Danny Baker
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is a fundamental right to give girls this choice, rather than allowing them it. Does the Member share my frustration with the DUP's position and that of the Minister? They have created a contradiction here. They are even shutting down the debate today by the Minister's not being here.”
“Does the Member agree that it shows the importance of the Education Committee and what we have done here, given that, clearly, by not even showing up today, the Minister has shown that he was never going to do this? He has sent a very clear message to all those young girls out there that he just does not do equality.”
“On Saturday, I was in Lisburn with a number of my colleagues to take part in a leaflet drop across Lisburn and Lagan Valley to promote our Assembly candidate and councillor Declan Lynch. Declan, his wife and mother and I were all subjected to intimidation and sectarian abuse by a number of loyalists.”
“Every Member of the Assembly must be able to go about their job without threats, intimidation or sectarian abuse. The people responsible for that type of behaviour want to drag us back in time. They want to divide us and want hate and fear to dominate, but they will not win.”
“Our commitment and that of Declan Lynch is to work for everyone in Lagan Valley, and that is what he will do every day. <BR /> <BR />I conclude with this: the silence from political leadership in that community is deafening.”
“The very modest ask from Caleb's cause was for the Minister to prioritise preparatory work towards legislation to support those children. That did not happen. In fact, that campaign was gaslighted. That is shameful. As we head towards summer, when families need a bit of respite, it is a postcode lottery when it comes to direct payments.”
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“That is my point: three minutes of your time to talk about children who do not have a place.”
“Let us work together to ensure that every child, regardless of their additional needs or disability, is treated with dignity and respect. All children deserve equality.”
“Furthermore, many children and young people who are subjected to restrictive practices never have an opportunity to learn alternative, healthier ways of coping with overwhelming emotions or situations. <BR /> <BR />It is vital that schools and other education settings are supported to implement positive therapeutic interventions. Education and health staff who work with children should have access to appropriate training and guidance. It is vital that proper monitoring of the use of restrictive practices is in place to ensure accountability and transparency. We cannot afford to keep turning a blind eye to those practices. We cannot accept a system that puts children and young people in harm's way. We have a system that is in crisis, children without places and children being placed in the wrong settings. We need leadership.”
“There are many cases in which children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, some of whom cannot speak up for themselves, have been physically held down, isolated in locked rooms or removed from classrooms altogether. Children with special needs and disabilities can face behavioural challenges. However, those behaviours often arise from unmet needs, sensory overload, communication barriers, anxiety, difficulty processing emotions or being in the wrong education setting. A wide range of evidence demonstrates that children and young people who are subjected to restrictive practices often suffer from physical injuries and emotional trauma. The long-term consequences of those can include a profound mistrust of authority figures, a sense of powerlessness and an exacerbation of mental health challenges.”
“Schools and other educational settings are operating in a vacuum and have often found themselves alone in implementing restrictive practices without strict legal safeguards. In June 2023, in its concluding observations to the UK, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recommended prohibiting the use of restraint and seclusion in education settings and said that there should be a child-rights based approach to addressing violence and other disturbances in schools. <BR /> <BR />Children's rights advocates continue to highlight the fact that the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion practices in our school and other education settings is not infrequent.”
“It is important to recognise the courageous and sustained efforts of those families that are coming into the public domain to highlight serious concerns about the use of restrictive practices in schools and other education settings. Through the efforts of parents and carers, the issue has been the subject of significant public debate and scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />Parents and carers have often been left in the dark about what has happened to their children. It is therefore extremely disappointing to find that legislative reform and statutory guidance are not yet in place to adequately safeguard children and young people and to support the education and health staff who support them.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. Was Casement Park discussed? What is next for Casement Park?”
“I will continue to stand with the affected families and to push for real solutions. I will also continue to hold the Minister and the Education Authority to account until every child has the support and the school place to which they are entitled.”
“As I speak, more than 200 children across the North are still without a place for the new term. Many officials may point to the number being a lot higher at this time last year, but I do not believe that we should look on that as progress. It is continued failure. It is an unacceptable reality that is completely avoidable. <BR /> <BR />The same children are left at the back of the line year after year. We need to put SEN children first in the placement process. That is not just a sound bite: it means prioritising those children's needs and putting them at the heart of planning, funding and delivery. It means ensuring that no child is left behind because of delays or poor decision-making. The Minister of Education must step in and take urgent action. Families deserve better. Those children deserve better.”
“It is time to move to a SEN-first approach to school placements. Last week, I met children who attend Greenwood Assessment Centre and their parents. I was deeply concerned to learn that up to 25 children there have no confirmed place in P3 for September. Those children have been well known to the Education Authority since they were in nursery. They are the children with special educational needs who need stability, support and the right environment to thrive. Instead, they face uncertainty and stress, and their families are left to navigate a system that simply does not work. <BR /> <BR />Sadly, this is not a one-off. Year after year, we see the same failures in properly planning and providing for SEN children. Many children are not placed in the right setting or end up on a reduced timetable.”
“Let us remember that behind every court case or police report, there is a young person who might just need to someone to believe in them and to give them an opportunity and push them in the right direction. We must invest more in rehabilitation, because, when we lift a young person up instead of locking them away, we strengthen not just their future but society as a whole. Injustice anywhere, especially towards our youth, is a threat to justice everywhere. Let us build a justice system that protects children and young people.”
“Placing any child or young person in custody should always be the last option. Many children's rights advocates have highlighted serious concerns about the detrimental impact that detention can have on vulnerable children. It is essential that Departments and agencies work in tandem to provide support, education, counselling and community programmes that prevent reoffending. We need to intervene early and provide diversionary measures to make a difference in the quality of life for children and to prevent them becoming involved in crime. Every time that a child reoffends, it is a failure of the system that is supposed to support them. <BR /> <BR />Every child who breaks that cycle and turns their life around is proof that hope, support and belief are stronger than fear.”
“Statistics show a high percentage of reoffending within a year of release. Instead of criminalising those young people, the disadvantage and the inequality that they face should be addressed.”
“That does not excuse bad behaviour, but it does mean that we have a responsibility to treat young offenders differently from adults. <BR /> <BR />We need to understand the reasons why young people end up coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Often, children who offend have not had a fair start in life. Overwhelmingly, those children are among the most vulnerable in our society. Many of them have experienced multiple adversities and challenges in their lives, ranging from poverty to family breakdown, mental health problems and drug or alcohol issues. What happens when those young people are punished but not supported or when they leave a detention centre with no education or support, no job prospects and no one to believe in them? They go back to the only life that they know, and the cycle continues.”
“I will go down a different route in my remarks. <BR /> <BR />It is crucial that our justice system has children and young people at its heart, with a rights-based approach. I am mindful that the North has one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the world. Our law states that the youngest age at which a child can be charged with a crime is 10 years old. That is not in line with international human rights standards. Sentencing and punishment is not just a matter of holding young people to account but about doing so in a way that gives them a chance to grow, reconcile and build a better future. Young people are still developing mentally, emotionally and socially. Scientific research has shown that their brains are still not fully mature, especially in the areas that control decision-making and impulse.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Will you provide an update on the wider delivery of the Belfast cycling network delivery plan?”
“Thank you for your statement, Minister. Can you give details and examples of the collaborative work and shared learning taking place between youth and justice services on the ground locally?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. A recent Criminal Justice Inspection report noted that, as of July 2024, the Office of the Police Ombudsman had 19 active investigations of abuse of position for sexual purposes. Does the Minister plan to introduce a more comprehensive vetting process and a code of conduct?”
“Minister. You mentioned that you visited the Balmoral show last week. Do you agree that that is a great opportunity for the Government to interact with the public?”
“Peer pressure and bullying follow our children from the classroom into their home and their bedroom. That is why I urge everyone to educate themselves to help inform and support our young people in what is an ever-changing world. Now is clearly a difficult time for young people to navigate an increasingly digital world. I am confident, however, that, armed with the right information and approach, we can all play our part in providing support and guidance so that our young people can challenge the dangers of misinformation online rather than be persuaded by it.”
“If they do not get that at home, in school or in the community, they will seek it elsewhere. The digital world, with the likes of Andrew Tate and other harmful influencers, preys on those vulnerable individuals. In order to tackle the problem, we need to understand it.”
“The new incel subculture convinces straight men to blame women and society for their perceived failures. It thrives in a digital world, as men isolate themselves and fall into a movement that welcomes them with open arms and further infects them with its poisonous ideology. When left unchecked and unchallenged, it degenerates into women-hating, self-hating, further isolation and loneliness that, in turn, leads to potential violent tendencies that could lead and has led to violence against women and girls and femicide. It can fester in any household. How many of us really know what our children are looking at on their social media, what is on their Instagram feed or whom they are listening to on TikTok? <BR /> <BR />Young men need role models to guide and support them.”
“<BR /> <BR />I take the opportunity to use the motion to highlight the concerns that came to me as a parent only recently after watching the Netflix show, 'Adolescence', which shines a spotlight on the need to tackle gender-based violence. To call the show "impactful" is an understatement. It brings into focus some of the most pressing issues that we face in society today. It is essential viewing for parents and, where appropriate, older teenagers. As a parent, I thought I had a good handle on the world of social media and its dangers: in reality, I knew very little. <BR /> <BR />The show signs a spotlight on incel subculture, disinformation, loneliness, bullying, isolation, misogyny, femicide and the societal pressures faced by our youth. I had never heard terminology such as "80:20", "black pilling" or the kidney beans.”
“I thank the Member for proposing the motion. It is a timely and important topic. <BR /> <BR />Before I start, I will say that I was not getting into a back-and-forth argument; I was just making the point that smartphones can be used for good in education. We know that educators and pupils use them. That was the point that I was making. I also think that a pilot scheme on smart pouches for smartphones costs too much. It was scrutinised in Committee, where those concerns were raised. It could cost up to £5 million with a recurring additional cost. Mental health services are not available to primary schools, and that is why I made that comparison. It was a measured contribution that I made as a parent who has concerns about that.”
“That is not what I said at all. You would agree with me that early intervention is key, but your budgets are tight and you were not able to extend counselling to primary schools. My point about mobile phone pouches and the £220,000 for just nine schools, when you have a capital shortfall of £83 million, was that it is not feasible for you to roll that measure out to every school. That is the point that I was making.”
“Does the Member agree that, given the cost of a quarter of a million pounds for just 10 schools, it will cost multimillions of pounds for that scheme to be rolled out? Given the budgetary information that we got last week, which made us aware that savings of over £300 million will be needed next year, that seems unachievable.”
“Does the Member agree that smartphones and apps are useful tools for educators and pupils, and that the onus should be more on us, as parents, to educate ourselves, particularly around the new incel subculture and the language of 80:20, black pill and kidney beans? We need to learn all that. Responsibility for that should not always fall to schools.”
“Can the Minister expand on the opportunities that he and his counterpart in the South are looking at to support children with special educational needs across the island?”
“Sectarianism needs to be called out at every level and on every occasion that it rears its ugly head, including what we witnessed at the recent Apprentice Boys parade. All sectarianism is wrong. All attempts to intimidate are wrong. If they are not confronted, they create a toxic atmosphere where the poisonous and unacceptable behaviour is allowed to fester. <BR /> <BR />I urge all Members in the Chamber, particularly those who were present at the parade in Lisburn, to be absolutely clear and unequivocal and to join me in saying that we demand better for the people we represent and we demand an end to such blatant sectarian hate whenever and wherever it occurs.”
“I call on all Members of the Chamber to send a strong message today that we call out and condemn those behind sectarian intimidation and threats. In recent weeks, we have seen sectarian hate directed at a pregnant woman in the Suffolk Drive area of west Belfast; towards residents of Altona Drive in Lisburn; and at the Apprentice Boys parade in Lisburn over the Easter period. Acts such as vandalism, graffiti and threatening letters sent to residents have left young families terrified in their own home and others homeless. The erection of flags by masked men outside people's homes has added to the intimidation and was a clear attempt to deter Catholic families from living in certain areas. That is completely unacceptable and absolutely disgraceful. <BR /> <BR />There should be no no-go areas in any society.”
“We did not have a Bill in front of us, but I am sure that all members of the Committee would agree that it was a very effective piece of work on RSE, particularly when you talk to our young people. If you have not watched the hit TV show 'Adolescence' yet, I suggest that you do, because there are key parts in there that we all need to be educated on, and we need to support our young people. I have to disagree with the Member's saying that it was not a good use of our time: it very much was. As a member of the Committee, I say that we work extremely hard, and I give credit to the Chair and the Clerk, who do great, tangible work.”
“There is an onus on him and his officials, because the Bill is not the finished article — far from it. We are willing to work with everybody in the Chamber to make it happen as quickly as possible. Families need that support now and not in a year or two years' time, so it needs to be done quickly. We are up for that challenge, and I am willing to be here every single day to make sure that it happens.”
“Families are under huge financial pressure, and we need to act swiftly to make school uniforms more affordable. That being said, scrutiny is essential. There are real issues with the Bill that need to be addressed. In order for it to make tangible changes for families, scrutiny is needed. There are key principles missing from the Bill, so lot of work needs to go into it, particularly around special educational needs and gender neutrality. <BR /> <BR />We need to make sure that we deliver what works and not just what looks good on paper, but let us be clear: we are determined to do that quickly and efficiently. If we have to come in and work with the Chair, we will do that. We have to work across the Chamber. The Minister, who is not here, needs to be positive as well.”
“, Minister, for your answer. You touched on the fact that the Department is working in partnership with other Departments. Is it working with more sectors to improve digital inclusion?”
“Does the Minister have the funding available to deliver the proposed additional £9·8 million uplift and the £3·5 million backdated uplift?”
“If we are serious about transforming special educational needs (SEN) provision, we must ensure that Health is at the table, working in partnership. That is particularly important with regard to allied health professionals (AHPs). I asked this yesterday during Question Time: if we are serious about giving every child the same chance, what work is under way to boost the number of qualified allied health professionals who are available to the Education Authority (EA)?”
“Will the Minister tell us whether there are enough qualified allied health professionals (AHPs) available to the Education Authority to service the local impact teams?”
“Thank you, Minister. Does the Minister agree that community engagement is vital to developing cycling infrastructure?”
“Does the Minister agree that it is important that that consultation happens with the community? I was a representative when that bus service was withdrawn in 2016 and when we got it back in 2018. It is important that youth workers, unions, bus drivers, Translink and community reps work hard. That delivers for everybody, and going forward beyond 6.00 pm will be another success.”
“<BR /> <BR />As a member of the Education Committee, I look forward to scrutinising the Bill and further working on delivering real change for our children and their families.”
“All schools have a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for pupils with different needs. The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill provides the Minister with an opportunity to enhance the rights of children and young people with special educational needs. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the key principles in the Bill that uniforms should be affordable, comfortable and sustainable. It is also a positive step that there has been engagement with children and young people. The Minister should consider the inclusion of a further principle: that school uniforms should be part of the creation of an inclusive school environment taking consideration of all protected equality characteristics, including physical disabilities and sensory needs, and respecting the identity of the young person.”
“They are often reported as one of the biggest barriers to attendance. Some children with special educational needs have dyspraxia, practical difficulties and sensory difficulties. Collars and blazers may be too stiff, buttons too tight, ties too restrictive, labels too itchy and formal shoes uncomfortable. <BR /> <BR />The transition between schools can also be a real worry for children with special educational needs, particularly with regard to the uniform policy. Many of those children and young people face further increased school uniform costs as they might require an additional uniform or alterations in order to meet their needs. Providing for the wide range of adjustments and flexibility required to accommodate children with special educational needs is essential in any school uniform legislation.”
“Sinn Féin wants to see the legislation delivered to make uniforms affordable and require schools to have a competitive tendering process, remove unnecessary branded items and replace them with cheaper high street alternatives. There is no doubt that the school uniform policy should be regulated by the Department of Education to ensure fairness. Any guidance that is placed on a statutory footing must be robust and clear in directing schools to ensure that they take the measures and implement the changes to make the difference for children and their families. Going forward, it is vital that consideration is given to the needs of children and young people, including those with special educational needs. We all know of the challenges experienced by children with special educational needs and their families regarding school uniforms.”
“, First Minister. Does the First Minister agree that the project will be a game changer for families across the North?”
“There is not a sectarian bone in my body, Minister. If you cannot take the question, you may be in the wrong job. We will be ready for you on Wednesday, believe me.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. In reply to my question, the Minister said:”
“The Minister is intent on establishing a new managing authority for the controlled sector, contrary to the recommendations of the independent review. Adding that to the case over the weekend of £700,000 investment to a school, will the Minister accept that there may be a perception that he and his Department are offering preferential treatment to one education sector over others?”
“I look forward to the day when food banks and emergency food parcels are a thing of the past and we collectively end holiday hunger.”
“<BR /> <BR />Tackling poverty, social exclusion and patterns of deprivation that are based on objective need are woven into the Good Friday Agreement. The Executive need to work together across all Departments, as that requirement was outlined in that agreement.”
“That brings with it a range of physical and mental health benefits, as well as educational benefits, as it puts children in the best position to learn. I have submitted a private Member's Bill that aims to directly support children and young people entitled to free school meals and their families throughout the school holidays. Mr Durkan talked about how we should look at what we can do, so I hope that everyone can support that Bill when it is introduced. There is much work ahead of us that we must do. Important steps must be taken. Ultimately, legislation is needed to make that long-term commitment so that children who need free school meals and their families are supported to ensure that they get the nutrition that they need to fulfil their potential.”