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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“In that case, I shall sit down. Thank you.”
“I apologise for not having had the chance to go through the statement forensically as the Minister knows that I would have liked to have done, but there are a couple of questions to which I would quite like answers if he has the opportunity to do so. <BR /> <BR />Despite the increase of £25 million, much of which will go to restoring part of the issues to do with the skills shortage in Northern Ireland, I note from the ring-fenced resource DEL that there is a reduction of £34·2 million. Again, we have not seen those figures, and we would like to see the reasoning behind them fairly soon. On the second issue, I would particularly like —”
“For that, however, we need appropriate and timely detail, for not just us but, importantly, all the Northern Ireland community, and we need to do that as a matter of urgency.”
“That looks like a variation from baseline of some £232 million. How could that possibly be? Unsurprisingly, however, the 2015 net cash requirement appears, miraculously, to be broadly in line with the other years. I do not understand that, and, Minister, using your experience in the business community, I think that you would probably like to have a close look at that one as well, because I do not understand it. <BR /> <BR />We also have concerns, among others, over support to the universities sector; the promotion of Northern Ireland plc by Invest Northern Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland; and the role of North/South bodies and their efficacy and value for money. I am sure that the Finance Minister will bring a greater rigour to future budgeting and forecasting, and, as an Opposition, we will be providing suitable scrutiny and vigour.”
“What contingency has his Department made to fill the shortfall in the event of a Brexit, and has other work been conducted across all Departments to see how much funding is being expected from EU funding lines and on the impact that a Brexit would have on those programmes? I suggest that we look at those issues fairly urgently. <BR /> <BR />I would also like to look at the Main Estimates for 2016-17 in his Department's resource-to-cash reconciliation, particularly when it looks at depreciation, impairments and revaluations. The 2014 out-turn had a negative variation of about £121 million and a provision of minus £131 million in 2016-17. In the 2015-16 presentations, it was a positive variation of £92 million. In the absence of any form of detailed explanation, can the Minister ask the officials to provide some detail?”
“As an Opposition, we would like to be assured that budgeting and accurate forecasting are now at the core of his Department. Again, I call on the Minister to institute a rigorous annual benchmarking of the delivery of our Government against those of the other regions and the Republic of Ireland so that we, the people of Northern Ireland, can assess whether we have a Government and Civil Service that are actually fit for purpose. <BR /> <BR />In the rather thin Department for the Economy part of the Estimates, I note issues that the Minister and his Department may wish to comment on. One of the most significant is that the Department for the Economy is also the managing authority for the Northern Ireland European social fund (ESF), which has a total value from 2014 to 2020 of £360 million.”
“While I am aware that some of these issues may have been raised before, we have some questions in relation to the presentation of the figures for the overall Budget and, indeed, for the Department for the Economy. Having looked at the Excess Vote, I have to ask how we manage to get the excess of resource expenditure to be close to £16 million or 15·8% out in our 2014-15 spring Supplementary Estimates. While that has been described as a technical accounting issue, I am sure that, in his previous roles, the Finance Minister would have found such a negative variation unacceptable, and we should not find it acceptable either.”
“As we have seen from the plethora of SpAds, inefficiency and quangos and a governing organisation that seems to be significantly overstaffed at some levels for its purpose, we believe that substantial savings can be achieved and passed on, not just to the Department for the Economy but to other Departments. <BR /> <BR />Our Committee and I have yet to see or be briefed on the detail of the in-year budget, spend, resource or cash and have not yet, regrettably, had the opportunity to discuss with the Economy Minister his plans and programmes for the future. I therefore apologise for making these limited observations based on the Statement of Excesses and the Estimates.”
“First, I welcome the Minister to his role. I will speak in my role as the Deputy Chair of the Economy Committee and as the opposition spokesman on the economy. I also extend my good views on his endeavours to achieve some form of control and direction over the Northern Ireland Government's financing, budgeting and forecasting process. May I also say that, having personally worked with you before, we, as an Opposition, look forward to seeing how much you can bring your business perspective to the Department and, hopefully, achieve a much more focused and fit-for-purpose Department and see if you can achieve some much-needed reform? While we may disagree on the degree of austerity that is coming from Whitehall, my party would point to the impenetrable state of our financial processes.”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for his views on Orlando. Will he also outline what he and his Department are planning to do to remove the scourge of paramilitarism and political violence from Northern Ireland?”
“In view of the concerns raised by the Northern Ireland business community, Northern Ireland business organisations and many of the political parties in the Assembly, including his party, will the deputy First Minister be in discussion with his other governmental party about looking closely at what the implications of a Brexit vote may be and what support a Brexit vote may raise? Will he then formally take the opinion and view of the Chamber and, on behalf of all the Government, represent that view to the people of Northern Ireland?”
“I would indeed agree with the Member. I think that anything we can do to reduce waiting lists and improve the flow of patients through the hospital system should be organised as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />I also ask the Minister to pass on my personal thanks to the staff of Antrim Area Hospital who, despite ever-increasing waiting lists, reduced resources and the rest, have actually been very successful in improving the health of my constituents, particularly in South Antrim. I would also like the Minister to pass on my personal thanks to the Northern Health Trust and Antrim Area Hospital for the recent help given to my family.”
“<BR /> <BR />In relation to waiting lists and the key role of the trusts, can we have, and I noticed the Minister mentioned it yesterday, early sight on the thinking of the future of the trusts and any restructuring? As she is probably aware, or should be very aware, there is an enormous issue of morale going on within the National Health Service at the moment and between the trusts. Any comments are likely to add to their uncertainty and may effect the efficiency of the National Health Service and where we go. <BR /> <BR />Finally, a point —”
“I support the motion proposed by our health spokesperson, Jo-Anne Dobson. I want to welcome the Minister and wish her all the best in what must be one of the most difficult appointments in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I have a few small points. First, can we look at comparing our waiting lists of 376,000 and 20% of the population? Can we have a statement on how that compares with the rest of the regions in the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland, Wales and the devolved regions in England, where the National Health Service is doing so well? Can we also have a look at what is happening in the Republic of Ireland? In that way, we would be able to put some context into these horrendous figures and see where we are.”
“I welcome the 2012-2030 document, as it was. One of the key underpinnings of that document, which was a brief protecting the business community at the time, was the continued membership of the United Kingdom within the European Union. Would the Minister care to comment on whether the potential change of Northern Ireland and the UK leaving the European Union would have a significant impact on any future economic strategy?”
“— we could be in a position where all this is moot and all our plans for future economic development would no longer be successful.”
“However, as a transformational point, higher education can make a significant change <BR /> <BR />Finally, in the few seconds that I have left, I point out that this will all be moot if we do not vote to remain in the EU. Come the end of this month —”
“We also need to send the message that the apprenticeship route is not some form of second-class educational approach. Apprenticeships should be valued as much as the degree route. As an Assembly, we should be promoting that view and investing in further education colleges. We are also conscious of the costs of potential additional expenditure. However, we need to ask this question: can we afford not to do this? Can we afford not to invest in our higher education sector as well? <BR /> <BR />I want to talk about issues of regional investment or lack thereof. I will not revisit the opportunity lost by not rebuilding the new Ulster University campus in Londonderry, where it should have been.”
“It is noteworthy that, when collaboration between our universities and industry works, it works well, but there is just not enough of it. There appears to be a marked reluctance to boost this cooperative and mutually beneficial approach. <BR /> <BR />The state of modern apprenticeships is also a concern that should be raised higher up our national risk register — that is, if we even have a national risk register, which we should have. There are shortages in skilled workers in the building sector, so, even if we did need to build a lot of social housing, we would not have the workers to do it. They are already being employed on HS2 and major works in the Northern Powerhouse. That, as well as a shortage of skilled technicians working in the farm and agribusiness sectors, is an impediment to achieving an effective economic strategy.”
“If you do not mind. <BR /> <BR />In the university standings, Manchester is at 56, Edinburgh is at 24, Glasgow is at 76, and Dublin is at 160, and those universities have taken the opportunity to invest in wealth-creating centres. Indeed, from looking at the recent record, you would presume that our universities are seen as a burden rather than an asset. <BR /> <BR />It is also noteworthy that our universities are dropping down and not rising up the global rankings. Northern Ireland no longer has a university in the global top 100. We barely scrape into the top 200. This is a significant problem not just for our reputation but for our competitiveness and attractiveness as a centre for FDI and innovation. However, I am not doing Northern Ireland's university sector down.”
“We do have a brain drain. Mr Stalford was very clear in saying that we seem to have stopped the brain drain, but we have not, and the figures show that to be the case. Indeed, with the level of funding for students in Northern Ireland being £1,000 less than everywhere else in the United Kingdom, we should be looking at it as a matter of disquiet or even disgrace that our Government have stood over a steady reduction in the potential to upskill our workforce while our competitors in Manchester, which sits —”
“One of my major concerns is the considerable underinvestment in our higher and further education sectors. I am an ex-CEO of a major Irish university, and it is an issue that our universities, our business sectors, our unions and I are very acutely aware of. Indeed, to quote the noted academic and commentator Deirdre Heenan of Ulster University:”
“Echoing the words of our fellow leaders of the Opposition, I want to talk about the issues particularly around the idea of skilled jobs. I am not playing Northern Ireland down; this is not a Northern Ireland put-down issue. We need to face some of the realities on the state of our ability to produce highly skilled and highly paid jobs in Northern Ireland. The provision of a skilled workforce and support for greater funding for research and development were issues that we, as an Opposition, wanted to see in a strategy for manufacturing. We wished to see it as a separate strategy because we wanted to see it being the driving force of the future of the Northern Ireland economy and not being frittered away in some form of the Civil Service "at ease" or losing it in what else is going on in the government process as well.”
“I pass on my regards to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, on your elevation. <BR /> <BR />I am sorry that Mr Lyons has left the Chamber because I was going to praise him. One of the strange things with constructive opposition is that we are able to praise areas that have been done well. One of the most interesting things is the growth, particularly in the economy, of companies in the rest of Northern Ireland over the last couple of years. That has been a particularly strong thing. We should also give praise where it is due, such as to the innovative, adaptive and agile companies that have done so much, against the tide of some of the poor business decisions that have been going on in Northern Ireland, and have made a success of themselves. <BR /> <BR />There is one particular area that I would like to focus on.”
“We should be going to the people of Northern Ireland and saying that we should remain in the EU because that is indeed the best place for us in the future and the best place for us to deliver a proper manufacturing strategy.”
“Listening to the clarion calls from the business community and from many of our business-led organisations, one of the most important things that we is see at the moment is a lack of certainty — there is fear about the future; there are concerns about North/South and east-west trade in particular; and there are concerns about what our companies will face in the future. I think it is remarkable that if we look at the parties in the Chamber, the majority of them will support the United Kingdom remaining within the EU, and I would like the Minister to make a statement on behalf of the Government, which includes his party and another party, about that support.”
“To make that happen — it is too important to be delivered just by our government Departments — we would welcome the Minister creating a fully inclusive Northern Ireland strategic manufacturing board, as happens in other areas of the United Kingdom and Europe, to bring together all of the key partners to make it work and to work with our stakeholders to rally to make Northern Ireland one of the best places for manufacturing jobs as we go forward. <BR /> <BR />Before I ask the Minister to respond to our calls for commissioning a proper manufacturing strategy for Northern Ireland, I think we need to address what is probably the biggest single issue affecting the future of business in Northern Ireland. We are currently planning to have a referendum in the United Kingdom on our future membership of the EU.”
“Broadband has, in some parts of Northern Ireland, become a joke and needs to be sorted out. Again, we mentioned a smart grid, and if we are to have a much more flexible and innovative economy, we need to make sure that the fundamentals of that are available. We need proper road links to our major logistical hubs, and we need to do something about the other levels of infrastructure that we have. <BR /> <BR />Penultimately, we need to change the mindset: manufacturing is not in a sunset period. Our 3,820 manufacturers, at any scale, can drive our future. Achieving a 20% manufacturing sector and generating an additional 100,000 jobs is achievable, but only if we put it at the centre of making Northern Ireland work. For that, we need vision, strategy and willingness from us all.”
“<BR /> <BR />We also need to address the skills shortage and investment in higher education and further education, but we need to do it by listening to what our businesses need as well as by promoting our previously mentioned research and development in what we are trying to do. We also need to deal with other business costs, such as sea and air transport, and ask why it is five times more expensive to cross the North Channel than it is to cross the English Channel. It is ridiculous to note that, over a period of 25 years, it would probably be cheaper to build a tunnel under the North Channel than it would be to continue with these high costs. <BR /> <BR />Equally, air passenger duty (APD) is a tax on business and should be addressed urgently. Infrastructure needs to be improved — roads infrastructure, in particular.”
“It needs functioning North/South and east-west interconnectors to connect us to the growing all-island energy market and a regulator that delivers energy on a median all-island cost. We have some of the highest energy costs in Europe, but we need to be able to match others. Most of all, we need to match the energy costs in the Republic of Ireland, which are, in some places, for the major manufacturing companies, 16% to 17% less than ours. We must question how, in an all-island energy market, our Utility Regulation mechanism appears to deliver very little. There are some fundamental questions there that need to be asked.”
“What we can do is closely examine how some of the money is spent on the underperforming quangos around them, of which there is a plethora. We need to divert funds from those and other areas so that we can support a proper Northern Ireland regional development fund, and Europe could be critical in doing this and helping us as we go forward. <BR /> <BR />All of this needs to be backed up by some more practical things. We need to address the high cost of energy for our manufacturing and agribusiness companies. But we must also rate that our energy sector requires considerable investment, with an aging grid that is not capable of dealing with the demands of low-carbon generation.”
“We should retain the 30% cap rate on business rates, for not just the short but the long term. We should also use enterprise zone facilities, which I know the First Minister was not happy with. We need those in areas where Northern Ireland is particularly challenged, and we need to grow in those in what we need to do. <BR /> <BR />We also need to do something about our rather paltry research and development. We currently put only about a third of the UK total of research and development into what we do as we go forward. We need to increase that to the average UK level, and what we are going to call for is a fund of approximately £1 billion over the next 20 years, which needs to be linked to business, universities and industry. However, we are very conscious of making unrealistic demands on an already taut budget.”
“Maybe this could form the basis of an annual health check on all our Departments that would allow the people of Northern Ireland to see how our Government are over- or underperforming. <BR /> <BR />We would also welcome from the Minister a robust championing and defence of a series of pro-manufacturing approaches that would be transformative of our economy, especially around taxation, keeping business rates low, energy costs, maintaining security of supply, extended enterprise zones, improving infrastructure and urgently addressing the shortage of skills that our innovative companies are facing. We suggest that we need a couple of specific measures, in particular, a coherent and stable tax structure built around the 12·5% rate of corporation tax and delivered on time.”
“We, the Opposition, as do Northern Ireland businesses, as represented by the CBI, Manufacturing Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, Unite and other unions — above all by the companies themselves — need to see a proper, joined-up manufacturing strategy that puts backs towards our prosperity and future. <BR /> <BR />We should be setting targets. We should be making 20% of our GDP from manufacturing, rather than the current level of 14%. This should be a hard, measurable target. We should benchmark the success or failure of our manufacturing strategy against other UK regions, such as Scotland, which is, of course, where the Programme for Government framework is sourced from, Wales and the Northern Powerhouse and against the Republic of Ireland.”
“We cannot just rely on the current structure, which has not shown the innovation, adaptability and agility that has been shown in other regions of the United Kingdom — for instance, in the Northern Powerhouse around Manchester — or even in the Republic of Ireland. <BR /> <BR />It is disappointing that, in the draft Programme for Government framework, which has three outcomes, 10 indicators and 11 measures all about the economy, there are no real specific ideas for building this new economy. It is also concerning, after we have fought hard to achieve the introduction of a lower rate of corporation tax at 12·5%, that this central idea is not even mentioned in outcome 1, where the draft Programme for Government talks about how we can prosper through a:”
“<BR /> <BR />It is good to see that a Department for the Economy has been created — a long-standing objective of our party — a Department that should be the driving force for Northern Ireland going forward. The need has never been greater, with our economy growing at a less than impressive gross valued added (GVA) level over the years from 2010 to 2014 of 10·2%, when the UK average was 16%. Indeed, Northern Ireland has the lowest GVA growth of any UK region, and it is considerably less than the Republic of Ireland. If we look further back, to 2009, we find that, while the UK's GDP as a whole has increased by 13·9%, that of Northern Ireland has grown by only 3·1%, which, as I am sure the Minister would agree, is a very poor outcome. <BR /> <BR />What are we going to do about it?”
“Overall, we welcome the Minister's appointment, and we, as the Opposition, will offer constructive and supportive scrutiny to help build an effective strategy for our manufacturing sector. What we want is to see how we can grow it from its present level over the next 10 years. As you are well aware, manufacturing generates annual sales approaching £20 billion, directly employs 85,000, supports production and the employment of over 214,000 in the wider supply chain and creates well-paid jobs and strong communities in every constituency across Northern Ireland. We will provide constructive support for the Minister, providing that policies are put in place to create a shift from a public-sector-led to a strong, stable and flexible private sector economy that has Northern Ireland manufacturing at its core.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, and, just for the record and so that my mother will not be upset about it, it is Mr Stephen Aiken. I do not think that I have been called Stevie for a very long time. <BR /> <BR />In moving the motion in this Assembly calling on the Minister for the Economy to commission a manufacturing strategy for Northern Ireland, the first thing that I would like to say is that this is a historic occasion, because we believe that this is the first official Opposition debate in this Chamber since 1972.”
“Yes, I am willing to take up the office to which I have been nominated.”