Roy Beggs
East Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I declare an interest as owner of 25 acres of agricultural land; also, my parents run a small agricultural business. <BR /> <BR />There is a shortage of fertiliser, and the Minister has referred to the present difficulties in Ukraine that are contributing to that. That shortage exists even at the exorbitant cost of £1,000 per ton.”
“of public bodies in Northern Ireland. That is vital in order to reassure the public that money is being spent appropriately. That is to be done independently.”
“There has been a very close working relationship and a close partnership. Where issues needed highlighted and where the Assembly, through its scrutiny mechanisms, needed to dig deeper to get better value and better accountability, that occurred.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also want to reflect on the close working relationship that there has been between the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Northern Ireland Audit Office, which the C&AG oversees and manages, and the Assembly, particularly the Public Accounts Committee.”
“As we consider this motion to nominate a new Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, it is important that we reflect on the importance that the role has in any democracy. The C&AG in Northern Ireland is the head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office.”
“P&O has brutally cast its workforce aside in a Dickensian fashion. There was no consultation or notice, and the company delivered a live message by video link. Will the Minister clarify whether the P&O redundancy announcement is covered by maritime law, Northern Ireland employment law or GB employment law?”
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“It is particularly important that MLAs who are Executive members set an example to the public and follow the guidance and regulations that they have set. I am surprised that they are not accountable to the Commissioner for Standards, if I have picked up the Commission member correctly. If the commissioner is not able to investigate such breaches, there needs to be a mechanism in order to give the public confidence and to deal with the issue seriously. Will the Commission member confirm that the Commissioner for Standards will have sufficient resources to deal with the backlog that has developed over the past three years and the administrative support to investigate those complaints?”
“The Minister indicated that some £3 billion is needed over the next 10 years to maintain and modernise Housing Executive homes. Clearly, the current model is not working. What action is being taken to bring about change and improvement? Six months has passed since Stormont has returned. We need to have improvements, we need change, we need proposals. When are they coming?”
“I find it strange that the Department is being criticised for a lack of preparedness for this, especially given that there were three years when we had no Minister in post and the difficulties that arose in that time were not overcome. Does the Minister agree that those who were responsible for those three years of delay and for not removing the obstacles owe a responsibility to those who were flooded and should take responsibility for it and their contribution to it, rather than attempting to blame the Department for what resulted?”
“<BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the position has changed and I ask the Minister, the Executive and the universities to move forward, as quickly as possible, to finalise what our students are going to be doing.”
“It is essential that the Department of Education, the Department for the Economy, the Executive and our universities work closely together to give clarification, as quickly as possible, so that each of these students can learn and get to the course that they wish to, as soon as possible, and move on in their careers. <BR /> <BR />We must learn from this and ensure that it does not happen again. I hope that the Minister is already putting processes in place to ensure that students will have examinations next year and that we will not be relying on such a flawed system that has caused so much controversy. I would have thought that, in hindsight — hindsight is a wonderful thing — when schools were empty during the pandemic, it would have been possible to have had examinations and, undoubtedly, that would have been better than a prediction.”
“Turning to the amendment, it is clear that we now need to move on. I am pleased that the Minister did his U-turn, but the job is not finished yet. Students are now being given their new awards, and I am pleased, but all students must get those final predicted awards from their teachers as soon as possible. When will that be? It is not over then. The problem then moves on to our higher education facilities. Who are they going to accept? Sadly, some conditional offers have been withdrawn. What will happen to those students? There needs to be clarity. Will the universities be able to accept and fulfil those original awards? It will be totally unfair if students are awarded the grades that they think will get them into university for their desired course but do not then get in.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I agree entirely; it should have been apparent even before the community were up in arms about the results that were happening, which caused undue stress to students and their parents. It appears that the algorithm was governing it. I have a tip for the Education Committee: use the 1998 Act to get the algorithm. You are entitled to it. <BR /> <BR />It is important that there is transparency about what went on. It appears that some students were assessed on previous school groups that may not have reached the same level of attainment. It is also a fact that they were ranked in their group, irrespective of where the group level was. They were being marked down; the mark did not reflect their personal situation and track record.”
“Perhaps the most surprising one that I have come across is a student who studied government and politics. All along, they reached A-grade attainment levels; they got an A in their mock, and their teacher predicted an A. They were awarded a C. Anyone who looked at the individual assessments would have questioned what was going on. It was not right. <BR /> <BR />Another student who got an A at their GCSE examination and was being predicted a B was awarded a D. There is clear evidence that there were obvious flaws that should have been spotted. There was, potentially, an appeals mechanism, but why did all those students have to go through that trauma when there were obvious flaws in the system? There was a fault at the core of what was happening.”
“It was governed more by restricting increases to 2%. As a result, many students were downgraded who, clearly, should not have been. That has been incredibly stressful for the students and their families. Many thought that their future careers were lost. I am pleased that there was a dramatic U-turn yesterday and that sense was seen. <BR /> <BR />Why do I say that there were flaws? I will give examples of some of the students who have been reported to me. One history student got a C at AS level. In their mock A level, they got a B. They were predicted a B, but they were awarded an E. They had been improving, but the result was significantly worse. Another student was predicted a B and a C in double-award science, but they got a D and an E.”
“I, too, welcome you back, Mr Speaker, to chairing the proceedings in the Assembly, and I welcome Deputy Speaker Patsy McGlone back to the Chamber. I, in turn, will be freer to speak from this side of the Chamber where I was, perhaps, curtailed in the past. <BR /> <BR />I, too, support the motion as amended. The original motion reflected the community's concerns about the awards that were originally made by CCEA in a process that was approved by the Department and the Minister. It was, clearly, a flawed process. <BR /> <BR />Awaiting an A-level result is a stressful time at the best of times, but even more so when you have not sat an exam and there is the uncertainty of an algorithm that governs the final results. There was a huge responsibility to ensure that due diligence was carried out, but it appears that that was not the case.”
“Will the Member accept that there is a wide choice of subject areas, and if we are going to provide examinations for all the possible subject areas, it would be inordinately expensive to manage and unpractical?”
“My grandfather was orphaned, aged nine, due to a flu pandemic. His kids grew up in poverty. At 15, he began work in the local bleach green, and he worked there until he was 70. He valued education. Minister, in appointing the panel, do you recognise the importance of education to address poverty, create opportunities for our people and improve our economy?”
“Can you assure me that the panel will have full access to all your departmental officials and the support and cooperation of other relevant Departments so that we can get to the bottom of the wide range of issues that contribute to educational under-attainment — weak community infrastructure and the need for long-term community support; limited numbers of educational welfare officers and their limited powers; and limited early years provision — and thereby address educational underachievement in communities?”
“I, too, welcome the Minister's statement and the appointment of the expert panel, because the importance of education in creating opportunities has to be recognised. Minister, in answer to a question that I asked in February, you highlighted absenteeism as a major contributory factor to education issues, in particular, in Ballyloran ward, where 43% of post-primary school pupils had less than 85% attendance. In Antiville, that figure was 25%, and, in Craigy Hill, it was 27%.”
“That is why the Department for Infrastructure has a significant role to play. I would prefer an Executive-led scheme, involving all relevant Departments and ensuring that we avoid duplication and get best value from public funds to help those at the coalface who need support.”
“I fully accept that, but I am just trying to demonstrate that some had no work. Others, for example hauliers involved in the food retailing industry — I understand that food retailing went up 30% — were probably busier than ever. There is a variety of workload with a range of results for those serving the economy in transport. Taxi drivers' work virtually dried up completely. Thankfully, some work is emerging again, and direction has been given to try and assist them to assist key workers and the general public. <BR /> <BR />I recognise that the Department for Infrastructure can play a significant role. It has access to tachographs and, if a scheme that showed the level of business that each operator had during the period was wanted, that would seem to be the obvious route.”
“With the money on offer, there is no point in somebody bringing forward a scheme that will not be funded. Discussions with the Department of Finance are needed as well, to assist those in need. <BR /> <BR />There has been huge variation in how drivers have been affected. Those giving driving lessons have had no work; it was impossible to work. In the HGV industry, if you were working in the construction sector, you had virtually no work because many construction sites closed down. However —.”
“It is clear in my mind that there will need to be close cooperation with the Economy Minister, who has brought forward the vast majority of schemes that have been assisting those who have been working in Northern Ireland, particularly the self-employed. They have been in that central position, and, because of that, I believe that they have a role going forward. In addition, I understand that detailed work is going on on how we can assist the tourism industry to recover from the epidemic, and I understand that a separate work stream is looking at tour coach operators. It is important that we do not create a double funding and a double support mechanism. That is why I have a preference for the Executive working together and the two Departments working together and bringing forward an Executive-led scheme.”
“I support the amendment. I also support the main motion, but I am indicating a preference for the amendment. I will explain myself during the discussion. <BR /> <BR />Undoubtedly, those who have been involved in a variety of industries, such as coach tour operators, ordinary coach operators, taxi drivers, heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and driving instructors have been severely adversely affected over the past months. Some have been affected to varying degrees, and I will come back to that. <BR /> <BR />As has been indicated, there are support schemes that are available to the self-employed. Putting together any scheme to provide additional support will need to be carefully worked out to avoid duplication. We do not want to double-fund someone and then not give funding to someone else.”
“We all think that they are just drivers, but, in many of the duties that our heavy goods vehicle drivers carry out, there are health and safety requirements and specialist training is necessary. It is vital that we do not leave gaps in the services that are provided. A one-year extension is reasonable, and I support the legislative consent motion to protect our community.”
“<BR /> <BR />If we do not extend, there is a risk that essential and key workers may not be able to drive, food supplies may not be delivered and buses may not be driven. There is also a calculated risk that something could go wrong if someone was driving and a medical condition materialised, but that has been assessed as being a limited risk. We all have to make choices, and I would view it as a much greater risk if we do not have food delivered to our homes or do not have transport arrangements in place. <BR /> <BR />One key worker who was in touch with me was an oil delivery driver. It is not easy to just lift the phone and get a driver who is experienced in delivering oil.”
“I support the legislative consent motion. It is vital that we ensure that drivers are able to work and carry out their key roles in our community in the months ahead. <BR /> <BR />As the Minister said, clause 15 will empower her to give extensions to licences. There has been a problem — I have seen it with drivers who have contacted me over the past number of problems — if a driver is required to have a medical assessment in order to renew their licence. There have been difficulties in accessing GPs, who have, obviously, been stressed and have had a heavy workload over the past few months. It is important that we ensure that there are no delays. Whilst drivers may be prioritised, extending for one year is reasonable.”
“She has shown her professionalism there, and I have no doubt that, in the role of Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, she will act in the best interests of the Northern Ireland public and, hopefully, assist in providing a better Administration for all the people of Northern Ireland.”
“I welcome the proposal and support the appointment of Margaret Kelly as the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. <BR /> <BR />I first got to know Margaret a couple of decades ago, when she was a policy officer in Barnardo's, one of the biggest children's charities in Northern Ireland. Through that, she had close involvement with Assembly Members, public representatives and, indeed, with government officials, particularly in the Department of Health. When I was Chair of the all-party group for children and young people, I found that measured and knowledgeable advice came forward. <BR /> <BR />Margaret subsequently became the chief executive officer of Mencap, one of the largest charities in Northern Ireland, which cares for those in need of support.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement and, in particular, the £20 million that he has allocated to Translink, but that is considerably less than its needs. Will the Minister advise what discussion he is having with the Infrastructure Minister and Translink to ensure that the directors can meet their requirements under company law, and that we can continue to have a public transport service provided in Northern Ireland?”
“Will the Member draw his remarks to a close?”
“I, too, thank the Minister his statement and put on record my appreciation of Health and Social Care and, indeed, the voluntary care staff and the volunteers who have assisted over the recent period. <BR /> <BR />In his statement, the Minister referred to the need to mainstream innovation that had been learnt recently, and he referred to the Encompass programme. Can the Minister give examples of recent innovation that can lead to improvements in healthcare for the wider community?”
“Any talk of extension of the Northern Ireland and UK's remaining in Europe will occur after the UK people and Parliament have voted to leave. As such, the UK budgetary rebate has come to an end already and any such decision would be very costly. Does the Member agree with me that, rather than continuing to kick the can down the road, the negotiators should be getting in there and minimising the bureaucracy that is going to land on Northern Ireland business and cost our consumers in the future?”
“The Minister spoke of the need for a green recovery. Some capital infrastructure projects can reduce congestion in the middle of Belfast city centre, improve the air quality, create construction jobs and improve the efficiency of the whole Northern Ireland economy. Will the Minister provide an update of the progress of the Yorkgate/York Street interchange, which will bring many benefits at different levels? It is important that it progresses.”
“I suspect that even more people will use e-bikes to cycle to their place of work. <BR /> <BR />I am thankful that this anomaly, whereby Northern Ireland was the only place in these islands where all that bureaucracy governed the purchase of e-bikes, will finally be rectified, and the e-bike will be treated as it should have been, as essentially a bicycle with a small battery-assisted mechanism for travel. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased that we have finally reached this point and I expect, as every Member does, that the whole Assembly will support this and, very shortly, it will be approved. Those who thought they had bought a new bike and could use it, will now be able to do so legally and without unnecessary bureaucracy. <BR /> <BR />I support the Minister in bringing forward the legislation.”
“Cycling needs to be developed further, and this is a small marker along the way. Hopefully, we will see other developments. <BR /> <BR />On the Committee, we picked up the impression that this legislation may be delayed. I do not know whether that was from the Executive or the Business Committee. I was very concerned. That would have been unnecessary, and indeed there was a failure to recognise that it might help during the COVID crisis in which we now find ourselves. It is another means for people to travel to work safely and avoid difficulties in social distancing. It is important that we recognise that, along with the other multiple benefits that come from the use of e-bikes. They allow people who can cycle a little to cycle more, and those who can cycle a considerable distance to cycle even further.”
“I understand that, in England, the current legislation was passed in 2016. We have wasted some four years, and it is regrettable that the absence of the Assembly meant that we could not modernise our legislation to provide what the public needs, meet their demands and remove unnecessary bureaucracy. I thank the Minister for dealing with this issue early after taking up the reins at the Department for Infrastructure. <BR /> <BR />Cycling is important as a means of travel, to reduce congestion and pollution, particularly in our cities, and for the health of individuals. My colleague Danny Kennedy was perhaps the first Minister to take the issue seriously. He recognised that there are multiple benefits to cycling, and he encouraged the development of cycling lanes and networks widely throughout Northern Ireland.”
“I, too, welcome this change in our legislation. It is badly overdue. <BR /> <BR />Battery technology has changed hugely over this last number of years, but our regulations were stuck in the past and, as a result, those who had bought an e-bike found themselves in a ridiculous situation where they had to register it with the DVLA, almost like a moped, and have vehicle insurance. Like other Members, I had constituents coming to me, surprised that they were breaking the law when they used their e-bike. Yet, to all intents and purposes, and to most reasonable people, it was just a bike with a very small battery to assist those who may need assistance to cycle and to enable them to travel further. <BR /> <BR />It is ridiculous that this legislation was not in place some time ago.”
“I too thank the Minister for her statement and the decision to further extend the temporary exemption certificates for MOTs. That has been essential, and that will be automated shortly. Is the Minister reviewing a wide range of regulatory provision and licensing in her Department? Other areas also require to be addressed. I am hearing responses from those who require bus operator licences at some point. That mechanism needs to be followed up. I am also hearing from those who have been driving with a one-year international driving licence in Northern Ireland and who are unable to carry out the practical driving test.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. I, too, have been contacted by a range of employees, including office workers, warehouse workers and childminders. Yesterday, the UK Government produced a six-page document entitled 'Further businesses and premises to close', which is largely focused on the retail and hospitality sector and reinforces the two-metre rule that has been widely talked about. Can the Minister confirm that it applies to Northern Ireland as well so that there is clarity on that issue? Also, can she advise what responsibility business owners and employers have to their employees to encourage home working and, if necessary, close or provide personal protective equipment?”
“<BR /> <BR />As I said at the beginning of my comments, we are very fortunate that the Bill is coming shortly after the RHI inquiry report. Many of the proposals in the Bill address many of the issues that have been highlighted by the inquiry and provide solutions to them. I consider many of them to be appropriate, and, if this comes from the bottom up, from a private Member's Bill, from amendments at Committee level and, ultimately, from the Floor of the House, it will have much more respect in the Assembly and the Executive than something that is top-down and imposed. There is much merit in what is being proposed, and I give Mr Allister my best wishes as his Bill proceeds through the Assembly. I look forward to it being back here.”
“I can see that, if there were to be a criminal sanction involved, it would certainly concentrate the minds of those who have bypassed codes in the past and have avoided using appropriate means of communication. That is worthy of further investigation, and it should be brought out more at Committee Stage. It has much merit, and I do not know how else we will achieve our objective, but I look forward to hearing more about this, so that, if there is to be a criminal sanction, it would be set at an appropriate level. I am sure that, if it were there, senior civil servants who were aware of inappropriate actions being taken would take action to protect themselves. Equally, if they were to become subject to possible criminal investigation, Ministers and spads would be much more particular to avoid inappropriate actions.”
“<BR /> <BR />On a register of interests, it is very apparent that special advisers should register their interests. I agree, Mr Allister, that it should be a public record. If it had been a public record, someone may have decided to take a look. They may then have made a complaint if they knew that someone had not divulged their interests on a register. We have to register our interests, and we do so diligently to keep ourselves right. Just as it applies to us, spads should have to follow suit and sign a register of interests, and that should be in the public domain. <BR /> <BR />I am looking for more information on the issue of whether there should be criminal offences.”
“<BR /> <BR />On records of contacts, Ministers should not meet other parties to discuss departmental business without it being logged and a record established. Clearly, that should happen. A civil servant should be there to ensure that everything that was discussed is recorded and is appropriate. <BR /> <BR />On use of official systems, we have heard how Minister Bell did not use his official system. There are issues of cybersecurity there. Will someone with outside financial interests somehow hack it and gain access to it? It is a much less secure system than would be provided by government. There is then the whole issue that it does not create a trail and, therefore, the Ministers involved could avoid leaving any trail of their actions should they happen to be inappropriate.”
“I turn to some other aspects of the Bill. I am looking at clause 6 on records of meetings. This should not have to be stated but, in Northern Ireland, it clearly does because of the way that some of our Executive Ministers have behaved. They avoided keeping records in order to avoid the Freedom of Information Act or whatever. The Civil Service's general instructions or requirements would have been to follow the good practice of keeping minutes, but clearly that was not done. There is a need to put it into legislation to remove that wriggle room, ambiguity and bad practice that came into being over the years under the DUP and Sinn Féin's direction and leadership of the Northern Ireland Executive.”
“The Member indicated that the legislation referred to in the email from Mr Ó Muilleoir to Mr Ted Howell was to reduce costs. My question is this: why was he asking someone else whether he could do it? Why does a Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive have to ask someone else, "Can I do it?"? What would he have done if he had said no? If he had said no, would he have left it for another couple of weeks? Bear in mind that there were already delays from both the DUP and Sinn Féin sides, all of which cost the public purse money.”
“I agree entirely with what the Member says. When you add that information to what we saw happening, that causes great concern for the democratic process.”
“This is the Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive, who is looking after all our public money, has inside briefings and knows the pressures, and he is asking of someone who is not a Minister — a party official, but an unknown person as far as I am concerned — "Can I do this?". When Ministers take the oath of office, they swear to act on behalf of the public, and that has been overlooked. We need to get back to Ministers acting on behalf of all the people of Northern Ireland and not seeking to exercise their decisions only when they get approval from party apparatchiks.”
“We have heard reference to Ted Howell and the infamous quotation from the former Finance Minister in an email that was brought out in the RHI inquiry:”
“<BR /> <BR />Looking down the list of the Bill's policy objectives, I see that objective e) is:”
“You can create a need for many more spads. You create a hierarchy by appointing so many spads. In doing so, you create that power base whereby they try to over-intervene in other Departments. I question the need for the current three, never mind four. Why do we need so many spads? What do they add to the process? Things might even run more smoothly if there were fewer of them in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. Certainly, there is merit in reducing their number. Remember that this is public money that is not being spent on our schools or our health service. We spend an extra £1 million on spads in Northern Ireland compared with Scotland. I would much rather that that money be spent on front-line services. The number of spads that we employ is a problem.”
“I accept the fact that we have nine Departments and nine Ministers and therefore each Minister will need a special adviser, but do we really need up to eight special advisers in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, especially when anyone who investigates recent behaviour will find out that they may have contributed to the problems rather than helped to provide good governance in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Research and Information Service for its briefing paper, which is available in the Assembly Library. It compares the annual cost of special advisers to those of other devolved regions and the UK Government. The last time that figures were presented for all the devolved regions was in 2014-15, so those are the figures that I am quoting. At that stage, Northern Ireland had 18 special advisers, costing over £2 million; Wales had nine, costing only £600,000; and Scotland had 14, costing £950,000. Why should special advisers to the Northern Ireland Government cost twice as much as those of the Scottish Government, who have to account for a much larger budget? Surely, it should be much more proportionate to the size of the budget. We have many more special advisers.”
“We have discovered a hierarchy of special advisers and learned about how that complicated arrangement caused internal issues and delays and may well have cost millions of pounds to the public purse. Spads were not accountable, nor were they, on occasion, formally or properly appointed by their Minister. A new process had been determined, and their loyalties seemed to lie elsewhere than to their Minister. That, in itself, caused problems. <BR /> <BR />Policy objective d) aims:”
“I was on the Committee for Social Development at the same time as Mr Allister. The Committee eventually managed to extract the fact that there had been an inquiry into the behaviour of a special adviser and, using our legislative powers, demanded access to papers. Eventually, we got a heavily redacted report that recommended that there should be formal disciplinary action. However, that needed the approval of the Minister, and the Minister at that time, Mr McCausland, blocked it. Clearly, there is a failing when, at present, a Minister can prevent a special adviser from being subject to the normal Civil Service code of behaviour that would be expected of someone in the Senior Civil Service. Clearly, we need change. <BR /> <BR />Then, there is the issue that special advisers should be accountable to the Minister.”