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 addresses many of those areas. <BR /> <BR />In the explanatory and financial memorandum that accompanies the Bill, policy objective b) states:”
“I give broad support to Mr Allister's Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. Its timing is fortunate, coming just after the publication of the RHI inquiry report. Earlier, I was astounded when I attempted to make an intervention after Mr O'Dowd asked whether there was a need for legislation. After the publication of the RHI inquiry report, which exposed the many failings and the dysfunctional nature of the Executive, a senior MLA asked whether there was a need for legislation. Clearly, we need to improve the situation. The current codes have not been working, have not been applied and are not strong enough. There is much merit in what is proposed. The Assembly has to thank the Rt Hon Sir Patrick Coghlin and his team for their report. The Bill actually carries out many of its recommendations.”
“Does the Member agree that, rather than facing investigation and possible disciplinary action, it gave a very stark message to others in the Civil Service when he was promoted into the Office of the First Minister?”
“Does the Minister recognise that public transport workers and, indeed, taxi operators provide an essential service and that, without them, many of our health service staff will not be able to get to work to treat patients?”
“To go back to the original question, I am aware of the need to improve park-and-ride facilities at Whiteabbey station. However, does the Minister agree that, rather than improving park-and-ride facilities at more city centre sites, there would be many more advantages for the environment and communities if park-and-ride facilities further down railway lines were developed, addressing the issue of full car parks at Carrickfergus and Whitehead and developing further park-and-ride facilities on the Larne line or the fully subscribed park-and-ride facilities for Ulsterbus at Millbrook?”
“The Member talks about integrity and respect. Does he agree that his Chief Whip needs to look very closely at what he is saying and encouraging others to do and say, so that there can be integrity and respect for everyone?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and, indeed, for coming to Carrickfergus Academy. Will he accept that there is a need for an early concept layout for a new school and a new plan in the area, given that potential investments are needed for road safety improvements that are required to the entrance and, indeed, other investments such as a 2G pitch, so that there is a good layout that will stand not only for the short term but for any long-term investment in the site?”
“I, like the Minister, am thankful that, in the UK's National Health Service, we have access to some of the world's experts. We must be really appreciative of that, of all those involved in the planning and preparation of the response, and, indeed, those already working on the front line against coronavirus. <BR /> <BR />What is the Minister's advice for employers on their responsibilities to their employees, their employees' families and, indeed, the wider community if they employ contractors who come from northern Italy or other hot spots — bearing in mind that, on many occasions, the virus has been linked to northern Italy — so that, ultimately, the community is not endangered? Do the same issues as apply to travellers apply to employees who may come to Northern Ireland to work in essential roles?”
“The Minister rightly referenced the scheme in England. He also indicated that there is a need to increase the demand for these schemes. I understand that, in England, 90% of the cost is paid by the Government and 5% by the employer, whilst, in Northern Ireland, 50% is paid by the employer. Does he accept that, if we were to follow the English model, we would encourage many more firms to come forward and invest their time and energy in developing the workforce for the benefit of the entire economy?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. It is encouraging to hear that some investment will come. Recently, I have been trying to assist a disabled constituent who, following major surgery, has been virtually imprisoned on the first floor of his private rental property for over three months and unable to get to some hospital appointments as that requires four Ambulance Service personnel. Minister, will you review the currently inadequate provision of three-bedroom, disabled-friendly accommodation in my constituency with a view to providing more?”
“Will the Member advise how he proposes to pay workers if the Bill does not pass?”
“I hope that the Executive will move speedily forward to finalise the detailed expenditure during the subsequent year, because none of us knows how the virus may impinge on society or on health expenditure. We may think, "Oh, 45% expenditure; that is safe", but we need to move speedily to ensure that there are mechanisms to ensure that, if additional moneys are needed for health because of the emergency that may be developing in our midst, we will be able to react. <BR /> <BR />As I indicated, this has been a flawed process, but we have all done as well as we could. I hope that we have a much better process in the future.”
“I think that we, as Members, all need training on what this black-box provision is. I confess that I do not recall having heard of it previously; I may have, but I do not recall it. It also appears that civil servants need some training on it, because, as indicated, mistakes have been identified in how it has been processed. I hope that the entire process will be improved to be much more user-friendly and meaningful so that the public will have much more direct engagement with Budget decisions and processes. Doing so will help to connect the public to politics and to decisions that are being made up here on the hill, so there is much to learn. <BR /> <BR />There is huge uncertainty at present, as others indicated, because of the coronavirus. I appreciate that the Budget moves forward 45%.”
“We have to recognise that, even before that, there was a flawed process, because we had been doing something that was not hugely dissimilar: we got into the habit of discussing the Budget and the next year's expenditure much too late. As I indicated to the Minister at Second Stage, lessons were set out in 2012, when the Finance Committee made recommendations about wider and fuller consultation so that we got better decisions. In particular, I understand that online tools have been developed and that much better processes are available so that we can engage directly with the public. I hope that, in the future, we will introduce that so that we can benefit from a much earlier process and a much more effective means of consulting. <BR /> <BR />Others mentioned the black-box provision. That is like some magic trick.”
“I, too, recognise that the Budget Bill regulates the expenditure for 2019-2020, taking on board the in-year monitoring that occurred during that process. It also authorises 45% expenditure in the following year — some £9 billion — which should not be taken lightly. However, although we have to recognise that this budget process is flawed to a degree, we are doing the best that we can given the circumstances. In particular, there was a gap of three years, and Ministers are only recently back in post, as are the Committees, which do detailed scrutiny. Secondly, there has been limited time since January to do something.”
“The UK's NHS model of giving free health advice brings advantages. Does the Minister accept that it is very positive that we have the free 111 service and free access to our GP? That should give us an advantage, perhaps over some countries that charge for such access, in trying to control the outbreak.”
“I advise the Member that, if he occasionally mentions the 45% and the Vote on Account, he will be all right.”
“They may well struggle in future life. It is important that we intervene earlier and give everyone a better start. <BR /> <BR />There are huge challenges. My colleagues and I will endeavour to engage constructively to try to ensure that we make the best use of our limited funds. I hope that Ministers and the Executive are listening and will take constructive comments as they are meant. They are meant to try to improve the lot of everyone in our community.”
“Recently, the Education Minister, in answer to an Assembly question for written answer that I submitted to him, disclosed the breakdown of wards with less than 85% school attendance by post-primary pupils. I was shocked to find that a ward in my constituency had 43% of young people with less than 85% attendance at school — the worst in Northern Ireland — and that the figure for two neighbouring wards was 27%. That area has very weak community infrastructure. It is an area where cross-departmental working is needed to address the issue. The school, the parents and the community need to recognise the importance of education, so that our young people are not left behind. Young people who do not attend school may well leave without education and end up being deemed as not in education, training or employment.”
“We need to make sure that, when schools amalgamate, it is seen to work. I hope that the Minister of Education, when he visits later this week, will see the need for that investment in order to improve education. <BR /> <BR />There is something fundamentally wrong with our education budgets. Even when schools are at full capacity and the classrooms are full, they cannot operate within budget. Perhaps that is because teachers are more experienced and happen to be at the top of their spine points. It is wrong that pupils should suffer and the school has no fat left to trim and no options. <BR /> <BR />It was mentioned that we should not operate in silos. There is a need for cross-departmental working and funding to address educational underachievement.”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to highlight the failure to adequately link the education capital budget and area plans. I hope that they will be linked in next year's Budget. I recently visited Carrickfergus Academy following the amalgamation of Carrickfergus College and Downshire School. It was in line with the area plan, and the governors went along with it and have amalgamated. However, this in turn has created huge pressures. The school's infrastructure is not satisfactory. It needs investment urgently. In addition, the funding process for schools, once they amalgamate, creates problems. The Minister of Education needs to address that matter, and the Finance Minister should look at it as well. Mention was made of the need for a single education system. When we have brought schools together, the system has not worked.”
“I had an old rugby injury in my shoulder, and I was able to be X-rayed and assessed by a physiotherapist. Regrettably, I had to wait about six months before I got treatment, but it certainly brought about improvement. All that happened without having to go to a consultant. We need those new health and care facilities and innovative working methods. We need to empower a wide range of healthcare staff to remove the bottlenecks. That is important, as there is a shortage of consultants. Continuing to rely on expensive locum doctors and locum nurses is not the way forward. We need to train more nurses, doctors and GPs, and we need a new GP training course and facilities for medical training in Londonderry. We have to commit to that in order to address the needs of our community.”
“I will go back to Antrim Hospital — I thought that you wanted to intervene on that — where there are huge pressures because it has an inadequate number of beds. Beds have closed at Whiteabbey Hospital, which puts additional pressures on Antrim Hospital. They have come up with innovative working methods to try to minimise the number of beds required so that they can continue to operate and to minimise trolley waits in A&E. Even with all that, the occupancy rate is so high that it is inefficient not to have some spare capacity to deal with peaks in A&E. Additional funding is needed at Antrim Hospital to deal with those pressures. <BR /> <BR />We need to continue to support modern facilities. I go back to my experience of ICATS at Ballymena Health and Care Centre.”
“If organisations have not controlled their expenditure and put in bids way above inflation, they have a responsibility to step up to the mark so that health and care centres can be built in my constituency and in your constituency, and houses can be built throughout Northern Ireland.”
“As I said, I do not feel that the full cost of the additional moneys should fall upon the public purse.”
“I have been very generous; I have given way to numerous people. I wish to proceed a little bit. <BR /> <BR />I want to prioritise investment in health, and in primary healthcare in particular, in my constituency. I am also aware of huge pressures in Antrim Area Hospital, which has some of the highest bed occupancy rates of any of the health trusts in Northern Ireland. The managers there are very efficient and a bed hardly gets cold. They are very professional in making the best use of those beds, and that is good. What we must be clear about, however, is that, where there are not sufficient beds, a hospital reaches a point where it becomes inefficient. It needs to have some spare capacity so that it can react to the pressures that come to bear.”
“I thank the Member for his comment, but, sorry, when you build a new stadium, it is capital money. It may be ring-fenced capital money, but it is capital money. What we are talking about here is the bid for additional capital money. Mention was made of the 50%. We are talking about an eight-year period from when those figures were originally brought out. There has not been 50% inflation in that period, so something has gone badly wrong. If additional costs have been incurred because, perhaps, of a restriction on the site, those who designed it should have reduced the size accordingly to live within their means. They should not be coming back here simply for more money, because there is a cost to other public services if we commit more money to individual schemes.”
“I did not criticise the £61·4 million for Casement Park; what I criticised was an additional bid for, I think, another £40 million. Why did the design not follow the brief to build whatever they wanted to build with the money that was available to them or to raise additional moneys privately through the organisation that wanted the stadium? I would have thought that that was a measured and reasonable point to make. If we spend another £30 million or £40 million of public funds on that particular stadium, it will result in fewer houses being built and less chance of healthcare centres being built in my constituency.”
“There is no point coming here to complain about the taxation measures in the United Kingdom, if you do not go there to try to change them. There is no point continuing to blame austerity. Let us remember the then Labour Treasury Minister who, after he lost the election, left a note in a bottom drawer for the incoming Minister, saying, "Sorry, no money left. They spent it all". There is a problem if you borrow, borrow and borrow, beyond even your annual running costs, and that is what was happening. Western society was spending money that it did not have. It is very difficult — it is not nice not being able to spend money on everything that you want to — but there are choices that can be made. <BR /> <BR />The Member's intervention was interesting.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />Those are interesting thoughts. Again, it is all austerity's fault. Listen, we have choices to make with the money that comes to us. If you want to change the taxation measures in the United Kingdom, go to Westminster and vote for changes. Do not stand here and complain —”
“Can it increase its contribution? The additional moneys should not automatically come from the public purse, because, as I said earlier, that will result in fewer houses being built and fewer health and care facilities being built. We have choices. It is curious that, in the design process, there was no regard to the cost.”
“so I would like to see it step forward to invest in such a facility.”
“Is it not up to it to put forward some of its money? I understand that it has an income of about €65 million each year”
“I just want to finish my point. Rugby received £14·7 million in 2011 and built the new Kingspan Stadium. Football received £25 million for Windsor Park. I understand that some £36 million was committed to other stadia at that stage. At that time, Casement Park was allocated £61·4 million. I was always taught to cut your cloth according to your means. If the GAA has designed a stadium costing 50% more than the public funds that were allocated, is it not up to the GAA to fill the gap?”
“We need modern health and care facilities in order to take the pressure away from our hospitals and to support our GPs and the new multidisciplinary teams that are emerging. We should be doing more away from our hospitals. <BR /> <BR />I also highlight to the Minister the fact that how we choose to spend money affects where we cannot spend it. If we fund pet projects, others will be left behind. I noticed recently a further bid for — I do not know the exact figure — £30 million or £40 million for Casement Park, which would take the public investment to, I understand, over £100 million. Again, if you spend money there, it will not be available for housing or healthcare.”
“We do not have a modern health and care centre within the East Antrim constituency. Somehow, health capital investment has overlooked the East Antrim constituency. None has been made in Larne, Carrickfergus or Newtownabbey. We have aging health centres that require investment to help our GPs and primary healthcare providers improve the services and expand what they can do. I am thinking particularly of the Taylors Avenue health centre, which was built in the 1960s. It is crammed and out of date. In fact, the day centre on that site closed over a decade ago. I think the facility was built for less than a third of the population that presently exists there. Again, the Gloucester Avenue health centre in Larne is equally in need of investment, as is the Abbots Cross medical centre in Newtownabbey.”
“I welcome the investment to date in our multidisciplinary teams — again, a number of Members have mentioned them — which support our GPs. This enables health issues to be addressed much earlier by physios, occupational therapists, community psychiatric nurses and social workers; allows much assessment and treatment to occur away from our hospitals; and helps to address waiting lists by taking pressure away from consultants. It also helps patients by addressing conditions before they, perhaps, worsen and become much more significant. <BR /> <BR />I also want to highlight the need for investment in primary health facilities within my East Antrim constituency. We have no ED in the East Antrim constituency. We have no minor injuries unit within the East Antrim constituency.”
“We need investment in our staff and facilities so that we can improve healthcare. We need to develop new services, and that will be difficult in some areas. On occasions, we will all have to travel further, but, if we are getting a higher quality of service, that is what we must do. <BR /> <BR />What areas will we choose to spend our funding on? There are choices when we spend our capital funds. There are even choices on where we spend it within health. There are choices when we commit huge amounts of capital to other schemes, as I mentioned earlier, because, when it is spent on other schemes, there is no money left to invest in health. <BR /> <BR />I want particularly to highlight the need for investment in primary healthcare, where Northern Ireland lags considerably behind best practice in Great Britain.”
“I agree that that is a key issue going forward, and I too look forward to that report. I also highlight the need for a level playing field throughout the island of Ireland — Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There should not be favoured areas for energy generation that could potentially work against companies in Northern Ireland. It is important that there is a fair and level playing field. <BR /> <BR />I turn now to health, bearing in mind that 45% of the health budget is put forward in this Budget Bill. It is important that we address resource pressures on the Health Department, but it is also important that we look at the unacceptable conditions that many of our health staff are working in. Capital investment could improve their ability to treat patients and improve services. Under Bengoa, we are to modernise our service.”
“That is the challenge that Ministers face, and I hope that the Executive rise to that challenge.”
“I understand that, as well as improving the availability of renewable energy, a North/South interconnector could save Northern Ireland's electricity consumers some £20 million a year. Will the Executive ensure that we have the appropriate North/South infrastructure to support renewable energy in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland?”
“Not only will it be losing funds but it will also have to build in potential redundancies, which will bring additional funding stresses. I do not want that to happen, and it would be irresponsible to let it happen. I have no doubt that it would be against the wishes of the Northern Ireland public and the Assembly. Only a few weeks ago, we passed a motion indicating that we should do everything that we can to prevent climate change. Public transport is one such way of minimising CO2 emissions and pollution in our cities, so it is vital that we have an efficient public transport system. <BR /> <BR />I now move on to our electricity infrastructure. We have a requirement to keep down the cost of electricity and to make full use of renewable energy, again following our commitment to fight climate change.”
“There will be a crisis in our public transport network if Translink is unable to maintain the networks. If Ministers require the company to maintain them at the present level of funding, the company will go bust. That is just basic economics. <BR /> <BR />Translink is run by the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which is subject to company law. Company law requires the directors to act and take decisions responsibly. If Ministers insist that funding will continue at the current level and the existing network be maintained at that level, the company will not be able to do so. We will hit a crisis. The crisis will come fairly soon, possibly even before the Budget in June or July. I do not know what Translink's cash flow situation will be during the period. It may be suffering stress.”
“Public funds should not be used to create political distractions or wasted on fanciful bridges. <BR /> <BR />I move on to public transport. Since 2015, Translink has been required to maintain the existing public transport network, yet insufficient public subsidy has been supplied by government. As a result, Translink's reserves have declined from some £56·7 million in 2015 to a projected £21·1 million by the end of March. If Translink continues at that level of funding while being required to maintain the current public transport networks, it has indicated that there will be a shortfall of £29 million in the next financial year. The moneys that are going into the Department for Infrastructure through the authorisation of this Budget will be insufficient if maintained at last year's level.”
“I will bring my comments back, Mr Speaker, to the debate. What we are approving is 45% of this year's funds for the Department for Infrastructure so that that Department and its Minister can spend until further detailed discussion occurs. I hope that no money is directed from that 45% towards the Boris bridge, because I would view that as wasteful. I hope that I have connected the two, Mr Speaker.”
“The slight problem is, of course, that there is a different railway gauge in Northern Ireland to that in Scotland. Another slight problem is that really, if you are going to invest lots of money —.”
“For those of you who are not aware of it, it is an 800 feet deep channel that causes major difficulties for bridge or tunnel building. I am not even sure if it is technically feasible to tunnel under it. On top of that, of course, there are the millions of tons of munitions that were dumped there, particularly after the Second World War. Weapons that were deemed to be out of date were just dumped there. That will cause a major structural problem for anybody who tries to do anything in that area. <BR /> <BR />I have also been fascinated with the images that someone has already been paid to develop to sell this idea. I saw that it was being proposed that the bridge would have two different railway lines, as well as road transport. I thought, wonderful idea.”
“I will make it clear that my view is that it is a distraction from Boris's border down the Irish Sea, which he created in the Brexit process. Millions of pounds of UK taxpayers' funding will be required to take this design process forward, yet the Department for Infrastructure has not even been engaged. There is no reference to it in the documents that we have seen to date as a Committee. Why do I describe it as a distraction? Look at the Channel Tunnel, which cost billions of pounds. It has considerably higher levels of traffic flow than any road, bridge or tunnel across the North Channel would have. Several companies were involved in its development, but guess what? They went bust even with that greater flow of traffic and revenue capability. <BR /> <BR />Secondly, there is the small issue of Beaufort's Dyke.”
“At the very least, we need to look at the time frame of how the money will be spent, if not at whether there needs to be an adjustment to what is being proposed. <BR /> <BR />When I indicated that we need to look carefully at how our money was being spent, that applies to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, as well. I have been interested to find no reference to the Boris bridge in the briefing that I and my colleagues in the Infrastructure Committee had. Maybe it is not even going to land in Northern Ireland. I would have thought that, if it is going to land in Northern Ireland, it would get some reference at least in the Department. I fear that the Boris bridge to Scotland is an expensive design distraction.”
“I am aware, for instance, that there were delays in introducing a 20 mph road-calming scheme with variable speeds during school time on the main A2 in my constituency. Other schools still face 40 mph speed limits outside their front door because there is no money to invest in variable message signs to reduce traffic when kids are going to and coming out of school. <BR /> <BR />We need to get balance in what we are doing. As I said, I have clearly indicated my support for hundreds of millions of pounds being spent. We need to be careful how we spend our money, and it is right to question how we spend our money. There is no point in just writing blank cheques. Circumstances have changed here, as I indicated, so what this Assembly originally committed £250 million to, it is now committing over £1 billion to.”