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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“There is very weak community infrastructure in many of the disadvantaged communities where paramilitaries operate. There needs to be community planning in a manner that draws in all the public agencies —”
“We talk about gangmasters, and there is a degree of that going on here. Those at the top who have the power and money do not want to give up that money and power. We, as a community, must draw on all the public resources to follow the money and undermine those who are at the top and controlling people often against their wishes, just like the Mafia does. <BR /> <BR />There are still the paramilitary murals. Good work has been done in the Re-imaging Communities programme, but, sadly, additional paramilitary murals have been erected in recent times. There is the one in Greenisland. There is also a very public one in the Craigy Hill estate, the south-east Antrim provost gunman, which has been a blight on that community for several years. We, as a community and a Government, must do something to address that.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is a very evident difficulty with a rise in paramilitary activity in my constituency. Over the summer, we had the public massing of a mob in a dispute between sections of the breakaway south-east Antrim UDA. In 2014, there was a 70-strong mob with hammers, swords and golf sticks out in public in daylight showing a very public face of paramilitarism, which is normally underground. They are challenging the law and the justice system, and we, as a community, need to respond. <BR /> <BR />Like Sammy Douglas, I have been contacted by many members of paramilitary groups who want to leave. However, regrettably, once they join, they are not allowed to leave and are coerced. In my constituency, those in the south-east Antrim UDA have already got the message that they must turn up at an event or get a beating.”
“I will come to that later in my speech, when I will suggest some things. <BR /> <BR />One of the suggestions is that we need to draw in additional specialist resources. Additional community policing, with the support of the PSNI and the community, has been mentioned as a way to make sure that the community is policed. It is important that we draw in specialist support from the National Crime Agency, which has experts. Often, the agency has not looked at crime gangs because they are just below the threshold at which it would become involved. Why is some of the money not being used to help the police to draw in that specialist expertise to follow the money, do detailed surveillance and identify those who are involved in organised crime? That is my disappointment.”
“There have consistently been about 50 dissident republicans and about 50 loyalists in prison over the past number of years. Why are there any? There should not be any paramilitaries. Clearly, we need additional specialist resources to address —”
“Some 80 convictions have been secured; there have been 22 murders and almost 4,000 reports of people being forced from their home; and 8,500 arms and 495 kg of explosives have been seized. They must all go away or be forced to go away. Time is marching on, and I believe that it is time for additional resources. My colleague Doug Beattie mentioned his disappointment that, of a potential £10 million, only £3·8 million has been drawn down. Surely, more could have been done, given the time that has passed and the time that there has already been to plan how to tackle the problem. <BR /> <BR />The PSNI believes that some 33 organised criminal gangs with direct links to paramilitaries operate currently. Are they paramilitaries or are they organised crime gangs? I am afraid that the distinction is not seen by anyone who faces their wrath.”
“I support the motion and the amendment tabled by the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP. I am glad that the proposer of the Alliance Party motion has bought into that amendment. <BR /> <BR />Eighteen years after the Belfast Agreement and the end of the conflict, why do we have any paramilitaries? Why are there any still around? That is a fundamental question. I thank NICVA, which, in partnership with The Detail, has used the open data that is becoming available — we need more open data from government — to highlight the scale of paramilitary activity over the past number of years in its report on paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, which Richie McPhillips mentioned earlier.”
“When does she envisage the review will be completed, and might some of the reprieves be temporary?”
“I, too, welcome the statement by the Minister reversing the decision to close the courts. Her statement highlights a range of alternative court systems: a substance misuse court, a family drug and alcohol court and a domestic violence court. These are different models, and she may well need homes for those alternatives. Her statement says that in order to allow the "Courts 2020 Review" to take place:”
“The social change fund was established to enable the Executive to quickly respond to more urgent ways to address social need, yet, surprisingly, in the Minister's statement, he has announced that £7·1 million has been returned unspent and yet another programme is being developed to distribute funding. With only five months remaining in this financial year, can the Minister advise how the community regeneration fund will run in a transparent manner and how it will be applied for? How can we be assured that it will neatly knit with the emerging community planning process that councils have been developing to get maximum value for the buck?”
“The Minister talked about investment in primary care. My constituents from Larne, Carrick and Newtownabbey have most of their care provided from Antrim and Belfast, so I welcome that there will be a greater focus on primary care. There needs to be investment in order that our GP practices can be improved and services provided. What investment will follow in capital and resource budgeting to enable more services to be provided locally from our GPs and other allied professionals?”
“I welcome the proposal to empower women and enable them to carry out a role in addressing paramilitarism, but one of the problems with paramilitarism is that individuals — sometimes, very strong individuals — can dominate their community and that many are also involved in domestic violence. How will the Minister ensure that he is not sending out a signal that dominant characters will be further empowered and further emboldened, potentially to dominate female members of their community?”
“— that we protect the jury system and the justice system and do not allow courts to take the blame. We must move forward as a community and create an integrated prison, just as we need an integrated society.”
“It is almost saying that we have the segregated units because of the court processes and it is all the courts' fault. Much of Europe does not have juries. That is a British judicial tradition that I wish to uphold. It is reflected largely in the Republic of Ireland as well. In February this year — this epitomises why there is a difficulty — a Fianna Fáil councillor highlighted why there was a need for the Special Criminal Court in the Republic: 12 jurors could not be got from 729 people for a case in Limerick. It is important —”
“<BR /> <BR />I am particularly concerned about the language of the amendment. It states that Maghaberry is unique because of:”
“That is just what I have been saying. <BR /> <BR />The Minister, in her response, indicated that there was training for staff resilience and rotation of staff on the segregated wings, but I am still picking up that there is a chill factor and a difficulty for prison officers operating in the segregated units. Is that because of the concentration of prisoners? Do they think that they can dominate and impose their wish on the staff? While some Members spoke of the fact that the prisoners did not control the wings, it is undoubtedly the case that they have undue influence. <BR /> <BR />We benefited greatly from hearing from Robbie Butler about his experience. I thank him for that. His concern for officers, non-uniformed staff and prisoners was obvious. He made the point that segregation was not working.”
“Are people thinking that they will be better off if they move into the segregated unit? Is the system encouraging people to link up with paramilitary organisations and benefit from the segregated unit? It is vital that we do not encourage and maintain such structures. Doing so will possibly even contribute to recruitment. <BR /> <BR />Other aspects of the report indicated that, on the day of the inspection, the mail facility was closed owing to staff shortages. No doubt,staff were providing supervision for football in the segregated unit or something like that. The important aspect of handling mail for all prisoners was not facilitated. Paragraph 2.12 indicates:”
“That point was also highlighted by Sammy Douglas. The report also refers to knock-on effects, such as the inadequate care of vulnerable prisoners, which Eamonn McCann highlighted. When you take prison officers away from other sections of the prison, regardless of the impact on those other sections, to maintain the separated regime to a very high level, including playing football at lunchtime when everybody else is locked down, guess what? Mistakes happen, and things go wrong. There are consequences to blindly going forward and maintaining a separated unit. There are consequences to prioritising staffing levels over those in the rest of the prison and creating more favourable conditions in the separated unit. Alex Attwood highlighted the issue that how people enter the prison is highly questionable.”
“The 2015 Criminal Justice Inspection report is also damning of the current arrangement, which gives special treatment to paramilitary prisoners. Paragraph S48, which is about separated units, states:”
“<BR /> <BR />Some DUP Members, Paul Frew for instance, spoke of their party's opposition to separating prisoners. It was with surprise that I heard later that Edwin Poots indicated that their party would vote against the motion. I cannot explain that one. There can be little doubt that concentrating paramilitary prisoners in separated wings has a significant adverse effect on other aspects of the prison, including prison officers' morale, and, indeed, it also has consequences outside our jails.”
“There is a vision of integrating prisoners within the Executive's action plan for tackling paramilitary activity, criminality and organised crime. Again, many spoke about the need to do that. It needs to happen in prisons as well as in outside society. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Unionists have been to the fore in moving Northern Ireland towards a normal society. We believe that the decision to establish separated wings was a flawed one in 2003. As my colleague Robbie Butler very ably explained, if the decision was flawed then, the experience that we have seen since — particularly the violence that we have seen, with prison officers being attacked in their homes and, indeed, prison officers Black and Ismay having lost their lives — shows that it is still flawed today; even more so.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly faces a stark choice; a choice between the motion in my name and that of Doug Beattie, which sees a normal society and prison system, and the torturous language of the Sinn Féin amendment, which can be easily read as blaming our court system for a separated regime in our prisons. When you look carefully at the wording, you see that that is how it can be easily interpreted. <BR /> <BR />2016 is 20 years after the announcement of the paramilitary ceasefires and 18 years after the Belfast Agreement. Surely that is long enough for change to happen. Why do we have any paramilitary prisoners? That is the question that must be asked. The motion calls for no fresh admissions by 2021 — let us endeavour to have it sooner — and to end separation by 2026. Again, let us have that sooner.”
“If there is willingness, it could be done much sooner. I hope that that would be the case. It is false to criticise the motion on those longer time frames. <BR /> <BR />I turn to some other things that were said. It is important that the Assembly indicates its view on the matter, because ultimately the Secretary of State has a role in bringing about that change. Like Doug Beattie, Alex Attwood highlighted the need to deal with the separated regime. He specifically indicated the difficulty with there being a segregated or separated regime in the Republic as well as in Northern Ireland. I agree that that issue needs to be dealt with. Again, the time frame that is envisaged should allow that to happen easily if there is goodwill.”
“My colleague Doug highlighted that the motion that we have crafted is an attempt to dovetail into Fresh Start and the action plan to end paramilitary activity, because if we are going to end paramilitary activity outside prison, we also need to work to end the arrangements for segregation of paramilitaries inside prison, where they do have undue influence. He indicated that segregation was introduced in haste in 2003 against the wishes of prison governors, the Prison Officers' Association and the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. It was adopted within a month, and we still have it today. Many in the Chamber are saying that a maximum of nine years is not sufficient time to have it removed. Some say that it is too long. If you look at the motion, you see that we have said, "by 2021" and that, "by 2026", it should be completely over.”
“Like my colleague Doug Beattie and many others, I will start my comments by praising prison officers and staff for their dedication and professionalism in the very difficult environment in which we have placed them to look after prisoners on our behalf. The system that we set up results in shortages and difficulties for them in doing their jobs as best they can. There were other comments from Paul Frew, Trevor Lunn, Sammy Douglas, Robbie Butler, Pam Cameron and indeed the Minister recognising this during the debate.”
“<BR /> <BR />It would be helpful if the Minister could tell us what the estimated total cost to the annual budget will be for each of the remaining years of this Assembly. Again, what are the detailed eligibility criteria; and, if not all households are entitled, is there an alternative in place to support them? In particular, can he clarify the situation regarding new claimants? <BR /> <BR />It would also be helpful if the Minister advised, as was said by Mr Eastwood, on the work he has undertaken to plan beyond 2020 or, if there is nothing planned, how he is going to communicate that fact to those who would be affected so that they can start to plan accordingly.”
“Since 31 May, there has been a benefit cap introduced into Northern Ireland at £26,000 for families. However, since the legislative consent motion, there has been little point in our discussing the merits or otherwise of the policy behind that because with that motion, which was approved with DUP and Sinn Féin support, the authority to set the policy in this area has been passed to Westminster. So, what we are talking about today is purely mitigation. <BR /> <BR />We need to look at what is being proposed here. Certainly it follows the Evason report in trying to protect some of those who would be most significantly affected by the changes as a result of this further reduction in benefits, with the cap being reduced to £20,000.”
“— 75%, 64% and 63% of people with an urgent breast cancer referral were seen within 14 days in April, May and June. That is not acceptable. We need to improve our service. The service is far below that in England and Scotland.”
“Therefore, having waited six months and visited a whole range of specialists on different waiting lists, finally a suspicion of cancer has been highlighted and an operation is planned. I hope and pray that delays will not prove to be significant to his long-term health. That is a problem with the 392,000 people on the waiting list. Many of them have different ailments, some of which may be cancer, so we ought to deal with the problems in our entire health service, as referenced in the motion but not addressed by many. Once cancer spreads, it becomes very difficult to treat. Therefore, early treatment targets are there to try to prevent that from happening. <BR /> <BR />In the Northern Trust area, I see that —”
“<BR /> <BR />There are 392,000 local patients on the waiting list, but the question is this: how many of them have a more serious ailment lurking in the background that may emerge when they are on the waiting list? No blame is intended on heavily pressed GPs or specialist consultants. Indeed, some illnesses are very difficult to diagnose, but the longer that someone is on a waiting list and not being regularly seen and reviewed by the specialist, the higher the risks. Indeed, some individuals end up moving to several different specialists along their journey of diagnosis. <BR /> <BR />I can think of one constituent who was parked on such multiple waiting lists and whose long journey of diagnosis has taken some six months. Only recently, it was identified that he now has a suspected cancer.”
“If the Member waits a moment, I will come exactly to that point. If you notice, I have been talking all about the waiting list, and there is a reason for it. <BR /> <BR />In GB, they operate using referral time to treatment. It is not how long you have been parked on one of the multiple waiting lists that Northern Ireland patients have to move along; it is your treatment plan from when you see your GP until you get treated. We operate a different system, which hides many people within the waiting system. Because we are not using that referral time to treatment, the system does not look at how to better plan and improve the patient's journey. When will Northern Ireland come out of the dark ages and adopt that modern method to improve our system and bring about efficiencies?”
“With lengthy waiting lists, we also get increased pressure on GP services. We get additional unplanned A&E admissions to hospitals, and there are pressures on staff because patients are not being treated in an orderly, efficient manner.”
“<BR /> <BR />Like others, I commend our health staff for the treatment that they give when patients eventually get to the top of their waiting list. However, that is the problem: too many are parked on waiting lists. <BR /> <BR />The waiting times summary report of August 2016 for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, which covers my area, shows quite concerning figures, with 17,888 patients waiting more than nine weeks — ie 64% of patients — and 1,620 waiting for more than a year to be seen or treated. Areas of concern are ENT, gastroenterology, general surgery, gynaecology, neurology, pain management, rheumatology and thoracic medicine, with many patients waiting more than 45 weeks. <BR /> <BR />Early diagnosis and treatment will reduce the suffering of patients and produce better long-term outcomes.”
“I support the motion, which highlights the Northern Ireland health crisis. As I said earlier, 392,000 people are on waiting lists. This issue has not been referenced by the Back-Benchers from the Sinn Féin/DUP Government. They seem to have skated over this. The failure to address the pressures on our health service has led to this intolerable situation, with one in five of the population being on a waiting list. <BR /> <BR />This is a failure to address a basic need: healthcare. To the Health Minister, the Finance Minister and the entire Northern Ireland Executive, which is in its sixth year of being led by DUP/Sinn Féin, I say that this is unacceptable and it is time that it was addressed. What have you done about it?”
“Does the Member accept that, with 392,000 people on waiting lists — one in five people in Northern Ireland — there are risks involved?”
“Is the Member aware that, in the previous year, in March 2015, only 27% of those requiring urgent breast cancer referrals in the Belfast Trust were seen within 14 days? This is not something new; it is repeating itself. Does she accept that there is a problem that needs to be addressed?”
“In conclusion, can the Minister advise whether, as a result of NAMA, there were any discussions at the joint agency task force, which —”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. In it, the Minister highlighted that financial crime is one of the issues for priority action by the joint agency task force. There has been significant concern regarding the NAMA allegations that have come to light, whether it be the £40,000 cash highlighted in the BBC 'Spotlight' programme or, indeed, the £6 million in an offshore account. Were there any discussions about this very significant case, which has potential implications in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland? Were there any requests for changes or cooperation —”
“I only hope that, in future, debate will be allowed in the House.”
“My understanding is that that is not the case in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, our FE colleges continue to be included, and that limits what they can do. It limits what the Executive can do with their limited borrowing. Bear in mind that that is some five years ago, so I do not want this issue to be still trundling on for five years. As I indicated, very obvious delays happened in the past, and I seek reassurance from the Minister that we will not face similar delays with this issue. When we delay the ability to build new houses, disadvantaged members of our community do not get homes. Families in need do not get a roof over their head. It is vital that there are not undue delays. It is also vital that we do not incur financial penalties as a result of indecision from our Government.”
“I would like to see clarity from the Government Benches — the DUP and Sinn Féin Benches — about that. Is that what the plan is? Are we going to simply put the ability to build houses back into the Housing Executive and suffer huge financial costs and be able to build fewer homes? It would be helpful if the Minister would clarify that. <BR /> <BR />The other area I have a degree of concern about is other aspects of our public sector in Northern Ireland. While researching this issue for the debate, I looked at the FE colleges. There was a similar assessment done in 2010 for FE colleges that is applicable to Northern Ireland as well. In England, they brought the Education Act 2011 to address the issue so that they could remain independent, avoid costs and be included in public-sector expenditure.”
“The issue is that new legislation will be required. That is very obvious when you see what had to happen in England and what has been planned elsewhere. That has been not coming out very clearly in what has been said to date. To think that you can just ask for derogation is living in cloud cuckoo land. It had to be amended in other parts of the UK and therefore would likely have to be amended here as well. <BR /> <BR />The other area of concern I had was when I heard Mr McCann speak. His solution was to give the powers back to the Housing Executive. Can the Minister advise, when he gets to his feet, whether that would solve our problem, or would it have additional costs still being incurred where we would not be able to build as many social houses?”
“Yes, unlike you and your colleagues, I will give way.”
“On top of that, of course, is the issue that my colleague Andy Allen highlighted, of access to the financial transaction capital, which is also very important for housing associations, particularly for the co-ownership scheme that allows many people who might otherwise be homeless and in need of social housing, to find a home of their own. <BR /> <BR />We need to address this with a degree of urgency. It was quickly addressed in England, and Scotland's First Minister has already said that a Bill will be introduced. When I listen to the Government Back-Benchers in the Chamber, I am confused: are they all supporting the motion as amended? I picked up a degree of discontent.”
“<BR /> <BR />The decision by the Office for National Statistics to reclassify Northern Ireland's housing associations should not have been a problem. A year ago, when it did so in England, what happened? Earlier this year, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 addressed the issue so that English housing associations could be reclassified again as private bodies. Nobody should be surprised by what has happened. Given that knowledge, I am concerned by the cost that might fall to the Executive or our housing associations as a result of the reclassification. Will there be delays? I have not yet heard when the legislation will come forward, so I hope that the Minister will address that when he gets to his feet later. The Finance Minister has indicated that this will cost an ongoing £100 million a year. Is there a charge this year?”
“It is a rather sad event in a debating chamber when none of the Government Back-Benchers are prepared to give way to allow debate. I am lucky that I had my name down to speak, but I could have interacted and, hopefully, contributed to the discussion and debate had those Members allowed it, but, obviously, they did not feel confident enough in themselves to do so. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion tabled by my colleagues Andy Allen, Jenny Palmer and Philip Smith, and, indeed, the amendment in the name of my colleagues and the SDLP, which has supported the motion as well. It is important that this area is urgently addressed, and I will highlight why I have a degree of concern because of past inaction. It needs to be in the public domain, and there needs to be pressure on movement in this area because there are concerns from the past.”
“The Minister keeps talking about the importance of transforming healthcare and making changes. The last Member to ask a question talked about transparency. When will Members see the Bengoa report, which she has had in her possession for several months?”
“It is now some six years since the First Minister and the deputy First Minister first raised the idea of the social investment fund (SIF). Does the Minister agree with me that it is an indictment that, at this date in time, none of the £1·8 million allocated to tackle fuel poverty has reached any of my constituents who are in urgent need and that, if she were a business, she would be out of business?”
“— their child and collect them later? It is not just as easy as building a track. I encourage people to contact local motorcycle clubs, where those who already use motorcycles safely and with some knowledge can give some advice and perhaps some training.”
“To get to the track, a parent will probably need a trailer costing, I do not know, £300 or £400, and a tow bar for their car costing £200 or £300. So, on top of the bike, if they want to get that bike to the track, they have to be prepared to purchase those things. On top of that, are they going to deliver —”