Nick Mathison
Strangford · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“That second part is important. In the scrutiny of the Minister's Bill on school uniforms, we got a little tied up over how we could build in provisions on PE, but, when we got to work on this Bill, we found that there is a simple formulation that will ensure that participation in sport and PE, which, we should remember, is a statutory par…”
“<BR /> <BR />On the basis of that feedback and the other evidence that we received, two draft approaches to developing the Bill were considered. The first was to create a separate, stand-alone Bill with a stand-alone right for pupils to be afforded the choice to wear trousers and to set that out in law.”
“Many schools do that really well, but others, regrettably, do not. To me, only legislation will guarantee the behaviour change that we need. It is not good enough for a Minister to say to young people, "But I give you permission to go and campaign. You run the campaign. Look at Rhea and Astrid: didn't they do so well?".”
“I will name a few: the school uniform must be affordable, so schools have no autonomy on that; and schools must consult with parents when they are changing their policy, so they have no autonomy on that. I could go through every one of the guidelines.”
“depending on the activity. That was to ensure that the need for appropriate clothing for sporting activities was reflected. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, it is a permissive Bill. It is simply focused on creating a universal right to have the choice to wear trousers and enshrining that in the guidance.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will not speak for long, and I do not plan to rehearse everything that has been said. However, I begin by doing something that I overlooked when I spoke at the beginning: thanking the Deputy Chair of the Committee who first proposed the Bill.”
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“A Budget position that presents such a level of pressure on all Departments, including Education, is not where any Member wants to be. However, it is clear that — Members have referenced this — the position that we saw last year, with Barnett consequentials flowing into Departments, is not likely to be repeated. Departments across the board have to make difficult decisions in order to live within their means. We are voting to give legal authority for significant sums of money to be spent across our Departments, but that should not obscure the pressure that they are feeling. <BR /> <BR />It is in that context that I again call on the Education Minister to set out a clear vision of transformation for education.”
“<BR /> <BR />The challenge to deliver meaningfully on the priorities that the Committee has identified is significant, given that the Budget that is being presented makes delivering basic statutory services difficult, but that is the funding picture that we are looking at across the Departments. The Committee will continue to scrutinise all aspects of the Minister's spending plans and delivery in the year ahead, particularly after the comprehensive spending review. While it recognises the undoubted pressures, the Committee will expect to see evidence of the Department delivering efficiencies where possible while still delivering for children and young people as a priority. <BR /> <BR />I will make a few closing remarks in my capacity as an Alliance education spokesperson.”
“Special educational needs (SEN) pupil support services; school transport services; catering services; specialist education supports; our youth services; and routine school building maintenance — those are just some of the direct front-line areas where the impact will, undoubtedly, be felt. The Committee will continue to monitor closely the savings and efficiencies that the EA is being asked to make and to prioritise the delivery of work to support SEN learners and SEN transformation and to invest in early years, childcare and measures to tackle educational disadvantage, as those are key strategic priority areas on which the Committee continues to focus.”
“Regrettably, the Committee fully anticipates future departmental updates to continue to present that crisis picture for school budgets in the year ahead. While that adds substantial pressure on teachers and principals who work in the system, ultimately, it is children and young people who will lose out. <BR /> <BR />That £300 million in resource pressures should not be referenced lightly, and the Committee certainly does not take it lightly. If the EA were required to find savings of that value, the impact on front-line service delivery and education could be devastating.”
“Despite that representing an improved budgetary position from last year, officials continue to report inescapable pressures in excess of £300 million in resource spending and £83 million in capital spending affecting the Department. I will not rehearse the areas of pressure in detail again today, suffice it to say that it will undoubtedly be schools and the Education Authority (EA) that will feel the pressures most acutely in day-to-day spend. The most up-to-date school budget deficit figure sits at £180 million. That is a staggeringly high figure that, unfortunately, has been going in the wrong direction for many years. As the budget comes under more and more pressure, it is, in the main, schools that struggle to balance the books and deliver basic statutory services to our children.”
“As Chair of the Education Committee, I will speak on behalf of the Committee in the first instance. The Committee was comprehensively briefed on this year's resource budget by officials on 7 May and had a briefing on the capital budget in March. Along with other Committee Chairs, I have spoken extensively on the 2025-26 Budget in recent debates, the most recent of which was last week's debate on the Supply resolution for the Main Estimates. I will therefore set out only briefly the financial position that the Budget represents for the Department of Education. <BR /> <BR />The Department has received just over £3·2 billion in non-ring-fenced resource and £391 million in capital.”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. The appointment has taken a staggeringly long time, given that we have known about the vacancy since the restoration of the institutions. Can the deputy First Minister give us any sense of a date for an appointment? I know that, in Committees, including the Education Committee, there have been multiple queries about public appointments, but there has been no mechanism for scrutinising that.”
“I am concerned because we seem to be in a scenario in which we are tinkering with change but stopping short of anything more substantive. The sooner that we get sight of the guidelines — we have been promised that they will really clarify the intended scope of change — the sooner that we will understand what difference the legislation will make for parents and what the Committee and we, as Members, can do to improve it.”
“The fact that officials were not made available to answer questions on the legislation at last week's Committee meeting is concerning. The Minister assured us that officials would be made available throughout our deliberations, but, at a key stage of the process, they were absent. In the continued absence of the guidance, the Minister really needs to be clear about the fundamental aspects of the Bill. Will the guidelines limit branded items? Will they specifically address the rising cost of PE kits? Will they address equality considerations, such as permitting girls to wear trousers? <BR /> <BR />Alliance will do all that it can to amend the Bill to ensure that it delivers as far as possible, but, ultimately, the responsibility for its content and how it has been introduced lies with the Minister.”
“With none of the consultation work delivered by the Department leading up to the introduction of the Bill to help us understand how the measures could operate, the Committee has been left in a very difficult position as it tries to amend the Bill effectively.”
“To not have those guidelines available, even in draft form, means that scrutiny has been very limited. We, as a party, did not support reducing the scrutiny period, as the DUP, Sinn Féin and other parties did, as we believed that we needed sufficient time to work through the guidelines and to reflect on how the Bill would deliver. In the context that we are in, we need the Department to come forward with that guidance urgently. <BR /> <BR />Having taken evidence from young people, families, trade unions and other organisations, we remain concerned, as a party, that the Bill as introduced may not deliver. The major interventions that are required on limiting branded items or potentially capping costs remain enabling powers only.”
“I am concerned about the current capacity of the Education Minister's School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill to deliver for parents. Statutory guidance, which will dictate what schools must comply with when the Bill passes, has still not been published by the Department or shared with the Committee. Departmental officials were not available to appear at last week's Committee meeting to answer any questions as the Bill progresses through its Committee Stage. <BR /> <BR />All of us in the Chamber are clear that the Bill needs to deliver lower costs for parents and carers and fairness and equality for children and young people. The Bill will place guidance for schools on a statutory footing. That will be fundamental to what schools are required to do on branded items, affordability and reasonable adjustments.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Before the Assembly was restored, Members from across parties were waxing lyrical about the environmental crisis at Lough Neagh. What does he propose that the Minister do: stand over the environmental crisis that is unfolding before our eyes and do nothing?”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, we look to the investment that is coming from all Departments, but I emphasise that, while these institutions remain unreformed, our finances will always remain on an unstable footing: while vetoes remain in the Assembly, similarly, the financial stability of the institutions remains at risk.”
“That is a long-term project, but we need to start hearing what the direction of travel is to reduce waste in the system, to tackle the cost of division and to look seriously at the sustainability of the school estate. I do not see any particular evidence in these Estimates for how that can be delivered in Education. They look at just delivering business as usual, as far as I can tell. I would like to see investment in areas that deliver some of the strategic change that is needed, but perhaps more can be said about those issues when we speak to the Budget issues next week.”
“As I mentioned, it does not look as though huge amounts of funding will flow to stabilise that picture. Shortfalls in Education are sitting at the hundreds of millions, and we really are not clear where those savings can be found, particularly for a body such as the EA, which has to deliver its statutory functions before anything else can be considered. It is becoming increasingly difficult to see where the cutbacks can be made. The feedback that I am receiving from EA officials is that they are really concerned that services are at breaking point. <BR /> <BR />I emphasise that we need to hear from the Education Minister a strategic vision of how he will transform the system.”
“As far as I can tell, the £641 million will probably be required just to deliver statutory services. Transformation in that area is urgently required, so we really need to see how that is going to be resourced. We cannot overstate the pressure in that area. <BR /> <BR />The Estimates are high level, which makes it difficult to truly understand how exactly investment will be prioritised over the year. We are conscious that, as has been referenced, June monitoring rounds may present an improved picture, but the mood music with regard to what is likely to flow from Westminster is not good, so I think that we face a very difficult year in managing the Education budget. <BR /> <BR />I will now make some remarks as one of the Alliance Party's education spokespersons. Clearly, all Departments face a challenging position, not least Education.”
“I think that the Committee is agreed that the current system has, in recent years, failed and is failing the most vulnerable children and young people. At a time when early intervention is critical and needed, it has not been delivered or made available. The five-year SEN reform agenda delivery plan that the Minister announced is a step in the right direction, but it is unclear, from the Main Estimates for Education that are set out here, exactly how that £641 million is going to be invested in SEN. The Committee anticipates seeing a much more detailed breakdown of the budget, because it is not clear what is going into statutory services, what is going into support services for pupils and what is going into the vital work of transformation.”
“I think that I speak for all my Committee colleagues when I express concern at the level of the funding that the Education Authority is operating with, especially when we consider that it is the arm's-length body in education that has the most direct impact on children and young people. The Committee received from the Department a capital briefing earlier in the year and a resource briefing in May. Each highlighted grave concerns about the need for significant additional investment simply to ensure that the basics of an education system can be delivered. <BR /> <BR />I want to speak specifically to special educational needs. The Estimates set out an allocation of £641 million for that area of the Department's spend. That is undoubtedly one of the biggest pressures facing the education system.”
“The Education Committee has had briefings from departmental officials about the constraints that they face due to the financial pressures of its budget. The Department outlines pressures in the region of £310 million in resource and £83 million in capital. <BR /> <BR />It seems from the Estimates that the Education Authority (EA) will largely bear the brunt of that. It is looking at having to make savings of around £300 million based on its provisional allocation. The Main Estimates illustrate just how constrained funding for the Education Authority is likely to be.”
“I will speak to the Supply resolution for the Main Estimates as Chair of the Committee for Education in the first instance. As has been outlined, some of this is largely a technical exercise, but it still bears commenting on how Departments are setting out their plans to spend the budgets that have been allocated to them. <BR /> <BR />The Main Estimates indicate that the Department of Education will receive a budget of approximately £3·2 billion in non-ring-fenced resource funding and £388 million in capital funding, alongside the very welcome extra £55 million investment in early learning and childcare. The Main Estimates for all Departments highlight an extremely challenging financial situation.”
“It is also vital that Ministers are prepared to be brave and ambitious in delivering transformation in their Departments.”
“Regrettably, however, I see no appetite from the current Minister to take on that challenge. <BR /> <BR />Alliance will continue to highlight the need to reform these institutions. It has already been highlighted in the debate that the cycle of instability and collapse in government undoubtedly impacts on our budgetary process in an entirely negative way and has made strategic investment extremely challenging to deliver. It is vital that the veto be removed from politics in this place to ensure that we are not placed in that position again. <BR /> <BR />Members will undoubtedly support the motion without too much enthusiasm today as it points to a year of difficult financial decisions that lie ahead. In that context, the ongoing work to make the case for the best and fairest financial settlement from Westminster remains critical.”
“As we are all aware, the pressures are immense across the Executive, but it is not all doom and gloom in the educational world. The Minister's announcement on Thursday of the additional £55 million investment in early learning and childcare is very welcome. I look forward to seeing those plans in more detail and seeing how that investment will be delivered. Alliance is very clear: investment in education is critical. The scenario in which funding continually lags behind spend per pupil in every other neighbouring jurisdiction is not acceptable. The Minister must not just bemoan the lack of resource but spend the budget that he has strategically and take seriously the work that is required to transform education services in order to avoid perpetuating a school estate that is characterised by duplication and division.”
“The fact that that is being spent on just six schools in such constrained financial times must surely invite some scrutiny on whether more cost-effective projects should and could have been developed.”
“Schools would like the opportunity to share with the Minister what they need to run their schools, rather than investment in pet projects or pilot programmes for some schools but not all. <BR /> <BR />Last week, the Minister, the First Minister and the deputy First Minister marked the beginning of the construction of the Strule Shared Education Campus Omagh. It is my understanding that the overall cost of that project will be £375 million. Serious questions remain as to whether that project delivers value for money. Those questions remain unanswered. That total cost represents close to the value of the Department's entire annual capital budget for this year.”
“Whilst highlighting the significant pressures that face the Education budget, it is vital to consider other areas of significant spend by the Minister that can only be described as questionable in the context of the financial constraints that we face, particularly in relation to capital spend. We await clear details on how the Minister's curriculum capital investment programme will be further rolled out on the basis of the budgetary allocation, particularly in the area of PE, which has been highlighted as the likely recipient. I am not in any way disputing the importance of investment in PE, but the message that I hear from the education sector is that school leaders want to be better consulted on how the Minister reaches his capital priorities.”
“The Department stated that significant demand-led SEN pressures will be unable to be met on the basis of current allocations. Assurances have been made that statutory requirements will be met, but it is difficult to see how we can get on with the job of SEN transformation meaningfully, when we are unable to fund the services required just to deliver business as usual. <BR /> <BR />The Committee will continue to scrutinise all aspects of the Minister's spending plans and delivery in the year ahead. While it is recognised that there are undoubted pressures, the Committee will expect to see evidence of the Department delivering efficiencies, where possible, while still delivering for children and young people in the direct delivery of educational services. <BR /> <BR />I will now make some remarks as Alliance education spokesperson.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members also raised the issue of school budgets with officials. It was concerning to be informed that, as of 31 March 2025, as we began the new financial year, 581 schools were in a deficit of £180 million, while 391 schools were in a surplus totalling only £75 million. Those deficits are ultimately carried by the Department, and it is money that is not being invested in our children's education. The Committee recognises the pressure that that places on our school leaders, who are working incredibly hard to manage budgets in constrained circumstances. <BR /> <BR />Committee members considered a range of areas where the Department's budget faces additional pressure, but special educational needs (SEN) services and the transformation of those services received particular attention.”
“The Committee was advised that the Department of Education faces inescapable resource pressures of £310 million and a capital shortfall of £83·7 million. It appears that the £300 million savings will largely have to be found from the Education Authority (EA) budget, and current allocations mean that a number of pressures will place a significant constraint on EA services, including school maintenance works, home-to-school transport and school catering — all spend that directly impacts on children and young people. The budget impact on school buildings was highlighted as a particular concern. Officials signalled that they hoped that the budget would increase as the year progressed, but concerns were highlighted that that provided little room for any meaningful strategic planning of maintenance of the school estate.”
“On 7 May, the Committee was comprehensively briefed by DE officials on the resource budget for this year. Regrettably, the Committee did not receive a detailed capital briefing, but it has been clear that, in the future, it expects to be briefed on resource and capital at the same time, rather than have them separated, which has been the Department's recent approach. <BR /> <BR />The Department has received just over £3·2 billion in non-ring-fenced resource, £388 million in capital, plus an extra £55 million to fund the ongoing investment in early learning and childcare. While that represents a 3% increase on last year's closing resource position, the Committee was advised that substantial pressures will be the feature of the year ahead.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Can he provide any more detail on how far the June monitoring allocations will go to alleviate the pressures that he referenced from employers' National Insurance contributions in the public sector?”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way again. It is a £250,000 spend on nine schools. Should we roll out the pilot scheme across the entire school estate, it would become a very large spend very quickly.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I had hoped that the Minister would let me come in. <BR /> <BR />I want to be clear that we accept that access to mobile phones in the classroom and throughout the school day will not have a positive influence on pupils and that we need to find ways around that. While you are on the topic of the pilot and a mobile phone ban, however, do you accept that £250,000 is a substantial spend for nine schools and that, if it were to be rolled out more widely, the pilot would have a huge impact on the Department of Education budget? Yes, we are happy for pilot schemes to be explored, but can we concede that they should not detrimentally affect the future Education budget?”
“Can the Minister provide an update on the identification of an agreed site for mid Down integrated college and on the ongoing progress to deliver that project?”
“The appetite for the promotion of student mobility across the island is welcome. Ultimately, it would benefit students, North and South. That is something that we all should be able to support today. Thank you.”
“It would be really welcome to know what the Education Minister will do in the space around certainty and assurances that information will be communicated clearly to students in all schools around Northern Ireland on the changes that have already been made and on any future changes to the admissions process. I welcome the fact that there has been support across the House for our amendment.”
“We are clear about the issues, and we are clear about where the disparities sit. We are clear about where CAO and UCAS need to work better together, particularly on admissions timelines. The idea that, just because you may want to study in Trinity or Cork or Galway, you are compelled to defer your entry to give yourself some certainty is not a fair scenario for our students. Undoubtedly, there is a role for the Education Minister. It would have been good to hear from him today, and perhaps the Education Committee can pick up on this at its meeting this week.”
“I will focus on one in particular, which is the recent change that means that A-level candidates no longer need to achieve four A* grades, including an A* in maths, further maths or pure maths. While that is progress, as many have said, students still need to achieve top grades in three A levels in combination with a fourth A level or AS level, with one of those subjects still being maths, to get the maximum 625 points. That is simply not a level playing field, and David Honeyford set that out clearly from his family experience. I really urge the Economy Minister to take that forward, as well as all of the other issues that we have highlighted on which there is not genuine equity at the minute, with her counterpart in the South. <BR /> <BR />I will leave my comments at that point.”
“<BR /> <BR />It bears mention that, while the motion references the Education Minister, who undoubtedly has a role in this, the lack of reference to the Economy Minister in the motion seemed to be a glaring omission. If we are going to have a higher education system on the island that truly offers equality of access, North and South, the Economy Minister and her Southern counterpart will need to engage meaningfully to address the outstanding issues. I hope that our amendment brings that Economy focus in. Many of the Members who contributed to the debate sit on the Economy Committee, which, maybe, speaks to where some of the focus on the motion sits. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to rehearse all of the issues that have been discussed, but it is important to re-emphasise some of the barriers that exist for our students in Northern Ireland.”
“He set out the benefits of the promotion of student mobility across the island. I will do my best not to rehearse any of his comments verbatim, but I may struggle and end up repeating some of what he said. Essentially, Alliance fully supports a higher education ecosystem across the island that promotes equality of access to institutions and to opportunities across the island. It is clear from the debate that we are all aware that unfair obstacles remain for many students in Northern Ireland. That is why we tabled the amendment. While we acknowledge that progress has been made and want to recognise the value of equitable access to higher education across the island, we want to be clear that a substantial amount of work is still to be done to create a level playing field for students in Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. I rise to wind up the debate on the Alliance amendment to the motion. I do not need to reflect in too much detail the points of the debate, as I think that there has been broad agreement across the House, maybe with slightly different emphases. There seemed to be agreement that a more equitable system that promotes student mobility across the island of Ireland is to be welcomed, promoted and encouraged. It is a positive outworking of the debate that we have cross-party consensus on that. I welcome in particular the junior Minister's comments that, while some progress has been made, it is not a level playing field currently and that work needs to be done on the admissions process at the CAO. <BR /> <BR />My colleague David Honeyford set out the issues clearly from the Alliance Party perspective.”
“Minister, you said that the Council received an update on the RAISE programme. Will you provide more detail on its progress in Northern Ireland, specifically when communities earmarked for investment will start to see projects delivered?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. There is a significant role for the Labour Relations Agency in the proposed Bill. Can the Minister advise what additional resource will be provided to that organisation so that it can carry out those functions?”
“Organisations such as Linking Generations cannot exist on goodwill alone. An element of what they do needs to be funded if we want it to be delivered and to confirm that we value it. The work benefits our education system, our health settings and a range of key Executive strategies. Last year, a motion to support the progression of the loneliness strategy was passed unanimously in the Assembly, and intergenerational work is absolutely vital for that. If we are serious about the issue, we need to make sure that intergenerational practice is properly supported across all Executive Departments.”
“Little Stars Preschool in Killyleagh and Beechvale Nursing Home in Killinchy in the Strangford constituency regularly engage in a range of activities in the nursing home. The feedback, spanning the generations, from those engagements is that they are really positive experiences for young and old alike. <BR /> <BR />As Global Intergenerational Week will come to a close on Wednesday, I pay tribute to the work of Linking Generations NI, which runs on a shoestring budget. It has extremely limited funding to deliver its work. Crucially, I also call on all Departments, particularly the Executive Office, to engage seriously with the value of intergenerational work, facilitate collaboration across the Executive and come together to ensure that the work is funded adequately, appropriately and sustainably.”
“It covered, in particular, the multiple linkages that intergenerational practice has across the Northern Ireland curriculum. <BR /> <BR />The charity offers continuing professional development (CPD)-accredited training in intergenerational practice and has a range of resources that can be used with primary, secondary and FE students. It can also provide training to care homes on developing intergenerational approaches alongside bespoke training sessions and workshops that are tailored to meet the needs of each specific audience. A great example of its work locally, which shows why we should take the time to acknowledge Global Intergenerational Week, comes when we see it working out practically on the ground.”
“I take the opportunity to highlight Global Intergenerational Week, a campaign that runs every year and aims to inspire us to embrace intergenerational practice and learn more about the benefits of connecting people of all ages. This year, it runs from 24 to 30 April, and, no doubt, there will be events taking place across many constituencies. <BR /> <BR />Linking Generations Northern Ireland is a local charity based in my constituency. It does fantastic work in connecting generations and communities across Northern Ireland. Vicki, the charity's director, whom many Members will have engaged with, is incredibly passionate about the work that she does. She recently gave an excellent presentation at one of the Education Committee's informal stakeholder briefings.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I will try to be brief. <BR /> <BR />Will the Minister commit to meeting the DVA again to hear about some of the issues that constituents raise, such as the lack of a digital process for full driving licence applications and the impact that that undoubtedly has on processing times?”
“As my colleague Nuala McAllister said, we need assurance that there will not be slippage the minute another family presents with longer-term care needs. When will the services be in place, and when will they be there on a sustainable basis, so that all the families who need them can access them reliably?”