Thursday of this week. Does the Minister think it discourteous, to say the least, that he is not listening to political unionism, in our steadfast opposition to this very unequal Northern Ireland protocol?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he join me and other Members from South Antrim in having discussions with No-ARC21 so that he can further inform himself about the serious issues involved? We will be delighted to facilitate that with him.”
“I thank the Minister and welcome him to his position. Not so long ago in this very Assembly, the Minister was standing in for Minister Poots and we had a question about aquaculture and issues to do with the importation of fish. The Minister, at that meeting, stated that there were no issues to be concerned about. Is he aware of the concerns that eel fisheries currently have about the importation of elvers to restock Lough Neagh and the implications of not being able to import them from the River Severn, which will have a significant effect?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. So far, the debate has been discussed in good terms and with good terminology. I ask the Member to apologise to the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee. Throughout the process, he has tried — indeed, all members of the Committee from all parties have tried to do this — to give the Bill a fair wind as it goes through. So far and up until now, the debate was going in the right direction. I would be delighted if you could find it within yourself, as, I know, you can, to forgive the Deputy Chair.”
“There is, very definitely, a need for legislation, and I encourage all parties in the Assembly to realise that the credibility problem that the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive have, and the very process of democracy in Northern Ireland, mean that the safeguards that exist in other areas cannot apply here. We need the appropriateness of legislative force behind what we do. The Ulster Unionist Party fully supports the Bill.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we worked our way through our evidence sessions, it became quite clear that there seemed to be a reluctance on the part of the Department of Finance and the Executive to make the changes that were needed. Indeed, we had the rather unedifying experience of being given evidence by senior officials in the Department of Finance who told us how guidelines were much more appropriate and that discussions had been held during the New Decade, New Approach negotiations. I was involved in those negotiations, which bore no relation whatsoever to what those discussions eventually became. At the same time, our Committee had to consider potentially compelling the Minister and the Department to give us the information that we sought.”
“I thank the organisations and individuals who provided evidence to the Committee in order to enable members to scrutinise the Bill and help to shape what is before us today. <BR /> <BR />That concludes my remarks as Chairperson of the Committee for Finance. I will now make a few short remarks as the Ulster Unionist Party finance spokesman and party leader. The Ulster Unionist Party supports the Bill, but we approached it in the beginning with an open mind because we believed that, as part of the discussions that led up to New Decade, New Approach, we would be in a position where significant reform would be brought forward by the Executive on how the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive are run.”
“<BR /> <BR />I take this opportunity to reinforce that recommendation and to urge the First Minister and the deputy First Minister to accept and make a commitment to follow through on the Committee's recommendation. I also ask colleagues in the Committee for the Executive Office to read the relevant section in the Committee's report and to take steps to help to ensure that we achieve a position where the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments can truly be considered to be independent. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I thank the Committee staff for their work in supporting the Committee through its consideration of the Bill in these extraordinary circumstances. I thank the Bill Clerk, Claire McCanny, for her advice to the Committee and the RaISe researchers for their first-rate work and support in preparing papers and presentations.”
“Ms Huston informed the Committee that, during her time as commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments failed all those tests. As I said, the Committee considered tabling an amendment to the Bill to address that. However, given the complexity of the issue, the amount of time that would have been required to take sufficient evidence and the lack of time to address the matter during the Committee Stage, the Committee agreed to make a recommendation in its report to ask the First Minister and the deputy First Minister to make legislative provision to bring the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments up to international standards.”
“The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments was established though prerogative order rather than legislation. The commissioner had no control over the budget and could not appoint her own staff but had to rely on civil servants who were seconded into the office. She had an auditor appointed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service and could not take independent legal advice. She was based in Castle Buildings, which was confusing, considering that the role is that of an independent regulator but sits in a central position in the structure of government. <BR /> <BR />The International Ombudsman Association has a set of standards to recognise and assess the independence of an ombudsman, that is, a regulator or an entity that deals with complaints.”
“Following an evidence session from the former Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, Ms Felicity Huston, the Committee for Finance considered tabling an amendment to the Bill in order to strengthen the independence of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. <BR /> <BR />As commissioner, Ms Huston had extensive experience of the problems of working in an area of guidance rather than legislation. The Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland is appointed under section 23(3) of the Northern Ireland Order 1998, which runs to three pages and one schedule. Ms Huston's view was that the order is vague, provides very few powers and does not clearly lay out what the independent nature of the post means in practice.”
“During its deliberations, the Committee noted that a large amount of normal, innocent and practical Civil Service business might have fallen within the provisions of the Bill as originally drafted. That would, undoubtedly, have created difficulties for civil servants in their legitimate roles. The Bill's sponsor agreed to amendments to tighten the proposals, and further amendments were tabled by the Department to refine those clauses. <BR /> <BR />Once it receives Royal Assent, the Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill will lend itself to further amendments on any aspect of the functioning of government in Northern Ireland.”
“The power of the Commissioner for Standards to compel witnesses and documents under clause 5 is an important provision that does not exist under the proposed approach in NDNA. The provision will bring Ministers under the same complaints procedures as other MLAs and ensure that Ministers and all MLAs being investigated for similar alleged breaches are subject to the same complaints procedures. Clause 5 will also provide for the NDNA proposal to be implemented in a way that is seen to be open and transparent. <BR /> <BR />Clauses 6 and 7 relate to the requirement to keep accurate written records of meetings. Although the clauses as amended differ significantly from those considered at Committee Stage, the principles remain the same.”
“The introduction of the affirmative resolution procedure to require the First Minister and deputy First Minister to seek the consent of the House when they intend to appoint a person to provide specialist support is very much in the public interest. It is a proportionate response that will ensure proper accountability and increase transparency by making the public aware of proposals to make such appointments. <BR /> <BR />Clause 5, which would extend the powers of the Commissioner for Standards to investigate and report on complaints against Ministers, represents a strengthening not only of current arrangements but of the arrangements proposed in 'New Decade, New Approach' (NDNA).”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee considered in some detail the provisions to reduce the number of special advisers in the Executive Office. It has been recent practice for six special advisers to be appointed to the Executive Office, and the Committee came to the view that that is the appropriate number. In removing the facility for junior Ministers to appoint special advisers, clause 2 will achieve what the Committee sought to accomplish in limiting the number of special advisers in the Executive Office to six. <BR /> <BR />Clause 3 was considered one of the less contentious provisions during the Committee's deliberations.”
“I welcome the steps taken by the Bill sponsor to amend the Bill to address those concerns and the amendments proposed by the Department of Finance to refine the clause. <BR /> <BR />The provision in clause 1 to restrict the remuneration of special advisers to that applicable to an assistant secretary in the Senior Civil Service pay structure is important. Under current arrangements, the salaries of special advisers, unlike other civil servants, are not subject to any formal procedures and can be easily raised without explanation or justification. It is important to ensure that salaries are adequate to attract an appropriate pool of suitably qualified and experienced candidates without overcompensating postholders for the work that they do. The provision does precisely that.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee gave detailed consideration to the provision in clause 1 bringing special advisers under the Northern Ireland Civil Service disciplinary process. The Committee supported the Department's view that the inclusion of a provision to preclude ministerial involvement in the disciplinary process, which was included in the Bill as originally drafted, was not compatible with the position that a Minister is responsible for the conduct and discipline of their special adviser. It was accepted that the nature of the relationship would require ministerial involvement in the disciplinary process but that the prevention of ministerial interference, as referenced in the original and current drafts of the Bill, would not be acceptable.”
“I wish to draw attention to clauses in the Bill in which the Committee took a particular interest. Not the least of those was clause 1. Clause 1 would amend the Civil Service (Special Advisers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 and, in doing so, includes a number of important provisions. The Committee supported the provision to restrict the facility to have a hierarchy of special advisers to the Executive Office. It was noted that the provision would still permit a hierarchy of special advisers within the Executive Office, and that was considered appropriate. Importantly, the provision also precludes the management of one special adviser over other special advisers in other Departments.”
“We considered, debated and commented on the provisions of the Bill in detail, and, as a result, the Bill's sponsor was amenable to suggested amendments to help support the Committee's position on the Bill's provisions. Subsequently, following the Department's acquiescence to refining the Bill with appropriate technical amendments, we have before us at Final Stage a Bill that will help to improve openness, transparency and accountability and will, I hope, help to enhance and improve the public's confidence in these institutions.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although significant changes were made to the Bill as it passed through the Committee and the House, the general principles remain largely intact, and most of the provisions that the Bill's sponsor sought to introduce and which were supported by the Committee are evident in the Bill that is before us today. <BR /> <BR />At Second Stage, I informed the House that the Committee for Finance did not want to form a view on the general principles of the Bill at that time. I can now inform the House that the Committee, following its detailed scrutiny at Committee Stage, supports the general principles and the majority of the policy objectives that the Bill seeks to achieve. <BR /> <BR />The Committee responded to evidence from a range of witnesses.”
“There was extensive discussion in the Committee, and members on both sides of the debate considered a significant amount of evidence on whether legislation was needed or whether codes and guidance would be sufficient to address the issues of concern. <BR /> <BR />Having considered the evidence in detail, the Committee came to the view that, as guidance had not been followed in the past, there was now a need to legislate to ensure that issues similar to those that led to the collapse of the Executive did not arise in the future and to facilitate the House to move towards a position where public confidence in these institutions was assured. That is the key commentary: where public confidence in these institutions is assured.”
“Thank you very much indeed, Mr Allister, for bringing the Bill to the House. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, the Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was introduced in the Assembly on 3 February 2020. I apologise that we have extensive notes and discussions to relay, so please grant me some indulgence as we go through them. <BR /> <BR />Today's Final Stage marks the end of a year during which the Bill underwent detailed scrutiny in the Committee for Finance and in the Chamber in circumstances that none of us could have predicted a year ago. I acknowledge that there was no consensus in the Committee on the need for the Bill or on the view that legislation was needed in this area.”
“I join everybody else in welcoming the Minister to his new post. Earlier today, we wished Edwin and his family all the best, and I echo that. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, being new to the post, you have not had an opportunity to talk to the vets and the veterinary scientists on the other side of our nation, but in the 32 days since the protocol has been in place, have there been any indications at all from any of the veterinary authorities that anything has changed between the standards that we had at the end of December and the standards that we have right now?”
“Then we can spend the next two to three months renegotiating, with the people of Northern Ireland at the table and the elected representatives from our Executive being full and equal partners in those discussions to make sure that we get those derogations across the line because, no matter what we say, we have to move on from this issue.”
“<BR /> <BR />I understand that the vice president of the European Union and Michael Gove will this week be meeting the First Minister and deputy First Minister to talk about derogations, and the EU Commission has recognised that there are some significant issues. It talks about a reset. We have put down a framework for that reset, and the way to do that is to make sure that the protocol does not completely undermine and trash the Northern Ireland economy, which, quite frankly, it is beginning to do. We need to do something about that, and the easiest way to do that is to invoke article 16 and look carefully at annex 7.”
“However, there is an issue here, and you are quite right, Mr Speaker, that we need to be very careful with the language that we use. The issue here is with the Northern Ireland protocol. Yesterday, the Ulster Unionist Party put forward very sensible solutions to try to deal with the situation in order to reduce tensions so that we do not have these issues of rising anger from people across Northern Ireland on everything from seeds to the movement of armed forces. Somewhere in the region of 2,500 pieces of legislation will be imposed upon us in this Assembly that we will have absolutely no say in whatsoever.”
“One of the reasons why we believe strongly in being British and in being in the Union is that we abide by the rule of law and, indeed, we ensure that we do not accept threats, no matter where they happen to be. The Ulster Unionist Party completely condemns any attacks on workers. Any attempt to stop people going to their work is unacceptable.”
“I thank Mr Dickson for bringing the matter to the House. I join others in sending my best wishes to Edwin Poots. Having been in a similar situation to his and Mr Dickson's in the past, I know that he has a long journey ahead. I also send my best wishes to Gordon Lyons and Gary Middleton as they assume their duties. <BR /> <BR />As leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, I condemn wholeheartedly the graffiti daubed on Stephen Farry's office and, indeed, I understand, on the office of Kellie Armstrong, and the threat against William Irwin. There is no rule anywhere in Northern Ireland that says that politicians should be threatened in any way. It undermines the democratic process.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. May I speak for all Members and say that we think that the graffiti on that building was disrespectful and disgusting? I do not think that any political party in Northern Ireland is supportive of it. Please, can we ensure that that is in Hansard as well?”
“We cannot do that at the moment because, quite frankly, the EU has shown that the best interests of Northern Ireland are not at its heart, and I am not overly sure that Boris Johnson has the best interests of Northern Ireland at his heart either. <BR /> <BR />We need to be at that table.”
“If we call article 16, as I hope the Prime Minister does, we have an opportunity for reflection and discussion. <BR /> <BR />Here is the significant issue: there is no Northern Ireland voice at the table. We can attend and sit as observers, but we are not treated as equals with the British Government or the Europeans. That has to change. Indeed, when the vice president of the European Commission says that we need to have a "reset", we should do that; we should call article 16 and take a considerable time in reflection to sort this out. However, the Assembly and the parties of the Northern Ireland Executive should have a seat at that table to be able to make those decisions.”
“It is quite clear that the Northern Ireland protocol is none of those things. It was designed specifically to deal with the North/South issue, but it has created an east-west one. Northern Ireland is fully integrated, interconnected and interdependent with the rest of our nation, despite what some people may think, and, therefore, we are now in a situation where, day in, day out, our economy, society, culture and virtually every aspect of Northern Ireland life are being impacted. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Unionist Party has said, for a considerable period, that article 16 should be there, and it should be used. If we look rationally and calmly at annex 7, we see what should have happened but, in fact, did not. We can see now that there is an opportunity here.”
“I commend the Member for North Antrim for bringing this Matter of the Day to the Floor. I will use calm and particularly moderate language. Bear in mind the number of times that I have raised, in the Assembly, the issue of us all working together to make sure that there are appropriate derogations. I have said that the protocol, if it ever came into position, should not be designed to damage the Northern Ireland economy, which, quite frankly, it is. <BR /> <BR />No Member of the Assembly is unaware of the impacts on our economy. There are very many areas that need to be derogated. Indeed, so much of the protocol needs to be derogated that you have to ask, as you normally do when you look at an international treaty, whether it is, in fact, rational, responsible and proportionate.”
“I thank the Minister for her answers so far and my honourable friend for North Antrim for his questions. There is indeed a question of base load capacity in Northern Ireland that needs to be identified, but, under the Northern Ireland protocol, there are significant issues with the integrated single electricity market (I-SEM) and the use of electricity trading, particularly across the east-west links. Can the Minister explain to us what discussions she has had, particularly with Michael Gove, about there being an equitable use of the east-west interconnection process to make sure that we are not over-reliant on just a North/South connection or very limited base load capacity in Northern Ireland?”
“Thank you very much, and I thank the Deputy Chair of the Committee for his remarks —”
“Can the Minister advise, therefore, if there is a problem with the management of Civil Service sick leave and annual leave?”