Northern Ireland Assembly, 16 February 2009

256 contributions from 59 members. The official report.

Assembly Business

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I would be grateful for Members’ attention before we move to the second item on the Order Paper. At the start of last Monday’s sitting, numerous points of order were raised by various Members. Some of those were dealt with at the time, and I will deal with others that were legitimate in due course.

Executive Committee Business

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I wish to inform Members that the Public Authorities (Reform) Bill has received Royal Assent. The Public Authorities (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 became law today, Monday 16 February 2009.

Assembly Business

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

I beg to move

That Standing Orders 10(2) to 10(4) be suspended for 16 February 2009.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Before I put the Question, I remind Members that the motion requires cross-community support.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved (with cross-community support):

That Standing Orders 10(2) to 10(4) be suspended for 26 January 2009.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

As the motion has been agreed, today’s sitting may go beyond 7.00 pm, if required.

Executive Committee Business

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

As the next two motions relate to Supply resolutions, I propose to conduct only one debate. I shall call the Minister of Finance and Personnel to move the first motion. Debate will then take place on both motions. When all who wish to speak have done so, I shall put the Question on the first motion. I will then call the Minister to move the second motion, before putting the Question without further debate.

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to four hours and 30 minutes for this debate. The Minister of Finance and Personnel will have up to one hour in which to propose the motions and up to one hour in which to make a winding-up speech. All other Members who wish to speak will have 10 minutes. If that is clear, we shall proceed.

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

I beg to move

That this Assembly approves that a total sum, not exceeding £12,485,717,000, be granted out of the Consolidated Fund for or towards defraying the charges for Northern Ireland Departments, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints, the Food Standards Agency, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation for the year ending 31 March 2009 and that total resources, not exceeding £15,730,008,000, be authorised for use by Northern Ireland Departments, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints, the Food Standards Agency, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation for the year ending 31 March 2009 as summarised for each Department or other public body in Columns 2(c) and 3(c) of Table 1 in the volume of the Northern Ireland Spring Supplementary Estimates 2008-09 that was laid before the Assembly on 9 February 2009.

The following motion stood in the Order Paper:

That this Assembly approves that a sum, not exceeding £5,618,965,000, be granted out of the Consolidated Fund on account for or towards defraying the charges for Northern Ireland Departments, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints, the Food Standards Agency, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation for the year ending 31 March 2010 and that resources, not exceeding £7,078,596,000, be authorised, on account, for use by Northern Ireland Departments, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints, the Food Standards Agency, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation for the year ending 31 March 2010 as summarised for each Department or other public body in Columns 4 and 6 of Table 1 in the Vote on Account 2009-10 document that was laid before the Assembly on 9 February 2009. — [The Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr Dodds).]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I wish to make it clear to the Minister of Finance and Personnel that he has one hour in which to speak to the motion.

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

The Assembly’s main focus today is on the final spending proposals for the current financial year, and on providing Departments and other public bodies with the legislative authority to finalise expenditure in 2008-09. Therefore, I propose to address two important Supply resolutions, in order to seek the Assembly’s approval of the Executive’s final spending plans for 2008-09 and to provide interim resources and funding for the first few months of 2009-2010, in the form of a Vote on Account.

The levels of Supply set out in the resolutions are requested under section 63 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which provides for the Minister of Finance and Personnel to make recommendations to the Assembly leading to cash appropriations from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.

The first resolution seeks the Assembly’s approval for the issue of a total cash sum not exceeding £12,485,717,000 from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, and for the use of total resources not exceeding £15,730,008,000, as detailed in the spring Supplementary Estimates 2008-09, which were laid before the Assembly on 9 February 2009.

The reconciliation from the total resources to the cash sum required excludes non-cash items, such as depreciation and the cost of capital, and it includes provision for capital expenditure and adjustments for debtors and creditors and the use of provisions.

The amount of cash and resources for 2008-09, covered by the first resolution, supersedes the Vote on Account provision in the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, which was passed in the Assembly this time last year, and the additional provision for 2008-09 in the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, which was passed in June 2008.

The second resolution seeks the Assembly’s approval on the issue of a cash sum of £5,618,965,000 and resources of £7,078,596,000 on account for the 2009-2010 financial year, in advance of the consideration and approval of the 2009-2010 Main Estimates and the Budget Bill by the Assembly in June 2009.

Once approved by the Assembly, the resolutions are the precursor to the Budget Bill, which I plan to introduce to the Assembly later today. Subject to Assembly approval and Royal Assent, it will provide the formal legal authority for Departments to incur expenditure for this financial year and for the first three to four months of the 2009-2010 financial year.

I, therefore, remind Members of the importance of the Supply resolutions for which approval is being sought today. As Members are well aware, Budgets, which set spending plans for future years and on which we rightly spend many hours debating, and the in-year monitoring rounds, which amend those plans, do not, in themselves, convey cash or resources to Departments. Nor do they provide Departments with the legal authority to spend that cash or to use those resources. That will be done today through this legislature’s approval of the Supply resolutions and the Estimates, followed by the associated Budget Bill. That means, of course, that after the close of the financial year the Assembly will hold Departments accountable for managing and controlling that spending and use of resources within the limits authorised today.

Members will be aware of the important role that has been played by the Public Accounts Committee in ensuring accountability to the House.

Mr Speaker, I am sure that you will be gratified to hear that I do not propose to try the patience of the Chamber with the detail of every Department’s spending plans, as set out in the spring Supplementary Estimates volume that is before the House. Rather, I will leave Members to study the detail — as, I am sure, they have — and at the end of today’s debate, I will endeavour to deal with any issues raised. However, Members will appreciate that I will not be able to respond to specific departmental queries, and in such cases, where appropriate, I will ask the relevant Minister to issue a written response.

As this is only the second time that the House has considered spring Supplementary Estimates, I will remind Members of two things. First, the final Estimates reflect the spending plans of Departments — not the total spending plans of the wider public sector, including arm’s-length bodies. Secondly, they reflect the annually managed expenditure as well as the departmental expenditure limits. I appreciate that during Budget debates and monitoring rounds, the focus is on the assigned departmental expenditure limit, over which the House has full discretion regarding allocation of spend, but we must remember that the Northern Ireland Budget also includes approximately £8 billion of annually managed expenditure for demand-led services, such as social security benefits and public-sector pension schemes.

In that context, the spring Supplementary Estimates reflect both the departmental expenditure limit changes that were agreed at the June, September and December monitoring rounds, and the annually managed expenditure changes that have been agreed since the presentation, in June 2008, of the Main Estimates.

Following the decisions that have been taken by the Executive since the December monitoring round, additional headroom has been built into the spring Supplementary Estimates in order to facilitate final decisions in the February monitoring round.

I will provide the House with details of the headroom in order to pre-empt any misunderstanding by Members or any confusion that might arise during the debate. Two items of provision have been included that relate to decisions that have been taken since the December monitoring round and which, therefore, are required to be included in the Estimates and the Budget Bill. Those provisions are the £15 million in the Department for Social Development (DSD) Estimate for the fuel poverty package, and the £3·9 million in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (DARD) Estimate along with £2·9 million in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) Estimate for the voluntary cull and disposal scheme and hardship payments in relation to the contaminated feed incident.

The Estimates have also been adjusted to reflect the changes that resulted from the reclassification of Northern Ireland Water (NIW). Members will recall that I negotiated the cover for that with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Prime Minister in respect of the additional non-cash costs associated with a deferral on the introduction of water charges.

At the preparation of the spring Supplementary Estimates in early January, it was thought prudent — since the Estimates and the Budget Bill are the final statutory ceiling on spending plans — to include some headroom amounting to £60 million in order to provide the Executive, in the current economic downturn, with the flexibility in February monitoring to make allocations if resources become available. Such headroom has been included with strict conditions. For instance, resources that have been allocated in February monitoring must be used only for the agreed purpose, and virement approval will not be given later to cover excess spending in any other areas.

Departments have also been advised that inclusion of headroom is not an indication that additional resources will be allocated by the Executive where the latest position is clear that resource constraints are as tight as anticipated by the Executive in December. I am sure that Members will appreciate the wisdom of that course, and if it had not been followed, Members would, rightly, be levelling criticism for short-sightedness and lack of flexibility.

I want to indulge in a backward look at the financial year that is fast drawing to a close and which has resulted in the Estimates that are before the House today. In the three monitoring rounds that have passed so far this year, a total of £134·6 million of reduced requirements were surrendered by Departments. As well as reducing the opening overcommitment, we were able to meet £84·9 million of bids from Departments for emerging pressures.

The Estimates include an increase of more than £25 million in various demand-led social-security benefits that the Department for Social Development administers.

In addition to the £134·6 million resource reduced requirements, Departments declared reduced require­ments of £135·2 million on the capital side, and bids to the value of £54·6 million were met. In order to boost capital spend in the current economic climate, £9·4 million was brought forward from 2009-2010 into this financial year.

Members will recall some of the main allocations made during the current financial year to date, including an allocation of £20 million capital to DSD to assist with the capital-receipt shortfall that the downturn in the housing market caused. That was provided in order to maintain the provision of social and affordable housing, and £6·5 million was also allocated for the special purchase of evacuated dwellings. Recently, DSD has been provided with the flexibility to move a further £10 million from other areas of its budget into its budget for social housing. Other allocations include £20 million capital for the farm nutrient management scheme, which will have a significant impact for the construction industry at this crucial time; £5 million to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for animal health; £700,000 assistance for the fishing industry; and £500,000 for flooding hardship.

Allocations to the Department of Education include £5 million for the extended schools programme; £4 million for school maintenance; and £2·6 million for part-time youth workers’ pay arrears. An allocation of £15 million was made to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) under the first call on available resources, which was agreed as part of the 2008-2011 Budget. The Department of the Environment (DOE) was allocated £1·5 million for flood relief to local councils, £1·9 million capital for the Planning Service computer system, and £2 million for a shortfall in planning-application income.

An allocation of £6·2 million capital was made to the Department for Regional Development (DRD) for Warrenpoint harbour. Other allocations include £2·5 million for roads’ structural maintenance; £1·8 million for public-transport capital works; and £2·8 million capital and £500,000 resource for the Assembly.

It was agreed that in the 2008-2011 Budget, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety would have flexibility to manage spending pressures in its own budget rather than declare reduced requirements and submit bids. That has allowed the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to reduce prescription charges to £3 for each item from 1 January 2009, something that I am sure that all Members welcome.

The past year was difficult, as there was an ever-tightening fiscal situation, which culminated in the economic downturn that has gripped the nation and the world. In December, the Executive responded to the economic difficulties with a £70 million package of measures designed to support local business — including the construction industry — and low-income households, which included the £15 million allocation to tackle fuel poverty. Members must not forget that in addition to that, the Estimates for 2008-09 include provision for approximately £2,500 million of social-security benefits and income support for the people of Northern Ireland.

It is important to listen to the construction industry’s concerns. As well as bringing forward £9·4 million of investment into the current financial year, I announced in December that some £115 million of construction projects that were scheduled to go to the market via the frameworks will now proceed to tender by March 2009. Therefore, the delivery of projects is not being held back to cover some alleged hole in the 2008-09 Budget, as was claimed by some but has proven to be spurious. Total capital investment in 2008-09 is now expected to exceed £1·4 billion — that is a record for investment in local infrastructure.

Moreover, industrial rates have been frozen at 30%. Rates relief is being provided to those in the freight and transport sector, which is benefiting many of our important docks and transport companies. I have also announced further support to local business through further changes to the rating system, including a freeze on increases in business rates next year, as well as the introduction from 2010 of a rates-relief scheme for small businesses.

The Assembly and the Executive have presided over the delivery of services in Northern Ireland, expenditure for which totals almost £16,000 million in the current difficult financial year. Although there remains considerable scope for improvement over the current financial year, public services have continued in an effective manner, unforeseen issues have been addressed, and assistance has been given to local businesses — including in the construction industry — and to households that the economic downturn and fuel poverty have affected.

Turning from the current financial year and looking ahead to 2009-2010, the second resolution that is the Assembly seeks approval for the issue of a cash-and-resource Vote on Account to continue existing services in the early months of the next financial year until the Main Estimates and corresponding Budget Bill are approved by the Assembly. I want to make it clear that the Vote on Account is around 45% of the final 2008-09 provision for cash and resources, and is not based on the opening Budget position for 2009-2010 agreed in January last year as part of Budget 2008-2011. In addition, the Vote on Account is based not only on the departmental expenditure limit on which the Budget 2008-2011 focused, but on the £8 million of annually managed expenditure, a substantial proportion of which is spent on social security benefits.

I have to remind the House that failure to pass the Vote on Account resolution would have serious consequences for the delivery of public services in Northern Ireland beyond 31 March, and the electorate of Northern Ireland would not forgive the Assembly for jeopardising that expenditure.

As we look forward to the next financial year, and the predictions surrounding the global economy, we must recognise the difficult challenges that lie ahead for the Assembly and the Executive. We must work together to juggle competing proprieties within a finite Budget to deliver public services. The current economic situation highlights the importance of the Programme for Government, with its focus on the economy, and as we continue with its implementation, underpinned by the Budget and the investment strategy, endorsed by the Assembly, and endorsed unanimously in the Executive, we have the opportunity to steer Northern Ireland through the storm that is already battering our local economy and impacting on households.

Within our remit as a local devolved Administration, we have been able to respond to local needs, and we will continue to do that in future.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I thank the Minister for his opening remarks and his explanation of the context of the spring Supplementary Estimates and the Vote on Account. I wish to make some opening remarks on behalf of the Committee for Finance and Personnel, and if time permits, to make some personal remarks. I will seek to indicate when that switch is being made, although Members may be able to tell by my more pronounced gesturing and pointing around the House.

At its meeting on 4 February 2009, the Committee took evidence from departmental officials on the spring Supplementary Estimates for 2008-09 and Vote on Account for 2009-2010. On behalf of the Committee, I thank the officials for helping us to navigate our way through, what are by necessity, detailed and complicated documents. That evidence session represented the culmination of a process of Committee scrutiny of the quarterly monitoring rounds, both strategically and in relation to the Department of Finance and Personnel’s (DFP) own position.

The Budget approved by the Assembly in January 2008 contained three-year plans for 2008-2011. The spring Supplementary Estimates, Vote on Account and associated Budget Bill, which are considered annually by the Assembly each February, emanate from the agreed Budget. They give Departments the authority to spend, and they set control limits for Departments, through which the Assembly can hold Departments to account. The Committee has approved accelerated passage for the Budget Bill, which is to be introduced later today, and the Chairperson has written to the Speaker to confirm that.

In layman’s terms, the spring Supplementary Estimates encapsulate the changes in departmental budgets, especially during the quarterly monitoring rounds. The spring Supplementary Estimates for 2008-09 seek the Assembly’s approval for any additional resources and/or cash needed over and above what was detailed in the Main Estimates for 2008-09, approved by the Assembly in June 2008.

The spring Supplementary Estimates for this year include what is described as additional headroom in respect of a number of departmental Estimates, which will facilitate allocations in the February monitoring round. The headroom will cover changes since the December monitoring round and areas where Depart­ments intend to bid for resources in February, provided such bids have been initially assessed as reasonable and are in areas to which the Executive may allocate funds, if available. This addresses the timing issue, in that the Budget Bill, containing both the spring Supplementary Estimates and the Vote on Account, needs Royal Assent before the end of March to allow Departments to have the legal authority to continue to spend in the early part of 2009-2010.

Departmental officials cannot, therefore, wait to finalise the Estimates until after the outcome of the February monitoring round has been announced in early March.

The headroom provision means that any funding that becomes available may be allocated in the February monitoring round, and the Estimates will then give Departments the capacity to take on and spend that money. If that headroom had not been built in, some of the Executive’s recent decisions, such as the decision on actions to address fuel poverty, could not be implemented and accounted for in February.

When giving evidence to the Committee, DFP officials stated that that decision was not taken lightly, given the need for Estimates to be taut and realistic and written to the latest Budget position, which was agreed in December. However, given the decisions that the Executive have made since the December monitoring round, it was thought prudent to build in headroom for this year. The headroom will be used only if allocations are made in February and, therefore, does not pre-empt Executive decisions. Strict conditions have been laid out, and the Minister may wish to reassure the Assembly on that matter later, when he gets a chance to do so.

Although total headroom of £342 million resource and £96 million capital has been built in, those amounts may not, in fact, be allocated in February. The headroom provision may ultimately reflect somewhat on the accuracy of the Estimates. However, the Committee welcomed the flexibility and transparency afforded by that approach, and DFP officials assured the Committee that they have asked Departments to inform their respective Committees of the headroom that has been built in to the Estimates.

In relation to budgetary changes that emanate from quarterly monitoring rounds, the Committee for Finance and Personnel has once again fulfilled an active scrutiny role throughout 2008-09. DFP officials have briefed the Committee on the Department’s position before each monitoring round and have provided in-depth written responses to the queries raised. Following the Minister’s plenary statement on the outcomes of each monitoring round, DFP officials responsible for central finance have briefed the Committee on the strategic and cross-cutting issues that relate to public expenditure.

The Committee worked with DFP officials to develop a standardised format for monitoring-round information to facilitate Committee scrutiny of departmental submissions, and it is conducting an inquiry into the scrutiny of the Executive’s Budget and expenditure. Stage three of that inquiry will review the in-year monitoring process, and in that regard, the Committee welcomes the fact that DFP is committed to its own review of the process, which is to be completed by the end of March. The outcome of that review will feed into the Committee’s inquiry. DFP officials have assured the Committee that movements of money during monitoring rounds are scrutinised — initially by DFP and subsequently by the Executive — to ensure that the Executive’s priorities in the Programme for Government have been put to the fore.

The previous Minister of Finance and Personnel outlined three possible reasons for the return of funds by Departments: greater than planned efficiency; the overstating of resource needs upfront; or a failure to deliver the planned level of public services. I, therefore, repeat the call that was made last year for Statutory Committees to examine the resources returned by their respective Departments and to question why they have been released and whether they have been returned at the earliest possible opportunity. Returning money on a large scale must inevitably affect delivery, and the information base must be improved centrally to measure that effect and to facilitate DFP’s strategic challenge function, especially in examining whether Departments are overstating resource needs when bidding for particular programmes.

I will now turn to the motion on the Vote on Account for 2009-2010. It is a practical measure that provides for the sums needed to enable public services to continue during the early part of the financial year until the Main Estimates and associated Budget Bill are debated before the summer. I, therefore, support both motions.

I now wish to make some comments in a personal capacity. I reiterate my comment about the seriousness of the debate. We often hear the media and the public say that the House does not debate serious enough issues. However, the budgetary process is the most serious issue that we can debate, and we will discuss it today, in the two motions before the House, and tomorrow, in the debate on the Second Stage of the Budget Bill.

Those are serious issues in serious times. I would suggest that it is no time for silly stunts. Mr Speaker, I would praise you in your wisdom if you were to rule as out of order — if it is appropriate — the frivolous silly stunt that is the attempt to cut a penny from the Estimates. That sort of stunt would be more befitting Fawcett’s Circus than this Assembly. Just think of the amount of paper that was printed to inform Members of that attempt. It cost more to print that paper than would have been saved had a penny been taken off the Estimates and the Vote on Account. Indeed, if the Members who put the amendment forward had been strangely convincing enough to persuade the majority of Members to support their silly idea, infinitely more than a penny would have been spent on reproducing the very thick Estimates document, which is published every year and which, of course, would have needed adjusting.

Regardless of future Budgets or Budget processes, Members need to get a grip of themselves. I cannot predict what Members will do, but I have a fairly good idea of how some parties in the House will behave later today, and they need to get a grip of what is before us. We are debating last year’s Budget, which, as I said, was agreed by the vast majority of Members. Today, we are trying to formalise our in-year monitoring process and provide what is known in the vernacular as a “cash float” for Departments for the next year so that they can continue with their business.

Members attempted to table an amendment seeking to reduce departmental budgets by a penny. What they really want to do is to reduce departmental budgets by more than just a penny. Their calls for the re-writing, or wholesale redrafting, of budgets would have to be financed by taking money from other Departments, given that there is no new money, and no desire in any part of the House to raise money in the midst of a recession through increased rates or other measures. It must be pointed out that some of the vital public services that Members cry about needing more money would be hit significantly by such a reduction, such as the Education Department, which spends huge sums, or the Health Department, which receives around 50% of the total Budget.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Will the Member give way?

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I will give way providing that the Member bears in mind the time that I have left to speak.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I take the Member’s point about frivolous motions on board. In the area that he has responsibility for, is it likely that Land and Property Services will implement a new strategy for rating reform that incorporates IT replacement? Will savings be made in the areas that have been identified, such as IT staff, software licences and maintenance? Will he be able to make the savings from accommodation and staff restructuring?

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I have absolute confidence in the ability of the Minister and his team to deliver on those matters. I thank the Member for promoting me — I am not responsible for anything. That is a question to ask the Minister at a later date.

I am glad that the frivolous amendment was rejected. Did the Members who tried to table that amendment ask their Minister — the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety — if he would be happy for £500 million to be taken from his budget to pay for their ideas.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Will Members check that their mobile phones are switched off? Someone is operating a mobile phone, or has one switched on, which is affecting the audio equipment.

Sue Ramsey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I apologise for arriving late. I am glad, as always, to speak as the Chairperson of the Committee for Employment and Learning. The Committee has noted the Department for Employment and Learning submissions to DFP, and I will make some observations on the Department’s reduced requirements.

As Members are aware, the Committee has previously stated that it has issues with the Department’s underspends, which it has discussed in its meetings with the Minister and his departmental officials. The Committee notes that, although underspends for individual projects and programmes appear relatively small in comparison with the Department’s allocation in this monitoring round, they are significant as a proportion of the budgets of certain projects and programmes.

From its discussions with officials, the Committee has ascertained that underspends on some skills and work-readiness demand-led programmes are associated with time lags before participation becomes mandatory for clients. For example, in this monitoring round, the Department is showing a reduced requirement of almost £700,000 for the Steps to Work programme, which has arisen because demand for that programme has not reached expected levels. That is because it is not mandatory for 18- to 24-year-olds to enter the programme until they have been on jobseeker’s allowance for six months. In addition, that period is 18 months for those aged 25 and over, which is something that the Committee queries.

As a result of the time lag and our knowledge that the number of unemployed people has risen dramatically in the recession, the Committee expects that funding levels for that and other Department demand-led programmes on unemployment will have to rise. We emphasise that to the Finance Minister and urge him to be forthcoming with funds for those important programmes when increases are required. The Executive are also considering that matter.

At the same time, the Committee highlighted to the Department that investment in upskilling and reskilling the workforce must continue if we are to take the best advantage of the economic upswing when it comes. A highly skilled workforce will attract foreign direct investment and other investment. The Committee would support any funding bids that the Department might make for such programmes. We remind the Minister of Finance of the commitments in the Programme for Government with regard to upskilling and reskilling the workforce.

The Committee notes that a number of the Department’s reduced requirements arise from unfilled vacancies, and we are concerned that the Department is unable to fill those vacancies in this time of recession. We urge the Finance Minister to take note of the prevalence of the Departments that are making reduced requirements because of unfilled vacancies. If those vacancies remain because of skills-gap issues, that matter must be addressed. It is appropriate that the Finance Minister should address those issues with his Executive colleagues, including the Minister for Employment and Learning.

We also ask the Finance Minister to be particularly aware of reduced requirements across the Department resulting from slippage on capital projects. The Committee for Employment and Learning has taken the lead on the issue, and we wrote to all the Statutory Committees and their Ministers urging that capital projects not be allowed to slip and, where possible, pushed forward.

The construction industry has been one of the worst-hit industries in the recession, and the Committee is concerned that if the situation is allowed to continue, we will lose many skilled workers to projects abroad, setting back the construction industry by years. As always, the Department can depend on the fact that the Committee will be supportive of its budget judgements when appropriate, but there should be no mistake that the Committee has sharp teeth and a keen sense of smell, and we will be looking closely at all the financial arrangements that come before us. Go raibh maith agat.

David McNarry (UUP, Strangford)

The Ulster Unionist Party will not be supporting the Minister today. Our unanimous view is that what may have worked when the initial Programme for Government was approved is not working today. Therefore, we cannot endorse what the Minister asks the House to support, as it is not in Northern Ireland’s best interests. That has been our consistent view. We recognise that the Minister is also being consistent, albeit consistently wrong. It is a difference of opinion between us.

The chasm is as deep as the hole that the Minister oversees in an out-of-sync Budget, coupled to an unfit-for-purpose Programme for Government. We have consistently asked the Minister — [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order.

David McNarry (UUP, Strangford)

We have consistently asked the Minister to show us the evidence and the outworkings to which he gives credibility, to demonstrate that what was workable in a recession-free period holds good in today’s recession-riddled times and to convince the people who are desperately trying to keep a roof over their heads and a business solvent that what the Assembly votes for today will really impact on, and make a difference to, their lives and to their places of work.

Furthermore, we would like the Minister to explain why the dysfunctional, delusional direction pursued through the financial conduits of the Department keep turning into a blind alley. Last year’s routes are blocked, and we do not hear solutions — only the re-cooking of last year’s recipe. If the Minister intends to take his party and his Sinn Féin soulmates down the tubes of a rollercoaster of financial folly, be my guest, but he will not be taking the Ulster Unionists with him.

Let us take a good look at the Department’s lamentable performance under the Minister’s watch. When I have finished, perhaps he will tell me if he were in my position, would he vote for more of the same — targets in disarray, too many key components running into the ground.

The Minister has lost control of spending. There is no strategy attached to the strategic stocktake. Shortfalls of the dimension now exposed will not be met by in-year monitoring, efficiency savings or reliance on underspends. One day the Minister boasted of a letter dispatched to Ministers warning them not to overspend, but in a press statement last Friday, the Minister had crawled back into conceding his dependency on underspending. He even introduced the abandoning of projects. Which is it to be: Departments tilting at overspends, or Departments handing money back from underspends? I will come back to that issue.

What is all this about cutting projects? Will the Minister reveal which projects he intends to axe? Surely they cannot include road improvement: DRD spends 18% of what is spent on road repairs in England. He cannot axe the £22 million of capital spent on infrastructure projects that has already been kicked into the next financial year. What are the projects that the Minister intends to cut, and how do they relate to this debate?

The Minister inhabits his own monetary world, in which shortfalls are called “pressures” and new money is called “easement”. It is a world of euphemisms.

How is the Minister feeling today? Is he comfortable with how the past year has worked out? Are targets safe and set for delivery on time? Is enough being done to reduce costs? What new ideas does he have for minimising costs and maximising outcomes? I pose those questions because the Minister has cocooned himself in systematic denial.

Who is to blame for the millions of pounds overlooked in the collection of rates? Who was at fault for the £200 million lost in the sale of the Crossnacreevy plant-testing station? Is £100 million — or is it nearer £200 million — that is balanced precariously over civil servants’ pay claim? That will mean a sizeable extension of our loan capacity when the money is borrowed. Is it possible to borrow money from the Treasury for that purpose? Can the Minister guarantee that those claims will be met? How does he intend to pay back that loan to the Treasury, and what will be the repayment timescale?

Furthermore, there is the remarkable debacle of Workplace 2010, whereby an estimated £175 million of revenue was lost due to what is best described as incomprehensible incompetence of the worst kind. Was £10 million, £12 million or £14 million spent on consultants and some kind of golden project under finders-minders fees? Will the Minister tell us who the lucky recipients were? Having apparently wasted those millions and lost out on the £175 million in revenue, will he tell us who took the decision to mothball the Workplace 2010 project? Will he confirm that, long before the decision to pull the plug was taken, his Department was aware that the two final competitive bidders were already engaged in talks about a merger?

Is that not a disgrace? Not only has some £14 million that was spent on dubious fees been wasted, but more than £175 million of revenue has been kissed goodbye, and another project has been abandoned — for refurbishment, so I hear. I wonder where the money will come from to tackle worn-out buildings and office supplies.

Those are not pressures; the roof is caving in. At least Obama had the grace to admit that he “screwed up”. The Minister is in retreat. He is totally reliant on underspend and hopes that the historic inadequacies of the Departments will be repeated. That is a solution over which the Minister should not stand, because such posturing is an indictment of the ineffectiveness of the financial machine for which he is solely responsible.

Yet the Minister does not come to the House short of advice, some of which is bound to have made to him many of the points that I have been banging on about for the past five months; he need only read the newspapers and the economists’ forecasts. Perhaps he does not do that. There is no chance of reducing child poverty by 2011, and little chance of a 50% growth in creative agencies, realising £120 million of private-sector investment or creating 6,500 new jobs. We must not forget that, just around the corner, are water charges, and now, we are told, the financing of policing and justice — another deal.

The republican/DUP show goes on. They can vote in or out whatever they can agree on, and the record shows that they agree on a great deal. However, despite their power, their control of the purse strings and of most of the Departments, they, like the figures, fall short on solutions.

There has been talk that in some of the advice offered to the Minister there is a proposal that could bring £50 million into his kitty — by way of the DUP and Sinn Féin agreeing to a 1% freeze on public-sector salary increases and ending bonus payments to senior civil servants. Does the Minister intend to put such a recommend­ation into action today?

We are dealing with a document of substantial reading, complete with the potential for serious consequences for the Finance Minister and those who control the Executive. It is a worthy piece of work, and its author is no secret. Somewhat mysteriously, however, it is stamped: “embargoed until further notice”. Can the Minister tell us who commissioned that work, who placed that strange embargo on it, and when will it be lifted? Has that restriction got anything to do with today’s debate? What does the Minister intend to do with it?

The Minister has made an about-turn on underspending. In the interest of public confidence, will the Minister outline where he stands on underspending? Will he detail any urgent measures that he is considering but, so far, has not disclosed? That is another good reason why we will not be supporting the Minister.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

The Assembly is — [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order, order. The Member has the Floor.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

I nearly had the floor, hopefully, I have now. [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order, order.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

The Assembly is certainly well aware of the concerns — [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order, order. All Members who want to speak in this debate will have an opportunity to do so.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am sure that the clock will be brought back to zero.

The Assembly is well aware of the concerns that the SDLP has about the budgetary process. It was our desire for a full Budget process in order to respond in a significant way to the economic downturn. However, we recognise the importance of the Vote on Account in providing the money for Departments for the next year, and therefore we will not be seeking to divide the Assembly on that matter. I hope that that will provide the opportunity for a reasoned and reasonable debate on the issues. It is in that spirit — [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order, order.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

I am sure that the timekeepers will note that my time is being severely limited.

Within the strategic stocktake, £1 billion of pressures were not provided for; in response, we were told that half of those pressures are likely to disappear like chaff in the wind. In a previous debate, I pointed out that a number of those issues did not look to me like chaff in the wind. In response, the Minister gave the Mr Micawber answer that something will turn up. Although we hope that something will turn up, we feel that more is needed.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

I involuntarily gave way a number of times and I need the time that is available. If there is time at the end I will give way, but I doubt that that will be the case.

There are question marks around the deliverability of the current Budget, and the capital asset realisation is a major concern. The investment strategy is very dependent on that, and that problem has not been quantified. I would be grateful if the Minister would address that concern. A further major issue — little discussed — is PFIs, on which the investment strategy is very dependent. There is a banking crisis and, surely, those PFIs must be dependent on funds coming forward from the banks. Again, no information has been forthcoming on the consequences of that for the investment strategy.

I say directly to the Minister; if he is aware of issues of concern around the delivery of the Budget, I believe that he is under a duty to tell us now, even if those issues have not been fully quantified.

It concerns me greatly — and the Assembly should have been even more concerned than it was — that the equal pay issue was known to the Minister concerned six months before he presented the Budget statement but the Assembly was never given any indication of it. That type of situation should not happen again.

The strategic stocktake document quantifies the deferment of water charges as £2 million being lost from the Budget over the two-year period. It has been estimated that the equal pay issue will cost at least £100 million in back pay. Perhaps that has been provided for, but I want to ask more about that. If there is anything in excess of that £100 million, it has not been allowed or provided for. That is a recurrent theme.

I want to talk about the £900 million that has been talked about and presented as new funds from the Treasury. It is not new money; £800 million of it is simply extra money that would have been charged in relation to the accountancy rules because of the deferment of water charges. The Treasury has simply said that it will absorb that; it is not new money for the Northern Ireland block. We believe that the £100 million is for equal pay, and I would be glad if the Minister could confirm that. Does that money have to be repaid in due course? If it has to be repaid, no money at all is being made available to the block.

In the downturn, it is possible that the rate receipts will not make the values that had been predicted. I know all about the increased sums that are coming from what were previously thought to be vacant properties. In the pre-Budget report, the Chancellor talked about a further £5 billion being taken out of Budgets as a result of further efficiencies. Barnett consequentials could follow from that.

Previously, I quoted a departmental official who referred to programmes having run their course and needing adjustment in the light of the present economic downturn. That amplifies the SDLP’s real concerns about whether the economic downturn is being responded to adequately. I noticed that the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment was asked about that during Question Time last week, and she did not give a lot of an answer. She referred to information seminars, and I give credit to the initiatives that Invest Northern Ireland (INI) is carrying out. I noticed the elaboration of that initiative from INI’s recent publication, and that it is doing significant work to give support to companies through current difficulties.

However, I do not think that enough is being done. Other countries have substantial measures on reskilling and on the upgrading of skills in response to unemploy­ment. That must be replicated, but new measures are not being introduced in line with those. I worry that strategic focus is being lost, that not much is being done about the current situation and that we are losing sight of the bigger picture.

On 4 February 2009, in a letter to the Committee for Finance and Personnel about what the Department is doing about Varney II, DFP stated:

“On the specific request for a paper on progress, this has been overtaken by external events, particularly the fact that the economic climate is now materially different from when Sir David Varney produced his Review in April 2008. The Executive is now focussed on putting in place measures to address the economic downturn.”

I do not see a lot of measures in relation to the economic downturn, and I am worried by the shift in focus and the fact that we seem to be losing sight of what needs to be done about the bigger picture and the longer term.

Invest Northern Ireland says that Northern Ireland is now placed 113 out of 203 regions in the EU25 for innovation. That is the lowest place of any UK region. It says that Northern Ireland lags behind the UK average for entrepreneurial activity. Those are fundamental challenges, which can be summed up in one word: “competitiveness”. The global economy has been greatly shaken in recent times, but it remains a global economy, and the only future for Northern Ireland is to compete in that global economy. We need to know that the Minister has his focus on that, but that does not necessarily seem to be the case.

The First Minister, when he was Minister of Finance, said that there was no escalator and that we must use the stairs — the trouble is that nobody is pointing to the staircase any more. At present, the fundamental direction must come, in particular, from the Minister of Finance. We are living through a contemporary crisis that must be ridden out, but we must keep our eye on what will happen to our companies, businesses and society after the crisis.

Mr Speaker, you and Members might have noticed that, thus far, I have not mentioned the word “housing”. I rest my remarks on that innovative note.

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

The motions provide, as Mr Hamilton said, a very important opportunity for the Assembly to debate the nature and level of public expenditure in Northern Ireland. At the outset, I declare my intention to criticise the Minister and the Executive. However, my party is a constructive opposition party and it does not intend to divide the House on the motions.

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I wonder what Ulster Unionist Members are playing at, because the simple fact is that if the motions are not approved, Departments — including the two that are headed by Ministers from the Ulster Unionist Party — will have no money to spend from 1 April 2009. I wonder whether the Ulster Unionist tactic has been approved by those Ministers, who must have signed up to the motions when they were discussed in the Executive. The Alliance Party does not have such complications.

It is important to acknowledge that the debate is even more important in the context of the economic downturn. Even the Alliance Party concedes that the global economic crisis is certainly not the Executive’s fault, but there are important issues to which the Executive must attend.

There are two broad questions — first, are the Executive doing everything within their power to mitigate the effect of the economic downturn on Northern Ireland? Indeed, the Executive may have particular responsibilities in that respect. Secondly, are the Executive doing enough to rebalance and modernise our economy in order to ensure that Northern Ireland is best placed to take advantage of recovery, once it comes? My party has had major concerns from the outset about whether the Budget and the Programme for Government are fit for purpose. Those questions are even more acute today.

I, like Mr O’Loan, believe that contradictory messages are being sent. The Executive have said that there is no need to reform or revise the Programme for Government (PFG) or the Budget because both already prioritise the economy. However, the Varney II Report was dismissed by the Executive on the grounds that they were already committed to the recommendations in that report. As Mr O’Loan said, the Executive are saying that they can no longer implement the recommendations in the Varney II Report because events have overtaken them. That surely begs the question — of the Minister and of the Executive — have events not also overtaken the Programme for Government and the Budget?

We have been unhappy with a number of the spending changes made in the course of the year, because we do not believe that they adequately address the issues that face us.

If Basil McCrea wants me to give way, he is more than welcome to ask. He is saving himself for later, OK.

We must take account of how other national and regional governments around the world are responding to the economic downturn. Last week, the US Congress passed an $800 billion stimulus for the US economy. In December last year, the UK Government passed a stimulus worth around £20 billion. Our Scottish counterparts — a regional Government with similar powers to our own — have provided their own stimulus in the context of their powers and responsibilities. The Scottish Parliament’s forthcoming Budget Bill makes provision for £227 million of capital expenditure, including £120 million for affordable housing.

Unfortunately, I have not included much on housing in my speech, because I assumed that Declan O’Loan would cover that gap, but there we go.

It is interesting that in the Scottish Government’s response to the Council of Economic Advisers’ first annual report, Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, said:

“As Scotland’s government our responsibility is to prioritise action that, in the short term, mitigates the impact of the downturn while shaping policy that, in the longer term, ensures Scotland not only recovers, but emerges stronger”.

Certainly, I do not often agree with Alex Salmond. However, his remark hits the nail on the head as regards what a regional Government should do. I am disappointed not to have heard such rhetoric from Northern Ireland’s Ministers.

Similarly, the Irish Government, Germany and Canada have engaged in stimulus activities that tend to share four key elements: to bring forward investment; to increase social housing; to develop the green economy; and to introduce tax incentives, which are usually targeted. There has not been much meaningful action on those issues in Northern Ireland.

As regards investment, I note that the Finance Minister has promised capital spend of £1·4 billion during the current financial year and has pointed out that that is a record figure. It is a net figure from the Budget. However, examination of the investment strategy and gross figures leads one to anticipate that, in budgetary terms, around £5·4 billion of Northern Ireland’s money, with a potential additional £450 million, will be spent during the current three-year period. That amounts to at least £1·8 billion each year. Therefore, investment is already £400 million less than what the investment strategy suggested should be spent on capital during the current financial year.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I understand the Member’s point. I am glad that he has, at least, finessed some of the arguments that he has made previously in the media with regard to investment of £1·4 billion versus £1·8 billion. Will he accept that net investment of £1·4 billion is still a record level of investment in infrastructure, is far in excess of the £1·1 billion that was invested in 2007, and is, therefore, positive for Northern Ireland?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

Certainly, I will concede that the Executive are moving forward in the right direction: £1·4 billion is much more than has been spent previously. However, it is not as much as the Executive’s own documentation sets out. The issue is whether capital is actually being spent. Obviously, a spend on capital can have a major impact; it can not only improve Northern Ireland’s infrastructure, but provide people with jobs in the short term. Members must be mindful of that. The Assembly has slipped back on social housing opportunities. Indeed, that debate is probably for another place.

There has certainly not been any rhetoric, let alone action, from the Executive on exploiting opportunities to develop the green economy through energy efficiency and renewable energies. Energy costs are, perhaps, the single biggest issue for households and businesses alike. Certainly, although I recognise and support the £150 winter fuel payments — which, I hope, will be paid during winter, rather than spring — it is worth recognising that moneys invested in energy efficiency in housing could save money in the long term for vulnerable people, such as pensioners and others who are fuel poor. Therefore, rather than focusing on a one-year initiative, a longer-term view must be taken. Obviously, to make energy efficiency improvements to homes will provide people with jobs, which is important.

Around 10% of the US stimulus is linked to the green economy. The UK stimulus also has a heavy emphasis on the green economy, but has been criticised widely by several groups for being insufficient. Both of those policies, however, are ahead of those of Northern Ireland.

I am critical of the Executive’s approach towards tax incentives, not only as regards opportunity costs for public expenditure that arise from some of them, but also the danger that there is too much focus on the spending power of individual households to stimulate the economy. In a recession, the risk is that people will save money, rather than go out and spend it. I am not sure that the right balance has been struck between short-term consumer spending and the broader question of longer-term investment for the good of the economy. The Alliance Party disagrees strongly with the Executive on that issue. My party shares many people’s concerns about overall public expenditure and whether the Budget is capable of delivering.

We have not had fiscal stimulus on the scale of many of our neighbours’, and that is a pity. We have a very tight public expenditure situation, which the Executive did not inherit. The cost of division and of managing a divided society has constrained our ability to redirect public funds. However, the Executive’s actions and decisions have lessened spending flexibility even further. They have taken a populist rather than a prudent approach.

I note with regret the decision to defer water charges for two years. That may, in itself, be the right thing to do, but, before that decision was taken, no consideration was given to where the money that will allow water charges to be deferred is to come from. Much criticism has been levelled at parties that have made suggestions without outlining from where the money will come, yet the Executive have done exactly that. They have taken a decision that is not covered by the Programme for Government without saying from where the money will come. There must be a single standard in the Chamber.

Adrian McQuillan (DUP, East Londonderry)

I thank the Minister for bringing the Supplementary Estimates to the Assembly, and thus providing the opportunity for this debate. We look forward to another financial year with many opportunities, and we realise that some difficult choices will have to be made. However, we must congratulate the Executive on their accomplishments so far this year.

We are well aware that the Supplementary Estimates do not depend on figures alone. They depend on delivery, together with a strong, sound stewardship of the public’s money. Those are our responsibilities as custodians of the public purse. With the allocation of resources to the various Departments, particularly the Department of Finance and Personnel, the prioritisation of reforms and the modernisation of public services should ensure that front line services are efficient and deliver the best level of service for all communities in Northern Ireland.

I place on record my thanks to the Minister for securing an extra £100 million from the Treasury to deal with public servants’ equal pay dispute, which I hope can be brought to a successful conclusion in the near future. We must improve transportation networks, but we also have a responsibility to take great care to protect our natural environment and to develop sustainable energy. That responsibility led to the recent establishment of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the introduction of Planning Policy Statement 21, which will help rural dwellers and rural businesspeople.

The investment to support the economy, and the development and maintenance of transportation networks throughout Northern Ireland, should improve economic productivity and prosperity when the economy recovers. Members of our older generation can now avail themselves of the improved transportation networks for free, but they need further encouragement to do so. We also managed to reduce the number of road deaths in Northern Ireland in 2008 to 106.

Reflecting on last year’s Supplementary Estimates, I hope that the capital investment issued to the Department for Social Development during the past financial year will lead to more social housing’s being made available to the various communities that now live in Northern Ireland. I am pleased that the Minister of Finance and Personnel has provided one of the biggest health budgets that Northern Ireland has ever had. Indeed, that has allowed the Minister of Health to reduce prescription charges, and I hope that prescription charges can be eliminated in the near future.

The implementation of the Programme for Government, the Budget and the investment strategy can ensure that we have a strong local economy, improved infrastructure and improved public services in future. Let us vote unanimously on the spending priorities and work for all communities in Northern Ireland, now and in future. I support the motion.

Barry McElduff (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Cuirim fáilte roimh dhíospóireacht an lae inniu. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. The Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure heard from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure on the spring Supplementary Estimates 2008-09 on 5 February 2009. During the evidence session with departmental officials, the Committee was updated on a range of adjustments that affected spending profiles as the year progressed.

The Committee took an active scrutiny role throughout the 2008-09 budgetary year. The Department briefed the Committee on its position before each monitoring round and provided detailed written responses to queries that Committee members raised. On all occasions, the Committee robustly challenged the Department to explain its reasons for making bids and surrendering resources.

The Committee notes that the DCAL spring Supplementary Estimates detail the plan to decrease provision of the £10 million that was originally allocated to a multi-sports stadium. Of course, the Committee has a particular interest in that issue. We have written to Minister Campbell to ask that he appear before the Committee to explain his plans for disbursing that money and his decision on the multi-sports stadium.

The Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure will continue to prioritise its scrutiny of the Department’s budget management. In fact, the Committee recently commissioned the Department to arrange a finance seminar in order to explain all aspects of the Budget process, including the spring Supplementary Estimates. That proved to be a useful exercise, and I encourage other Statutory Committees that have not already done so to explore that possibility.

As Cathaoirleach of the Committee, I want to declare that the Committee still believes that the overall allocation to DCAL is inadequate. The Department is still suffering from the legacy of the past, in which the Government have consistently undervalued the contribution that sport and the arts make to health, the economy, tourism, and so on.

In a personal capacity, I welcome the Minister of Finance and Personnel’s comments on the farm nutrient management scheme, which has inherent environmental and agricultural value. People in the agriculture sector have told me that it is an important initiative that will generate work for the construction industry. I want to repeat my stance on the multi-sports stadium: the decision represents a missed opportunity, has wasted huge potential for the construction industry and suggests that the Minister lacks vision and a long-term strategy for sport.

I invite other parties to support Sinn Féin’s call for greater fiscal powers, including tax-varying powers, for the Assembly. In the past, that has not always happened, and it is a matter of regret.

Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP, North Antrim)

I will be absolutely clear: Northern Ireland’s economy comes first. That simple remark trips off the tongue. However, a few years ago, the economy was not the Government’s priority, and most people on the opposite side of the House claimed that Northern Ireland’s economy was a basket case that could not be repaired.

I welcome the fact that all but one party in the Chamber appear to recognise that Northern Ireland’s economy is the priority and is — and must remain — top of the agenda in the Programme for Government, not because of an ideological need but because the people of Northern Ireland want the economy to come first. I am delighted that the Government, through the Budget and the Supplementary Estimates, are focused on channelling resources, energy and priorities towards putting the economy and the needs of the people first. That should be the Government’s key priority.

I am concerned at the isolationist view that was espoused by the Member for Strangford Mr McNarry. I am disappointed at the suggestion that we should isolate the issue and, rather than put the economy first, that we should have different priorities. The Ulster Unionist Party wanted to table an amendment that encouraged Members to vote against the Minister’s proposals. Although all Members accept the ping-pong nature of politics in the House, it would be utter folly not to proceed with the Government’s key priority — which was agreed by all Executive Ministers who represent the four key parties — to put Northern Ireland’s economy first. We must drive forward and deliver on the priorities that have already been agreed. We must put our hands to the plough, push forward, not look back and plough a straight and solid furrow for the people of Northern Ireland.

In the past, a bright idea was mooted to sell Stormont and lease it back. I am delighted that that bright idea has been switched off.

A big claim was made this morning that the Minister has lost control of the Budget. That is utter nonsense. The spending supplement indicates control of the Budget, directed towards the key priority of making Northern Ireland work.

Let us look at the facts. They speak for themselves, but they should be spelt out loudly and clearly: over the next three years, £612 million is allocated to road infrastructure and road building. That will create employment, generate spend in the economy, and take the economy forward. Some £647 million is allocated to developing water infrastructure. That will create jobs, drive the economy forward, and address some of the employment issues that our country, like other parts of the United Kingdom, and, indeed, the world, are facing today.

Some £565 million is allocated to primary healthcare and hospital modernisation, and £855 million is allocated to schools and colleges. That spells out a very impressive Budget; indeed, it is a plan for investment of £1·4 billion to £1·5 billion for this year, and will rise to £1·7 billion over the next year, and £2 billion over the following year. That is an impressive spending agenda over the next three years, aimed at putting the economy first, driving employment forward, creating growth in the economy and making sure that Northern Ireland is a success.

It is disappointing that some people want to pour cold water on those efforts, and want to turn their eyes against them. It is disappointing when people want to turn their eyes against spending that sort of money, and allocating it to projects in our own constituencies, which will affect us all. In the spending estimate, £265 million in health and social services will go towards building and improving health facilities at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Ulster Hospital, Downe Hospital, Altnagelvin Hospital and Craigavon. That does not affect just parts of the Province; it covers every bit of it, ensuring that we are seeing that money spent all over the Province.

Some £127 million has been invested in the Belfast sewers project; £89 million in waste-water treatment projects; £83 million in four major projects delivered by the Department of Employment and Learning; and £200 million in 14 projects being constructed by the education and library boards.

Therefore, I appeal to the Ulster Unionist Party to return to the position that its own leader espoused less than two weeks ago on ‘The Politics Show’ – and I hope we are on air now – when Jim Fitzpatrick made the point that the Programme for Government is barely a year old, and it is clear now that it is dead in the water. Sir Reg Empey rightly replied that he would not accept that. He said he believed that a lot of the priorities had been set, such as putting the economy top of the list, which was the first time that that had been done in a Programme for Government. That that was the right place for it to be, that he did not accept Mr Fitzpatrick’s position at all, and that he was wrong.

Well, I hope that that becomes the position of the Ulster Unionist Party today, and that it holds firmly to that, because otherwise it would send out all the wrong signals to ordinary Ulster men and Ulster women who want to see political unity when it comes to creating employment and driving the economy forward. I hope that the Ulster Unionist Party reflects on the position that has been espoused this morning by the Member from Strangford Mr McNarry and that it follows this particular leader of the party at this particular time.

Finally, it has been spelt out very clearly that the Departments have indicated 60 new projects during the current financial year. That is an aggregated value in excess of £400 million. Those projects will be advertised by the end of this financial year, and some will have commenced. They include the South Eastern Regional College in Bangor, at a value of £10 million; 10 schools, ranging in value from just under £2 million to the Magherafelt High School project with a value of £11 million. In addition to that £400 million, Roads Service is scheduled to commence the procurement of a new A5 western corridor from Aughnacloy to Londonderry, which will represent an investment of some £600 million. That is an impressive work programme. In fact, there is very little else that could be done.

I note that, even today, the SDLP got away from its mantra of “just build houses”. I accept that housing projects are one key element of moving things forward, but they are not the be-all and end-all answer. Judging by its silence today, the SDLP has recognised the fact that it is those other infrastructure projects — not the one-trick pony of building social houses — that will make the lion’s share of a difference to Northern Ireland.

I welcome the Minister’s statement and look forward to the rest of the debate. I hope that it will be recognised that if what is proposed in the motions is to go forward, all the parties that endorsed, voted for and approved the Budget last year, and added to the value of this supplementary spending programme, should walk through the Lobbies and support what the Minister of Finance and Personnel is doing. They should get behind him and ensure that our economy is delivered and that Ulster comes first.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

It is indeed a privilege and an honour to follow the great Ian Paisley Junior — former junior Minister, former Executive member and former lots of things. I have previously recognised his expertise on land and property and all sorts of things.

I am not sure that we are dealing with the real issues today. I fear that the wheels are about to come off the cart. I say that because I was at a meeting last week with the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), which is an illustrious organisation that is full of good people, all of whom are worried about money and whether there is enough to keep its member organisations going. I hear concern from the private sector, many parts of which are experiencing wage cuts and three-day weeks. There is a real problem.

In an attempt to put things into perspective — and Mr Farry encouraged us to look at the international example — I am told that if President Obama’s fiscal stimulus package were to be imagined as a stack of $1,000 bills, it would be eight miles high. I was told by some illustrious people at that meeting with NICVA that the Obama package is not nearly enough; it is only 10% of what is required.

The Minister of Finance and Personnel talked about people working together; I am interested in that proposal, but if we are to do so, it is important that we understand all the facts and figures. I am concerned that when we look at the background of deteriorating public finances, those facts and figures cannot help but have an impact. In his pre-Budget report in 2008, Alastair Darling said:

“having carefully considered the extent and the limits of efficiency savings, today I can announce the Government will now find an additional £5 billion of efficiencies in 2010/11.”

If we have to take our share of that, I am sorry to say that there will be difficult decisions to make.

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

Will you propose that?

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Yes, but if it happens, it is a difficulty, is it not?

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

For you.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Absolutely. The issue, since the Minister brings it up — [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I will talk about public-sector spending, as the Minister has brought it to our attention. The Government are now projecting much slower growth in public spending over their next spending review than in any previous years; slower even than that experienced during the 18 years of Conservative Governments from 1979 to 1997. In real terms, the increase in growth of 1·1% a year would represent a cut in public-sector spending. The squeeze on Whitehall Departments may be even more severe, given plausible scenarios for security and tax-credit costs.

For those Members who have not yet talked about housing, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, in its Green Budget 2009, said:

“Capital-intensive departments, such as transport and housing, are likely to suffer more than most due to the planned cash freeze on investment spending.”

There are some other issues for Westminster.

Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP, North Antrim)

Will the Member give way?

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I will give way when I have finished this point.

Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP, North Antrim)

Just on that point about the Estimates.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

That was not a yes, but as it is Mr Paisley Jnr.

Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP, North Antrim)

I appreciate the Member giving way. It is clear that some of the issues that the Member mentioned are not even covered by the Spring Supplementary Estimates, because they are Northern Ireland Budget matters. Northern Ireland Estimates do not cover the provision of the Northern Ireland Office on the three matters that the Member mentioned. There should be some recognition of what we are debating today.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

When a Member gives way it is, normally, for a helpful intervention, and I suppose that that is stretching things a wee bit. The point of the matter is that I fear — however it is dressed up — that we do not have sufficient money to meet our obligations. I have asked —

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

Will the Member give way on that point?

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Please just let me finish.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I am sorry, Mr Speaker.

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

He is in bad humour today.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

The Speaker?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

No; you.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

The issue is about whether we have sufficient money to meet our obligations. I look at the planned efficiency savings for the Department for Social Development, for the Department of Education, and for the Department of Finance and Personnel itself and I fear that they are not going to be met.

All that I ask is that the Minister provides some sort of steer about whether or not we have a problem. If we have a problem, it is incumbent on all Members to identify the issues and to work together to try to resolve that problem, because if tough decisions have to be taken, that can be done only through consensus. Only if we all agree that there is a problem, and only if we all agree that cuts have to be made, can cuts be made. However, if we do not have to make cuts, that is great and let us say so.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I thank the Member for his honesty. He, at least, is a shining light on his Benches in that he freely admits to the fact that the outworkings of what he and his colleagues are suggesting are cuts to existing Budget lines.

Has the Member spoken to his party colleague the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and worked with him to help to identify lines for cutting? Furthermore, if the Member is talking now about difficulties that are being faced with budgets, how difficult will it be for Departments by the summer, if he and his colleagues persuade a majority of Members to stop funding for Departments, which will be the consequence of their voting against the motion today?

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

The issue, as the Member well knows — and I can quote Gershwin; sorry, that is a piano player. I mean the other guy. [Laughter.]

Nigel Dodds (DUP, Belfast North)

Does the Member mean Gershon?

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I thank the House for its help on that. However, Sir Peter Gershon warned, in 2004, that there was a point at which front line public services would be affected by efficiencies. However, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer vowed that he would not go beyond the savings identified.

Therefore, let us be honest about this issue. If 80% of our budgets are largely, so to speak, people-orientated, there comes a point when, if efficiencies are driven home against a backdrop of rising costs and a failure to take in those efficiencies, a situation will be created whereby the ends of the rope do not meet. I do not want to get to that situation. I want to understand the challenges that we face so that we can find a way to deal with them.

As part of my remit with regard to education, I note that one of the Department’s efficiencies is to reallocate or reduce staffing numbers to reflect the demographic downturn. I also note that the strategic stocktake places pressure on the Department to find money to do that. In other words, we do not have the money to get rid of staff and we do not have the money to keep them. That is a ridiculous situation and is grossly unfair on the people involved.

No Member has yet mentioned the Department for Social Development. However, it is clear from the figures that the Assembly will not be able to put in place the type of capital expenditure plans that it had hoped. We must be honest about this issue. Perhaps it is time to work together as a collective team — the Assembly and the Executive — and work out which elements we can afford and which we cannot afford. It is just not sufficient simply to put our heads in the sand and say that we think that everything will be OK.

In the past, Mr Hamilton and others argued about the difficulties of the process, and that perhaps each Department must be left to try to find its own efficiencies, and that, collectively, we might be OK.

When one considers the numbers, however, I am not sure that that could be done, given the challenges that face us and the likelihood that the situation will get worse. More to the point, I call on the Minister of Finance and Personnel to clearly and concisely explain — in language that everybody understands — whether we have a problem. Are there issues on which we could work together to try to resolve the pressures? Are there decisions that although not being terribly palatable, must be made by somebody? I believe that that is what the people of Northern Ireland seek from us. They want genuine leadership; they do not want to hear fudge, fuddle and a belief that everything will be all right on the night. We should work together to defend the core services on which people very much depend.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

When Basil McCrea expressed a particular interest in what Gershwin said, it led me to wonder whether we were witnessing a ‘Rhapsody in Tory Blue’ today as part of the new UUP position. [Laughter.]

Obviously, the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment does not have a view on the question of the spring Supplementary Estimates and the Supply resolution. However, the Committee considered budgetary matters on a number of occasions, including monitoring rounds, and several issues that arose should be reflected in today’s debate.

In the context of the global downturn — which was not predicted or anticipated when the Budget was set — perhaps there should be some re-factoring of expenditure in relation to economic support. [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. The Member has the Floor.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

Our Committee recognises that that does not just mean re-factoring some of the priorities in the budget of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, but in the Budget more widely. The Committee recognises that matters of economic development extend to other Departments, such as the Department for Regional Development, which deals with key infrastructure; the Department for Social Development, which deals with housing issues; and — very importantly — the Department for Employment and Learning, which deals with the skills agenda and the challenges that we face as a region.

When making a number of my points, I will not pretend to confine them purely to DETI. I hope to reflect the spirit of comments that were made by members of the Committee. In relation to the current economic situation, there seems to be less of a demand on the budgets of DETI and Invest Northern Ireland in relation to foreign direct investment. That has given rise to questions about whether that money could be better used in other ways, either in the Department or more widely — by making economic interventions.

A number of issues that were identified by Committee members involved last year’s decision to withdraw the — albeit small — grants for business start-up. In the current circumstances, people will question whether that is a tenable decision and whether we should review it. In many ways, we should revamp the whole notion of financial support for people who start up businesses. Perhaps we should revisit whether a new menu of grants and support should be available to businesses that are trying to sustain themselves through the current difficulties and that have the potential to grow beyond them.

In particular, we should consider whether support should be available to companies that have demonstrated that they can grow in current circumstances. In some cases, those companies are suffering from tax being demanded on the one hand, and credit being denied on the other. There is no means of supporting those companies when the grants are gone. In the current circumstances, we must consider whether we could make available a menu of grants to allocate money that will not be used for other economic-development purposes during the downturn.

Similarly, issues have been raised regarding Invest Northern Ireland and its performance. Many people have asked fundamental questions about whether the project that was to be achieved through the merger of LEDU, the IDB and the Industrial Research and Technology Unit (IRTU) has lived up to its promise. We were told that it would operate at arm’s length, outside the Civil Service culture, and that it would be much more market facing and market orientated. However, few people seem to have that perception or experience of Invest Northern Ireland as it currently operates. In the current circumstances, those questions are being asked more sharply.

Of course, the Minister has established a review. Initially, its terms of reference appeared to be centred on Invest Northern Ireland and some related matters. However, those terms of reference have sensibly been widened to consider not just the performance and structure of Invest NI’s engagement with DETI, but how well it meshes with other key Departments and agencies in order to support economic development. The Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment looks forward to the developing work of that review, and it has already had some engagement with Professor Barnett and other members of the review team. That engagement will continue, and the Committee will support the Minister in encouraging the review to be radical, far-reaching and timely in delivering by the summer.

The Committee hopes that the review can offer longer-term recommendations for the shape of economic-development policy, including a strong, active and responsive support system for enterprise and business, as well as ensuring that the Assembly’s actions do not get in the way of business. It is important that devolution provides the business community with the sense that public policy and the Government are at their backs, rather than on their backs, and that is why we must review the regulatory framework, which can create burdens.

In addition, the Committee hopes that the review will produce some short-term recommendations, particularly in response to some of the suggestions offered by its members.

With respect to some of the wider issues that have been mentioned, Ian Paisley Jnr pointed out the importance of investment in infrastructure generally, and he emphasised the high level of investment to which the current investment strategy is committed. Of course, I and the SDLP welcome that commitment. As someone who attempted to put in place a platform for an investment strategy, and having emphasised the need for significant investment in capital programmes and the need for a central driver with which to do so, I welcome the commitment, and the conversion of other parties, to that concept. Initially, those parties railed against it.

Nevertheless, our capital-expenditure programme still suffers from delivery sclerosis. Some Departments have delayed investment plans, and when investment plans have been produced, their target audiences have been unclear, they have been incompatible and they have lacked a coherent approach.

Furthermore, there is a question about whether the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) has the capacity to drive and marshal capital-expenditure performance throughout Departments. In addition, there is an issue with underperformance and under capacity in Departments, so, rather than pumping up Departments to do that, we must consider ways in which the Strategic Investment Board can be restyled and reshaped in order to carry out the necessary tasks for the Departments — not behind their backs or in opposition to them, but in order to deliver the investment strategy that has been set out. If the Executive and the Assembly have been happy to endorse the broad priorities and the key projects of the investment stategy, they should have no problem with delegating the strategic management of that programme to the relevant public body, rather than attempting to carve up bits of it for Departments that are underperforming and failing to deliver.

In the current economic circumstances, we make no apologies for stressing the fact that capital investment in social housing is a key economic primer. We are not saying that that should be at the expense of other capital investments, but we are saying that it would provide a ready multiplier; getting the work on social housing going will get wages flowing throughout the region. Moreover, social-housing projects can be delivered much quicker than other projects. If it is there as an early win or as an easy, ready fruit for us to pick during this difficult season, we should avail ourselves of it.

Some Members have asked how the Budget will be changed if it is re-prioritised or revised. I remind those Members — particularly those in the DUP — that, recently, they have tabled a number of motions that call for changes in the Budget. Last week, Iris Robinson, in her capacity as Chairperson of the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, tabled a motion that stated that some parts of the Health Service should be ring-fenced from the efficiency savings. That motion called for a change in the Budget, because it imposed efficiency savings across the Department.

The DUP has also tabled a motion on home closures, which will be debated soon. It follows the same theme; it is asking for a change in the Budget. Previously, Sammy Wilson called for the Minister of Education to change the Budget when she did not have the power to do so. Sinn Féin is also calling for changes to be made to the Budget in relation to ambulances.

Therefore, Members should not ask questions of the SDLP that they are not prepared to answer themselves.

Jennifer McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Recently, the re-prioritisation of the Budget, the Budget allocations and the Programme for Government have been a source of debate inside and outside the Chamber. There are many outstanding concerns about whether the priorities have changed. Some of those concerns are genuine, but it must be understood that there will be no programmes or services delivered unless Members support the two motions that are before the House. Members must keep that in mind when they are making their contributions.

The fact that we have to work within the inadequate block grant that we receive from London is one of the main barriers to bringing forward anything, particularly in the current economic climate. Furthermore, our lack of fiscal and tax-varying powers means that we are working within certain parameters that confine us and prevent us from developing the innovative measures that are required to offset some of the issues relating to the financial difficulties that we are in.

The economic downturn presents the Executive with a number of difficulties — in particular, the need to offset any further job losses, to secure the jobs that exist and to create new jobs, as other Members and I have mentioned already. Most people will agree that unemployment and poverty — and the fear of poverty because of unemployment — are the real concerns facing people and their families.

It is important that we maintain our skilled workforce, and we must look beyond the current economic downturn. We need to work together to consider how we can maintain those employment levels. Mention has been made of the way in which Invest NI looks at foreign direct investment. However, we must build our local businesses and ensure that they are kept open and that people’s jobs are secure.

At a time of economic downturn, it is important that a Budget considers the people who need support. On 26 and 27 January 2009, the Assembly debated the Financial Assistance Bill. There were delays, but it must be remembered that many people need the £150 to which they were entitled to pay for their fuel. It is important to remember such situations when issues are being debated, because we must be seen to provide leadership; that is what people want us to do.

There is an issue about the availability of finance and credit, and the access to working capital, particularly for businesses here. As many Members have said, it is imperative that banks and other lending institutions are challenged about their current lending. That challenge must come from the British Government and from local Ministers. Businesses and consumers have not yet felt the benefit of the injection of public money that was intended to steady the banks.

A lot of banks are now under public ownership, and many others are being supported with millions of pounds of public money; therefore, they have a responsibility to ensure that the money that they are receiving is going directly into the local economy. We all know from people who have contacted us that, currently, the biggest problem for businesses is securing working capital and cash flow.

We need to work within our parameters. The fact is that there is no new money; therefore, it is important that we find innovative ways of spending the money that we have. The answer is good housekeeping and finding initiatives that will help us to spend the money that we have in the best way possible.

Recent initiatives that reduce the risk for banks — such as the enterprise finance guarantee scheme and the small firms finance scheme — need to be taken-up and rolled-out by the banks here. A lot of those schemes are not having an effect on the ground, and we must ensure that they come into place and are running smoothly.

As has been mentioned, Departments have a responsibility to ensure that underspend is kept to a minimum and that their capital and revenue projects are taken forward. Departments can, sometimes, be slow in doing that. I know that planning is a big issue for some of the large capital projects, particularly those funded by private investment. We must consider how planning is holding-up that process.

Improving the delivery of public procurement by providing good services and works can help the economy and local businesses and can also secure jobs for people, which is an important issue. By ensuring that social clauses are embedded into all public procurement contracts, we can help to tackle poverty and need by sustaining current employment and by creating new employment opportunities for people who may be wondering whether they are going to have the money to meet the requirements of everyday living.

Therefore, public procurement is very important, particularly in relation to small- and medium-sized businesses and social-economy enterprises. As recently as last Friday, we heard a report about the increase in house repossessions. Nothing has a greater impact on a family than having a house repossessed. Therefore, we must bring forward initiatives such as adequate mortgage-rescue plans. Earlier, it was suggested that Members may be a wee bit concerned about mentioning social housing, but I am going to mention it because it is very clear that a need for social housing still exists. There is also a need for people who want to buy their own homes to be able to secure the finance for a new mortgage.

It is important that we think outside the box and roll out initiatives that can operate within the existing constraints. Unless we do so, it will simply be a case of same old, same old. Increasing the funding in areas such as co-ownership schemes can encourage first-time buyers to take the risk of buying. At the moment, people are afraid of taking risks and they cannot be blamed for that. We need to drive forward the social housing programme and deliver the investment strategy, and the way that we can do that is by ensuring that Departments are bringing forward their planned capital projects.

The construction industry would be helped by such projects being undertaken; we must remember that approximately three quarters of the people who are becoming unemployed are from that industry. Therefore, that would provide an overall level of help. We must regard the current economic climate as a challenge to achieve the best possible outcomes in the here and now.

We must also look beyond the current economic downturn. The Programme for Government is good, but we must ensure that it is delivered in the way that people are expecting. That is, it must provide for the delivery of high-quality public services, the development of the economy, the building of prosperity and the redressing of the inequalities and disadvantage that still afflict substantial portions of our society.

It is important to remember that people were in poverty even before the economic downturn. We must ensure the best use and allocation of resources in the short term and the long term towards that end.

It is good to have a debate, and it is good that we are able to come to a place such as this and have our say. In the current climate, the best way forward is a united response from all the political parties in the Assembly and the Executive. We must get away from narrow politicking and debates and focus on real issues, which may be a matter of life and death for some people. We are where we are; we may not like it, but we must push forward together in a united way, and send people a clear message of leadership.

David Simpson (DUP, Upper Bann)

I wish to comment on behalf of the Committee in respect of the Supply resolution for the 2008-09 spring Supplementary Estimates. The Committee scrutinised carefully the Department for Social Development’s submissions for each of the monitoring rounds. Reviewing the Department’s plans in these challenging economic conditions has been illuminating, and something of an education for Committee members. The Committee has asked many questions and where the Department has answered satisfactorily, I thank it for that. However, there are a few issues on which the Department has yet to provide complete answers. Budget scrutiny, in these difficult times, tends to be a work in progress.

In the monitoring round submissions, the Department has identified serious challenges to its budgetary planning, not least in respect of the social housing development programme. That programme has to deliver 1,500 new social housing starts in 2008-09, and it appears likely that that may not be achieved. It also appears that Housing Executive home improvements and maintenance programmes may miss their annual targets.

Behind those problems, and overshadowing the financing of social and affordable housing for years to come, is the collapse in house and land values. I do not know whether the Department could have anticipated the extent of the collapse in land and property receipts. However, I know that it warned consistently of the pressures on its budget throughout the financial year, and the Finance Minister is aware of that.

The Committee has considered at length the mitigating actions that the Department has adopted. It makes little difference whether they are called surrenders or reallocations — the upshot is the same. The budget for the Social Security Agency is around £80 million less in 2008-09. That reduction is mostly in capital areas, but includes some resource. Around £50 million was reallocated from the social security jobs and benefits offices capital programme to rescue the housing programmes, and £30 million went back to the centre.

It is a measure of the depth of the housing crisis that that reallocation — or whatever one wants to call it — appears to have been insufficient on its own to keep the social development housing programme on track for this year. Indeed, the Department has already asked for additional headroom of £30 million in order to bring the new housing starts programme in on target. The Department has also asked that £10·5 million be reallocated from urban regeneration programmes to support the Housing Executive housing maintenance and improvement programmes.

Finally, the Department has asked for approximately £8 million extra for anti-fuel-poverty payments. The Committee supports the proposed reallocation, the request for headroom and the bid for the anti-fuel-poverty payment. However, the Committee has several concerns. First, that the social housing development programme be supported and achieve its targets for this year. The Committee believes that if that programme is sidetracked, or even temporarily derailed now, it will be very hard to restart and reach its final destination of 10,000 new social and affordable homes by 2013.

The Committee’s second concern relates to the programmes from which money has been transferred. In particular, I refer to the jobs and benefits office capital works and other social-security resource requirements. Jobs and benefits offices have never been busier than they have in recent times. The decision to use the capital and resources from social security to support housing may have appeared to have been a good decision earlier this year. However, the economic situation has thrown up more challenges than expected. Some Committee members are concerned that there may be adverse implications for the provision of essential social-security services just when the need is greatest. As the Deputy Chairperson of my Committee said during the debate on the strategic stocktake on 27 January 2009, the problems facing the housing budget are significant, and not only for this year.

It could also be argued that the Department appears to have stored up more trouble for itself for next year, in the shape of the significant deficit in the social-security capital-project fund, which I mentioned earlier. That issue has arisen at a time when there will surely be an awful lot of demand for social-security services over the coming months, if not years. That is a difficult budgetary situation. The Committee will continue to scrutinise the Department for Social Development’s spending plans. As I said, it is a work in progress. Committee members will continue to challenge the Department’s decisions. We will look for method in its reasoning and prudence in its choices.

I thank the Department for its improving responses to the Committee’s queries, and I also ask that the Minister of Finance and Personnel note the Committee’s concerns, as set out today.

Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. It was interesting to listen to Stephen Farry talk about fiscal stimulation. I am not sure how that is possible when one does not have fiscal control. However, that may be a matter for another day.

The Executive and the Assembly are confronted by many political and financial realities, and all Executive policies must have at their core fairness, inclusion and equality. We are faced with the economic and political realities that prevail, and we must recognise that. Unfortunately, because of the inadequate block grant from the British Government, we must continue to try to deal with limited resources while having increasing needs. As my colleague Jennifer McCann said earlier, there must be a united response from all the political parties to the economic realities that we face.

It is incumbent on us to deliver for the most disadvantaged in our society. The Executive and the Assembly must ensure that regional inequalities are eradicated. The decentralisation of public-sector jobs is essential if disparities and imbalances are to be redressed and if balanced regional development is to be supported. The Bain Report on the relocation of public-sector jobs supports that decentralisation, yet the Social Security Agency’s strategic business review, which is under way, appears to ignore that report. That issue must be confronted and addressed urgently.

Neighbourhood renewal, if properly resourced, is an effective way in which to target social need and help the most disadvantaged communities. The Department for Social Development is intent on transferring neighbourhood renewal to local government. If that happens, proper infrastructures must be put in place so that the transition can be seamless.

An interdepartmental approach to implementing a sustainable and effective anti-poverty strategy must be taken, and there must be a continuation of the pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020. It must be recognised that the current economic downturn will have a much more serious impact on those who are already in dire need, and the alleviation of their problems must be a priority so that when recovery comes, they can enjoy the benefits that come with it. There must be a continuing commitment to support a social economy and sustainable community development. The provision of social housing must continue to be a priority. Action can and should be taken, even within current financial constraints, to provide social housing.

The Minister for Social Development needs to stop blaming the Executive and get on with the job with which she has been tasked. All Departments want more money, but if it is not forthcoming, they have to get on with it and make the most of their resources.

The regulation of private landlords must be a priority and will go some way in alleviating financial hardship for those people who rely on that sector for their housing needs.

Equality for people with disabilities must be delivered and their rights must be protected. Those people have the right to education, employment, housing, healthcare and adequate transport. The role of carers needs to be recognised, and they should be properly recompensed for their vital role.

Proper financial support for the community and voluntary sector must be implemented, and their skills and expertise should be fully recognised. In the long term, that will provide some money for Departments that are involved in the delivery of similar services. Social justice needs to be the key phrase, and its provision to everyone in our society will show that the Assembly can be effective and make a difference to people’s lives. Go raibh míle maith agat.

Iris Robinson (DUP, Strangford)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. As the Minister of Finance and Personnel explained, although there are two motions before the House on the spring Supplementary Estimates and the Vote on Account, there is a single debate.

The spring Supplementary Estimates reflect the cumulative changes from earlier monitoring rounds, in which Departments either bid for additional resources because of new pressures or release any excess funds when it was clear that they will not be used. However, the Health Department is in a unique position, because it was given first call on available in-year moneys of up to £20 million under the comprehensive spending review. Therefore, it has not taken part in the monitoring rounds to date. The Department has received £15 million and expects the remaining £5 million from this exercise. The full £20 million has been factored into the Department’s spending plans for the year.

As other Departments have been through the various monitoring rounds in the year, their respective Committees have, perhaps, had more of an opportunity to examine their financial pressures and easements. The slowdown in the growth of public-sector funding in recent years, which led into the last Budget negotiations, has meant that all Departments have to manage with less funding and are all feeling the pressure. The current financial crisis has added to that pressure. As Members are only too well aware, all Departments are required to achieve significant efficiency savings to make ends meet.

Spending on health accounts for by far the largest portion of public funding — around half of the total public expenditure or £4 billion from the £8 billion total. However, it is worth remembering that although all Departments are required to make the same percentage level of efficiency savings — 3% per year — that is a significant sum for the Health Department and has the potential to make a considerable impact on the level of health and social care services provided through the community.

Over the past number of months, the Committee has taken a keen interest in examining and challenging the efficiency delivery plans throughout the Health Service. The Committee heard first from the Minister and then from the main trade unions. Over the past few weeks, the Committee has been hearing from individual trusts about their detailed proposals, which is an exercise that will be completed in a couple of weeks. The Committee also tabled a motion that was debated in the House last week, which called on the Minister to ensure that implementation of efficiency savings will not result in cuts to vital front line services. The motion, which also highlighted the need to protect the most vulnerable in our community — children, people with mental-health problems and older people — was, thankfully, carried.

Members will agree that making efficiency savings is a demanding and challenging exercise for all involved and it takes place in a particularly difficult financial climate. Any reductions or cutbacks in services are likely to add to the difficulties that our communities already face. The Health Committee will continue to monitor that issue over the coming months.

I will now change my hat from that of the Chairperson of the Health Committee to that of the DUP’s spokesperson on health. For the record, I regret the attitude of my Ulster Unionist colleagues. If they do not support the motion, they will prevent moneys from going to Departments after 31 March. It is a pathetic and childish attempt to undermine the work of the Executive, bearing in mind that the Ulster Unionists are represented on that Executive. It is one thing to disagree, but all concerns and issues are raised and dealt with in the Executive. This is a mandatory coalition. It is perhaps not the most perfect set-up, but, until we have a voluntary coalition, all four parties are tied to the decisions that are made and signed off.

Mr McGimpsey boasted that he could gain additional funding after the draft Budget was signed off by all four parties, and it was open for Departments to put in bids for additional moneys. Indeed, he has been heard all over the airwaves boasting about how he could draw down and extract more money from the Minister of Finance and Personnel.

Just over a week ago, Sir Reg Empey said on the radio that we did not even need a debate today because the issue has been agreed, and it has all been tied up. Therefore, I am wondering where the Member for Strangford David McNarry is coming from and what support he has from his party. The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Sir Reg Empey, is saying one thing, yet one of the less prominent Members of the party is speaking out. I wonder whether it is sour grapes or whether the whole party will put its hands up and oppose the motion.

The country is in a dreadful situation — as is the rest of the United Kingdom and the rest of the world — with the current economic downturn, yet for the sake of a headline, the Ulster Unionist Party is prepared to say that it does not support the Executive, even though it is part of that Executive. It will leave the electorate scratching their heads and wondering what sort of representatives they have in the Ulster Unionist Party.

If the Budget does not go through, we will face meltdown because of the impact on Departments after 31 March. Departments will have no money. What are they going to tell the electorate? I cannot wait to hear the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Sir Reg Empey — [Interruption.]

I am speaking, Mr Speaker.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order.

Iris Robinson (DUP, Strangford)

They should calm down and perhaps take a pill.

Sir Reg Empey has one view, and I cannot wait to hear how he is going to explain to the voters and taxpayers of Northern Ireland — who are facing the credit crunch with great difficulty — that the Government have no money. I support the motion.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

The Speaker will be glad to hear that I am not going to try to explain that.

As the Chairperson of the Committee for Regional Development, I am pleased to contribute to the debate on the spring Supplementary Estimates for 2008-09 and the Vote on Account for 2009-2010.

The Minister for Regional Development wrote to the Committee last week setting out the main changes arising from the June, September and December monitoring rounds, and they are reflected in the spring Supplementary Estimates for 2008-09.

The Minister also identified a number of areas where additional headroom was included in the Department for Regional Development’s spring Supplementary Estimates. Those areas include £2·5 million for a possible allocation to Roads Service for structural maintenance in the February monitoring round; £900,000 to allow a possible transfer from DSD to Roads Service in respect of the neighbourhood renewal strategy in the February monitoring round; £38·5 million for Northern Ireland Water’s accelerated programme facilities; £55 million for Northern Ireland Water’s revolving credit facility; and £400 million for adjustments that may arise following the in-year reclassification by Her Majesty’s Treasury of Northern Ireland Water.

The Committee for Regional Development scrutinised the quarterly monitoring rounds in 2008-09 and responded to the Department on the specific bids and easements contained in each monitoring round return. Arising from that work, the Committee identified several issues of strategic concern, which, in my capacity as Chairperson, I want to raise.

It is the responsibility of the Executive to resolve pressures on the DRD budget arising from the ongoing deferral of charging for the provision of water and sewerage services. Although the Committee awaits a more detailed briefing from the Department on the consequences of Her Majesty’s Treasury’s in-year decision to reclassify Northern Ireland Water, I am pleased to see that headroom provision has been made to address that.

During monitoring rounds, and also on the Floor of the House during debates on the Budget and on the Programme for Government, the Committee raised the need to provide adequate and timely funding for structural maintenance. Funding for structural maintenance must be adequate, in that it approaches the funding levels that are set out in the independently audited structural maintenance fund plan. This year, funding reached less than 60% of the recommended level, and a slight improvement is due next year. In the in-year monitoring rounds of previous years, DRD was successful in attracting additional funding for structural maintenance and bringing spending on it closer to the levels that are recommended in the structural maintenance funding plan. However, that is not the case this year. I reiterate the Committee’s view that light of current budgetary pressures, it is no longer acceptable or prudent for the Department to rely on in-year monitoring to fund structural maintenance programmes.

Spending on structural maintenance must also be timely. At the earliest possible point in the financial year, DRD has to ensure that the structural maintenance industry has the capacity to deliver. The Committee’s arguments — based on road safety and the value-for-money benefits arising from a proper level of structural maintenance — are well rehearsed. In addition — and in the current economic climate — adequate and timely spending of structural maintenance will go some way to assisting the hard-pressed construction sector.

I wish to make some further points as an MLA. The majority of people who rely on front line services are socially and economically challenged. In these increasingly difficult times, they continue to rely on those services to provide for many of their basic needs. Pensioners, the working poor and near-benefit-level families will be hit hardest if we continue with the status quo.

I provide the following examples. All the authorities on housing agree that we need between 2,000 and 2,500 new social homes to be built each year in Northern Ireland to meet increasing demand. With the economic downturn and the job losses that will result, that figure will increase. It was disappointing that in the Programme for Government, we were promised only 1,500 new social and affordable homes each year; it is unacceptable that there will be a 40% cut in that figure, which will result in the building of only 800 to 900 social and affordable homes, which will increase homelessness. More families will have to turn to the private sector where, in order to get a house, they will have to subsidise their housing benefit. That will result in more families living below the poverty line.

Continuation of the fiscal status quo will ensure that there are other negative impacts on housing. The Housing Executive does not have the available moneys to repair and maintain buildings. People are living in deteriorating accommodation: kitchen replacements have stopped; units for people with complex needs and those who require care in the community have been shelved; and external cyclical maintenance schemes have been suspended, which will have an unacceptable impact on older people and those with special needs and physical disabilities.

No one in the House can defend that position. We are failing some of the most vulnerable people in society. The Minister for Social Development has been hamstrung by the DFP decision, and people will continue to suffer because of it. We are told that, each year, 1,000 people die of cold-related illnesses, and vulnerable people are now marginalised simply because the Executive —

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

I do not disagree with what the Member has said — most Members would argue that there needs to be an effective social house-building programme. Does the Member agree that over the past two years, the majority of the social housing programme has been made up of houses bought on the open market, or apartments bought off the shelf? That does nothing for family housing.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

Mr McCann makes a fair point. I am not really concerned whether houses are bought or built; I am concerned that there are sufficient homes provided by the state for people who need them.

The Programme for Government made a commitment to reduce child poverty by half by 2012, and to eradicate it by 2030. I think that everyone would agree that those figures are laughable. The number of children living in severe poverty is increasing and under the current circumstances, will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. OFMDFM’s reaction to that has been deplorable, and the priorities of the Minister of Finance and Personnel do very little to relieve the plight of those people.

The recent Financial Assistance Bill promised £150 for pensioners who receive pension credit to help with heating through the winter, and that was pushed through the House using the accelerated passage procedure. We were told that that had to be done so that the money could be paid out in time for Christmas. Committees were not allowed to hold the Department to account.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

Will the Member give way?

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

Go ahead, Milton.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford)

I note the reference to Milton Friedman; at this point in the day, I would take any lunch, never mind a free lunch.

Can the Member tell me how the Financial Assistance Bill — which provided for a payment of £150 to people on pension credit or income support — could be rushed through before Christmas, when the legislation came before the House after Christmas? His friend the Chairperson of the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister can clarify that for him.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

The Member should talk to his colleague junior Minister Donaldson.

If we do not hurry up and pay out, pensioners will be using the money for their summer holidays instead of their winter fuel bills. [Interruption.]

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

Water payments are now inevitable due to the Government’s placing of Northern Ireland Water back under DRD’s control. That will result in capital asset payments in 2011. Make no mistake, if water charges are introduced, everyone will have to make a contribution in the form of a payment for water, even those people who have never before had to do so. People living on benefits did not have to pay for water or for rates; however, if water charges are introduced this year, that link will be broken — every individual will have to pay a charge for water. If water charges are introduced, pensioners who receive pension credit, which the Government say is a safety net, will have to pay water charges. The Executive are saying that they know better.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

The Member must bring his remarks to a close.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

There was an intervention, Mr Speaker.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

There is no extra time.

William McCrea (DUP, South Antrim)

I speak as the Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, and I speak for a community of which I am very proud. As always, the Committee has been relentless in its robust scrutiny of departmental accounts, and we endeavour to ensure that budgets are met in a prudent manner in accordance with the departmental aims and objectives within the strategic plan.

This year has been difficult for the agriculture sector, and the farming community has found itself under mounting pressure to ensure that it is compliant with the European nitrates directives. Previously, I have presented to the House the Committee’s thoughts on the severe accounting failure of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in respect of that matter, and the severe impact that that has had on the Northern Ireland economy. I will not repeat those comments today.

However, the Committee has been supportive of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Finance and Personnel in their attempts to ensure that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s original underestimate of the cost of the scheme has been rectified. The Committee notes the previous increases of the budget and the additional £29 million that is noted in the Estimates. I thank the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for that additional finance, which is a fulfilment of the promise that was made by the previous Minister, who assured the Committee that that finance would be provided.

The Committee welcomes that additional money and calls on the Department to ensure that it takes all necessary action to get the money out to farmers as quickly as possible. A past failure has been that although the money has been made available, the Department was slow in getting it into the pockets of the farmers who faced the expenditure.

The Committee recently received a presentation from the Department on the February monitoring round and was surprised that the Department had not identified any reduced requirement in respect of its budget. The figures that the Department presented showed that it still had some £90 million of its budget to spend from December 2008 to March 2009. The Committee is concerned at that, given the Department’s track record in surrendering moneys too late in the day for other areas of the economy to make use of those moneys. That is evident in the last provisional out-turn, when a total of £31 million was returned by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Committee will continue to monitor that closely and ensure that the Department does not break the assurances that it has provided to us and to the industry. The industry cannot afford for moneys that are desperately needed for investment being returned because of the inefficiency of departmental accountancy processes. The Committee genuinely hopes that the Department achieves its budgetary targets and that its historical habit of returning significant sums of public money out of the industry and the Northern Ireland economy has ceased.

The Committee notes the additional sum of £12·5 million for the cull-and-disposal scheme, the hardship payments and animal disease compensation. However, the Committee believes that the Department has lost the opportunity to address the difficulties in each of those areas appropriately.

The Department’s counterpart in the Irish Republic acted immediately to the dioxin scare by going to Europe to seek a substantial hardship compensation package amounting to £180 million. Although the additional £12·5 million is welcome, it does not address the full cost of the scare to the industry, and we must continue to pursue fervently whatever avenue is open to us. That includes that of the Irish Republic, where the problem originated and which has a duty to pay for the disaster that came out of the dioxin scare and that which followed from it.

The Committee calls for a compensation package for those who were severely impacted by the severe flooding of August 2008. The Department’s response was to put a business case to DFP that stated that there was no economic case for compensating farmers who are now struggling to support their families and their businesses. That was a despicable statement; instead of providing appropriate compensation, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development suggested in its business case that it would be preferable to allow those farms to go out of business since larger, stronger businesses would take over the land.

The Department then plucked a figure of £500,000 and presented that to the Executive as being sufficient to cover costs that it considered to be in excess of £1 million. That has resulted in farmers with losses approaching £50,000 receiving less than £7,000 as a hardship payment. I am sad to say that it was not the Executive that were to blame for that, but the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The £7,000 is undoubtedly welcome, but it falls far short of what is needed to support the sector.

In respect of animal disease compensation, at every monitoring round, the Committee is presented with the spectacle of the Department taking its begging bowl to DFP in search of more money. Disease compensation for bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis costs the Northern Ireland economy more than £60 million a year, but what does that achieve? Departmental figures indicate that the brucellosis level remains static and that the incidence of TB is increasing. That is happening despite the Department’s defined disease-reduction target in the Programme for Government.

The Committee recently considered the Diseases of Animals Bill, and it will recommend to the House that the Committee undertakes an inquiry into how to compel the Department to implement a TB-eradication programme. In years to come, such a programme will allow for the positive release of moneys back into the Northern Ireland economy, instead of pouring them down the drain in compensation for diseases that should, and could, be eradicated.

We cannot continue to allow public finances to be wasted. We must take action beyond spending money foolishly on studies into subjects about which we already know the answer, such as the £6 million that the Department will spend on studying — rather than tackling — the prevalence of TB in badgers. The farming community is not only alarmed, it is disgusted by the inaction. The Department must use money proactively to protect the industry and the public, and to enhance the Northern Ireland agriculture sector and the wider economy.

I stated that the Department does not have a good record in managing its budget. However, at this stage, the Committee gives it the benefit of the doubt. The Committee notes and welcomes additional bids made in respect of matters that are key to the industry, and calls on the Department to keep its side of the deal by ensuring that those moneys are fully spent on supporting the vital agriculture industry.

I will speak personally for the final minute of my speech. We are living in challenging times. Issues relating to pensioners, people with special needs or learning disabilities, and children who live in poverty must be tackled. As a public representative, I find it appalling that the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is recommending the closure of acute services at hospitals in Whiteabbey and in Mid Ulster; the closure of old people’s homes; and the closure of special homes, such as the one at Cherry Lodge in Randalstown, with the loss of vital services for the most deprived children.

We must be very careful. I want those in the House who object to the Budget to answer a simple question. As members of the Conservative Party, and in the midst of the difficulties that we face, where would they make cuts? The cuts in services across the water that the Conservative Party is recommending would have a major effect on the Northern Ireland Budget and on the spending that is available to keep our residential homes and hospitals open, and to maintain our services to the community.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

As Question Time commences at 2.30 pm, I suggest that the House takes its ease until that time. The debate will continue after Question Time, when the next Member to speak will be the Chairperson of the Committee for the Environment, Mr Patsy McGlone.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr McClarty] in the Chair)

Education

Adrian McQuillan (DUP, East Londonderry)

1. asked the Minister of Education what meetings she has had with Autism Northern Ireland in the last year. (AQO 2046/09)

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Cuirim béim láidir ar ghné na riachtanas speisialta oideachais go ginearálta, an t-uathachas san áireamh. Tá tábhacht ar leith leis an athbhreithniú atá á dhéanamh faoi láthair ar riachtanais speisialta oideachais agus cuimsiú agus muid ag iarraidh feabhsuithe a chur ar chreat reatha riachtanas speisialta oideachais.

Special educational needs, including autism, are a particular priority for me. The ongoing review of special educational needs and inclusion is of great importance as my Department strives to improve the current special educational needs and inclusion framework.

As Members will be aware, my Department organised a North/South conference on autism, which was held in Croke Park. It brought together specialists, experts, professionals and parents from throughout the island of Ireland. A follow-up conference will take place.

On 16 May 2008, I met members of the south Down branch of Autism NI in Newry for a wide-ranging discussion on matters that relate to provision for autistic children and services that are provided by the Middletown Centre for Autism. We had a very productive meeting, and I was able to direct parents who were in attendance to the relevant education and library boards.

On 5 February 2009, I had a useful meeting with Eileen Bell and Arlene Cassidy of Autism NI, who were able to provide me with an update of their work with families and autism professionals and their plans for an international autism conference.

In addition to those two meetings, Autism NI met Department of Education officials on 3 December 2008, when it provided a comprehensive outline of service developments in the organisation.

I am also glad to report that Autism NI has been working actively in several ways with the Middletown Centre for Autism. The centre provided Autism NI with places on its 2007-08 training programme and provided staff to assist Autism NI in the delivery of training. The Middletown Centre is currently in discussion with Autism NI in order to conclude a service-level agreement to facilitate the transfer of the five-day Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children training model to Middletown.

Adrian McQuillan (DUP, East Londonderry)

I thank the Minister for her answer. Will she tell the House whether she has any plans to introduce a joined-up strategy on autism with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

My Department works closely with the Department of Health because it is important that they work together at every level. We will continue to do so. I thank the Member for his question. If a real difference is to be made in the area of special educational needs and inclusion, it is essential that the Department of Health and the Department of Education work together.

John McCallister (UUP, South Down)

Further to Mr McQuillan’s question, does the Minister agree that she must broaden the entire system and process of her response to autism? As a Health Committee member, I have visited Wales to examine its response, which is much broader and involves health, education, and employment and learning. Does she agree that her approach must be much broader and get as many people on board as possible in order to achieve the best response, which autistic people need and deserve?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I thank the Member for his comment. I welcome people’s recognition of the importance of cross-cutting relationships. The broadest possible approach must be taken towards autism and special educational needs. As Members will be aware, I have presented a review of special educational needs and inclusion to the Executive. I look forward to their discussion on the matter.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an cheist a fhreagairt. Does the Minister believe that autism services are best delivered on a cross-departmental basis with maximum co-ordination between Departments and, indeed, that autism legislation is the best way to achieve and ensure that level of co-operation?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Thug mé freagra ar an chéad pháirt den cheist. I believe that Departments must work together, which is why my Department works closely with the Department of Health. I look forward to the continuation of that work.

The Middletown Centre for Autism is a wonderful centre of excellence. In addition to our cross-party work in the North, we are working with our counterparts in the South of Ireland. I note that the autism centre there is funded by the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Health and Children. To date, the autism centre in the North has been funded only by the Department of Education. It is very important that all the Departments work together. We can build an international centre for excellence here.

The number of children with autistic spectrum disorder has increased in recent years, and there are many other children with special educational needs who daily face significant life challenges. A comprehensive legislative framework on special education provision already exists. The review of special educational needs and inclusion aims to improve provision and access to services for all children who have special educational needs. The introduction of new legislation is a lengthy process. Many proposals for improving services, specifically for children with autism, could be progressed more quickly through the existing legislative framework.

Dawn Purvis (PUP, Belfast East)

2. asked the Minister of Education what are the reporting requirements for resources allocated to schools under the English as an Alternative Language scheme; and how the benefits of this scheme to each pupil are assessed. (AQO 2047/09)

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

The October 2007 census indicated that there were 5,665 newcomer pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL) in the North of Ireland. My Department provides funding directly to schools to allow them to support their newcomer pupils. In addition, funding is provided to education and library boards for the Inclusion and Diversity Service (IDS).

The common funding formula is used to allocate funding directly to schools. Schools receive an additional 50% of the basic age-weighted pupil-unit cash value — £983·08 in 2008-09 — for each full-time newcomer pupil that is designated in the school census as having English as an additional language. During 2008-09, a total of £5·5million was allocated to schools via the common funding formula. Members will be aware that there are some children for whom we do not have exact numbers and that I recently decided to include the Roma children in this programme.

Under local management of schools arrangements, it is for the principal and board of governors of each school to determine how to spend their budgets and plan their use of resources to maximum effect. However, the support provided by the Inclusion and Diversity Service is also relevant. That regional service was established on 1 April 2007, and it is operated by the five education and library boards. It uses the Department’s funding to support schools with newcomer pupils who have English as an additional language.

The service received £1,015,000 in 2008-09. That allowed the IDS to establish a number of EAL support services, including diversity coordinators, a multi-lingual website, interpreting and translation services and a toolkit for primary-school teachers in Ireland, which I jointly launched with the relevant Minister in the South of Ireland. There is a lot of work being done, and the issue will be included in our review of special needs and inclusion services.

Dawn Purvis (PUP, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for her response. She said that more than £5·5 million has been allocated for 5,665 pupils under the EAL scheme. Given that that money is allocated under the common funding formula, how can we be sure that those pupils are benefiting directly from the additional resources? How is their performance and achievement measured? What assurance will the Minister give that she will review and amend the common funding formula and introduce reporting requirements for the scheme?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I welcome those very important questions. We must target our resources on the basis of objective need. To do that, we need the most up-to-date assessment, investigation and data for newcomer children, and that is why we have brought forward the review of special educational needs and inclusion. I look forward to an Executive discussion on that. I have it ready for tabling, but I have not yet been given a date on which it will be discussed by the Executive. It is very important that that discussion takes place, because it concerns £25 million of extra money that we fought for and achieved in the Budget. There is a possibility of losing that £25 million if the proposal does not progress at the earliest opportunity. It is important to target on the basis of need.

The Department is conducting a comprehensive review of the common funding formula in order to ensure that money is targeted on the basis of need and is allocated to the most disadvantaged children. The Member will have noted the Department’s decision on the Roma children. That was changed because school principals brought the matter to the Department’s attention.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for her answer. Will she outline how resources that are allocated per pupil to teaching English as an alternative language compare to those allocated for teaching English to local students?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

We must target on the basis of need and identify barriers to learning, which we must address at an early age rather than as children progress through school. Early intervention will increase all children’s chances of achievement. It should not be a competition between children from ethnic minorities and children from the North of Ireland. The review of special needs and inclusion will meet the needs of all children.

Carmel Hanna (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I thank the Minister for her answer. Will the newcomer policy propose support for early-years provision? Will funds be set aside for that?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Léiríodh ar dhaonáireamh Dheireadh Fómhair 2007 go raibh 5,665 dalta ó thíortha eile ina gcónaí i dTuaisceart na hÉireann a raibh Béarla mar theanga bhreise acu.

As the Member knows, the Department is going to bring forward its important newcomer policy, and all our policies are, of course, interlinked. Special needs and the newcomer policy are interlinked, as is our review of the common funding formula. Therefore, the newcomer and early-years policies will go hand in hand. As I said earlier, the Department’s various policies are like a jigsaw and are all interconnected.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

3. asked the Minister of Education when she will publish the early-years strategy. (AQO 2048/09)

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

The question, appropriately, refers to the early-years strategy that Carmel Hanna mentioned in her question.

Tá an Roinn ag súil le dréacht-straitéis a thabhairt os comhair an Choiste Oideachais go luath sa bhliain 2009, agus beidh comhairliúchán leathan cuimsitheach poiblí ina dhiaidh sin san earrach — beidh comhairliúchán leis na hearnálacha sláinte agus oideachais níos leithne agus le páistí agus tusimitheoirí — sula mbeidh an straitéis críochnaithe agus foilsithe.

The Department plans to bring the draft strategy to the Education Committee early in 2009. A broad and inclusive public consultation — including consultation with the health and education sectors, and children and parents — will follow in spring before the strategy is finalised and published.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I look forward to receiving that document in the Education Committee. Does the Minister recognise the importance of investing in early-years provision? Does she recognise that early intervention is critical to investing in a child’s future and development?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

The early years of a child’s life are critical. During the early months and years, a high percentage of learning takes place. Children form attitudes, make first relationships, develop concepts and form the foundations for later skills and learning. As I said earlier, the strategy will recognise that early intervention encompasses a wide range of issues, and that means identifying and addressing specific needs in a timely manner. Those needs contribute to the individual’s ability to grow and learn and to develop and fulfil his or her potential.

A hungry child will be unable to learn, and a child who has suffered violence at home will have additional barriers to overcome. Without early intervention, a child that does not speak English will experience much greater difficulty. Without appropriate early-years support, a child who is autistic, dyslexic or suffers from dyspraxia will struggle to be comfortable and stimulated in school. Therefore, it is essential to ensure proper early-years intervention for young people.

David McClarty (UUP, East Londonderry)

I call Mr Mervyn Storey, the Chairperson of the Committee for Education.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

In case there is confusion, I ask the question as a Member, not as Chairperson of the Committee. Sometimes, when the Education Minister brings forward proposals and policies, it seems as though the children will have left school by the time they are implemented, because we are still waiting on so many of them. Will the Minister comment on speculation that the strategy for children under six years of age will include comment on the ending of reception classes — given that the Minister tells us that early intervention is paramount to her?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I look forward to having discussions at the Executive on my review of special education needs and inclusion. I am very disappointed that, to date —

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

Answer the question.

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

This is in relation to the first part of the Member’s comment. I am very disappointed that, to date, my proposals have not been tabled, despite the fact that I sent them in July and gave responses in November. Despite that, the issue is still not on the Executive agenda. I hope that it will be placed on the Executive agenda very soon, because people who care about children with special needs do not block proposals from being placed on the agenda.

In relation to early-years education, I will not comment on the contents of a review that is under way, but I will say that I hope that, when the review of early-years provision is ready, it will be placed on the Executive’s agenda very quickly.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Given the almost universal acceptance in the House of the importance of early-years provision, perhaps the Minister can explain where it is placed on her list of priorities. How much time has she spent on that issue in comparison with the transfer issue, for example? Which factor does she think has the greater influence on a child’s educational attainment?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

The question shows a lack of understanding of the interconnectedness of all the policies — the review of early-years provision; the review of special needs and inclusion; the review of Irish-medium education; transfer 2010; and the entitlement framework. None of those policies is more important than any other — all are equally important. Anyone who has listened to me in the House will know that I have always spoken about interconnectedness. If intervention is not made at an early stage, or if the education of our children is destroyed by ensuring that they spend their time cramming for tests that they should not be doing at that age, it will distort their early years, distort their literacy and numeracy, and distort the education system.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

4. asked the Minister of Education how many times she has discussed the issue of post-primary transfer with the Executive Committee. (AQO 2049/09)

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Chuir mé páipéir ar aistriú iarbhunscoile faoi bhráid an Choiste Feidhmiúcháin ar dhá ócáid ar leith ag iarraidh plé a dhéanamh ar an ábhar le teacht ar chomhaontú ar mo mholtaí chun creatlach reachtach d’aistriú 2010 a éascú.

I have brought papers on post-primary transfer to the Executive on two separate occasions, seeking a discussion with a view to obtaining agreement on my proposals to facilitate a legislative framework for transfer 2010. In May 2008, I brought proposals to a meeting of the Executive; the DUP and UUP refused to discuss them. I offered to hold a single-issue Executive meeting on the matter. Again, that was rejected by the DUP. I also wrote to every Executive Minister, offering them the opportunity to discuss my proposals on a one-to-one basis. No DUP Minister availed of that opportunity.

In January 2009, I produced a policy memorandum paper that provided further detail in relation to my proposals and signalled my intention to publish guidance if the Executive again failed in their duty to engage with me. The Executive again refused to discuss the proposals, and that resulted in the publication of guidance, including recommendations for admissions criteria, on which consultation is under way until 27 April 2009.

People on the Shankill Road can ask the DUP and UUP very valid questions, as can people in Kilcooley and in different parts of the North of Ireland, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas. I will give three statistics on which everyone should ruminate.

Last year, 10 children from the Shankill Road gained access to a grammar school. No children from Kilcooley gained access to a grammar school. Sixteen children from the New Lodge gained access to a grammar school. There is no comparison between those figures and the statistics from some of the more affluent suburbs. The DUP must, therefore, ask itself what it is doing to support children in working-class areas.

David McClarty (UUP, East Londonderry)

Will the Minister clarify whether she intended to answer questions 4 and 7 together?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Yes, I did. I am sorry; I should have said that.

Fred Cobain (UUP, Belfast North)

Perhaps the Minister will tell the House whether she tried to resolve the issue informally before bringing it to the Executive? If she did, will she tell us if she had any meetings with the DUP and, if so, what the outcomes of those meetings were?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

As people will know, I have had many discussions with every single party and with the Committee for Education. I attempted to have discussions with the Executive, but some parties on the Executive refused me. I have met educationalists, all stakeholders, the Churches, the trade unions and the children’s rights groups. I have left no stone unturned. I had many discussions at different levels with all the political parties.

Alan McFarland (UUP, North Down)

Does the Minister not understand that the way in which she has handled this issue — by saying that she is engaging with all those concerned, but not really engaging in any serious way — has done more damage than if she had dealt with the matter in a sensible way and had engaged with people in order to have a proper debate?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I respectfully suggest that the Member considers how his party has engaged on the issue of post-primary transfer. His party has failed to engage; it has failed to take into account how the existing system discriminates against working-class children. I read out the statistics, which are an indictment of our society. We need a system that is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. We need a system that does not test children at the tender age of 10 or 11 and on which future pathways are determined.

I am moving forward because parents and teachers want clarity, and I am providing clarity. I have issued guidance because both parties on the opposite Benches refuse to engage on the issue of post-primary transfer. We cannot allow the current levels of underachievement to continue. We cannot allow the system that is failing 12,000 people every single year to continue. I am not prepared to allow that to continue. We have educational apartheid, and it has to stop now. The best way to deal with that is for all schools to adhere to the guidance so that we have a smooth transition in transfer 2010.

Dominic Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an fhreagra sin. I thank the Minister for her answer.

Ba mhaith liom a fhiafraí den Aire a n-aontódh sí liom nach dul chun cinn ar bith é an córas neamhrialta atá cruthaithe aici ar an seachóras a bhíodh ann. Go deimhin, chruthaigh sí córas roghnaitheach a thabharfaidh ar dhaltaí dó nó b’fhéidir trí de theistíní a dhéanamh.

Will the Minister agree that the unregulated system that she has created is no improvement on the former system of transfer, and that, in fact, she has ensured the continuation of a selective system in which children will have to sit not one test, but possibly two or three? Will she further agree that children who are from a socially disadvantaged background will be further disadvantaged by such an unregulated system?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I thought that the SDLP was opposed to academic selection. The question that the Member asks obviously shows that they are not. That is very disappointing.

If all post-primary schools adhere to the guidance, no child will be required to enter any test. If schools depart from that guidance and offer breakaway entrance tests, no parent will be forced to enter their child for those. I have advised schools on the legal perils of doing that. We have an opportunity to build a new system that, for the first time, is based on equality and on giving every child an equal chance. That is what I will do. I hope that the parties that claim to oppose inequality and academic selection will join me in bringing about that change.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

Given that the Minister has failed in her efforts to introduce a bog-standard comprehensive system, will she, at least, allow the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assesment to set the examination paper, or does she want to go down the route of privatising education services?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I find some of the words that the Member used derogatory. I hope that the Member can explain his comments to the many schools in the community that he claims to represent. Those schools, such as Ashfield Girls’ High School and Cookstown High School, ensure that all children are welcome. The Member’s use of offensive terminology — such as “bog-standard comprehensive” — really shows where he is coming from in this debate.

Daithí McKay (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

5. asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the effectiveness of the performance of non-selective education systems in other countries. (AQO 2050/09)

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

D’amharc mo Roinn ar na torthaí oideachais a baineadh amach i dtíortha san Eagraíocht um Chomhar agus Fhorbairt Eacnamaíochta, agus bhreithnigh sí freisin feidhmíocht choibhneasta na dtíortha sin nach gcuirtear taifid acadúla daltaí san áireamh go ginearálta maidir le hiontráil ar iarbhunscoileanna.

My Department has examined the educational outcomes achieved across countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and has also considered the relative performance of countries where students’ academic records are not taken into account in admission to post-primary schools. The data shows that many countries where academic selection is not a factor are capable of outperforming the system here to a significant degree.

The outcomes from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in, for example, reading, show that we have a score of 495, which represents average performance at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) level.

Compare that with, for example, Sweden, where the OECD reports that only 2% of pupils attend schools where their academic record is a prerequisite or high priority for admittance, and yet its PISA reading score from 2006 stood at 507 — a performance significantly better than the OECD average score. Consider Finland, which has a score of 547 in reading and 548 in mathematics.

Other countries where the vast majority of young people are admitted to schools without recourse to academic selection include Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. Those countries all significantly outperform us in mathematics, and Canada, Australia and New Zealand also significantly outperform us in reading.

In Belgium, three quarters of young people transfer to post-primary education, untroubled by academic selection, and that country’s performance also outshines our own — it is significantly above the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science.

In the rest of Ireland, academic selection is not a feature of the education system, and yet, in the South, the performance in reading — a score of 517 compared to our 495 — is significantly better than ours and the OECD average. Let us learn — [Interruption.]

David McClarty (UUP, East Londonderry)

Order.

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

We must deal with our level of underachievement, not run away from it.

Daithí McKay (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her answer, which clearly demonstrates how out of touch the education system in the North is. It also demonstrates how out of touch some of the Members on the Benches opposite are. [Interruption.]

A bit of peace, please. The Minister touched on the issue of PISA. Can she outline how that is relevant to international best practice and to our situation?

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

As Members may know, PISA is an assessment of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in various countries across the world. It runs every three years and uses a series of tests based on real-life challenges that involve reading, maths and science.

The tests have undergone rigorous scrutiny to ensure that they are robust. That allows us to have confidence when we compare the results of participating countries or regions. The first round of PISAs took place in 2000, and each round has seen the number of participating countries grow. That growth included an increase from 32 in 2000 to 57 in 2006, when 30 OECD member countries took part. We have taken part in each study since the PISA was established.

Environment

Raymond McCartney (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

1. asked the Minister of the Environment what action he is taking to ensure that planning applications currently within the planning system, that offer employment opportunities, are dealt with expediently given the economic downturn. (AQO 2066/09)

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The Programme for Government refers to a six-month target being applied to large-scale planning proposals in which pre-application discussions have taken place. Those proposals are considered to have significant economic or social implications for the whole — or a substantial part — of Northern Ireland.

Two strategic project teams have been created to specifically handle that type of application, including facilitating the pre-application discussions. Applications that do not fall into that category will still be given priority in the planning system in relation to their processing, and measures are in place to that effect.

Guidance on the prioritisation was issued to all divisional planning offices in July 2006. That clarified that priority should be given to applications on which grant aid may depend, or to certain commercial, industrial, social or infrastructure proposals that have clear strategic, employment, community or public-interest dimensions.

Raymond McCartney (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

Go raibh maith agat. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a fhreagra.

I thank the Minister for his answer. The Department of the Environment recently recruited 34 people for professional and technical reasons. Will those casual workers receive full-time positions, or does the Minister envisage any redundancies?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The Member is quite right: we have gone through a process, and we are considering whether casual employees should become full-time employees. The Member will also be aware that there are certain resource implications for the Department in light of the economic downturn. Planning applications have decreased by about 40%. Currently, there is quite a deficit in the Planning Service as a result of reduced fee income. In light of that deficit, officials and I are studying the current method of delivering the Planning Service in Northern Ireland. It is obvious that the number of planning officers must be included in that consideration.

I assure the Member that my priority is to keep the service at a high standard while dealing with the backlog and making sure that we have the resources to quickly process planning applications. However, that means that we must consider the resource implications and how we could obtain additional resources to keep the current complement of planning officers in light of the straightened financial circumstances.

Thomas Burns (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Antrim)

Will the Minister tell us whether there has been a reduction in business-related planning applications since the start of the economic downturn?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

If the Member had listened to the answer that I just provided, he would have heard me saying that there has been a reduction in planning applications of some 40%. Given the current economic position, that is understandable. I seek to make the best of that opportunity by ensuring that applications that are in the system are dealt with quickly.

Although we received 15,000 applications in the past year, I point out to the Member that we dealt with 18,000 applications. We have tried to use the current situation to ensure that we get rid of some of the backlog of applications in the planning system, although we still have to deal with some of those applications. There is a big backlog in relation to Planning Policy Statement 21 (PPS 21), and I have guaranteed that we will have dealt with that by June of this year.

There has been a reduction in the number of applications. That reduction has had implications for the Department and for the resources that are available to the Planning Service.

Séan Neeson (Alliance, East Antrim)

Does the Minister agree that the recent decision to decline planning permission for the Aurora building was a lost opportunity for job creation? Moreover, does he agree that that decision flies in the face of the planning permission that has already been granted for the Obel skyscraper, which is located beside one of Belfast’s most historic buildings, namely, the Custom House?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

I do not often find myself in agreement with my colleague from East Antrim; however, on this occasion, I do agree, and as one would expect, I have already made my feelings about the Aurora project public.

The Aurora project has massive potential to regenerate an area of Belfast that is in need of regeneration. I accept that it was to be built beside a listed building. However, as the Member pointed out, planning permission has been granted to build other large buildings beside significant listed buildings, such as the Custom House at the docks. The management board is examining that planning application, and those matters will be considered.

Robert Coulter (UUP, North Antrim)

2. asked the Minister of the Environment what approaches he has received from the Town Planning Committee of Belfast City Council since taking up office. (AQO 2067/09)

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

Since taking up office, I have received no formal approaches from the town planning committee of Belfast City Council. I believe that it is isolating and ignoring me, and I feel lonesome.

Robert Coulter (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Minister for his answer. Has he reflected on his previous commitment to resign from Belfast City Council, and does he not accept that being simultaneously the Minister in charge of planning and a member of a council planning committee is a conflict of interest, which is hugely damaging to his credibility and, more importantly, to the credibility and structures of Government?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The majority of Members are also members of district councils, and many of the matters that they deal with in the Assembly relate to the affairs of those councils. Furthermore, many matters that Members deal with in detail in Committees have implications for district councils.

Of course, Members from Dr Coulter’s party who hold ministerial office are also members of Belfast City Council, and they do not feel that there is a conflict of interest. Consequently, his party leader might not be too pleased that he asked that question. If he is criticising his party leader and his party’s Minister of Health because of the contradiction in their positions and their potential conflicts of interest, he should take that matter up with them. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the office that I hold and my role in Belfast City Council have led to any conflicts of interest.

Wallace (DUP, Belfast East)

Has the Minister met with Belfast City Council — in his role as Minister of the Environment — to discuss tall buildings in Belfast? As an elected member of Belfast City Council like me, he will know that the council supported the construction of the Aurora building. When will the draft policy and guidelines for tall buildings in Belfast be completed?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

In May 2008, a cross-party delegation from Belfast City Council asked to meet my predecessor to discuss the matter of tall buildings in Belfast. A date was agreed before I became Minister, and I attended that meeting on 28 July 2008.

Given the number of applications for tall buildings in Belfast and the economic potential that they hold, I have made it clear that it would be appropriate to have a policy. Consequently, I have asked the Planning Service to prepare such a policy. I do not have a date on which it will be finalised, although I understand that consultants have been employed to begin work on guidance.

It is hoped that it will be brought to fruition fairly quickly, because the issue of tall buildings will not go away. Furthermore, applications of that nature can bring great economic benefit to a city, and Belfast would benefit from the impact that tall buildings, in the appropriate places, would have on its well-being.

Alban Maginness (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast North)

I thank the Minister for his answers. Does he agree that his failure to resign from Belfast City Council leads to a conflict of interest in his present position? His defence to Rev Coulter was that other Ministers in the House are members of Belfast City Council and other councils. That is no defence; it merely confirms the view that there is a potential conflict of interest. When Arlene Foster was the Minister of the Environment — the position that Sammy Wilson holds now — she resigned from her local council in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

As the Member knows, I will do my own thing on these issues; I will not be guided by the actions of others. I make up my mind as to how I believe I should discharge my duties. It is ironic that the accusation comes from a Member who is also a member of Belfast City Council. On many occasions, he has to debate issues in the Assembly that affect not only Belfast City Council, but other areas. If he can remain objective, I believe that I am more capable of the required degree of objectivity than the Member for North Belfast.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

3. asked the Minister of the Environment when the independent working group on PPS 21 will publish a final report. (AQO 2068/09)

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The independent working group is required to report to my Department by 26 June 2009.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

How many deferrals have been determined under draft PPS 21 at the Planning Service’s Omagh office? How many of those have been approved?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The Member’s memory must be short, because a letter that he wrote to one of the local newspapers was published in today’s edition. He has quoted the figures in that letter, so I do not know why on earth he needs me to remind him of them. Perhaps Alzheimer’s disease has set in. I will remind him of what is contained in the letter that he wrote to the newspaper. Some 280 applications have been deferred in the regional planning office that covers the Omagh, Strabane, Fermanagh, Dungannon and Cookstown council areas, and 41 of those applications have been approved. If Mr McGlone’s maths are right — and I hope that they are better than his memory — that represents 14·64%. Therefore, that is 14·64% more applications than would have been granted under PPS 14. There will be 41 people in those areas who will be happy that I have introduced such a policy.

Across Northern Ireland, so far, there has been an approval rate of about 37%.

Daithí McKay (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. May I be the first Member to welcome the Minister’s return following his being sent to the DUP sin bin by his party colleagues last week. What guarantees are there that the recommendations from the independent working group, which will report in June, will be implemented?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

I know that the Member would love to get rid of me from this position, but I assure him that I am here today, and I will be in this position at the next Question Time and for the foreseeable future. To paraphrase the Member’s party leader, I am not going away, you know.

The independent working group’s recommendations will come first to me and then to the ministerial subgroup, in which we will consider them and, at that stage, determine what happens with them.

Leslie Cree (UUP, North Down)

Before PPS 14, the Planning Service advised that the number of new houses in the countryside exceeded the combined total of those in England, Scotland and Wales. Will the Minister advise the Assembly on what he thinks is a sustainable annual figure for new houses in future?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

It would not be right for me to say what I believe to be a sustainable annual figure. In fact, I would not like to think that the suitability of planning applications would be determined on the basis of a quota. That will be determined on the basis of whether those applications comply with the policy that has been introduced. Applications that comply with PPS 21 should be granted, but if they do not comply, they should not be granted. I have no idea, and the Member could not reasonably expect me to have an idea, of how many successful applications there should be.

I must emphasise that that planning policy is designed to achieve two aims. The first is to ensure that those people who need to live in the countryside have the opportunity to do so, and that rural communities are sustained and are sustainable. The second aim is to preserve what I believe to be a very important part of our natural heritage — the landscape of our rural communities and our rural areas. The planning policy is designed to achieve those two aims, and every application will be judged against them.

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

4. asked the Minister of the Environment for a progress report on the Programme for Government commitment to overhaul the Planning Service. (AQO 2069/09)

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

A comprehensive programme of reform of the planning system is well under way. Improvement is being made in the short term through various process improvements, such as a streamlined council consultation scheme. Parallel to that, officials have been working to develop detailed policy proposals for reform in the medium to longer term. Those proposals take account of the transfer of planning functions to the proposed 11 new councils in May 2011, under the review of public administration (RPA).

Subject to receiving Executive approval, I hope to publish the proposals shortly for a period of public consultation. That is a critical next step on the path to meeting the Programme for Government commitment and the PSA 22 commitment to ensure that a fit-for-purpose legislative framework for the planning system is put in place by March 2011.

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

Will the Minister account for the spiralling costs of ePIC — the electronic planning information for citizens project — which increased from £5·5 million to £12·8 million? Was that project re-tendered? Would the Minister not be better spending his time controlling costs in his Department rather than publicly criticising civil servants and espousing ridiculous views on energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate change?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

When it comes to lectures on protecting the environment, the last person to whom I will turn is a member of the Beggs family, whose expertise when it comes to protecting the environment revolves around landfill and illegal dumping. The Member might bear that in mind before he starts to lecture me about my role as Minister of the Environment.

As far as the spiralling costs of ePIC are concerned, I am not trying to wash my hands of the matter, but most of those costs were incurred during the very early part of the process. I inherited the current system, and I have asked tough questions about the costs of the ePIC project. The project was not re-tendered, because to start all over again would have led to increased costs and could have left the Department open to court action by the firm that held the contract.

I must also point out that some additional things were put onto the system, making it a bit more complex than was originally intended. However, I assure the House that I will keep an eye on the costs. I hope that we now have a tender document that is much tighter than it was in the past, and that we will deliver ePIC, which is an important part of planning reform, in so far as it will give the public and developers greater accessibility to their planning applications, and it should also cut down on much of the administrative costs in the system.

Cathal Boylan (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I, too, welcome the Minister back. No doubt, Stephen Nolan will be looking for him shortly. Perhaps he can also make provision for the poor old polar bears now that they are an endangered species in his constituency.

What provision or new measures will the Minister provide to ensure that councillors will be trained adequately to ensure that the new planning procedures will be put in place when functions transfer to the super councils? Go raibh maith agat.

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

I want to correct the Member. Polar bears and polar bear colonies are thriving; they are not in decline. I give him that piece of information for nothing.

The Member asked about an important issue. For those who wish to see local government functioning properly after May 2011, it is important that councillors who take on planning responsibilities are properly trained and have the capacity to deal properly with planning decisions. For that reason, the planning reform proposals include actions that will help to have councillors trained in that area.

Sinn Féin members on the strategic leadership board have been helpful in preparing for RPA. However, the planning reform proposals are being held up in the Office of the deputy First Minister — and I know that the Chief Whip of the Member’s party might not be too happy with him for raising the issue. Nevertheless, we are reaching a deadline, and if we do not get the proposals out for public consultation and start moving towards the legislative requirements, we will find ourselves in a difficult position when it comes to delivering that reform before May 2011. I will be more than grateful for any help that the Member can give me in getting those proposals to the Executive so that they can go out for public consultation.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

The Minister referred to the streamlining process, and we all agree that that is a good thing. However, will the Minister comment on the fact that if developers — particularly apartment developers — do not get approval for 40 apartments, they withdraw and defer and come back with proposals for 30 apartments, and if they do not get 30, they withdraw and defer, and the process goes on and on. Does the Minister agree that that exercise defeats the purpose of what we are trying to do, which is to push the planning process forward?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

Part of the Member’s question is correct. The streamlining process has had a dramatic effect where it has worked. Where it has been introduced so far, for example in the Londonderry area, the average time for applications that go through the streamlined process has been reduced from 89 days to 28 days, and 20% of applications are being not only processed but decisions issued within 20 days. That is a remarkable turnaround, and it has a big impact locally.

Nevertheless, the Member is right. I have told planning officers that we should no longer be in a position where we work with developers and negotiate down by increments. Apart from the fact that it messes up the planning system, it also means that an officer’s time is tied up in those negotiations and looking at changed plans — sometimes with minor alterations only.

Of course, the other issue is that objectors are kept on tenterhooks, because they must constantly return to the matter to consider amendments. One reason why we have introduced the front-loaded pre-application arrangement is to try to get developers to understand, at the very outset, what is likely to be acceptable and what is outside the ballpark. Then, if they lodge an application, they have only themselves to blame if it is turned down after one go. That is the way forward. The Member is right, we must free up resources to deal with applications quickly.

Tommy Gallagher (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

The report ‘Foundations for the Future’ commented on the third-party right of appeal. It made it quite clear that it should be considered only in well-qualified circumstances, because, obviously, if there was a free-for-all, it would make the planning process impossible.

David McClarty (UUP, East Londonderry)

Please ask a question.

Tommy Gallagher (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Do the planning reforms under consideration in the Department contain some facility for a third-party right of appeal?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

The emerging findings paper will have already indicated that I am not in favour of third-party appeals. Of course, the point of holding consultations on planning reform is to give people the opportunity to make an argument for third-party appeals. Despite the arguments that have been made in support of third-party appeals, they are not a panacea. The way to get community buy-in for planning applications is to have the community consultation front-loaded, not end-loaded. Rather than giving people the right to fight a decision once it has been made, they should instead be given an opportunity to have input before an application has even been submitted.

I want to mention one issue that is contained in the emerging findings paper and that will be dealt with in the planning reform paper — indeed, it is an issue that will form part of the consultation. When making an application, developers will be required to show not only that they have consulted people, but how they have consulted them and how they have tried to deal with the objections raised by the people who will be affected by the development. To my mind, that is a much better approach: before anybody’s mind is made up, the public gets an opportunity to have their say, and, hopefully, planning applications can be tailored to meet the needs of local people and to take account of their views.

Alan McFarland (UUP, North Down)

5. asked the Minister of the Environment for his assessment of the planning application by McAllister Holdings for the Aurora Building, Great Victoria Street, Belfast. (AQO 2070/09)

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

Belfast City Council has referred the application to the Planning Service management board for consideration and reassessment, and I have decided that it is best that the application is dealt with by that process.

Alan McFarland (UUP, North Down)

I thank the "Minister for entertainment" for his answer. He is in good form today as usual.

Does the Minister not find that there is a degree of incongruity between, on the one hand, his duties as the Environment Minister, and, on the other, his lobbying for planning applications and his criticism of his own planning staff?

Sammy Wilson (DUP, East Antrim)

That question has been asked time and again. The argument seems to be that when someone becomes a Minister, somehow or other they cease to have constituency responsibilities. I am in this Chamber because constituents have elected me to it. I happen to have been given a post — in the meantime anyhow — [Laughter.] — as the Minister of a Department. However, that does not mean that I no longer have an obligation to represent my constituents. When I talk to planning officers about a planning application, I am simply carrying out my constituency duty. The one occasion on which it is not right for me either to listen to applicants or objectors or to make representations is when I have to make the final decision on a planning application that is subject to article 31 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

The record will show that, when dealing with such applications, I have adhered to the requirement to remain separate from the planning process until the officers submit a report to me with a recommendation on which I must make a judgement.

Culture, Arts And Leisure

Jennifer McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

1. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if his Department actively encourages the use of Irish in the workplace. (AQO 2086/09)

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

No.

Jennifer McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

I thank the Minister for his answer, even though it was somewhat sarcastic. Does he accept that there is a greater onus on him — [Interruption.]

May I finish my question?

— to recognise the Irish language now that it has secured level-3 status under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

I assure the Member that I was not being sarcastic. The Member mentioned the use of Irish and its status — she is correct about the status that it has attained. The requirements of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages are being fully met by the Department. I would hope that, in the workplace, we could concentrate on trying to deliver better services for the entire community, rather than being sidetracked on language issues such as that which the Member has raised.

Jim Shannon (DUP, Strangford)

A report on the matter is published. Will the Minister confirm when the third periodic report will be published?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

The Member is correct to say that periodic reports are published. The third report is awaiting Executive consideration. The deputy First Minister made substantive comments on the report, which, along with the comments of others, were incorporated, as appropriate. The deputy First Minister has been considering the report, including those comments, since 11 November 2008. I will bring the report to the Executive as soon as I can.

Dominic Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Aire — agus tá súil agam go dtabharfaidh sé freagra níos fuide uirthi ná a thug sé ar an chéad cheist: cad é atá déanta ag an Aire leis an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn ó rinneadh Aire de? I hope that the Minister’s answer to my question will be longer than the one that he gave to the initial question. What work has he done to promote the Irish language since he became Minister?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

It is remarkable that Ministers and politicians are criticised when they give fulsome and protracted responses, yet I am criticised when I do the complete opposite and give a concise and specific answer.

The honourable Member has taken a consistent line in his approach to the issue. However, he has found that I have taken an equally consistent line. There will not be an Irish-language Act; however, those who choose to use Irish or Ulster Scots should be facilitated to do so. That was the position, and it will remain the position for the foreseeable future.

David McClarty (UUP, East Londonderry)

Mr McGlone is not in his place to ask question 2.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

3. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, given the timing of his decision not to proceed with the multi-sports stadium at the Maze site, if it is still possible for his Department to have an alternative stadium ready in time for the London Olympics, as had been envisioned for the sports stadium at the Maze site. (AQO 2088/09)

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

7. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if it is his Department’s preference to proceed with one multi-sports stadium or for three separate stadium projects for the Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish Football Association and Ulster Rugby. (AQO 2092/09)

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will take questions 3 and 7 together.

In line with the commitment that I gave to the Assembly on 12 January 2009, I forwarded my conclusions on the proposed multi-sports stadium at the Maze to the Executive on 27 January. In my paper to the Executive, I advised that I had reviewed all the evidence available to me, including meeting with the governing bodies involved, and I had come to the view that the Maze proposal should not proceed. I also advised that I intended to have a further series of discussions with the governing bodies of the sports involved in order to explore alternatives. I have already had initial meetings with the relevant governing bodies, and I have asked them to review their options on stadia provision and to report back to me. Accordingly, there is no preferred option at the moment.

With regard to stadium provision for use during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012, Northern Ireland’s capability to actively participate could only be fully determined once a decision is taken on the preferred stadium option or options. However, I am considering the possibility of supporting a limited remedial programme of work at Windsor Park, so that international football can continue to be played there until a longer-term solution is found. Any support will be subject to an approved business case and to satisfactory assurances from the Irish Football Association and Linfield Football Club on future arrangements for maintaining the venue. That interim work may allow for some Olympics-related events to take place.

Declan O'Loan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, North Antrim)

How much money does the Minister have in his budget for stadium development? How much have the Minister and his Department spent and, therefore, inevitably, wasted on the Maze project?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

The Member posed a classic leading question when he asked how much has been spent and, therefore, wasted. He knows the facts as well as I do, and, I suspect, as well everyone else in the Chamber does, and they are that the issue of the multi-sports stadium was exceptionally complex. It was in the ether for many months and years preceding my arrival at the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. Therefore, it was always going to be a difficult choice. However, I have never shied away from taking difficult decisions. Having taken that decision, removed the uncertainty and brought clarity to the situation, we must now move forward.

I am delighted that we are now in the position whereby governing bodies can examine a very limited number of options. We are not going back to square one. There are a limited number of options available, so progress can be made quickly and practically in an attempt to bring clarity and to ensure that football, rugby and gaelic are catered for in the stadia provision. The 2007 budget gave capital provision of £70 million to the multi-sports stadium project over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Barry McElduff (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. The Minister will know that, since 29 January, officials from the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure have been in regular contact with his departmental officials to try to secure a meeting between the Minister and the Committee on the subject of the multi-sports stadium. As Chairperson of the Committee, I subsequently followed up that request in writing. Will the Minister pin down with our Committee staff a suitable date to discuss the matter? After all, it is a Government scrutiny Committee, and one could be forgiven for thinking that the Minister is trying to avoid the Committee.

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

Four weeks ago, I said that I would undertake a series of discussions with the governing bodies.

I did that within two weeks of taking the decision. Unfortunately, a leak was made to the media about the document at that time. If anyone has any information as to who was responsible for that leak, I would be delighted to receive that information and to take the appropriate action.

The Member seems to think that I am avoiding a meeting with the Committee. Since I took office in June last year, I have appeared before the Committee on every occasion on which I was asked to do so. We will reach a consensus on the best date — which I hope will be in the immediate future — and I will be glad to answer any questions that the Committee may wish to put to me in respect of this matter. I am sure that we will have a healthy and robust debate, and I will stand over everything that I will say to the Committee — I hope that the members can do likewise.

David McNarry (UUP, Strangford)

In view of the mounting failure to find private sponsorship for the London Olympic venues, are there any opportunities for Northern Ireland? Can the Minister say at what speed he will be able to move on the alternatives to the Maze site, to facilitate access to such opportunities?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

I thank the Member for raising the question in that way. I recall that other Members, both in the House and outside, indicated that, had the opposite decision had been taken — had I decided to proceed with the Maze stadium — it would, in some way, bring relief to the hard-pressed construction industry which faces the economic downturn.

However, even had a decision to proceed been taken, not a brick would have been laid before 18 months had passed. Everyone ought to know that. However, despite that, Members chose to make political capital. Their comments were nonsensical. Building work could not have started immediately; it could not have started within an 18-month to two-year period.

The Member asks how quickly we can proceed, and I want to proceed very quickly. I have met the three governing bodies and have indicated that I wish to receive their options within a matter of weeks. In the next few weeks, I hope to have a tiny, finite number of options that represent the governing bodies’ preferences, and I will get to work immediately. We can make progress quickly now that the uncertainty has been removed.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

The Minister said that everyone knew that £3·8 million — nearly £4 million — has been spent, squandered or wasted on the Maze site. I hope that that is so. Is it possible that some value can be salvaged in the preparation of an alternative site from the lost consultancy fees and documents?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

I thank the Member for his question. I did not mean that everyone knew that the expenditure had been of that order. My mention of widespread knowledge was with reference to a different point.

I hope, and have told local representatives in Lagan Valley and elsewhere, that, now that the uncertainty has been removed, other developments — that can, should and must occur at the site — are able to proceed on a more efficacious basis. That must happen now as a matter of the utmost priority. I hope that some of the preparatory work for the multi-sports stadium can be utilised in the development of that much-needed site. In the short-to-medium term, we could then see progress in developing genuinely world-class facilities at that site.

Wallace (DUP, Belfast East)

4. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to provide details of the take-up of the £5m Creative Industries Fund that was announced last autumn. (AQO 2089/09)

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

Following its launch last October, there has been a high degree of interest in the creative industries innovation fund. It is administered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and an initial call for applications was made, to sectoral bodies only, in October 2008.

The Arts Council undertook a competitive assessment process and I will announce in the near future the outcome of the first call. A second call for applications from creative enterprises opened on 5 January and closed on 5 February. The Arts Council has advised that more than 350 applications were received, considerably higher than the level that was expected. I believe that that is due, in no small part, to the successful marketing campaign undertaken by the Arts Council, which included presentations across Northern Ireland and close liaison with all 32 local enterprise agencies.

Wallace (DUP, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. The strategic action plan indicates that there are more than 2,500 creative enterprises in Northern Ireland employing almost 35,000 people, and that there is a specific goal to grow that sector by 15% by 2011. In light of that growth and planned development, will the Minister tell the House what the Arts Council is doing to promote creative industries innovations to ensure that all parts of Northern Ireland benefit from that funding?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

I thank the Member for his supplementary question. His rationale is one that is often utilised in the Chamber when Members ask about the geographic spread. I am delighted to inform him that, in so far as it has been possible, there has been a widespread number of information seminars, at centres including the Ards Art Centre in Newtownards; the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh; the North West Regional College, Limavady; the Southern Regional College, Newry; Space Craft in Belfast; the Presidents’ Club, Belfast; the Noribic Centre, Londonderry; the Craft Centre, Ballycastle; Work West, Belfast; and Oxford Island, Craigavon.

In addition, the 32 local enterprise agencies were provided with copies of the presentation. I am sure that the Member will be aware that Belfast City Council also promotes the fund by providing links on its website to the appropriate pages on the Arts Council website. I hope that Members will agree that there has been a comprehensive attempt to publicise the fund as widely as possible. The take-up — as measured by the response so far — would appear to indicate that that was money well spent.

Martina Anderson (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I know that political manners and leadership are not qualities of which the Minister displays a lot. However, through the Deputy Speaker I will ask: what is the next step for those applicants who made bids for funding, particularly in relation to the 5 February 2008 deadline?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

I made clear the closing deadline for applications. The Arts Council will now look at all the applications. As I said in response to a previous question, given the geographical spread of the information, I am hopeful that there will be a broad spread of resources across Northern Ireland. I cannot prejudge the outcome because there are criteria to be met. However, I am hopeful that people right across Northern Ireland will benefit from the fund.

Ken Robinson (UUP, East Antrim)

I note that in the Minister’s response to the initial question, and in his geographical response, he omitted south and east Antrim, so I will make a bid for those areas now. Has the Minister assessed the job-creating potential of the creative industries fund spending, from the primary investments and the knock-on opportunities?

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

The Member raises a pertinent point. The total amount of the fund is £5 million, which is a considerable sum. I would have liked there to have been more money available, but we have to work within the current Budget. However, I am hopeful that there will be considerable job-creation capacity within the limitations of the fund.

If that fund were to prove as successful as I hope, given the initial interest in it, it would strengthen my case for going back to the Minister of Finance and Personnel to say that a subsequent fund of a similar type should be set up. I hope that such a fund would be as successful as the current one, and, if more money were invested, a greater return might be made.

Mary Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

5. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if there will be additional funding made available for (i) the Waterside Theatre; (ii) the Playhouse; and (iii) An Gaeláras in Derry/Londonderry, to allow them to maximise the use of their facilities when refurbishment is complete. (AQO 2090/09)

Gregory Campbell (DUP, East Londonderry)

The Waterside Theatre, the Playhouse and An Gaeláras have all received funding from the north-west challenge fund towards their capital arts projects. All three projects have subsequently received additional funding beyond their original allocations from the fund.

Funding for the arts is dispersed through the Arts Council. The Arts Council has advised that it is fully aware of the needs of the arts venues in Londonderry, which have been undergoing capital development. It is currently assessing applications under the annual support for organisations programme, including applications for increased funding from those venues. The Arts Council will make its decisions in February 2009, and it will notify the applicants of the outcome during March 2009. Any further requests for additional capital funding will require the completion of a business case and will be dependent on the availability of funds.

Mary Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I thank the Minister for his answer. The Waterside Theatre project has found itself in difficulties through no fault of its own. Does the Minister agree that, in order to optimise the capital investment, there will be a requirement for ongoing revenue support?