Conor Murphy
Newry and Armagh · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“More detailed consultations with individual childcare providers and parents are taking place this month and into February. The group agreed that the research would conclude in March 2025. The work is on schedule; there has been no delay. Childcare is an excellent example of various Departments coming together to deliver for our people.”
“The Bill looks at the issue of flexible working, but at every meeting that we have had with employers, we have made a point of talking to them about the need for them to be flexible, particularly in relation to women who are returning to the workforce, and to offer people arrangements that entice them back to the workforce and give them t…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Although the Department of Education leads on childcare, it is a priority for the Executive as a whole. When setting the Budget for this financial year, the Executive earmarked an additional £25 million for childcare.”
“As a matter of fact, I publicly launched the scheme and the courses in the Met last summer. My officials are also working with our six further education colleges to develop childcare microcourses for future delivery. <BR /> <BR />I also offered to assist Minister Givan's Department as required.”
“The group identified the need to better understand the business models for childcare, what type of support is needed to ensure the sector's financial viability and how support should be targeted. Given my Department's business expertise, we volunteered to take that work forward.”
“No tensions or obstacles have been placed in the way of any of that work, and I hope that that continues to be the case, because the issues are much more important than party political exchanges across the Chamber. We will continue to work in that manner.”
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“We want to ensure that there is fairness in the awarding of contracts so that people have a reasonable chance of accessing them and that, in this policy, we add social value to all that we do to make sure that it reflects the Executive's priorities as well.”
“As the Member knows, we changed the nature of the Procurement Board and brought people onto it. They are not there just in an individual capacity; they are there as representatives of sectors. Some of the sectors, including the social enterprise and the small and medium-sized enterprise sectors, have a voice on the board. We want them to act as conduits to their sectors, and if, for example, people who are involved in microbusinesses are raising issues about inaccessibility to government contracts, we would like to hear about them. Of course, they can talk to our procurement team in the Department as well, but they have a voice at the Procurement Board through the representatives of the various sectors.”
“Councils operate under a different framework for procurement, but we have had some discussions with councils, and quite a few of them have expressed an interest in incorporating social value into their procurement practices. My team on the procurement side in the Department will work with councils to give them advice, even within the framework that they currently have, to make sure that they can take maximum advantage of that ability to achieve social value. If there is a legislative change required to the councils' framework for procurement, it would be a matter for the Department for Communities. Much progress can be made on that in the time ahead, and some councils are interested in that work.”
“That will be made available to those who are designing contracts, obviously, but also to those who may be on the receiving end, who bid for the contracts. <BR /> <BR />On the living wage, as I said in my statement, we want to see the Living Wage Foundation's definition of the living wage, which is more than the minimum wage, built into the business case for the contract so that the burden would not necessarily be imposed on the contractor. The total cost added as a result would depend on the contract, so it is not possible to give a standard cost; it would very much depend on the size and nature of the contract.”
“I thank the Member for his comments and thank the Finance Committee for its cooperation in the development of the policy. The Strategic Investment Board (SIB) has been tasked with developing a level of training and with developing what will ultimately become reporting and monitoring.”
“It will also be good news, however, for many private enterprises that want to pay their workers a living wage and protect the environment but are worried that, if they do the right thing, they will be undercut by a lower bidder. Under the policy, good companies will be rewarded rather than penalised when they bid for government contracts. Rather than encouraging a race to the bottom, it sets high standards for how private and social enterprises conduct their business. I commend the policy and welcome Members' questions.”
“Training and guidance will be developed to assist with that preparation. It is important that those who design and deliver contracts have a common understanding of the new requirements and how they will be applied in practice. Reporting arrangements will be established so that the impact of the policy can be assessed and any changes needed can be identified. I expect that the policy will evolve and develop over time. We are now also in a position to look at the legislation required to underpin the policy. <BR /> <BR />The policy ushers in a new era for the Executive to use their spending power for the common good. Scoring for social value will be of particular interest to social enterprises and community groups, which exist to deliver social benefit.”
“It currently stands at £9·50 an hour, compared with the legal minimum of £8·91 an hour. From June 2022, payment of the living wage as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation will be mandatory for all contracts. Given the Executive's significant spending power, that will be a major step forward in ending poverty pay. Any additional costs arising from that condition should be incorporated into business cases so that they are borne by government and not by businesses. Companies will also be required to adopt fair work practices for workers, which are defined by the Carnegie Trust as including terms of employment, work-life balance and workers' representation. <BR /> <BR />Departments and organisations that tender for government contracts will now begin to prepare for a new era in which social value is a key component of public procurement.”
“They include contracts that create jobs for people in deprived areas; maximise security of supply by, for example, minimising the proximity of supply chains to the point of delivery; deliver environmental benefits, including those that facilitate the transition to net zero; safeguard the mental health of workers; and allocate a percentage of the budget to artwork or cultural activities. <BR /> <BR />While Departments will select the indicators that are relevant to the contract at hand, some social value considerations will be mandatory. If we are to eradicate poverty and create a fair and cohesive society, we have to tackle low pay. The Living Wage Foundation (LWF) provides an annual estimate of the minimum hourly wage that would provide a full-time worker with a reasonable standard of living.”
“A strong message from our consultation with stakeholders was the desire for a standard framework for scoring social value. The purpose is to ensure that social value is assessed in a predictable and consistent manner. At the same time, Departments must have flexibility to select measures of social value that are appropriate to the specific contract. To balance those two objectives, the policy provides a framework of indicators that Departments can draw on as is relevant to the contract at hand. Those indicators are linked to Programme for Government outcomes, ensuring that procurement spend contributes to the Executive's objectives.”
“My Department recently used that provision to award a contract to Ulster Supported Employment Limited (USEL). When I visited USEL a few months ago, I witnessed at first hand how it delivers an excellent service to government while adding social value by employing people with disabilities. I encourage all Departments to make greater use of that facility, and, to that end, Social Enterprise NI is developing a directory of social enterprises that could benefit from reserved contracts.”
“Departments are also required to consider the potential to reserve contracts for businesses whose primary aim is the social integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons.”
“That phased approach was requested by all stakeholders to help everyone to adjust to the new scoring arrangements in a smooth and managed way. It is worth emphasising that Departments can score for social value before 1 June 2022, they can score for social value on contracts below the thresholds, and they can assign a weighting of higher than 10%. The purpose of the policy is to set minimum standards. <BR /> <BR />The new policy underlines the importance of considering social value at the earliest possible stage. It encourages Departments to think about social value as part of the business case process, before the procurement phase gets under way. It recommends that Departments consult with communities affected by the procurement to identify the most feasible and beneficial way in which to promote social value.”
“I thank the board for working diligently and constructively to develop the policy and for reaching consensus on what will be a transformation in procurement practice. It is a testament to the excellent work of the Procurement Board that, when I brought the policy to the Executive, it was very much welcomed by all Ministers. <BR /> <BR />The new policy mandates that, from 1 June 2022, tenders must include a minimum of 10% of the total award criteria to social value. That minimum weighting will apply to the thresholds that are set out in public contracts regulations: service contracts valued above £123,000; and construction contracts valued above £4·7 million. Those contracts make up approximately 97% of total procurement spend. From 1 June 2023, the minimum weighting will, subject to review and Executive approval, be increased to 20%.”
“It will also allow time for business cases to build in any additional financial costs arising from the social benefits that are included in contracts. <BR /> <BR />The lab also highlighted the fact that this is a step into the unknown and that there may be contracts where it is not possible or appropriate to apply an aspect of the new policy. Therefore, if a Department wishes to opt out of an aspect of the policy, it must attain the approval of the relevant Minister. Opt-outs must be strongly justified by the characteristics of the specific contract and must be reported to the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD). That is a high bar, and Ministers are required under the ministerial code to abide by it. The final policy, which incorporated that feedback, was approved by the Procurement Board in June and by the Executive subsequently.”
“Today, I can announce that a new policy on scoring for social value has been agreed by the Executive. Considerable work has gone into developing the policy. An initial paper was brought to the Procurement Board's first meeting in February. The feedback from that discussion was used to develop a more substantive policy paper, which was presented to the board in April. In May, an innovation lab was held with a range of stakeholders to finalise the policy and identify the support needed to implement it effectively. The main request arising from the lab was for a lead-in time of at least nine months before the new policy comes into effect. That is to allow for training to be rolled out to procurement practitioners and small organisations bidding for contracts.”
“That is important because, each year, the Executive spend £3 billion, which is approximately 25% of their DEL budget, buying goods, services and construction from the private and third sectors. That spending power can and should be harnessed to advance our Programme for Government outcomes. To do that, we need to consider the cost and quality of what we buy and the broader impacts on society. However, tenders are typically scored on the basis of cost and quality only.”
“Last December, I updated Members on the restructured Procurement Board. As part of that restructuring, permanent secretaries were replaced by procurement practitioners and representatives from the private sector, the social enterprise sector and the trade union movement. The purpose of that change in membership was to ensure that procurement policies will be co-designed by people who develop contracts and the companies and workers who deliver those contracts. As part of that restructuring, it was agreed that the board's procurement guidance notes would go to the Executive for approval. Elevating the status of those notes from guidance to Executive policy was intended to ensure better and more consistent procurement practice across government. At the time, I highlighted social value as one of my priorities for the new Procurement Board.”
“I confirmed that we had given, as part of the allocation to the Department for Communities in the Budget that was just passed in the Assembly, the money that, it was anticipated, would be required for Casement over this year. That money — I think it was £20 million — was given to the Department for Communities and ring-fenced for Casement. That will now not be required in total, because the planning permission delay means that construction did not start as soon as we would like. What will be required over this financial year is available to the Department for Communities, and the amount of money it anticipates it will not be able to spend will be returned because it is ring-fenced for that specific project. Of course, it is a flagship project; it is an NDNA project; it has been committed to by the Executive; and it will be seen through.”
“I am afraid that the Member will have to go to the Department of Health for that breakdown. As I said in response to previous questions, we find ourselves in a situation where we have to try to give emergency money, if you like, given that the tendency of the Health Department over the years has been to use the private sector to reduce waiting lists. As, I am sure, the Member will agree, the longer-term solution is to have a sufficient number of staff working in our health service to take care of the people who have to be taken care of. That is the long-term solution that I want to get to.”
“As I said, Education probably gets the largest single allocation from this monitoring round. I know that he is not personally responsible, but the people from this part of the world who cheerled the Tories into power and who sustained them in power when they had opportunities to change the Government in Westminster over that time — I have not heard him criticising them for that decision — are ultimately responsible for the deficit in Education and all the other budgets. As I say, there is over £1 billion of unmet pressures across all our budgets as a consequence of nine years of cheerleading the Tories into power and sustaining them in power when there were alternative opportunities for different Governments.”
“We had allocated in full what was anticipated to be required for this year, and, unfortunately, the delay in planning has pushed that back. That means that, because it is ring-fenced and because it is a flagship project, the Department for Communities had to return the unspent capital for that. It is an agreed flagship project for the Executive. It was part of the NDNA commitments, so I fully expect it to be funded into the future, and whatever is needed for the years beyond next year will be provided by the Executive.”
“Departments may well identify pressures and make bids, and something like, I think, £1·3 billion of additional pressures which could not be met were identified across all Departments ahead of the Budget. That gives you a sense of the scale of the impact of eight or nine years of austerity policies from Westminster and the effect that they have had on the delivery of public services. Education is not on its own in suffering, and it will be supported whenever we can find money to support it, but the Executive decide the allocation of the funding and the priorities, and we have prioritised health in the time ahead.”
“The Member knows that it is the Executive that set the priorities, including the Minister from his party, and the Executive agree those priorities, including his own Minister, who, I presume, speaks on behalf of his party. We have made health the priority for the Executive. Of course, we try to prioritise education as well, because the education of our young people and support for our young people is hugely important, and that is why the Department of Education is the single largest recipient of funding in this monitoring round, particularly in relation to special educational needs. <BR /> <BR />The Executive can only deliver the Budget that they receive, and while we wish to prioritise things and will continue to prioritise health, when we get an annual budget of the same amount, that, in effect, means a cut.”
“There was an ability to transfer that resource into capital. It is a fairly complicated issue, but I am happy to ensure that Finance officials write to you and your Committee to give an explanation for that.”
“While that is welcome, it is not a long-term solution.”
“I do not disagree that there needs to be that longer-term approach. That is possible under a multi-annual Budget setting. It is difficult year-to-year. Last November, the Department of Health found out that, basically, it would have the same budget this year as it had last year, and it has only a one-year budget. As the Member knows, the Executive have prioritised Health. I am sure that they will continue to do so. However, we want to get to a scenario where health transformation and dealing with waiting lists, workforce planning and all those more acute issues are properly funded and planned over the years ahead, so that we can actually deliver that longer-term change. Otherwise, we will end up in a situation like this, where we are trying to fix acute problems with in-year cash injections.”
“Yes: undoubtedly, it will. Obviously, there are other issues to be overcome with the A5. Inquiries and other matters have held up that project, which has been far too long in its delivery. Certainly, I know from travelling on the A6 that significant progress has been made on that road. I look forward to the day when there is that connection to the north-west, with both the A5 and A6, improved railway links and improved connectivity with the City of Derry Airport. That will fill a significant gap in the island's infrastructure.”
“We want to see the picture improve over the course of the year. Rather than wait until the October monitoring round, we will continue to engage with Departments in the meantime to ensure that they understand the opportunities that exist with that facility and bring forward schemes in order to avail themselves of it.”
“The Member's suggestions about the Housing Executive and Northern Ireland Water would obviously require a much longer period if those organisations were to transform themselves or to move into the position where they could access that funding. There are other opportunities to access it. Departments have only improved the picture from last year. I am speaking off the top of my head, but I think that something like £90 million was returned last year. That figure may be incorrect. It was certainly a larger amount. It has improved. It is about getting Departments to understand how that can be utilised and getting them involved in that. Of course, there is a longer-term transition process in relation to a number of arm's-length bodies, which might mean that it is availed of more readily in the years ahead.”
“I know that the Member has a constituency interest, but, regardless of that, he is correct in saying that the site has enormous potential, and the need for it to be properly developed is long overdue. I look forward to development plans being brought through the Executive Office and then the Executive, and for spend to be attached to them. If we are heading into a budgetary planning exercise over the summer and into the autumn, that would be the time at which to identify what is required for the site.”
“There is no doubt that that is helpful for the Department in the short term, but, as the Health Minister and I have agreed many times, what we need is longer-term recurrent funding. We can do that only in a multi-year Budget scenario, through which we can employ people to address waiting lists. Other than that, we can, in quite a lot of cases, spend money in the private sector to try to reduce waiting lists, but that does not fix the ongoing problem of our health service's ability to manage waiting lists in the longer term. The longer-term solution is health transformation and the plan that the Health Minister has outlined. It is about ensuring that we have the right number of staff working in the NHS to be able to deal with the issues into the future.”
“Although we had a standstill Budget for resource, we had some extra money for capital, so Departments might have got a better allocation in that regard. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and engage with Departments. We do not want to see any underspend. We want to see money managed properly, and we will engage over the year to make sure that that is the case.”
“It is early in the financial year, and this is the first monitoring round exercise. All Departments got their capital allocation only at the start of April, so the likelihood that some have already assessed that they do not have enough capital and will therefore need to come forward with significant bids is slim. Perhaps costs are a feature, but, as the year rolls on, other features will reduce capital spend, such as planning exercises and various hold-ups that happen over the course of significant capital projects. It is therefore not surprising that, on top of the capital that they have already got, there are not huge additional bids for capital from Departments this early in the financial year.”
“Lest the Member misunderstand, I make the statement on my behalf, and the Executive agree the allocations that I propose to them. I would have thought that, after a year or so on the Finance Committee, he might have grasped that. <BR /> <BR />We had more capital available than was bid for by Departments. It therefore made more sense to use conventional capital rather than to get into RRI borrowing for some of the capital projects that had been identified. We can access RRI borrowing throughout the year. If Departments have any other ideas, I very much welcome their coming forward with them.”
“We continue to have exchanges with him. There is no doubt, given the estimates that we have, on which all of this is based, that the cost, not necessarily this year, at the beginning of the scheme, but over the next four to five years, after which it tapers off over the lifetime of the scheme, would be beyond the affordability of the Executive”
“The Executive have given a commitment, including a commitment in the courts, that the scheme will go ahead, and it is going ahead. There is some slight delay. The £19 million identified by the Member is the amount estimated by the Department of Justice, and it is based on the number of people who will access the scheme. The estimate can be used in this financial year, and we have committed to doing that. <BR /> <BR />Of course, our dialogue with Treasury continues. We have challenged Treasury. According to their statement of funding policy, the Government who design and legislate for a scheme are responsible for the cost. That discussion with the Treasury continues. A number of weeks ago, I met the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I had that discussion with him, and we have heard back from him since that meeting.”
“We will continue to engage with Departments in the time ahead to make sure that they understand how that funding can be utilised. The ambition will be to utilise that funding fully in the next Budget.”
“As I said to the Member in a meeting that we had earlier, it is an improved position on last year. However, it is not where we want it to be. Financial transactions capital spend is fairly limited in what it can be used for. Specifically, it has to be for a loan to a private enterprise, and some of that was used over the course of the year by Departments in an improved position. Nonetheless, we have still fallen short. <BR /> <BR />We will continue to remind Departments and familiarise them with the rules and regulations. Departments were interested in FTC and RRI borrowing. However, distilling schemes into those that qualify and can access that type of facility reduces their number. There is an improved position, which is good, but there is more work to be done.”
“I will make sure that those issues are addressed.”
“I thank the Chair. As I said, the significant level of that ring-fenced resource DEL was due to a Barnett consequential. There was a significant amount of impairment to student loans in England that required a significant amount of money to be spent there. We got a Barnett consequential as a consequence of that. It is ring-fenced and can be spent only on the exact area of impairment to student loans. Relatively speaking, we had a very small amount and therefore could not use the rest of that money and could not be allocated to any other public service. It is not a loss from the finances that we had available for public services and has been returned to Treasury. <BR /> <BR />I am happy to hear from the Finance Committee if it thinks that there was any deficit in the information that it received on that funding.”
“Given the position on capital DEL, I have decided to reduce reinvestment and reform initiative (RRI) borrowing by £30 million, leaving a small overcommitment of £0·3 million. That can be revisited in October monitoring, when a decision to access further borrowing can be made, depending on the capital bids submitted at that stage. <BR /> <BR />At the conclusion of June monitoring, £46·4 million of financial transactions capital remains unallocated. I call on the Departments to consider ways to utilise that lending capacity. <BR /> <BR />This year's monitoring statements are accompanied by tables outlining the detail of changes to spending areas in Departments in order to aid transparency in the process. I commend the June monitoring outcome to the Assembly.”
“The Department of Education receives £18 million, £14 million of which is for works to deliver additional accommodation across the school estate. I am allocating £11·5 million to the Department of Health, including £8·4 million for the replacement of equipment and vehicles and for essential maintenance work across the health estate. Some £1 million is allocated to assist the provision of a pilot mental health rehabilitation facility in Antrim. The facility is the first of its kind and will address an identified gap in care. An allocation of £8 million in ring-fenced financial transactions capital has been made to the Department for Communities in this round to assist the funding of the over-55s shared ownership scheme. <BR /> <BR />All capital DEL bids having been met, £29·7 million remains unallocated.”
“The decision to delay was taken to give applicants time to familiarise themselves with the guidance and to make sure that they can get the support that they need before making an application. <BR /> <BR />I have met all the bids for capital DEL submitted by Departments, which total £61·3 million. I am allocating £26·6 million to the Department for Communities for a range of housing projects, including £8·3 million to the Housing Executive to help tenants with a disability to adapt their property. The Department for Communities was hoping to invest £18 million this year in the development of a new stadium at Casement. However, planning permission has not yet been approved, meaning that it is not possible to spend that amount within the financial year. Funding for that flagship scheme will instead be allocated next year.”
“<BR /> <BR />In light of the need to have funding in place to provide certainty for victims, an allocation of £19 million was made to the Executive Office (TEO) for the victims' pension scheme. Discussions continue with the British Government regarding the long-term funding of the scheme. Given some of the erroneous media reporting on the issue, I wish to clarify that the delay in launching the scheme has absolutely nothing to do with funding.”
“Full details of bids and allocations are set out in the tables that accompany the statement. However, I would like to highlight a few specific areas. <BR /> <BR />I am providing £54·7 million to the Department of Health, including £31·5 million to aid pressures in elective care, which will help with waiting lists in the short term. I have also written to Executive colleagues to seek their support for a longer-term plan to tackle waiting lists and transform the health service as part of the multi-year Budget that we hope to move to. The Department of Education will receive £39 million, £35·7 million of which is to help children with special educational needs (SEN). The remaining £3·3 million is for COVID-19 pressures.”
“<BR /> <BR />Turning to June monitoring, Members will be aware from my written statement that the Executive had £149 million in resource DEL, £91 million in capital DEL and £57·6 million in financial transactions capital DEL available to address pressures of a routine nature and those that arose as a result of COVID-19. That funding includes reduced requirements of £20·7 million resource DEL and £23·4 million capital DEL. Further details are included in the tables provided with the statement. <BR /> <BR />As usual, the resource DEL bids submitted by Departments far outweighed the level of resources available. Some bids can be revisited later in the year, when there will be more clarity on actual costs. The Executive have agreed to allocate the full level of resource DEL funding that is available in this round: some £149 million.”
“It reflects, however, the challenge associated with identifying suitable projects that can avail themselves of that finance, which may be used only for loans or equity investments in the private sector. <BR /> <BR />The £401·9 million of underspend on ring-fenced resource DEL, of which £395·7 million cannot be carried forward, seems, on the face of it, concerning. However, that must be considered in context. That funding may be used only for the non-cash costs relating to depreciation and impairments, so it is, in effect, a technical accounting issue. The majority of the underspend arose from a Barnett consequential that resulted from an allocation for student loan impairments in England that was not needed here. Given its technical nature, the loss of that underspend has no impact on the level of funding available for public services.”
“As a result of those contingency plans and good budget management by many Departments, I am pleased to say that no resource or conventional capital departmental expenditure limit (DEL) has been lost to the Executive. The underspend reported by Departments, together with central adjustments, has resulted in the carry forward of £85·7 million in resource DEL and £17·8 million in conventional capital DEL. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, the underspend of £55·6 million for ring-fenced financial transactions capital (FTC) exceeded the amount that can be carried forward by £26·4 million, meaning that 28·5% of FTC lending has been lost through underspend. While it is an improvement on the 2019-2020 position, when £72 million or 54% was lost, it is nonetheless disappointing.”
“I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on the outcome of the 2020-21 provisional out-turn and the Executive’s June monitoring exercise. While I advised of them by way of a written statement, today’s oral statement will allow Members an opportunity to engage more fully on those important issues. <BR /> <BR />Before turning to the current year, I want to update the Assembly on the 2020-21 provisional out-turn and resulting Budget exchange position. Last year, the unprecedented levels of COVID-19 funding, the late notice of much of that funding and the rapid establishment of unique support measures created a real prospect of returning significant underspend to the British Treasury. In the absence of bids from other Departments, my Department established contingency measures to put that money to good use by supporting businesses.”