Deirdre Hargey
South Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“His double standards, including his condemnation of and opposition to equality and rights for our LGBTQ+ citizens, have caused real harm to others. The revelations about his double life expose the staggering hypocrisy of the DUP's moral facade. We need to know whether failing to act sooner left more vulnerable people at risk.”
“One week ago today, Jeffrey Donaldson was found guilty of 18 child sexual offences, including rape. That conviction was made possible only by the strength and resilience of the two victims who came forward and reported the abuse. Donaldson was an abuser. He abused children, but he also abused his position in politics and faith.”
“They now say that they knew about his behaviour, but, crucially, they did nothing to expose his inappropriate hypocrisy and double life. The 'Spotlight' programme and other reports have shown that senior members of the DUP — its most senior figures, including the then leader, Edwin Poots — were aware of serious issues and allegations abou…”
“It is therefore not credible to suggest that the intelligence agencies were blind to his compromised double standards and double life. <BR /> <BR />Those questions demand answers from the DUP leadership. They demand answers in the House from the deputy First Minister, who was closely associated with Donaldson.”
“It is clear that there is a huge disconnect between Whitehall and the reality that is being felt by people on the ground. A British Treasury policy that is managing decay, real-terms cuts and disastrous policy decisions such as Brexit or the funding of wars over public services comes on top of existing disparities between how public servi…”
“The answer is not the short-term fixes or cash injections that we have had in the past, which have allowed for the repeated Treasury script of record settlements and inability of the Executive to manage their finances — scripts that are often parroted in the Chamber.”
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“I will respond to some of the comments that were made. As regards the delay, I do not want to be in this position. The reason that I attempted initially to take it through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was that that had been identified as the quickest route. At the last minute, that was changed because of the scheduling at Westminster, which threw us into the situation that we are in now. That is hugely unfortunate. I make no excuses for that. We are now trying to progress it as quickly as possible. I thank everybody in the Chamber for the fact that, even with the negotiation outside, we were able to agree to accelerated passage to get this done. <BR /> <BR />I have been working with councils. It is not as though councils and NILGA have just been left.”
“We are trying to ensure that there is flexibility and that we can work with councils so that, of course, we are still managing risk, but that we do not constrain them so much that they cannot respond to the new needs that may emerge as a result of the pandemic. We know that there are new economic and social needs to which councils will have to respond. There will be a Consideration Stage, and amendments may be tabled then. There will also be discussion at the Committee on Thursday, when the Bill will be an extra item on the agenda.”
“I thank the Committee Chair, the Committee and all Members who have spoken here today. If the legislation, in whichever iteration, is passed, it will ensure that councils are afforded the best opportunity to function fully in order to deliver important services and to continue to work on recovery over the next few years. Everyone recognises that, once the virus is gone, councils will not just go back to the position that they were in January 2020. There will be ongoing issues.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, clause 5 will create an enabling power to allow subordinate legislation to be introduced to modify council performance and improvement duties for 2021-22 and 2022-23, should they be necessary due to the potential future impacts of the pandemic. My officials will continue to engage with local government on any changes to the performance improvement arrangements that should be put in place over the next few years. <BR /> <BR />I am happy to deal with any other points of principle that Members may have on the Bill.”
“Section 95 of the 2014 Act already provides that the Department, in consultation with the local government auditor, must determine the councils for which the auditor will issue an audit assessment report each year. Therefore, the amendment to sections 93 and 94 will bring those sections into line and provide the same flexibility to the approach as is already included in section 95. <BR /> <BR />Clause 4 will regularise my decision to set aside the relevant performance duties for 2020-21. As you will recall, those were set aside to allow councils to concentrate on delivering essential services at the height of the pandemic.”
“In addition, information that generally has to be made available at council offices will be made publicly available on council websites. That will apply to councils and council meetings, including committee or subcommittee meetings, executive meetings and meetings of joint committees of two or more councils. <BR /> <BR />As I said, clause 2 provides an enabling power to extend that further, but I have already stated that I will remove that clause. <BR /> <BR />Clause 3 will amend sections 93, 94 and 95 of Part 12 of the Local Government Act 2014 in relation to performance improvement. The amendment will allow the Department to determine annually, after consultation with the local government auditor, the councils for which a section 93 audit or section 94 assessment must be completed.”
“The explanatory and financial memorandum (EFM) published alongside the Bill provides a detailed explanation of the Bill, but I will briefly outline some of the main impacts of the five substantive clauses. <BR /> <BR />Clause 1 will extend provisions in respect of remote meetings beyond 6 May 2021. It will ensure that the Local Government (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of District Council Meetings) Regulations (NI) 2020, made under the Coronavirus Act, will continue to have effect until the expiry date of the Coronavirus Act in March 2022. That will enable district councils to hold remote meetings, including by telephone conferencing, videoconferencing, live webcast and interactive streaming. That will allow for remote access to council meetings by members of the public.”
“That allowed councils to concentrate on switching to providing essential services and supporting communities during the pandemic and to take on, it must be said, extra responsibilities in working with central government around food distribution and other measures around supporting businesses. <BR /> <BR />It may be useful to spend a few minutes talking about the detail of the scope of the Bill. As I have referenced, the sole focus of the Bill is to create local government legislation in the areas of remote meetings and performance improvement, which have been impacted by the pandemic. The Bill contains five substantive clauses and two technical clauses.”
“That has been reiterated not just by NILGA but by councils and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE). We have received numerous representations to that effect, as, I know, individual Members have. <BR /> <BR />I turn to the local government performance improvement arrangements. The Local Government Act 2014 places duties on councils in respect of performance improvement, and, as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 emergency and restrictions, concerns were raised by the local government sector about the difficulties that councils would face in delivering performance improvement duties in 2021-22 and, potentially, in subsequent years. As a result of those concerns and to provide councils with some initial relief, I agreed to set aside a number of performance improvement duties for the 2020-21 year.”
“The meetings regulations make provision to enable councils to hold meetings remotely and make provisions about remote access to such meetings, including access by the public. However, section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 contained a restriction that meant that the regulations would cease to have effect on 6 May 2021. As I have just stated, prior to that, we had hoped that the extension could proceed through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but, at the last moment, due to Westminster timetabling of legislation, that was changed, and that left us in the predicament of having to move it through in this manner and under urgent procedure. <BR /> <BR />Although the COVID situation is improving, it is considered prudent to extend the provisions to allow remote meetings to take place.”
“We seek the legislative extension because of the impact of the pandemic and its continued impact on local government and the delivery of services. The Bill is necessary for the local government legislation that is required as a direct consequence of that. The Bill includes provisions relating to two areas: remote meetings of councils and local government performance improvement and arrangements. <BR /> <BR />On remote meetings, in April last year, we moved to extend the legislation to ensure that remote meetings could take place and that local government could continue its business, particularly in responding to the pandemic and working with the Department on the ground.”
“That presented us with the challenge that we needed to move the Bill forward ourselves. We have tried to do that at pace, with interim solutions being put in place and through working with councils. I am glad that we are at this point, so that we can progress to the next stage of the Bill.”
“We had a break in between, so, if I forget somebody's questions, I apologise. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, accelerated passage is not the normal way. The demonstration earlier, with the Bill being received at the last minute, shows that. However, it is necessary in the circumstances because we need to extend the legislation. I know that all Members appreciate that and want to allow local government to do its business with the restrictions still in place but without hindrance. <BR /> <BR />I have already given the reasons for that delay in the Chamber. Initially, legislation was to be made by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister at Westminster, but, at the very last moment, that was pulled because the timetabling at Westminster would not allow for it.”
“I have the legislation ready, as I presented to the Committee last Thursday. The regulations are ready as well. I have had the paper in with the Executive, and I am waiting for it to be placed on the agenda to be agreed. I have already said that I am ready and willing. It could be done over the summer. It would take a six-week period, all in, for the regulations to close those loopholes to be made. That cannot be shortened; it has to proceed in that way. From my end, everything is ready to go. Once it gets approval, the SR1 form will be given to the Committee. The Committee is ready and willing, even if it means working over the summer, to get this progressed without delay.”
“<BR /> <BR />There have been proactive discussions with the Department of Health to try to make sure that it can do what it needs to do at its end so that we can move to an in-house model. I am trying to work with it as quickly as possible to do that; indeed, we are doing more than that. I have started to in-house the audit function, which will come back into the Department from August. We are also trying to in-house many of the assessments for which further medical evidence is not needed; indeed, we have already started to in-house 25% of them. We need to go much further, and working with Health will be critical over the next period.”
“There was an extension that the Chamber already knew about. Because of the impact of the pandemic last year, the existing contract was extended until July 2023. As I said, my intention is to in-house the process as quickly as possible. The clear answer is that we are not able to do that right away, because we need the support of the Department of Health. <BR /> <BR />The model that is being used in Scotland is one in which work is done with local health trusts to get the medical evidence at an early stage. I agree that the more we can front-load the system and get all the evidence presented to decision makers, the quicker we will get decisions that hopefully will not end up being appealed. The difficulty is that we are not getting that information. It is not coming in quickly enough, and we know the issues with GP surgeries, for example.”
“I am trying to set up a forum so that we can start a more proactive engagement and embed a rights-based approach at the heart of social security.”
“PIP was introduced, and there has been criticism of it. There have been two independent reviews of PIP. Marie Cavanagh carried out the most recent independent review, and I have agreed to implement nearly all of her recommendations. Other changes will be made going forward, and I have committed to trying to in-house those schemes and assessments as soon as I can. There is a recognition of the need to do that. <BR /> <BR />In working with medical practitioners on the issue of medical evidence, the Department of Health will be crucial. I have written to the Minister of Health, and there have been engagements with his Department to see how quickly we can do that. There is work that it needs to do. I am also working with those who are going through PIP.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have committed to working with the sector as we move ahead to ensure that there is no undue delay and that the sector has a clear timetable for the pathway. The sector is also clear, however, that it wants the legislation to be robust. It does not want me to come here and be popular by putting something in front of Members. The legislation has to bring in the protections and equality duties that you rightly talk about. I am committed to doing that through co-design and working with the community.”
“Action is important, but it is about making sure that it is robust. There is no point in bringing legislation to the Chamber that does not stand up to scrutiny, allowing people to continue to fall through the net. Those are some of the concerns that are being raised in the engagement and the co-design process for the LGBTQI+ strategy. That is being done to make sure that the legislation is robust and so that, as the debate starts to pick up again, as it did when the Ulster Unionists tabled the motion, we build in supports to make sure that people are not being re-traumatised. As was stated, conversion therapy has rightly been categorised and seen as torture treatment, and people are being re-traumatised.”
“It is important that, working together, the Department of Health and I put in place mechanisms to ensure that there are appropriate support services for those who may be re-traumatised. I want to bring forward legislation as soon as possible, and I am working with the sector to do that. Indeed, I will meet representatives again within the next couple of weeks, before the summer recess, to make sure that the legislation is robust and fit for purpose. In other areas, legislation has fallen at the first or second hurdle because the essential work at the start was not done. There is a commitment from me to try to ban this practice as urgently as possible.”
“Work is ongoing. Of course, this issue also falls under social strategies in relation to the LGBTQI+ strategy. There have been engagements with that sector. I recently met the Rainbow Project and HERe NI, which represented the Ban Conversion Therapy group. The Christian Institute has also communicated with the Department, and I have responded to it. I want to push ahead. We have started initial discussions with the Bill Office to start to look at the drafting of legislation. However, as I said before, a fundamental piece of work needs to be done to assess how wide-scale the issue is. <BR /> <BR />From the work being done as part of the LGBTQI+ strategy, it has been recognised that there is a chance that we could re-traumatise people as we start to discuss these issues.”
“With the administration of that scheme, I believe that we kept to the guidance that was laid out, and that was confirmed by the Committee at its meeting in April.”
“Money cannot pass over: it cannot be lifted from one strand, whether it is sports, culture or arts, and put it into a completely different part of the Department. There is no ability to do that. You mentioned looking at discretionary support. First, I had a budget. That budget was utilised and was not under pressure in meeting the needs. Indeed, as part of that discretionary support, over £20 million was paid out to families and individuals who were in crisis. Again, as with all schemes, I realise that there is a need to make improvements. I have recognised that we were moving at pace. The Audit Office also recognised that we were moving at pace to make decisions. There are always lessons to be learned from schemes. Earlier, I answered a question about the lessons learned as a result of the pandemic overall.”
“Of course, we will look at the recent report, and lessons will be learned. We will do that internally in the Department.”
“Members will know that I moved very quickly last year to increase the income threshold for discretionary support payments. I recognised immediately that not enough families who were in crisis as a result of the pandemic were being covered. I then moved urgently to increase the income threshold, and I took that through the House. That was endorsed right across the House as the right thing to do. On the other funding, as I said, I welcome the publication of the Audit Office's report. That scheme was designed with the sector, and I believe that the intent that had been set out was met. There are, of course, lessons to be learned. However, when representations on the matter were made to the Committee in April, the Committee commended the work on the implementation and administration of the scheme by my officials and those in Sport NI.”
“When I am fully apprised of the business case, and when my supplementary questions are answered and the information comes back to me, I will consider all that. I will not give an answer until then, because it would be disingenuous of me to do so. Once that is done, I will come back to the Member and will communicate with Members who have written to me on the issue.”
“All that will be considered as part of the business case process and the Housing Executive's engagement on its submission to the Department. I take the issues seriously, and there have been engagements on them. I know that the Member was on the radio a few weeks ago talking about other flats across east Belfast, and Grainia Long was on 'Good Morning Ulster' that morning. Those issues are important. I met Andy Allen recently to talk about similar issues and residents having to leave their homes. It feeds back into the other housing issue about existing stock that is not fit for purpose and, in some circumstances, is falling down. We need to change that. In some cases, that means knocking houses down and replenishing the stock.”
“The economic appraisal has not been on my desk for months. Work was ongoing. There has been engagement with officials and with the Housing Executive. Once additional information is in front of me, a decision will be taken without further delay.”
“The paper that I submitted to the Executive is not only about extending those mitigations but about closing the loopholes associated with the benefit cap and the bedroom tax for those who have fallen through them. I told the Committee last week that the money is there to facilitate the closing of those loopholes. No additional finance is required. I hope that that can progress through the Executive as soon as possible. I have the legislation in place and am ready to go. I know that, once the Committee receives the information, it will be ready to go so that we make sure that we bring in those protections without further delay.”
“Yes. There is money in the budget to extend mitigations. The current mitigations continue to be paid under the auspices of the Budget Act 2021.”
“I look forward to receiving the expert panel recommendations later in the year. Subsequent to receiving those recommendations, legislation about how discretionary support works will have to be changed. We will start that process as well.”
“Thank you, Philip. I hope that you are keeping well after being in hospital. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased to inform the Member that the expert panel has already commenced work on the review of discretionary support. The panel is made up of academics and people from the independent advice sector at both strategic and grassroots levels. I am glad that all those approached to be panel members accepted the invitation to be part of that important work. <BR /> <BR />The panel held its first virtual meeting on 14 June 2021, which was only one week after I announced the appointments to the panel. I am committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible support for people in financial crisis. The review will be an important opportunity to critically examine what works and what can be done better.”
“We will start to look at those as part of the housing supply issue that I spoke about, which has highlighted challenges that were already there. I want to work with the Infrastructure Minister, whom I know is also interested in overcoming the challenges that we face. <BR /> <BR />I will follow up with a letter about the specific numbers for your area.”
“I do not have the exact figures for Lagan Valley, so I will not tell you that I do. However, I can have them sent to you. <BR /> <BR />We know that there is a crisis: more than 42,000 people are on the waiting list. That is going up and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. We therefore need to change radically how we do housing. That was set out in the November statement, but it takes time to make those huge changes. They do not come overnight. The programme board is in place. I want to make sure that we deliver on the basis of need but that we also look at where growth may be in future. Therefore it will be crucial to work with local government and councils on their development plans. <BR /> <BR />Land and infrastructure become major issues when building new homes.”
“It will go not just into maintaining the current Housing Executive stock but can hopefully be invested in future homes when the Housing Executive can build again. We have to remove the restriction on borrowing placed on the Housing Executive, as that is one of the biggest hurdles that it faces. As part of the revitalisation agenda, we want to make sure that it can borrow, that we deal with the issue of stock, and that we get it on a firm, sustainable financial footing.”
“Carál's statement in November of last year, when she was in this position, reflected on the need for revitalisation. As I said, and as Members are acutely aware, we have a decaying housing stock, and that is reflected in the fuel poverty targets as well. There is a huge need to deal with the financial strains on the Housing Executive, and that will be a critical part of the revitalisation work. <BR /> <BR />Another part of the financial issue is dealing with corporation tax, which we have now removed. Over the past seven years, almost £50 million that should have gone into homes was paid to the British Treasury. Fortunately, that has come to an end. We are trying to claw that money back to put it back into housing, but we will have it as a saving.”
“We will be working with housing experts as we start to bring forward firmed-up actions to deal with the housing crisis.”
“<BR /> <BR />As part of the supply strategy, we are also working with local councils on land, and we are looking at councils' growth targets, within their local development plans, for population changes and trends over the next 20, 30 and 40 years. All of that will be part of the housing programme and the supply of social homes, and we will look at other offers around intermediate housing and those who want to do co-ownership. We are taking forward all of that as part of the revitalisation programme. As I said, I want to present those firm proposals to the Executive before the end of this mandate. A programme board has been set up between the Department and the Housing Executive. We will be working with the Housing Executive, and staff will be working with trade unions.”
“I thank the Member for the follow-up question. As I stated, the social housing development programme is based on the housing need presented. There are percentage targets for the provision of bungalows, but we have a focus on building homes for life — homes that people can grow with. We want to look at that in new builds, going forward. I also touched on the fact that we are progressing a housing supply strategy as part of the wider revitalisation agenda. Again, we are taking evidence around that. The consultation is open, and there has been a call for evidence. I encourage people to take part in it.”
“The Housing Executive is committed to working with housing associations to bring forward new social home proposals in the time ahead. I am also pleased to advise that 179 new social housing units are under construction in the West Tyrone area.”
“It must be ensured that they can be maintained, and, ultimately, that the Housing Executive is revitalised in such a way that it is able to access borrowing to sustain itself and, going forward, new builds. In the shorter term, the new build programme is the key action that we can take. One of my priorities is to enhance investment and increase social homes. That resulted in achieving 2,403 starts last year. That was the largest number of units in the past 10 years. I have also secured an increase of £162 million in the 2021-22 Budget for the social housing development programme, with a target of starting a minimum of 1,900 homes in this year. <BR /> <BR />I am aware from the Housing Executive that the current projected need for West Tyrone is a further 560 new social homes between now and 2025.”
“As of 31 March 2021, a total of 1,809 applicants were on the common waiting list for the allocation of a social home in the West Tyrone area. Of those, 1,105 are deemed to be in housing stress. While 219 homes have been allocated over the past year, I am acutely aware that there is a shortage in the supply of homes, and that needs to be addressed. To do so, I have set out an ambitious, long-term plan to increase the supply of social and affordable housing and reduce housing stress. However, those plans will take time to come to fruition, and whilst I share the concerns about the numbers waiting for a home, the projected outcome of my plans is about ensuring that the supply of social homes can meet the increase in demand. <BR /> <BR />The protection of the social homes that we have is also crucial.”
“There will be at least half a year of learning, from the enactment of the legislation, once the independent person is in place.”
“I thought that I answered that yesterday, Matthew. I am giving a commitment to try to have that person in place. The procurement will take about six months, but there is a commitment to make that appointment. If we had tried to change everything in the legislation to get it perfect, we would not have got it passed in this mandate. There was an urgency for me, because we had waited 25 years to get to this point and I did not want to wait any longer because the industry, particularly after the pandemic, is screaming for the change, as are our communities and people. Of course, more changes will be needed to the legislation in the longer term. The review will help in that regard by making sure that the legislation is fit for purpose. The legislation will, hopefully, be passed and will start to take effect by the autumn.”
“The changes will better enable the hospitality sector to cater for changing customer behaviour and to support it as we grow our tourism sector.”
“The hospitality industry has suffered during the pandemic. It will benefit from the removal of restrictions at Easter time, which will come into effect next Easter. The industry has said that that measure will see an estimated £20 million going into the local economy each year. I know from my time on Belfast City Council that easing the restrictions is a critical factor in attracting visitors to our towns and city centres over that period and in our ability to take advantage of it. <BR /> <BR />The industry will also benefit from pubs and hotels being able to open to 2.00 am, with an extension to drinking-up time, and from the creation of new categories of licence for local producers and cinemas. Those provisions are a result of the iterations of the Bill as it passed through the Assembly.”
“Members will be aware that the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill passed its Further Consideration Stage yesterday. The Bill has taken a long time to get to where it is today, and I am happy with the progress that has been made on it in the Assembly in the past seven months. I am particularly happy with the work of the Communities Committee in scrutinising the legislation and working with me on amendments. I am also happy with the work that other Members have done over the past few weeks to help make the Bill better. Members will be glad to hear that Final Stage is scheduled for 29 June, which is next week. Having the Final Stage before the summer recess means that Royal Assent will, hopefully, take place over the summer months.”
“The societal and economic value of sport is well-documented and understood, and that was reflected in the funding that was provided to 452 beneficiaries. It is also important to add that I welcome the letter from the Chair and members of the Committee for Communities, which was sent after representation was made to the Committee by my departmental officials and officials from Sport NI on 2 April. The Chair wrote to express confidence in how the scheme was being administered and reiterated the Committee's praise for officials. Learning is being taken on board. I welcome the Audit Office's report and will continue to engage on those issues in the time ahead.”
“Obviously, I welcome the prompt publication of the Audit Office report. It was important that it was produced as soon as possible. The delivery of all the COVID financial assistance, including the sports sustainability fund, was undertaken in a really fluid situation, under extreme time pressures and on timescales in which organisations and elected Members were saying that urgent issues needed to be addressed. Of course, there are lessons that can be learned from the development and delivery of COVID funding schemes across the board, and our review of those is under way.”