Colm Gildernew
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I have been working with Dungannon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will welcome this work, particularly in light of its concerns about vacancy and protecting the retail heart of towns such as Dungannon.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, you said that there has been an improvement. However, recently, there were reports of over 1,400 patients waiting more than 28 days. How will you ensure that trusts consistently meet the targets for suspected cancer appointments in particular?”
“However, the Committee will want to examine carefully how any new or amended powers would operate in practice. Powers relating to information sharing, official warnings, directions, removal from office and disqualification can have significant, long-standing consequences for charities, trustees, staff, volunteers and, indeed, public confi…”
“<BR /> <BR />The regulations are consequential to the uprating order and provide the supporting technical changes needed to ensure that the revised benefit rates operate correctly. The regulations increase the earning limit for carer's allowance from £196 a week to £204 a week.”
“In response to those findings, Minister Hargey introduced the Charities Bill, which was enacted in 2022. The legislation put in place many of the review's priority recommendations in the limited time remaining in that mandate. The Charities (Amendment) Bill represents the next stage of that reform programme.”
“The Committee will wish to explore the implications of those changes, including for organisations operating across jurisdictions or delivering charitable activity in or from the North. Our charity sector includes a diverse range of bodies.”
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“First, I echo Pam's acknowledgement of and wholehearted support for the sector and all those who gave evidence to improve the lives, outcomes and experiences of persons with autism and, importantly, their carers and families. I acknowledge Kerry Boyd's presence here tonight and thank her and her organisation for their work with the Committee. I also thank the National Autistic Society and all the other organisations. <BR /> <BR />The PMB sponsored by Pam, with the support of the all-party group on autism, has done a considerable job in raising issues with the autism strategy, the need for better services and the need to improve how those are delivered. I am grateful for the insight provided by the wide range of groups and organisations that I have met in my role as Sinn Féin health spokesperson.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I will not go into everyone's remarks individually, because I think there has been a high degree of harmony and cooperation on the important issues set out by every Member who has spoken. It is a fantastic example of the Assembly working for people and Members working with people outside the Building to explore difficulties and then do something about them. That is hugely important. In the interests of time, therefore, I will not go into all Members' remarks. I hope that they will forgive me. I will just focus on a couple of issues that struck me as a result of the debate and the work that has gone into the Bill.”
“<BR /> <BR />The only thing that I will say on behalf of Sinn Féin is that the party supports the amendments and the Bill. Sin é. That is it.”
“At times, it has been difficult for Pam, as the Deputy Chair of the Committee as well as the Bill sponsor on behalf of the all-party group. However, she and the Committee managed that process well. I also thank the stakeholders, particularly those who engaged with the Committee throughout the Bill's stages. The guidance and information received were invaluable for the Committee. I thank Committee members for their work on the Bill, which was considered during an extremely busy period. The Committee has come forward with a number of robust recommendations that will strengthen the Bill. I also want to place on record my thanks to the Committee team and the Bill Clerk for supporting members through the scrutiny of the Bill. I commend the Committee's proposed amendments to the Bill.”
“The Committee recommends that the reviewer works closely with the Department's autism forum and is able to use the forum's expertise to inform their work. The Committee envisages the role of the reviewer as being reflective of the whole sector and the reviewer should be independent of any single organisation. The reviewer should engage widely with the sector and directly with people with autism, their parents and carers. <BR /> <BR />I want to thank a number of people, starting with the Bill sponsor, Pam Cameron MLA, and representatives from Autism NI for their engagement with the Committee on the Bill. Pam brought the Bill to the Assembly on behalf of the all-party group on autism, and we thank the all-party group for its advocacy for children and adults with autism.”
“A number of organisations commented on that and, specifically, on ensuring the independence of the reviewer from the Department. <BR /> <BR />The Committee shared the concerns of stakeholders that the Bill would not provide adequate assurance that the role will be independent. Therefore, the Committee agreed to table amendment No 7, which will ensure that the reviewer must not be employed by a Department and will not be subject to the direction or control of a Department. The Committee thinks that that will provide the necessary assurances. <BR /> <BR />The Committee outlines the important role of the reviewer and the need for the reviewer to be able to consult widely, both with the sector and with those diagnosed with autism, their families and carers.”
“The Committee has proposed one amendment to clause 5, which is amendment No 7. Clause 5 amends the Autism Act 2011 by requiring the appointment of an autism reviewer. The Bill sponsor outlined in evidence that she had proposed the appointment of an autism reviewer, with a budget allocation similar to that of the mental health champion but with duties that protect the independence of the post from departmental influence or interference. The Explanatory and Financial Memorandum (EFM) of the Bill outlines that the role of the autism reviewer currently has no comparators. It also outlines that the cost of the non-statutory, mental health champion role, including staff, is estimated at between £300,000 and £500,000 per year.”
“It will be good to hear from the Minister how clause 4 will work in practice and what amendments the Minister is considering bringing forward at Further Consideration Stage, because, while it may be difficult, these are the challenges that need to be faced in order to make improvements in this area of life.”
“The Committee previously highlighted to the Department the difficulty in identifying the total resource that is being allocated to a particular stream as the funding can come from many sources. The Committee outlines that the Department needs to consider how total funding for different streams can be identified and reported. That is essential to allow the money to be tracked to see whether the strategy is effective and how it evolves. The Committee is keen to see how the funding reports will work in practice and, therefore, asked a number of questions of the Department to get some clarity on how it will be implemented and taken forward. A response to those questions was received late last week and indicated that annual funding reports were undeliverable.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee considered how the strategy would specifically address the needs of under-represented groups in both diagnosis and support, including by gender, ethnicity, language and age. The Committee is concerned at the discrepancy in the rates of diagnosis between males and females and is keen to ensure that there is equality of access across all section 75 groups. The Committee agreed that equality of access to assessment, diagnosis and treatment is an area that the reviewer should also consider in their work. <BR /> <BR />There are no Committee amendments to clause 4, which amends the 2011 Act by establishing a new requirement for the Minister to prepare an annual report that sets out information on the funding of autism.”
“<BR /> <BR />Amendment No 5 seeks to highlight that not only is a multidisciplinary approach to autism needed but a cross-departmental approach across Health, Education, Communities and Economy. Each and every Department needs to take autism into consideration. Amendment No 5, therefore, inserts "cross-departmental" into the clause. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 6 seeks to strengthen the Bill by outlining that the autism strategy must set out how consistency of practice will be achieved across areas and trusts when there is evidence of a postcode lottery in waiting times for assessments and services. The amendment also outlines that there should be a consistent approach in education services.”
“The Committee is keen to see a reduction in the waiting times for assessments and agrees that amendment No 4 will provide clarity on the work that the Department and the trusts are undertaking to address the waiting lists. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has tabled two amendments to clause 3: amendment Nos 5 and 6. Clause 3 amends the 2011 Act by inserting a new section on the methodology required for the preparation of the autism strategy. The Committee received evidence that there needed to be regional consistency across trusts in their approach to autism, and that there is a need for an autism strategy to contain hard targets that can be measured to see if the strategy has been successful.”
“We also heard that there are huge differences and discrepancies in waiting times across trusts, which, effectively, has created a postcode lottery. <BR /> <BR />The Committee is concerned that there has been an increase in the number of people who are having to go private to get assessments completed in a timely manner in order to provide the necessary support for children and adults with autism and their families and carers. In effect, that is a very unequal and inequitable system, where those who can afford to pay can get the assessment and those who cannot may not. <BR /> <BR />As I highlighted previously, early intervention is key to providing support and help to those with autism or those who are waiting on assessments. We get better outcomes when early intervention support assessments are carried out at the earliest stage.”
“That is why we felt that it was important to reference physical health. <BR /> <BR />The Committee also agreed on an amendment to include housing in the list. That amendment clarifies that there are different housing options that autistic adults may want to avail themselves of, not just supported living. The amendment is an attempt to widen the scope of the supports that will follow for people's needs. <BR /> <BR />The Committee also agreed on a fourth amendment to clause 2, which provides a statutory duty for the strategy to set out how waiting times for assessment and treatment services will be reduced. We heard evidence during our consideration of the Bill, and in correspondence before its introduction, that waiting times for autism assessments are increasing.”
“Yes, that is relevant. We must provide services to everyone who needs them in a way that is appropriate to their needs. Thank you for that intervention. <BR /> <BR />Clause 2 includes a list of the needs of adults with autism, and, in particular, references their needs in respect of lifelong learning, employment support, recreation, emotional and well-being support and supported living. The Committee has proposed two amendments to clause 2 — amendment Nos 2 and 3 — that add physical health and housing to the list of needs. The Committee agreed that it was important to reference physical health as a particular need for adults with autism. There has been a growing understanding that physical health needs can sometimes be neglected when there are other significant challenges.”
“The Committee agreed that the role of an early intervention service is to intervene at the earliest opportunity, no matter what a person's age. The Committee therefore suggests that early intervention is key to providing support to people and families going through the autism assessment and diagnosis process. <BR /> <BR />The Committee tabled amendment No 1 in order to clarify the role of the early intervention service. The Committee’s amendment places the words "support and" into the clause, which would then read "autism support and early intervention service". The Committee agreed that that provides better clarity on the role, with it being to support all people and their families no matter at what age they have been identified as needing support.”
“The Committee recognises, however, the importance of providing autism training to staff and recommends that the Department of Health and the Department of Education consider mandatory autism training for relevant front-line staff, including trainee teachers, teachers and classroom assistants. That will ensure that training resources are targeted at those who have direct contact with the public and with children and young people. <BR /> <BR />On amendment No 1, the Committee considered the early intervention service. The National Autistic Society had outlined how autistic people are diagnosed at different ages, including in adulthood, and how "early intervention" can imply that it means only young children.”
“The clause will add a number of components to the autism strategy: it must include information on the training on autism that is to be provided to civil servants and staff of all public bodies; it must set out details of an autism early intervention service; it must include information on a new autism information service; and it must include information on the needs of adults with autism. <BR /> <BR />The Committee considered evidence from the National Autistic Society that the Bill should contain a mechanism to make autism training for education staff and health and social care staff mandatory. The Committee considered the proposal but felt that having a duty for mandatory training to be provided for all staff was possibly outside the scope of the Bill.”
“They are experts by experience, and that is what they should be considered to be. <BR /> <BR />The Committee sees great value in co-design and co-production processes that would allow people with autism and their families and carers to play an active role in the design and implementation of the strategy. The Committee recommends that the Department put the necessary processes in place to ensure that voices are heard in the design and implementation phase. The Committee recommends that consultation be an area that the autism reviewer consider and report on. <BR /> <BR />The Committee tabled amendment Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4 to clause 2.”
“<BR /> <BR />No Committee amendments were tabled to clause 1, which seeks to place an additional obligation on the Department to consult not only other Departments but other persons before preparing the autism strategy. It also seeks to place a duty on the Department to request data from trusts on the prevalence of autism in children and adults. <BR /> <BR />In its evidence, the Human Rights Commission outlined the importance of consulting on the strategy, including the need to consult people with autism, parents and carers of children and adults with autism, and representative organisations. The Committee recognises the importance of directly consulting those who are most impacted on and affected when developing strategies. We have referred to that in the past, and it is relevant.”
“It also heard evidence from the Human Rights Commission (HRC), the National Autistic Society (NAS), Ulster University academics, the health and social care trusts and the Department of Health. I place on record my thanks to those organisations for providing the Committee with their views on the Bill. Many of the issues raised in evidence have been reflected in the Committee's amendments, and we thank each and every one of them for their input. <BR /> <BR />As the Bill is relatively short, with five main clauses, I will outline the Committee's consideration of the clauses and provide further information on its proposed amendments to the relevant clauses.”
“Owing to the limited time available before the end of the mandate and its workload with six other Bills, the Committee agreed to issue its call for evidence at the end of July, prior to the Bill's Second Stage. That allowed for a longer consultation period and meant that organisations had sufficient time in which to provide detailed responses to the call for evidence. The Committee received a total of 11 written submissions. I thank all those organisations and individuals that provided written evidence to the Committee. <BR /> <BR />The Committee held a total of four formal evidence sessions on the Bill. It was briefed on two occasions by the Bill sponsor, Pam Cameron, and Kerry from Autism NI, who is present in the Chamber.”
“I also recognise my colleague Cathal Boylan's work on the issue over many years.”
“The purpose of the Bill is, therefore, to amend the Autism Act 2011 to enhance the autism strategy by strengthening the consultation process and collection of data; providing information on autism training for staff of public bodies; setting out details of an autism early-intervention service; providing details of a new autism information service; specifying information on the needs of adults with autism; and requiring the appointment of an autism reviewer. <BR /> <BR />The Autism (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Assembly on 5 July 2021 by the Bill sponsor, Pam Cameron MLA, and was referred to the Committee for Health for consideration on completion of Second Stage on 21 September 2021. I know that many others on the APG have done significant work. Pam has been very generous in emphasising that fact.”
“When the Autism Act 2011 was introduced, its main objective was to enhance the provision of services to, and support for, people with a condition on the autism spectrum. The Act sought to achieve that by amending the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to resolve any ambiguity as to whether the term "disability" applied to autism spectrum conditions. The Act also required the preparation and implementation of an autism strategy. <BR /> <BR />At Second Stage, the Bill sponsor outlined the key issues that the Bill seeks to resolve. Through the work of the all-party group (APG) on autism, a number of issues were identified, including that only one of the three action plans in the autism strategy had been completed, and the absence of any measurable outcomes or targets.”
“A Cheann Comhairle, I will just make my remarks as Chairperson. Even though it is an area in which I am passionately involved, I will forgo making remarks as Sinn Féin's spokesperson for health. I have colleagues here who are also passionately involved in the area and can pick up on those issues. I apologise in advance for the length of my remarks, but they will outline the Committee's consideration, and, therefore, have to be made. Go raibh maith agat mar sin. It is great to see in the Chamber people who have fought and campaigned so arduously on the issue for such a long time. <BR /> <BR />I will give a brief outline of the Committee's scrutiny of the Bill, and then provide further information on each of the Committee's proposed amendments.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I thank the Minister. The Minister's draft Budget clearly and decisively prioritised funding for our health service over the coming three years. Our health service and health workers are under immense pressure. Multi-year budgeting is a key part of and essential to making the structural and transformational changes that are needed and are crucial to protecting our health services. What will the DUP walking away from the Executive mean for the planned transformation of health services?”
“<BR /> <BR />We are supportive of all the amendments in the group. I wish the Minister well. Clearly, he has struggled, and I appreciate the fact that he brought forward this important Bill today. I hope that you get some rest, Minister, and are able to recover before your important role kicks in again.”
“<BR /> <BR />Having said all of that, I hope that the decisions taken today and the Bill as it moves forward will reverberate positively through our community and young people and families — indeed, for the next number of years and down through the generations — to address what we have identified as significant inequalities and disadvantages. I hope that we have played our part in addressing those today. <BR /> <BR />I once again thank all Committee members for their diligence and for their extensive scrutiny of the Bill, and I thank the Committee staff and the Committee Clerk for all their work in facilitating us in that. I thank the Minister and his officials for their engagement on it and, indeed, as mentioned earlier, the Assembly's Engagement team, who were crucial to our work on the Bill.”
“This is a good day for those young people, for parents, for adoptive parents, for carers and for our community. <BR /> <BR />I will strike one note of caution: this work is clearly not completed. It is important and represents a massive step forward, but it is by no means completed. There will be significant complexity in its implementation, and there will be ongoing work for the Assembly and future Health Committees to do in order to oversee, scrutinise and improve how that is done and, as result of the reporting, to review how it is impacting on the ground.”
“<BR /> <BR />I hope that everyone who gave evidence, in particular the young people whom we have mentioned on multiple occasions, because they had multiple impacts on the Bill, see and hear their voice being taken into the Chamber today and reflected in the work that has been done.”
“They are nothing to do with them essentially; they are to do with barriers and challenges that we as a society put in front of them or that were put in front of them in previous times. To me, it is all about how we address and try remedy that situation. Far from those people being weaker, I have found, through my work as a social worker, as a community activist and as an MLA, that, often, they are some of the strongest people in our society. However, at times, they have had insurmountable barriers placed in front of them. That is where the legislation can make a fundamental difference at an earlier stage in the life of a person, parent or family. I commend the Minister for taking it forward and the Committee for working on it in that light.”
“<BR /> <BR />I welcome the Minister's amendments and his and his officials' positive engagement with the Committee on that series of amendments. Amendment No 21 to clause 143 is a particularly good example of the Committee reflecting a genuine concern of the sector, moving to address it and the Department and Minister then moving to see how that concern could be met. That has been done effectively. I welcome the Minister's amendment No 21. There could be merit in a three-year reporting cycle, as you could get a broader look at the impacts. <BR /> <BR />I want to double back on something that I talked about earlier and that was mentioned throughout the debate: the additional challenges and vulnerabilities that the young people and families whom we are talking about have.”
“One of the most interesting and exciting developments in recent years has been the opening up of access to apprenticeships and other forms of training and education for a range of people. The Committee felt that it was important that the Bill reflected those other avenues and created an onus to provide support and reflected the fact that educational achievement is not the only achievement. While educational achievement is hugely important and we all should and must support it, there are lots of ways of achieving results and progressing as a person alongside education, and those need to be at the heart of the Bill. I have no doubt that the Committee will look at any further amendments in the same spirit as we have engaged with the Bill throughout. We will certainly take a look at those.”
“While there is a core duty on the Department of Health, lots of other Departments will have a role and should play that role to the fullest. <BR /> <BR />The Minister said that he understands the motivation behind the Committee's amendment No 15 but feels that it is unnecessary and, perhaps, a duplication. That did not come across strongly to me during our consideration of it. However, I would much rather see an important issue such as that being duplicated than overlooked. We did not hear a lot of detail about how the amendment lacks clarity. With that amendment, the Committee is seeking simply to underline the fact that, at times, there is more to education than just educational achievement.”
“She provided significant background evidence on the additional challenges that they face, particularly in education and training, and said that there needs to be a system of transparency and accountability for them. <BR /> <BR />The Minister addressed amendment Nos 14 and 15. The Committee saw the need to strengthen and underline the issue of promoting children throughout their training and education. The Committee felt that the clause would be usefully strengthened by including the words "facilitate and support", as it seemed to some members that "promote" was nebulous and would not have the same impact as the additional wording. I agree with the Minister that a range of Departments have a part to play in the solution. That is an important point. It will be incumbent on all Departments to provide specific support.”
“He finished by flagging up that we have a duty to ensure that their educational and training journey is supported throughout that part of their life. <BR /> <BR />Paula indicated that she was pleased to see the Bill and that it put the welfare of the child as the paramount issue in all its dealings. That was important. She also raised some issues that she identified that may require further work and improvement. That is a reflection of the fact that the implementation and outworking of the Bill will need to be kept under consideration and that future work will be needed. <BR /> <BR />Nicola Brogan emphasised the needs of young children.”
“Once again, there has been a useful and positive discussion on a number of important amendments. <BR /> <BR />I will start with the comments made by the Deputy Chair of the Committee, Pam Cameron. She outlined the high degree of cooperation and agreement on many of the issues and the fact that that was reflected in the discussions and in the work that was carried out by the Department and the Committee on the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath referenced promoting educational achievement. He underlined how complex the system is, saying that there is not a linear support system and that there needs to be the flexibility to provide whatever support is needed at any given time in order to give our children and young people the best chance in life that we can.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee agreed with the views of stakeholders that a report on the operation of the Children Order 1995 could be an important tool in identifying and addressing issues for looked-after children. I repeat: those children are some of the most vulnerable in our entire system. That was the principle on which we addressed the issue. We therefore agreed to oppose the Question that clause 143 stand part of the Bill. However, at last week's meeting, the Committee considered the Minister's further amendment, which would provide for a three-yearly report to be laid before the Assembly. The Committee welcomes that amendment from the Minister, and we are content to support it; therefore, we will not oppose clause 143. <BR /> <BR />The Committee is content to support the rest of the amendments in the Minister's name.”
“The Committee, therefore, supports the amendment, which clarifies the issue by providing that those services should indeed be independent of the trusts. <BR /> <BR />Moving on to reporting as far as the Children Order is concerned, I will comment on amendment No 21 in the Minister's name, which amends clause 143. Clause 143 removes the statutory duty on the Department to produce on an annual basis a report on the operation of the Children Order 1995. In evidence, the Department outlined its belief that the annual report was no longer needed, as it had been superseded by other reports. However, many of the organisations that provided evidence to the Committee strongly opposed the move to end the duty to lay the annual report.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee recognises that, even though a child may not witness or be present at or, at certain ages, even be aware of domestic abuse, domestic abuse in the home has a significant impact on the children who live in that home. The Committee believes that the definition of harm should be as wide as possible, and we therefore welcome the Minister's amendment to widen it. The Minister advised the Committee that the Children's Commissioner was content with the revised definition. <BR /> <BR />On independent services and amendment No 18, a number of stakeholders suggested that clause 132 be amended to more clearly reflect the fact that advocacy services will be independent of trusts.”
“In written and oral evidence, there was a widespread call from stakeholders to broaden the definition of harm to recognise that children do not need to directly witness harm by sight or sound to be adversely affected. Key children's protection charities such as the NSPCC and Barnardo's recommended that the definition of harm be amended to reflect the fact that a child can be severely adversely impacted by domestic abuse in the home even if they do not see or hear that abuse taking place. The Commissioner for Children and Young People agreed that the provision should not include a condition that requires a child to have witnessed or heard incidents of abuse.”
“The Minister's amendment Nos 19 and 20 are on the definition of "harm". The Committee flagged that issue to the Department early on in order to indicate that we had concerns about the scope of the definition. I thank the Minister for taking on board the concerns of the Committee and the stakeholders and for producing revisions to the definition of harm. <BR /> <BR />Clause 133 amends the definition of harm in the Children Order 1995 to include a child seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another person. As a result, courts, police and trusts will be required to consider the effect on a child of witnessing domestic abuse when making critical decisions about their protection, care or upbringing.”
“The Committee also felt that the term "educational achievement" may feel unattainable for some children and young people and that it may place an unnecessary focus on academic achievement solely. The Committee therefore agreed an amendment that would underline that the purpose of the clause is not solely to do with academic achievement but achievement and development in education and training.”
“VOYPIC expressed the view that the duty should extend to resourcing greater participation in education and extra-curricular opportunities, bearing in mind that some children in care are unable to access the same range of opportunities, such as school trips, involvement in sports teams and participation in the arts and music, as their peers. <BR /> <BR />The Committee welcomes clause 122 and sees it as an important way to highlight the issue and recognise that further work needs to be undertaken to support children and young people who are or have been in care, education and training. The Committee agreed with those who gave evidence that the meaning of "promote" may not be clear. We felt that including the words "facilitate and support" alongside "promote" would provide a better understanding of what the intention of the clause should be.”
“In evidence, this provision was broadly welcomed, but concerns were raised about whether the word "promote" was sufficiently strong, with some using terms such as "woolly" and "weak" to describe it. Some stakeholders advocated a cross-departmental approach to include the Education Authority. The Fostering Network raised concerns that the clause may exclude those currently not in education, employment or training. The Commissioner for Children and Young People agreed that the proposed wording was not sufficiently strong.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Committee on Committee amendment Nos 14 and 15. I will also provide information on the Committee's consideration of the departmental amendments in this grouping. <BR /> <BR />Committee amendment Nos 14 and 15 relate to clause 122, which amends the Children Order 1995 by establishing that the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child looked after by an authority includes a duty to promote the child's educational achievement. Furthermore, it places a duty on authorities to ensure that, so far as is practicable or consistent with the child's welfare, in determining the most appropriate placement for a child, such a placement does not disrupt the child's education or training.”
“<BR /> <BR />I conclude by thanking the Minister and his officials for demonstrating effective working with the Committee on the set of amendments in this group, which have come from either the Committee or the Department, and which we agree with and support across the board.”
“He acknowledged the concerns from his experience and perspective and, again, committed to looking at how those can be dealt with. <BR /> <BR />The Minister outlined the purpose of a lot of the other amendments and acknowledged the Committee's work in that regard, including on data protection issues, which he addressed and on which he provided an assurance to the House. I thank him for that and flag it up as a good example of people working together for the benefit of our community and people. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge what the Minister said about the wording of amendment No 12. We are certainly willing to look at that if a tidy-up is required there. That is a practical thing that we can certainly do.”
“The Minister's remarks at the outset went to the heart of the issue and what this is all about. Despite the complexity, the volume of amendments and the toing and froing, it is about providing support and resources to children who are looked-after or those who have been adopted after being looked-after, so that they can live a happy and fulfilling life. I agree with the Minister on that. <BR /> <BR />The Minister referred to the issue of special guardianship orders and the importance of some of the amendments on that. He acknowledged the purpose of and motivation for the Committee's amendment Nos 3 and 12, and I welcome the fact that he agreed to support those. <BR /> <BR />The Minister touched on the issue of access to information.”