Northern Ireland Assembly, 10 December 2013

333 contributions from 53 members. The official report.

Executive Committee Business

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I beg to move

That the Road Races (Amendment) Bill [NIA 29/11-15] do now pass.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I call Mr Spratt, Chair of the Committee for Regional Development.

Jimmy Spratt (DUP, Belfast South)

Thank you, Mr Speaker —

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

Sorry, Mr Speaker, if I could perhaps add —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Yes, Minister.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

Thank you very much indeed. I do not intend to address the content of the Bill to any great extent. As I have said before in this place, it is a single-clause Bill with a single aim, to amend the Road Races (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 to introduce flexibility into both two- and four-wheeled road racing arrangements in Northern Ireland. I addressed the Regional Development Committee on 9 October regarding the aims of the Bill and the need for it to progress via the accelerated passage procedure. I am grateful to the Chair and members of the Committee for their unanimous support for the Bill.

The Bill was introduced to the House on 18 November, and the accelerated passage and Second Stage debates took place on 26 November. I am grateful to Members for the contributions that they made to those debates and for their understanding and agreement regarding the use of accelerated passage.

Some considerable discussion took place during Consideration Stage on 2 December regarding the possibility of Sunday being used as a contingency day to allow motor racing. One amendment was carried to ensure that, should such a situation arise, my Department would have sufficient powers to satisfy itself that unique and reasonable arrangements for any road racing event will be put in place to minimise inconvenience to the local community. At Further Consideration Stage, two further amendments were tabled and a clear consensus emerged, which I am pleased about and welcome.

I am grateful to Members for the considerable interest that they have shown in a small but important Bill, and I look forward to any further contributions this morning.

Jimmy Spratt (DUP, Belfast South)

First, I refer to a comment made by Mr McCallister during the debate yesterday, when he claimed that my Committee:

"dropped the ball on this legislation." — [Official Report, Vol 90, No3, p49, col 2]

Frankly, that is a ridiculous accusation and further evidence that he and his party colleague have not understood the Bill, the Committee's role in bringing it to this stage or, indeed, the procedures of the House.

The Committee for Regional Development has been integral in bringing the Bill to this stage. A key facet of the Bill was the need to bring it through the accelerated passage process in order that it would progress through the Assembly and receive Royal Assent before 31 March 2014. That could not have happened without the support of the Committee, whose approval the Minister must seek under Standing Order 42, and the support of the House when the motion on accelerated passage was debated. The consequence of approving that motion was that Committee Stage was removed from the legislative process. That was, as I said, integral to the passing of the Bill because it saved significant time. That is not to say that the Committee stopped taking an interest. It did not. Members will be aware that the Committee —

Basil McCrea (NI21, Lagan Valley)

Will the Member give way?

Jimmy Spratt (DUP, Belfast South)

I will not. I am sure that you will have plenty of time. I listened to enough nonsense yesterday, and I will just continue. I am sure that you will be able to pick up on any points.

Members will be aware that the Committee agreed with the Minister and his officials that responses to the departmental consultation on the Bill would be forwarded to the Committee weekly. I thank the Department and officials for their help in bringing those to the attention of the Committee. That enabled the Committee to be kept fully apprised of the support for and opposition to the Bill.

I note from the Official Report that neither Mr McCallister nor his party colleague contributed to the debate on accelerated passage. If my memory serves me correctly, they did not even attend that first debate. If they had bothered to do so, they would not have fumbled the ball so significantly during the debate yesterday, when their complete misunderstanding of the Bill and the legislative process was so expertly pointed out to the House.

The Official Report will show that the Committee contributions to date, whether represented by me as Chair of the Committee or by Mr Lynch as the Deputy Chair, have always been sympathetic to the objections to the Bill. The Committee did not want the blanket time restriction that was proposed during Consideration Stage as that impacted on all road races in Northern Ireland, some of which take place in the early morning or late in the evening of a Sunday. The Committee accepts that the specific amendment on the North West 200, which was made yesterday, is a sensible and sympathetic approach to the objections made by worshippers, objections that were almost exclusive to this race and that area. Again, that view is formed not because the Committee dropped the ball but because members of the Committee, in conjunction with the remainder of the House, participated in and listened to what was, on the whole, a very reasoned debate.

As a result of that reasoned debate, I believe that we now have a Bill with no negative aspects. We have a Bill that meets the requirements of, and is endorsed by, the promoters of road races in Northern Ireland; that provides them with flexibility, should it be required; that helps to secure much-needed and significant sponsorship of road racing events; that will maintain and enhance tourism through the attendance of road racing enthusiasts; that will result in significant investment in the local and wider economy; and that is sensitive to the private and personal needs of residents in and around our race courses.

I do not think that the evidence given to the Committee was in any way suggesting that we dropped the ball in this instance; rather, I think that it was evidence to the House of grabbing the ball with both hands and running with it over the try line.

I want to place on record my thanks to the Committee Clerk, to the Committee staff, to the DRD staff, who made themselves available, through the Minister, at short notice on each occasion that that was necessary, and to the Minister, who also made himself available for consultations and discussions on the Bill on quite a number of occasions. Thank you, Minister. I also want to thank two other people who made very significant contributions to the Committee and, indeed, to the Department, and they are Mervyn Whyte, the organiser of the North West 200, and Mr Alan Drysdale, who is a spokesperson for the 2&4 Wheel organisation. They made very significant contributions throughout the entire process, and I think that we need to place on record our gratitude to them.

Finally, the Committee for Regional Development supports the Road Races (Amendment) Bill that is in front of the House today.

John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party, East Londonderry)

This is a good day for the Assembly. Participation in this project was a challenge for all Committee members in the first place, because, at any stage, and I do not want to use the term "hand grenade" but, somebody could have dropped a hand grenade. Thankfully, the attempts to do that came only in the latter stages. We were able to steer the Bill through with the guidance of the Chairman, Mr Jimmy Spratt, and an awful lot of support from the Minister, Mr Danny Kennedy.

If I were asked in the future about the success of the Assembly, I might well use this as exemplar material of how things can be done. Of course, it also included the other ingredients of the dangers that something good, positive and innocent could be derailed, but that did not happen. I think that the Chairman has said it all. Of course, we as politicians want to claim a little bit of credit for something. Sometimes when it gets to the media, it is not fully understood, as I heard this morning, but the amendment that came here last week was totally different from what came yesterday. That is the reality.

I think that everyone, including Mr Allister, Basil and John, can take credit for participating democratically in an important decision-making process that will bring tremendous benefits and guarantees, particularly to the North West 200. Although I said some time ago that I am not a motorbike fanatic, I have lived for long enough in the Coleraine area to know just how important the event is, and not just for the racing, the 100,000-plus people it brings into the area and all the beds that it fills in not only the triangle but as far away as Belfast and Donegal but for the relationships and bonding that it has created among people from as far away as Stornoway and the continent of Europe.

Mervyn Whyte and his 800 colleagues deserve this outcome. If the process had been derailed, they would not have deserved that. On this occasion, I am very happy to be a Member of the Assembly, because we have done something absolutely positive and constructive. We operated the Committee system in the way in which it should be operated. We received the support of the Minister, who exercised extreme wisdom in handling the Bill. I am very happy.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

I reiterate what our Chairman and Mr John Dallat have already said. I came late to the issue, but I totally respect everything that has been said. I hope that we have all shown — when I say "all", I mean from the Minister down to the Chairman, members of the Committee and all Members of the Assembly — sympathy and respect for, and been cognisant of, people's requirements on a very important and topical issue. Like John, I am proud to be part of what we have produced today. On behalf of the Alliance Party, I support the Final Stage of the Road Races (Amendment) Bill.

John McCallister (UUP, South Down)

At the risk of intruding on this Assembly love-in, I want to point out a few things to colleagues. Mr Spratt quite rightly said that I did not take part in the accelerated passage debate, nor did I vote. Mr McCarthy was busy shouting "Shame" at me. He might have enquired after where I was before he shouted that. I was at the funeral service of somebody relatively young who had died of cancer.

I reiterate the point and my belief that the Regional Development Committee, which is not exactly known as the most overworked Committee in the Building, dropped the ball with the legislation. It is quite obvious that it dropped the ball when you consider the fact that the only real scrutiny that the Bill came under ended up coming from these Benches, especially from Mr Allister. That was the only scrutiny that came to anything. The Bill would have gone through the House unamended otherwise.

On 6 December 2010 — almost three years ago to the day — the Planning Bill was introduced in the Assembly. That was only a few months before the end of the previous mandate. It went through Committee without getting accelerated passage. The Bill as amended had 255 clauses, 15 Parts and seven schedules. A total of 121 amendments were tabled at Consideration Stage and 24 amendments at Further Consideration Stage. That is Committee scrutiny. That is an example of a Committee doing its work and making the time to debate and —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. I appreciate that the Member is making his contribution, but let us get back to the Bill.

John McCallister (UUP, South Down)

Contrast that with the Road Races (Amendment) Bill, which was given accelerated passage. It did not need to get accelerated passage. It could quite easily have undergone a standard six-week Committee Stage. Mr Spratt, as Chairman, dropped the ball. He said that there were no issues in the Bill and no controversy with it. He and his colleagues then had to bring an amendment to the Bill, which the Minister accepted more because he had to, not because he particularly wanted to. He was not particularly glowing about the amendment at Consideration Stage.

Mr Allister, quite rightly, highlighted the shortfall and the issues on protecting people's human rights. He persisted with that until the whole House, quite rightly, accepted that amendment at Further Consideration Stage. Yet, Members got up and said that the Bill had nothing controversial about it and that it needed virtually no scrutiny.

When I contributed to debates on the Bill, I made it quite clear that I believe in the North West and in the economic driver that it creates. The very reason why I tabled the amendment yesterday was to add more flexibility. I was surprised that the Minister would not want that level of flexibility. Effectively, what we have done is create a Bill that is entirely dependent on getting accurate weather forecasts.

Mr Wells was questioning whether I had ever been to the North West. Of course, I have been on many occasions. My previous career was quite weather dependent at times, so I know a little about and have experience of the inaccuracies in and difficulties with getting good weather forecasting. So, the Bill is now totally dependent on getting the weather forecast right.

It will be interesting to hear in the Minister's summation whether the meeting that was scheduled for 23 October with the Isle of Man representatives actually took place. I certainly get the sense that, instead of looking to one of our near neighbours with huge experience of running one of the biggest road racing events in the world, there was almost a hint in earlier debates of people saying, "What would the Isle of Man know? It does not have as big an impact." Pretty well a lap of the island is used, so everything comes to a standstill, because there is such a huge economic driver.

Did that meeting actually take place? Has there been any real contact with or advice from the Isle of Man on this matter? I think that, if so, we could have had a much better Bill. We have managed to rush this Bill. Yes, it gives a modicum of flexibility but not nearly the flexibility that we need or should have and that would be desirable to run the event, considering that there is an economic driver in the area of £4·45 million. We have all accepted that.

So, I think that the Minister has introduced a Bill whose broad principles we all supported. He has also managed to get the Committee to effectively abdicate its responsibilities and to just let the Bill go through with accelerated passage when there was no reason for it and no immediate timescale pressures. The Bill will go through with no departmental amendments and no Committee amendments, yet Mr Spratt still maintains that the Committee has not dropped the ball on it. I think that it is fair to say that all the evidence points to the contrary, so you will not have the flexibility that is needed.

I warn that I suspect that, at some point, a future Minister and a future Assembly will end up having to revisit this legislation and to look again at the 1986 order. They may end up having to make changes to this legislation. So, we are probably going to legislate in haste and repent at leisure. I think that this makes an important argument for the significance of having an opposition in this Assembly, whether that is a lone voice, two voices or three voices. Without it, we would have had no scrutiny of the Bill.

Yesterday, the Minister said that he was glad that my colleague, Mr McCrea, and I were not organising the North West. To be fair, I am glad that the Minister is not organising the North West, given the issues with A5, the fact that the bus lanes are barely moving and all the issues with —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. I have given the Member quite a bit of latitude, but he is straying well outside what we are discussing this morning. I implore the Member to come back to the Bill.

John McCallister (UUP, South Down)

I am grateful to the Speaker for his guidance, and I hope that will apply to all Members, including the Minister.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. The Member is coming very close to challenging the authority of the Chair. The Member will know that I give all Members and Ministers quite a bit of latitude. It is Final Stage, and, of course, Members have quite a bit of latitude, but not to stray totally and absolutely outside Final Stage.

John McCallister (UUP, South Down)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Bill, as it is, will give very slight comfort to the North West 200 organisers regarding how they organise it, but it does not go nearly far enough in giving the flexibility that is required to run something so important. We still come back to that. I hope that I am wrong, but I confidently predict that we will revisit this legislation at some point in the future or that some future Assembly will have to look at it again, combined with the 1986 order and the number of days, if we are to truly build the North West 200 and create the flexibility that is needed to make a successful world-class event. To continue to build on that reputation, you will need more flexibility than the Minister is giving through this Bill.

I will leave it on that note, because the Assembly will not change the Bill. It has been offered opportunities to amend the Bill and make it better, but it has not gone for that. When we have to revisit this, perhaps others will take a different view.

Basil McCrea (NI21, Lagan Valley)

I will make just a few points. I was disappointed that, as we tried to exercise our democratic mandate, which is to put forward points of view that are not necessarily agreed with by the majority, people chose to make attacks on the person instead of engaging in the argument. I know, Mr Speaker, that you are very strong in advising that that is not the appropriate way forward.

A number of things might be worth pointing out. The Chair of the Committee, although it was pointed out to me that he was speaking in a personal capacity at some stages, made some comments, and this is taken from the official record. He said:

"Among the in excess of 860 responses to the departmental consultation on the Bill were a number of objectors, mainly the ministers and congregations of churches on the routes of race meetings."

He went on to opine:

"The views of those congregations and parishes are important, and I take comfort from the assurances that we received from the Minister and race organisers that all efforts will be made to ensure that there is continued dialogue and that all arrangements are appropriate for residents, churches and businesses affected in the areas."— [Official Report, Vol 89, No 8, p12, col 2].

That raises this question: why were the amendments that took effect not tabled by his Committee, by him or, frankly, by the Minister rather than being left to others to propose? If he had such resolute reassurance that he did not need to table the amendments, why did he make that statement? So, there is a question when the Chairman takes issue. He should be bigger than that and should have confidence in his position, his party's strength and his Committee to take on a difference of opinion and deal with it appropriately.

(Mr Principal Deputy Speaker [Mr Mitchel McLaughlin] in the Chair)

During the debate — again, this is in the official record — I noticed that the Minister said that Kieran McCarthy and John Dallat, who spoke pretty highly of him, were part of a fairly interesting club: the Morris Minor club, I think it was. He need not have worried: loyally, they came to his aid, despite the slight and the audacity of challenging things. I am only reading from the official record.

Later, I heard Mr Dallat say on the Bill, "I am honoured to serve under the chairmanship of Mr Jimmy Spratt". It is just wonderful to see such a love-in, but I wonder where the scrutiny comes in. I wonder when people ask, "Are you sure that you are right, Mr Chairman?".

I have not yet had clarity on this point, but no doubt the Minister will, with his usual aplomb, wit and, shall we say, occasionally derisive comments, take the opportunity to address it. The minutes of the Committee state that, when the Minister spoke before the Committee on, I think, 9 October, there was to be a further meeting on 23 October to get more information from the Isle of Man authorities. It is not clear whether such a meeting took place, whether there is a record of such a meeting or what impact it had on deliberations. Those are the proper things; proper scrutiny should take place. So, when it comes to this issue, I join my colleague Mr McCallister and — I do not know whether I can call him my colleague — my friend in this particular debate, who stood up and pointed out that this was not a simple, one-issue item.

John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party, East Londonderry)

On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Have we just heard the announcement of a new love-in in the Assembly?

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Member should know that that is not a point of order.

Basil McCrea (NI21, Lagan Valley)

It is surprising, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, for someone in such an exalted office as Deputy Speaker not to know what is and is not a point of order.

Jimmy Spratt (DUP, Belfast South)

It is on the record.

Basil McCrea (NI21, Lagan Valley)

It is on the record; you are quite right, Mr Spratt. No doubt a period of re-education will get Mr Dallat back properly on track and totally supportive of everything and everyone.

I come now to the point that it is not correct to talk down people in a democratic chamber who have an alternative viewpoint. It is absolutely the point of democracy that nobody has a monopoly on truth, nobody gets it right all the time, and there is always room for a counterproposition to be put forward. Yet there are those who say that, if we had all behaved, we would have got this through without any fuss.

That takes me to the point made by Mr Kinahan. He opposed amendment Nos 1 and 2 and supported amendment No 3 — I do not know whether I have got that the right way round — and, in the official record, said, "Surely the churches are not going to make much of a fuss about this". Actually, they did, as I understand it. They came back in the consultation to say that they were concerned about this. I am happy to be corrected if I have misquoted the Member. I do not have the notes here, but that was the gist I took from his statement.

There was a point to Mr Allister's proposition the first time round, which is that, although we are supportive of the North West 200, all our citizens have rights. In particular, churchgoing people may well have felt that their rights were being dealt with in an inappropriate way. That is why we supported the original amendment and why we supported the further amendment yesterday. This is a pluralist democracy, where everybody's rights should be accommodated as far as possible. I think that, had he not stood up and made the point, we would have had a less good Bill than we have today. I say "less good", but I am not even sure that the Bill is particularly good. In his submissions, the Minister said that he wanted flexibility. I do not see flexibility in the Bill. We all join in that laudable aim, but I am not sure that the Bill will do what it sets out to do.

As I understand it — again, the Minister will no doubt take me to task if I have got this wrong — if you wish to defer Saturday racing because bad weather has been forecast and to move it to Sunday, Thursday is the last available date on which to do so. That means that you are looking some considerable time in advance for a weather forecast. It is even earlier, I suspect, if you wish to say that the weather will be really bad on Saturday but may be even worse on Sunday, and you are making the decision to substitute for a Friday. I am just not sure that our weather is sufficiently predictable for a 24-hour notice period to be practical and workable. That is why my colleague attempted yesterday to make an amendment that said that we needed more flexibility on this. The overriding concern is about whether we can marry the rights of the individuals who live in the area with the economic benefit that comes from such a prestigious event.

The issue is this: we did not do proper Committee scrutiny of the Bill. We had the time to do it. There was still time to do it. As I understand it, it had to be finalised by the end of March to make sure that we would have time for Royal Assent. There was plenty of time. One of the issues that I look at when people mention accelerated passage is what steps the Minister or the promoter of the Bill will take to make sure that we do not have to use accelerated passage in the future.

I place it on record that we do not support accelerated passage. Whether we have the votes to stop it or not is another matter. Mr Dallat said about the Bill that he would quote it as an example of what is good about the Assembly: I will quote it as an example of what is bad with the Assembly. If we do not need to go through accelerated passage, we should not do so. When you look at the 860 people who responded to our consultation on the Bill, which I am addressing fully —

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Order. There is a very thin line between moving to the point on which the debate should properly be taking account of the decisions of the House as we have processed the Bill, which included endorsing the approach of accelerated passage. Those votes and those decisions have been taken. There is also a very thin line between revisiting the discussion on individual amendments. We should not do that either, because decisions have been made by the House. We are finalising the Bill, we have had our discussion, we have made our decisions, and we are where we are. I ask the Member to stray on that side of the debate rather than revisiting decisions that have been made already by the House and with the authority of the House.

Basil McCrea (NI21, Lagan Valley)

I am grateful for the Principal Deputy Speaker's direction in the matter. What I was merely trying to express in the summation, in the final consideration of the Bill, is why we still have some doubts about its efficacy.

The issue is that the Bill set out to provide some flexibility and, I suspect, some succour to the organisers of the North West 200, not entirely but principally, and I do not believe that we have achieved that. Part of the reason why we have not been able to achieve that is that we have not had the full time to consider all the eventualities. However, I will not stray into any further issues on the matter of the Bill, save to say this: if your argument is strong enough, you can win the argument. It does no one any credit to belittle, deride or in some other way dismiss those who are trying to make an honest and heartfelt contribution to the debate. It may well be that some Members do not understand the point, in which case they are entitled to ask for clarification. When they do so, it is really disappointing that people will not take an intervention, particularly when a Bill is going through by accelerated passage.

I make the point that this is a democracy, and this is proper legislative scrutiny. It is our right to stand up and hold you to account. We were honourable in our intentions, and we wanted the best for all the people of Northern Ireland. Frankly, for people to make personal attacks is beneath them, and they need not expect us to remain quiet if they do so again. This party will challenge any bad legislation that comes this way. It will take on any individuals who cannot stand by their argument but resort to personal attacks.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

The Bill, in its final form, is not all that I would have wished it to be. I would have wished, in particular, for its protections of Sunday to be stronger. However, by virtue of the amendments made, it undoubtedly emerges from the processes of the House as a better Bill than it was when it entered. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to make some contribution to that. I am equally grateful for the evolution of support that eventually made possible some of those changes, specifically for the North West. As I said, although the Bill at Final Stage is not all that I would have wished it to be, it is undoubtedly a better and more protective Bill than it started out. That has to be a gain, and for that I am grateful.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful for the contributions that we have heard this morning. I will deal with those first before making some final remarks about the legislation. Mr Spratt, as Chairman of the Committee for Regional Development, explained the detailed process. I am very satisfied that the Committee afforded the Bill the necessary scrutiny and cooperated at all times, particularly on the difficult issue of accelerated passage.

In my role as Minister, it is never my first option to go for accelerated passage to carry through legislation. Mr McCallister and Mr McCrea questioned the need for accelerated passage and felt that it should not have been granted. I have tried consistently to bring Members' attention back to the nature and starting point of the Bill: to create contingency and flexibility, principally to deal with bad weather. Some people got carried away and simply did not understand — it appears that they still do not understand — the concept of the Bill. To ensure that the 2014 race programme would benefit from the flexibility of contingency days, I sought accelerated passage, and, happily, the Committee and the House, through debate and democratic process, agreed.

I understand that it is sometimes unavoidable that Members cannot be in their place to contribute to every debate, but it weakens the argument of those opposed to accelerated passage if they are not here. I understand from what Mr McCrea has just said that he is opposed to accelerated passage on every occasion and that accelerated passage is a no-no for NI21. However, members of NI21 did not take the opportunity to oppose accelerated passage when the motion was before the House and could be debated and fully explained. In fact, the need for it was fully explained in contributions from me, the Committee Chair and others. I make that point.

Mr Spratt also paid tribute to race organisers, such as Mervyn Whyte and Alan Drysdale. I pay tribute to all those involved in the sport and in the various sports, but I want to particularly single out and add my tribute to those two individuals — Mervyn Whyte and Alan Drysdale — because they, very helpfully, offered advice and assistance to me and my officials.

Mr Dallat said that this was a good day for the Assembly and that he would remember it for a very long time. I have tried to approach the matter sensibly and with sensitivity because I am aware of the sensitivities around some of the issues, and we have sought to address them. I believe that the 1986 order gives the necessary discretion to the Minister to act appropriately if faced with an application for emergency conditions to be applied, and I have no issue with the fact that the amendments now incorporated in the Bill will give comfort, particularly to members of congregations and churches on the course of the North West 200 and churchgoers in the general area. However, the debate got slightly lost in concentrating on one single event race — the North West 200. I remind the House that this legislation is designed to provide flexibility for all races that require consent under the Road Races (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. Therefore, it will apply to other events.

Mr McCarthy also welcomed the anticipated passing of the Bill, and I thank him for his contribution.

I will now turn to the contributions from Mr McCallister and Mr McCrea. We had an opportunity last night, during Further Consideration Stage, and I offered the advice that both Members should reflect on the contributions they made at Consideration Stage and those they were making at Further Consideration Stage. It appears that Mr McCrea has read Hansard, of a type, but he does not appear to have learnt from it. Fundamentally, I think that he and Mr McCallister — and I say this with as much charity as I can muster — have not properly understood the raison d'être for the Bill or what it seeks to achieve, and I regret that very much.

Mr McCallister and Mr Crea referred to the Isle of Man. I thought that I had gone to some trouble to state, on several occasions, that the Isle of Man legislation is different. There is contingency for Sunday racing in the Isle of Man in the event that races are cancelled in the first week and the middle Sunday is used. So, it is not a direct comparator. I can confirm that my officials engaged with Isle of Man officials. They found that discussion useful, and it is one that they intend to carry forward into the future if there are lessons to be learned. Happily, we do not have the monopoly on that.

Mr McCallister and Mr McCrea found themselves in a hole, and it was a pity that they kept digging. It appears that they want to continue to dig even this morning. That is a matter for them. I am satisfied that the granting of accelerated passage was necessary. I am satisfied that the measure in the Bill is sensible and one that has been handled with some sensitivity. I do agree with Mr McCrea's comment that nobody gets it right all the time. The trouble for Mr McCrea on this issue is that he did not get it right at all. He went from Basil the defender of liberty to Basil the weatherman, neither of which showed that he or his colleague had appropriate understanding of what we have been seeking to achieve.

I welcome the fact that Mr Allister acknowledged in his contribution that improvements had been made. The Bill may not be ideal or to his absolute liking, but I think that he will at least recognise that his voice was heard and listened to.

The concept of contingency days for motor racing on roads, which the Bill introduces, will help to ensure the continuation and potentially the growth of our unique and popular national and international road racing events.

I pay tribute to my departmental officials, who have worked extremely hard throughout the process. I thank them for that. They should shortly be able to begin to work with the sport's governing body and race promoters to inform them about the identification and use of potential contingency days and to agree procedures to address them.

I believe that the Bill will add much to the rich and very proud motor racing heritage enjoyed in Northern Ireland. It remains for me to thank Members for their positive contribution, and for all their contributions, to the debates on the Bill throughout its Assembly passage.

I commend the Road Races (Amendment) Bill to the House.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Before I put the Question, I have to say that I presided over a significant part of the Bill, and I commend the level of debate and interaction that there was. Although debate got tetchy at times, it was a very good example of the Assembly going about its business.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That the Road Races (Amendment) Bill [NIA 29/11-15] do now pass.

Private Members' Business

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30 minutes for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes in which to propose and 10 minutes in which to make a winding-up speech. All other Members who are called to speak will have five minutes.

Jonathan Craig (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I beg to move

That this Assembly recognises the importance of close collaboration between the health and the education sectors in addressing the needs of young people with special educational needs in a holistic manner; and calls on the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to ensure that the appropriate and effective mechanisms are in place for 0-6-year-olds to provide early identification of needs, that multidisciplinary approaches to addressing need are in place for all pupils with special needs, and that each child has a designated coordinator appointed as part of the statementing process to ensure that the delivery of these integrated services optimises the life chances of the pupils.

I take great delight in moving the motion. Before I start, I will quote from the Programme for Government. The purpose of one of its priorities is to:

"stimulate interventions that break the cycle of deprivation, educational under-achievement, and to address health inequalities and poor health and wellbeing".

I want to outline some of the things that have been developed around special education in the past two years in my constituency, because it is one of the key issues that we need to tackle in the education system. Over those two years, the Resurgam Community Development Trust has led the development of a cross-sectional partnership project to create a greater understanding of the needs in the communities of Hillhall, Tonagh, Old Warren, Knockmore, the Lagan valley and Hilden, and there has been collective agreement on the way forward to address the underachievement needs there.

To start that project off, we asked Barnardo's to produce a report on the issues with underachievement in our constituency. One of the startling things that came out of that really good piece of work was the fact that, the earlier that underachievement is tackled in a child's development, the better it is for the child in the long term. The thing that was really startling was that underachievement needs to be tackled almost at birth. I think that that surprised almost everybody on the project. Everybody was of the opinion that those things could be sorted out in either the preschool or primary school years of a child's development, particularly for children with special educational needs. However, it became very clear that that is not the case. There has to be intervention much earlier in the child's development for there to be any success come the child's school years. That was the clear evidence that was shown to us.

Thankfully, the group has now moved on. Basically, it consists of all the health, education, community and voluntary sector, council and political representatives coming together. One thing that we discovered is that, in health, for example, there are some very good initiatives out there to tackle special educational needs, even at the preschool stage. In education, for example, there is also some very good work being done on the matter. Even in the Department of Justice, there are some very good initiatives to tackle issues of underachievement and special educational needs.

Pat Ramsey (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

Will the Member give way?

Jonathan Craig (DUP, Lagan Valley)

Yes.

Pat Ramsey (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

Does the Member agree with me that, in going forward, arrangements need to be put in place to give greater confidence to the parents of children with special educational needs? Their views need to be respected and acknowledged, as they are the people who are under the main stress as the parents of a child with special needs.

Jonathan Craig (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Member for his intervention. I totally agree with him. What I was coming to was that what really astonished all of us was the fact that Departments clearly do not talk to one another. There was a lot of cross-contamination in the work that was being done with a lot of the families. Many of them did not have buy-in to some of the work that Departments were potentially trying to do with them. We have tried to bring all that into a more coordinated approach to intervention. More importantly, the involvement of the local community is key in all that to try to get parental buy-in. If we do not get parental buy-in in the interventions, we find that there is a very high level of failure.

I should point out that that is our experience locally. We thought to ourselves, "Is that the case right across the board?" Unfortunately, it seems to be the case. I commend both the Department of Health and the Department of Education. I went to the bother of looking up what they have done. The Health Department, in the past number of years, has invested £25 million in the Sure Start project, investing £15 million since 2006. Of that, £3 million has been spent on development programmes for two- to three-year-olds. Another issue that quite clearly came out of the research that we did was that Sure Start is targeted at the 20% areas of deprivation. Deprivation is the key target driver in that project. One thing that became very clear was that pockets of underachievement and deprivation were not being picked up.

The other thing that became abundantly clear to us all was that children with special educational needs do not fall into the deprivation factors at all. The one thing that we have seen over the past number of years is the rise in autism and other disability factors. It is no respecter of income, and a lot of interventions are not being targeted at the children who need them.

My colleague, who works with the Health Minister on the autism strategy, knows that there are other issues around autism. Why is it that we cannot identify that a child has autism until that child has reached the age of three? There are plenty of children whose condition can be identified earlier than that. However, as I said, a lot of good work is going on in that area, and I am not criticising the Health Department. I am not even criticising the Department of Education on this one. Between them, those Departments have invested over £210 million in early intervention, out of which Early Years, the organisation for young children, got £3·6 million, so money is being put into this area. What we are not seeing is a coordinated effort where everybody comes together.

I ask the Minister to take that on board because, in many respects, there is a lot of reinventing the wheel, especially when it comes to people with special educational needs. I will give an example of a young child who I know. Unfortunately for him, he has limited sight, which introduces severe difficulties. That aspect of his life was identified when he was one and a half years old. The doctors and others put interventions in place to help that child at that stage, but what did we find when it came to his education? In his preschool days, there was no intervention and he could not get any statement or intervention from the education system until the day he walked into his primary school.

The difficulty with that is not only were the primary school and the education system reinventing the wheel around that child's special educational needs, because they had to reassess him even though all the medical evidence was there to prove the issue that he had, but it took almost a year for that process to be completed. From what I am hearing, that is one of the faster processes, not one of the longer ones. For the first year of his education in primary school, that child was debilitated in having no help or support.

There is no joined-up thinking between the Health Department and the Department of Education when it comes to these things. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of good work is going on and there is a lot of investment in helping children who underachieve or have special educational needs. Let us get a joined-up approach. Let us take a look at what we are proposing in the motion, which is that there needs to be someone to coordinate the help for each child right through their educational career and even before it. I commend the motion to the House.

Christopher Hazzard (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome and support the motion and agree with and support many of the points that Mr Craig made. Early years intervention and special educational needs are two of the most critical issues in any education system and, taken together, they present us with a hugely important subject and a worthy cause for uniting all parties in dealing with the issue.

Undoubtedly, the early years of a child's life are of critical importance to their future social and educational development. Indeed, where a child may be disadvantaged, early interventions are known to reduce such barriers to learning that would otherwise affect their chances of success throughout life.

One example of such valuable interventions is in dealing with speech and language difficulties. As was illustrated quite recently and vividly to us by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, these communication difficulties are one of the most common problems in the early years at school and have a huge impact on accessing the curriculum and the learning process. Importantly, the college also identified huge issues relating to periods of transition within the education cycle, which represent potentially vulnerable periods for children with speech, language and communication needs at all ages. We know that the transition from primary to post-primary is demanding for many of our young people, so it is little surprise that those with special educational needs may find that transition hugely difficult and an unsettling experience.

We recently considered the urgent and persistent need to deal with the crippling effects of poverty on our education system as a whole. We know that a child from a socially disadvantaged background is half as likely to achieve as their more affluent peers. Similarly, our young people with special educational needs (SEN) face a huge challenge in achieving all that they can in school and, ultimately, later in life. With that in mind, it is incumbent on the Health Minister and the Minister of Education to do all in their power to ensure that all children have access to the necessary services that will provide —

Pat Ramsey (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

Will the Member give way?

Christopher Hazzard (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Yes.

Pat Ramsey (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I agree with the Member's comments, but I would go further and put it to the House that there should be a statutory duty on the Health Department and the Education Department to ensure that there is a more integrated and personalised individual approach for every child. That would give the peace of mind to parents that I mentioned earlier.

Christopher Hazzard (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I thank the Member. Indeed, when talking to Mencap representatives, they put that point to us. Perhaps it is for the two Ministers to consider whether something like that would be valuable.

The ability of the system to identify, target and address the needs of children who require help is central. Both the Minister of Education and his health colleague deserve praise for the way in which they have improved the culture of cross-departmental and cross-agency practice in recent years. I have no doubt that the outworkings of the completed SEN review will help to build on those examples of good practice and, indeed, target and strengthen areas that need urgent attention. We must be conscious of the reality that, for every point of effective cooperation, there is a gap in collaboration that is equally damaging.

I recently attended a meeting of the all-party group on learning disability, where many brave and wonderful young people shared their experiences of the learning process. It is clear that, while we may get many things right when it comes to their needs, there is certainly room for improvement. A common thread running through all their experiences was the need for an urgent look at the existing collaboration between Departments, specifically Education, Health and DEL, and, indeed, an examination of where legislative arrangements could be strengthened.

One particular experience shared with the group was the perspective of a parent — a very passionate yet frustrated voice — who felt totally disconnected from the process. Her son is now in his early 20s. All his life, she has fought tirelessly for her child to receive the necessary help and support from government agencies. She was immensely proud of her son and what he was able to achieve as he grew older. With the right support and intervention, he was able to enjoy many aspects of life, including the learning process. But, as is all too often the case, as he approached adult life, the interventions, financial support, advice and life-altering services were removed because he was now considered an adult, and hence no longer suitable for the type of intervention that had been hard won as a child and an adolescent. The Department of Health, the Department of Education and, indeed, the Department for Employment and Learning all walked away from the table. That young man was left to fend for himself. His parent, having tirelessly campaigned for adequate provision for years, has now lost faith in the system and the hope that her son can continue to grow and develop.

We must surely move away from the prescriptive, minimalist approach to intervention. We must surely aim to provide whatever is necessary for as long as it is necessary, and, indeed, before primary school, as Mr Craig mentioned earlier. Lifelong learning and the right to education, adequate training and employment support should not cease just because you reach a certain physical age. Too many young adults have been cast aside in that fashion, their fortunes left to the capacity of voluntary and community organisations such as Mencap, which, despite Trojan levels of work and dedication, are simply not strong enough to fill all of the gaps.

The Minister and the Department should continue to build on the good work that has been done to date in collaboration with the Department of Health. In conjunction with the forthcoming SEN review, or perhaps as a distinct venture, the two Departments should seriously consider reviewing all current provision for early years intervention in an effort to bring forward effective and efficient proposals for the early diagnosis and screening of children who present with special educational needs. Bearing in mind the need to progress effective area planning throughout our school system, perhaps that could be done in partnership with the area planning group in an effort to amplify the extended schools programme so that those services may be targeted and sustained in areas of high socio-economic deprivation.

Seán Rogers (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this very important debate and I congratulate the Members opposite for tabling the motion. We must have a strategy in place for early identification of needs for children aged nought to six. We must adopt a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to addressing the complex needs of children with special educational needs.

It is essential that our special children have access to the various therapies that help to facilitate that learning.

As I listened recently to a therapist and the vice-principal of Knockevin Special School speak about the value of music therapy, I could see the emphasis on that holistic education for all children but especially for those with special educational needs. Education cannot be reduced to a mechanical process. To fully address the outstanding challenges of supporting children with special needs, we need to see an integrated and collaborative response between the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health. I welcome the fact that the Minister of Education is here today, but it would have been nice to see the Minister of Health here as well. I have long believed that adequate investment in a long-term early years strategy is essential if we are to create the building blocks for all our children’s educational future. Current funding and investment arrangements favour education at secondary or third level rather than at the early stage of learning, yet I firmly believe that a child’s development hinges on high-quality early childhood education.

The SDLP wants to see adequate investment in early years learning, namely nought-to-six. The early years of a child’s life are critical, and early interventions can help them to overcome significant challenges and reach their full potential. There is a pressing need to address those who have special needs to make sure that an early assessment is made of their educational requirements. Children and their families have a range of needs. Naturally, parents want to see the very best for their children, and they deserve the very best.

With regard to language acquisition, all children are born with the potential for learning language. Understanding how language develops in a young child can help to encourage effective learning, which, in turn, can make them more creative members of society. Speech and language difficulties are the most common problem in early years and have a huge impact on access to the curriculum. It is essential to have speech and language therapists working with all school staff, if we are to get this right for our children. If there is a hiccup in a child's development and a special learning need is not identified or if it takes too long to get a diagnosis, many years can be lost in that child's development.

It really annoys me to hear of a child with autism who was not diagnosed until they were 11 years of age or of a child who, despite the best efforts of teacher and parents, was in P3 before a statement was complete and an individual education plan (IEP) in place. However, my frustrations are minuscule compared with those of the child and their parents. In the child's case, those frustrations may manifest themselves in other ways; for example, through behavioural issues or children withdrawing socially, which can lead to low self-esteem. Such children are at a greater risk of being bullied in school. These children are some of the most vulnerable in our society, and early intervention is imperative. By assigning a designated coordinator to each child, we could enhance and streamline the statementing process and target support when and where it is needed. We could give that support to parents — the primary educators.

If a child has a sight defect, it will be picked up on by a health visitor. The child will be assigned an optician and may get glasses, and, possibly, in a few years, the defect will be corrected. Why can we not have the same approach if a child has a special educational need? Are we really going to put our children first? [Interruption.]

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Order. Someone's telephone is interfering with the sound. Members should be aware of the restriction on the use of telephones in the Chamber.

Seán Rogers (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker.

Are we really going to put our children first? If we are, it will cost money. We will need the dedicated help of all those professionals — occupational, speech or music therapists — working along with school staff. With all due respect to our teachers, they were not trained to be speech therapists. I go back to the conversation that I had yesterday with the music therapist who every day switches the lights on for children who have severe learning issues. Music therapists reach those pupils. Children with no language can, after a time, begin to babble. They can then work with speech and language therapists to develop the basics of language. Minister, I cannot stress enough the importance of those professionals in addressing special needs. It is high time for the Department of Education, along with the Department of Health, to coordinate a strategic and integrated approach to supporting children with special educational needs, irrespective of which school they attend. That must be done at early years. Our young children cannot wait.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

We, too, welcome and support the motion, although we feel it could be much stronger. Before I say a few words as Deputy Chairperson of the Education Committee, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, may I point out that we need to find a way forward whereby comments made on behalf of the Committee fit more into speeches and allow Chairs and Deputy Chairs to have a bit more time? Can we look at that in the future?

Before the summer, the Committee received numerous briefings on collaboration between the health and education sectors, a subject raised again today. In June, we heard from the College of Occupational Therapists and learned about the importance of intervention as early as possible — sometimes, at birth. We also heard how they work with 21% of primary-school children with special educational needs, some 4,500 of whom have formal special educational needs statements. This excellent college highlighted the importance of collaborative working through multidisciplinary teams.

The Committee awaits the possibility, in the form of a regional model, of interventions involving multidisciplinary teams. Occupational therapy can make a significant difference, often through simple measures that help a pupil to be ready to learn and, just as importantly, feel socially included in school. The Committee noted the ongoing work of the children and young people's strategic partnerships, which are designed to provide a framework for agencies to develop integrated services, especially for those with special educational needs or physical disabilities who are undergoing educational transitions.

The Education Committee recognises the need for simplification and easier access for parents of schoolchildren to health services. The Committee would, I believe, have no difficulty endorsing today's motion.

As the Ulster Unionist education spokesman, I welcome the motion, especially the call for collaboration between the education and health sectors. However, we should also include welfare, OFMDFM and even the Finance Minister. As others have said, we need also to include the Department of Justice and DEL. We need to get everybody working together. However concerned we are, we need this show of agreement to make that happen, and Departments must try to ensure that all the gaps are filled.

Almost the first matter that I remember being discussed when I started on the Committee was early years. That is now 20 months ago, and we are still nowhere. We need a joined-up solution and a lead Department for those with special educational needs. I hope that today's motion means that the DUP and Sinn Féin have found a way forward. It is about time. I fear that it could be all about posturing, but I hope that I am proved wrong.

There seems, at times, to be a real reluctance by the two major parties to agree something with all of us and not just each other. Last week, we heard a call for agreement on school hours. We will wait to see whether that really happens or whether there will just be a deal. When the Committee was discussing ongoing funding, it also discussed agreement. Again, it seems that this will end up as a deal rather than including everyone so that we find a way forward. I sometimes think that the DUP and Sinn Féin have the Medusa touch: anything they look at turns to stone and goes nowhere. I hope that today's motion marks a change and shows a way forward. The UUP wants consensus, which means everybody working together and agreeing the way forward. If the spirit of the Belfast Agreement were followed, maybe we would be doing the right thing for Northern Ireland. I bang on about that because I really want this folly to stop and to see the Assembly find a way forward. Today's motion is about finding a way forward for children who need our help.

I go back to the motion. We need as flexible a system as possible so that parents, teachers and schools can rely on the gaps being filled and getting the service that they want. We want multiagency support integrated throughout all Departments. The Mencap brief called for multiagency support —

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Member is now out of time.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

— and a robust system. We support the motion.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Sorry, the Member is now out of time.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

Compliments of the season and "Happy Christmas" to everyone.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Thank you.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

At least Mr Kinahan finished on an optimistic note, which partially made up for what he said before. I will try to be a bit more optimistic.

I support the motion. The Committee has discussed the issue several times over the years, so we are on familiar ground in recognising that the need for close collaboration between Departments is vital for the development of our children. It was suggested more than once that a departmental reorganisation may reasonably include establishing a Department for children. Mr Kinahan mentioned a lead Department, but we need something to draw together the input from Health, Education, DEL, Social Development and possibly other Departments. That input is available but is not well-coordinated.

The motion is specific in demanding that the Health and Education Ministries jointly provide the mechanisms for pupils of nought-to-six years to identify needs early and provide the multidisciplinary approach that is so vital to give all children the best possible opportunities. Mr Hazzard referred to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. The college has provided a useful brief today, which I do not think that all Members got. However, I commend it to Members and the Minister; I am sure that he got it. The college points out what it perceives as the inadequacy of the training of teachers at undergraduate and graduate level and for classroom assistants, specialist careers advisers and teachers in the wider school workforce. It advocates ongoing training and acknowledges a funding requirement and perhaps a problem. However, surely to advance the skills of everyone involved in the area would be a worthwhile investment.

The college also makes the point, with which we all agree, that the earliest intervention is the most effective. It then points out that the code of practice around diagnosis and support does not apply to non-statutory, voluntary or private preschool units. That is surely a damaging omission. All children should have access to the same level of expertise and screening. Although I admire and acknowledge the good work of the private nursery sector, generally that difference should be addressed.

It is now well established that speech and language difficulties add dramatically to the problems of behavioural withdrawal and isolation in children. They cause lack of confidence, problems with interaction and relationships and increase the risk of bullying by other pupils. Most basically, they inhibit a child's ability to learn and progress.

The motion refers to statementing and the need for a designated coordinator for every child with a formal statement to ensure delivery of an integrated service. I totally agree with that proposal and with all the other principles suggested by the royal college. Here I perhaps agree with Mr Kinahan that it is time that we prioritised this area in more detail. Money spent in early interventions will surely pay dividends in later years and, most importantly, give all children equal development opportunity.

I note that 4·2% of Northern Ireland children are statemented. That is double the national average. I wonder why that is so. I wonder whether the problems that cause the need for statementing are different or more exaggerated here than in equivalent areas across the water. In inner city areas here, the figure rises dramatically: in one area of Belfast, 53% of children are statemented. I find that incredible. That is over 10 times our average and 20 times the national average. I wonder what that says to the community where it occurs, what encouragement it gives them or how it improves or diminishes their self-esteem or their ability to work with the children. We all know that so much of this relates to what happens at home. It would be interesting for the Department, at some point, to compare those figures with what happens in similar areas across the water and perhaps investigate, if it is a health issue, why it should be so.

In the 15 seconds that I have left, I want to endorse Mr Rogers's comments about music therapy. It is well proven now that that works tremendously well in some cases. I know that there is a very active association here that tries to promote it. I wish it well, and I hope that music therapy is something that can be prioritised, because it has been proven to work many times.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

That is 25 seconds.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

I support the motion. I deeply regret Danny Kinahan's remarks, his claims about posturing and the very negative approach that he took.

Jonathan Craig (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Member for giving way. I listened to the naysayers and doomsayers. However, I recommend to the Member the autism strategy that the Minister of Health has put together. His is the lead Department for the strategy, but he is working closely with the Minister of Education. The strategy, which is coming out very shortly, is a prime example of how the health and education sectors can work together to help people with special educational needs. Therefore, a lot of good work is going on in the background, and, through the motion, we want to see that extended.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Member has an extra minute.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I agree: that coordinated approach is what we are calling for. I have relatives who work in the sector, and I know about the care that they provide and the concerns that they have about those in their charge.

Children with special educational needs deserve all that we can do for them. We have a duty of care and a responsibility to them and their parents. The importance of education in the early years of a child's life cannot be overvalued, as has been said by everyone who has spoken. It is the early years of children's education that are the most important, because that is when they develop their physical, intellectual and emotional well-being and, indeed, their social contact and interaction with others. It is vital that we provide them with all the support that we can. The key to success — this has been said by other Members — is early diagnosis. It is about providing parents with information and support and taking that approach. It is somewhat encouraging that the education and library boards across Northern Ireland now recognise the importance of early identification.

I think that early recognition is an aspiration, an objective and an ambition, but parents who have come to me recently do not see its outworkings. They do not see the practical aspect of early identification. That prompted me to ask questions of the Minister recently, and I passed his response to the parents who had raised issues with me. I have to tell you, Minister, that they did not recognise what was on paper as being transferred into actions.

I have a list of 10 questions that were submitted to me by a parent, and I will raise a few of them. The parent asked, "Why was my request for extra help and an assessment denied for five years? Why was my child subjected to years of bullying, being called 'stupid' and 'thick', with other little girls not letting her join in their play? Why was the special needs teacher allowed to teach the more capable children and hand my daughter paper and crayons and tell her to sit quietly at the back of the classroom and colour in? Why, after my daughter was tested in P5, was I assured that the extra help that was needed would be given?". It was given for six weeks and then stopped. When the parent contacted the school, it started again for a few weeks and then stopped again.

This parent also asked, "Why was my daughter's report not sent from the primary school to the secondary school, as requested? In fact, it disappeared, and I had to provide my copy to the secondary school". When you get parents speaking to you about such matters, it obviously raises concerns. There is the ambition and objective to deliver, but we are not actually seeing it as it rolls out to the parents and pupils.

I congratulate my colleagues on bringing the motion to the House. I know that the whole House shares those concerns. However, we do not need to just share them; we need to see them being transferred into action to support the parents and the pupils.

Michaela Boyle (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. The motion addresses the need for better collaboration between DE and the Health Department. It also deals with the need to address some of the shortcomings in the current SEN framework. Children with special educational needs make up almost 20% of our school population. The early identification of need is key to making progress in the nought-to-six early years. Ensuring that assessment happens early in a child's development is critical for him or her to reach his or her individual potential. Many families do their best to cope with multiple complex needs in the learning disability spectrum. Health needs to complement Education in assisting them by having coordinated support plans in place for the child and family. Parents should not have to wait for months — in some cases, for years — to get an assessment or the much-needed specialist support that they deserve. The proposer of the motion gave a good example of that when discussing the young pupil with sight problems.

Some schools are delivering support to SEN children, but that is not always the case. In many of our ELBs, capacity and training in our schools needs to be increased to support teachers, staff and, indeed, parents. Health and social care trusts, alongside education, should have in place multidisciplinary teams working in tandem to continue to explore options on how better outcomes can be achieved. As the motion states, a designated coordinator should be in place for the child. That would allow the process to follow the child throughout their early years, right through to the transition from primary to post-primary.

Equipping those involved with expertise, knowledge and skills is fundamental in delivering targets in the 0-6 early years strategy. I commend some of the good work that classroom assistants do in our schools. More and more classroom assistants find it difficult to gain employment in schools, because some of the schools state that they need previous experience. That is an issue for some of our well-trained classroom assistants. Obviously, they provide a good contribution to the classroom.

Bureaucracy needs to be reduced so that schools, staff and parents can understand exactly what is expected of them. However, funding for this by both Departments should not be a barrier to implementing the delivery of integrated services. Therefore, I welcome any commitment from both Ministers that the proper funding element to provide the integration of services will be in place to support and develop proposals.

The overall effective partnerships, with wrap-around services and additional support, need to be jointly planned and delivered strategically by Health and Education working in a coherent and holistic way. That should not be aspirational; it should be an integral part of a child's life. Parents should have confidence in the system. They should not have to continue to fight for the help that their child with special educational needs deserves. I am sure that many of my colleagues in the House will agree with me that a large part of our work in our constituency offices involves working with, assisting and communicating with parents, schools and library boards so that a child gets the support that they are entitled to through their statement of special educational needs.

I look forward to hearing the Minister's response, and I agree entirely with what has been said in the House. I totally agree, too, that another key aspect or element of this is transport. Transport is an equally important issue in addressing special educational needs. I support the motion.

Stephen Moutray (DUP, Upper Bann)

At the outset, I commend my colleagues for bringing this important matter to the House. As a parent, I believe that there is little that is more important than seeing our children progress educationally and socially through their school years. Progress and success for children can and does happen at different rates. However, I genuinely believe that real life chances can only be achieved if children, on the basis of their specific needs, can obtain adequate educational support when they most need it. I have spoken with a number of educationalists, including Dr Peter Cunningham of the Ceara special care school in my constituency, who tell us that early detection is one of the most important factors in ensuring that educational provision is tailored and suited to the needs of the children.

Unfortunately, in years gone by, the existence of SEN often went unnoticed. With more information available, more training for teachers and more parental awareness of it, improvements have been made, but there is always scope for more improvement. There is still a gap, and, certainly, the Minister of Education has recognised this in his most recent publication, 'Every School a Good School: The Way Forward for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion' in January 2012. The gap that is clearly evident in early detection still causes our children and young people to miss out on an educational experience that helps them to realise their full potential in life. Therefore, the crux of the DUP motion is for further health professional intervention. This is something where joined-up government can really make a difference in the lives of children and young people with special needs and disabilities.

Children's needs cannot be put into boxes. They cannot simply fall into a broad category that entitles them to a static set of resources. Indeed, in a modern society that prides itself on caring for and assisting the most vulnerable, it is time that a holistic approach was used to tackle this problem. It is time that the Department of Education worked hand in glove with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to ensure that there is early diagnosis and identification of needs and, subsequently, the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches to address the needs of each child. In addition to the identification and implementation of a strategy for addressing the needs of children and young people with special needs, our motion goes that extra mile for those children in that it proposes that each child should be appointed a designated coordinator as part of their statementing process to ensure that each child reaches their potential in life.

We only have to think of the high-profile case in the news yesterday of the world-famous singer Susan Boyle, who, in her mid-50s, has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Speaking on the matter, she said:

"It is a relief to finally receive a diagnosis".

She went on to say that she has always had an unfair label put on her and that it is a condition that she has had to live with and work through. She now feels more relaxed about herself because people will have a greater understanding of who she is and the things that she does. Unfortunately, in Susan's case, it was very much a case of a misdiagnosis. In earlier life, she was identified as having had a shortage of oxygen to her brain at birth. We can see clearly that Susan Boyle has reached great heights and has gone on to be a world-famous singer, but, had this been detected early in life and the appropriate tailored help afforded by the statutory authorities, Susan Boyle, in herself, would have been a much more confident person and, quite possibly, would have been able to handle her climb to fame in a completely different way.

It is well recognised that the early years of a child's life are paramount to him or her achieving life's potential. Indeed, we all know more than ever about the importance of positive and supportive environments and their impact on brain development and the way in which the first years of a child's life can shape the rest of their life. Over 20% of our school population is made up of children with SEN or disabilities, and it is paramount that the needs of this large number of children are not forgotten. To this end, I support the motion.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

I inform the House that it will be possible to conclude the debate and take the vote before the lunchtime recess.

Fearghal McKinney (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I support the motion. The requirements of young people with special educational needs must continue to be a priority for the Department of Education and the Department of Health. That area demands considerable focus given that, we understand, 20% of our children in schools have a special need of one type or another.

The early identification of needs is of the utmost importance, so that difficulties can be addressed promptly, reducing the need for long-term intervention and, indeed, allowing for accelerated development paths and sustained progress for children. My party colleague Sean Rogers has spoken of concerns about the processes of diagnosis and subsequent treatment, and the length of time between both is crucial to a child's development. However, it holds true that we must address the role that early intervention, multidisciplinary approaches and the effective delivery of integrated services play in determining the prospects and life qualities of children with special educational needs. The link between those two factors reinforces the fact that joined-up government is required to properly and thoroughly help children with special educational needs to develop and to address the wider social inequality spectrum in healthcare.

We have seen, for example through the Allen report among others, that it is imperative that children are given the best start in life to break the cycle of disadvantage that can lead to poor life outcomes, and the best start cannot be provided through one medium of care. A child will not wholly thrive through positive intellectual development only, nor will they thrive just by means of positive social and emotional reinforcement. It takes an amalgamation of both. It is for that reason that joined-up government, particularly between the health and education sectors, is of the utmost importance to the development of any child with a special educational need. So, while we support and welcome the collaboration aspect of the motion, we ask for it to go much further. We need a cross-departmental and cross-ministerial approach.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

Will the Member give way?

Fearghal McKinney (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Yes.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

The key issue that we wanted to include in the motion was that a designated coordinator is appointed as part of the statementing process, because that is key to the delivery of the service. I would take it even further than the statementing process and say that a coordinator should be in place for the entire identification of the needs of our children.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Member has an extra minute.

Fearghal McKinney (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. That would send a positive and powerful signal to the children and the parents, but it would send an even more powerful signal to the wider public and parents in general if two Ministers sat down together and agreed potentially to incorporate some sort of a statutory instrument to make it work together and make sure that we addressed the needs that we have all been addressing.

The independent report on early intervention from 2011 provides other evidence and argues that early intervention, combined with support within the remits of health and education policy, can reduce the effects of poverty and deprivation, not just now but generation on generation. That is another important consideration. Let us look at further evidence. The Fit and Well strategic framework says, among other things:

"facilitate whole-government synergy to address the range of key socio-economic factors which influence health and wellbeing".

Once again, a common theme expressed by that document is the need for a joined-up, close partnership between Health and Education to ensure positive intellectual, emotional and social development.

While we commend today's motion, we express significant concern about the absence of that statutory instrument that I am talking about for both the Department of Health and the Department of Education to work together on issues such as those that we are addressing. Others are already following that route. I note the significant efforts of the Scottish Government to ensure that their education and health services are more fully integrated. We have seen that a collaborative response from both Departments will be necessary to address the requirements of young people with special educational needs. However, there remains no duty to ensure that engagement. The SDLP supports today's motion calling for that closer collaboration plus a joined-up government approach, which is essential if we are to provide children with better life prospects and, in a broader sense, begin to address the health inequality problems in Northern Ireland.

I refer the House to statistics that Members will have been reading over the past while. If you live in one of our most socially deprived areas, there is a real chance that you will live nine years less than somebody who lives in one of our more advantaged areas. We have to address that. The SDLP urges the Education and Health Ministers to explore the creation of a statutory duty to provide joined-up services for those who are, after all, the most vulnerable.

Jo-Anne Dobson (UUP, Upper Bann)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion and thank those who tabled it. The motion brings to the House something that touches the lives of so many vulnerable young people, young adults and their parents across Northern Ireland. It is timely because, surely, if anything emanates from it, the Minister would have time to bring in changes ahead of next September.

Those who teach and work in special schools have my admiration and deserve the admiration of every Member. I include teachers and staff who work with children with special needs in all local schools. Their dedication and service to the young children in their care is nothing short of amazing. However, children with special needs and requirements are being failed by a system that has not evolved with time and is not capable of dealing with the modern problems and challenges that the parents of so many young children have to face almost daily. It is not acceptable for parents to leave their children at the school gate and then spend the day worrying about the care being provided to them. It is not the fault of the teachers, principals or staff in the school; the fault lies squarely with the bureaucratic machine in the boards and the Department.

I would like to use the short time that I have to speak to focus on provision for children with diabetes. The Minister will be aware that I wrote to him on behalf of parents of children with type 1 diabetes who had contacted me. I also wrote to the Health Minister on the issue. The Minister of Education, in his response, confirmed that the number of primary-school children with diabetes has been steadily rising and currently stands at 142. I will give one example. I have been helping a young mother who, despite calling at the school during the summer months to explain her son's needs, has yet to receive adequate support. Her son, who is in primary 1, requires regular syringe-driven injections, but no help or support was put in place. This young mother was left to worry about her son when she left him to school. She told me that it appeared as though her son was expected to know how to operate the insulin pump and when he was required to do so. No one was available to help her son with his injections, meaning that she was not able to leave the local area for fear of receiving a telephone call. Sadly, she is not alone.

When I wrote to the board on behalf of parents, it referred to the April 2008 guidance, 'Supporting Pupils with Medication Needs'. This was sent by the Department to all schools. Maybe the Minister can confirm whether it has been updated in the five years since. Updated policies are of little use if they sit on a shelf in the Department.

Special needs come on many levels, but meeting the basic needs and requirements of a child who has a medical problem should surely mean that he or she receives better treatment than is currently available. The motion rightly identifies that, by getting it right in the early years, we can ensure that the education experience of young children with special needs, far from hampering them, enables them to reach their full potential. I therefore support the motion and the urgent review of the current arrangements.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

I thank the Members opposite for bringing the motion to the House. It is a very important issue and one that is close to my heart.

The importance of the early years from nought to six cannot be overstated. They are integral to the outcomes for our children in later life. Investing in early years provision will improve outcomes for children and save us money in the long term. Other Members have outlined some of the evidence to back that up. Cooperation and integration, which the motion also calls for, is equally essential. We must have joined-up services between Departments and government agencies.

The motion rightly calls on the Ministers of Health and Education to work together on the issue. We have to recognise that the Minister and Department of Education's remit starts, at the earliest, at age three, where there is Sure Start provision. However, for most other children, it will not be until age four. That is why in 2010, as a researcher for an MLA, I sat on the all-party group for children and young people and was presented with the draft early years strategy by a DE official. When I asked what collaboration there had been with the Department of Health on the strategy, I was told that it was a Department of Education strategy. This was the 0-6 early years strategy, and, as it was a Department of Education strategy, it started at age three. It was going to miss out three years of the development of our children's lives. That should be an embarrassment to any of those involved in the production of the strategy, and the fact that it was presented shows the intransigence in our current system about cooperation between Departments. Action needs to be taken on that. I am not convinced that what followed it — the Learning to Learn framework — has resolved that problem; it has simply removed from the paper the fact that early years strategy should cover ages nought to six, not three to six.

I believe that we need a statutory duty for Departments to cooperate. That is why, as soon as I was elected, the first thing I did was to initiate a private Member's Bill to put a statutory duty on Departments to cooperate in the devising of strategies, such as the early years strategy, that have a direct impact on children's lives. The silo mentality that exists between our Departments at times cannot continue and must be tackled.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

I am grateful to the Member for giving way. Does he agree that the omens are not good for joined-up government? A few years ago, the I CAN Centre in Ballynahinch Primary School, a fantastic facility for youngsters with speech and learning difficulties, was allowed by the Departments of Education and Health to disappear. There was a 70% success rate in that school, but both Departments walked away from it. The omens are not good for what you suggest.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

The Member has an extra minute.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

I thank the Member for the intervention, because it highlights my point exactly. Indeed, if we look at the justice system, we see that around 50% of people in prison, I think, have speech and language difficulties. It shows that, had those issues been tackled, we could have saved money in our criminal justice system as well as having better outcomes for those individuals and better outcomes for our society.

The call for a statutory duty to cooperate has been a strong one. It is something that Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI), an umbrella organisation for over 150 children's organisations, has been campaigning for. Indeed, it has supported me in the development of my Bill. The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) has produced a report in conjunction with Queen's University that calls for a statutory duty to cooperate, and Members will have received a briefing from Mencap today that calls for the same thing. I will also quote from the Children's Law Centre, which said:

"the lack of a statutory duty to cooperate is having an increasingly negative impact upon the manner in which inter-departmental resources are prioritised... This is turn is having a significant adverse impact upon equality and inclusion."

I know that equality and inclusion are two things that the Minister puts at the top of his agenda. I call on him today to give a commitment to support, in principle, my Bill to make cooperation a statutory duty. I am happy to work with the Minister and his Department, as well as with the Health Minister, to get the Bill right. I think that its principles are sound, and I hope to bring it forward in the new year.

I have seen the problems with a lack of joined-up working on special educational needs in my own constituency. At one point in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area, the average time between referral to an educational psychologist and the first appointment at stage 3 of the code of practice was 309 days. That is an unacceptable waiting time. On a personal level, I have also seen some good practice at Bangor Central Nursery School and, indeed, at Bangor Central Integrated Primary School.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Will the Member bring his remarks to a close?

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

We have to ensure that that good practice becomes common practice. I believe that we need legislation to make that happen.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Fáiltím roimh an deis na ceisteanna seo a phlé inniu agus dearcadh mo chomhghleacaithe Tionóil a chloisteáil. I welcome the chance to debate these issues and to hear my Assembly colleagues' views.

I am committed to ensuring that we meet the needs of the most vulnerable pupils in our society and acknowledge the importance of close collaboration between the education and health sectors to meet those pupils' special educational needs. Minister Poots also recognises and supports the need for close cooperation between our two Departments and their associated agencies, particularly in addressing services and support for children with SEN. It will be worthwhile for some Members to be aware that Minister Poots and I and our officials meet on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including SEN.

I am pleased to report that there are already good examples of cooperation and engagement between the education and health sectors at departmental level in initiatives such as the autism strategy, which some Members referred to, and the Bamford action plan. My officials are also involved in the Public Health Agency’s review of allied health professional support for children with statements of SEN.

As regards legislation, the 1995 Children Order provides that health and social services authorities shall assist any education and library board (ELB) with the provision of services for any child with SEN in the authority’s area. The 1996 Education Order provides that an ELB may request the help of health and social services authorities for children with SEN. Clearly, therefore, statutory frameworks are in place to support collaborative working.

As regards practice on the ground, the code of practice on the identification and assessment of SEN recognises that effective action on behalf of children with SEN will often depend on close cooperation between education and health and social services.

A number of the examples that Members referred to do not need a change in legislation. Rather, it needs to be ensured that the legislation that is in place is being enacted in schools. Mr Newton posed questions on behalf of a parent. Although I cannot validate the authenticity of the circumstances that were referred to in those questions, I can say that you do not need a change in legislation to protect that child's rights. The school in question is failing that child under current legislation. That school needs to be challenged through both its board of governors and principal on how it treated that child in the past and how the movement between primary school and post-primary school was handled. You do not need a change in legislation to protect that child's rights. Rather, the legislation that is currently in place needs to be enacted.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for giving way. I concentrated my efforts only on those children in mainstream education who have special educational needs. However, a constituent of mine presented to the Minister a report — he referred to it as the Emma report — based on his child's educational experience at primary school. The recent questions came from another parent at the same school. The Emma report dealt with a child's previous experience. It should have raised questions in the Department that a parent felt sufficiently strongly to spend a considerable amount of time putting together a fairly detailed report.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

Although I am not dismissing his claim, I assure the Member that, if he speaks to me privately and identifies the school that he claims is allowing a child to be bullied in the playground and excluded from education, with a teacher feeling that it is appropriate to exclude that child and set a piece of paper and a colouring pen in front of them, I will deal with that personally, because it is unacceptable.

The point that I am making is that we, as Assembly Members, can introduce legislation. That legislation has to be implemented on the ground. Current legislation excludes the practices that are being delivered in that school and, when we, as elected representatives, become aware of such a case, we have a duty to ensure that that legislation is brought to bear on any school that is failing children. That is the point that I am trying to make.

Mrs Dobson made points about medical interventions for children. The guidance was updated last year. Again, I am not shirking my responsibility, but, during Mrs Dobson's speech, she said that she did not blame the teachers or principals of the schools, and 99·9% of the time, she is absolutely correct. However, in the instance that she referred to, again, it is the school's responsibility. The school or a teacher in the school is refusing to administer insulin to that child. They have the guidance, they have the legislative protection and they have the training available, so I suggest that you go back to the parent or challenge the school on that matter. That does not require a change to the legislation. I have to say that the vast majority of schools will cooperate in medical incidents, but a number of schools or teachers refuse to. I have not been shown any legislative or insurance reason why schools should not. That is my view on that.

Regarding early intervention, my Department's 'Learning to Learn' policy framework, which was published in October, seeks to ensure that all children have equal opportunities to achieve their potential through high-quality early years education and learning experiences. A key policy objective is to identify and help to address barriers to learning and reduce the risk and impact of social exclusion and the need for later interventions.

Mr Craig referred to a case where a child moved from early years into primary school and was left behind because of a lack of intervention, but, as part of the SEN capacity-building programme, SEN early years pilots link with the Learning to Learn strategy and involve multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary and dual agency work, and those are under way. The pilots aim to improve the capacity of early years settings to be able to identify, assess and meet the needs of children with SEN. Where those needs cannot be met by the setting alone, multidisciplinary support can be requested. Education Training Inspectorate evaluation of the pilots will take place in 2014 and will be used to inform a future model of SEN best practice for early identification, assessment and provision across early years settings.

Another key aspect of early intervention is the Sure Start service, which is delivered to the top 20 most disadvantaged wards, moving to the top 25 most disadvantaged wards and super output areas. Sure Start works with parents and children aged nought to four to promote the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of preschool children to ensure that they can flourish at home and when they get to school. Sure Start is delivered through close cooperation with the Health Department, the Health and Social Care Board, the childcare partnerships and the local health and social care trusts. Sure Start’s integrated approach to service delivery is a prime example of education and health working collaboratively and is fundamental to the service’s effective operation.

Statements of SEN will include details of any relevant non-educational needs of, and provision for, the child, as agreed between the health service, social services or other agencies and ELBs. It is important to note that the statutory assessment process is multidisciplinary in nature. Professional advice is sought from parents and from education and health services.

It is also important to note that not all pupils with SEN, including those with statements, will require multidisciplinary interventions. The ELBs have, for many years, worked closely with their counterparts in health to bring about good educational and health outcomes for children. Multidisciplinary teams run by the health and social care trusts work in close collaboration with their respective ELBs. Initiatives such as the multiagency support teams (MASTs) in schools provide a holistic service to meet the needs of children with SEN. Services provided under MASTs have proven to be valuable sources of universal, targeted and specific support to parents, education, staff and pupils. This initiative, involving health trusts and ELBs, is one good example of effective transdisciplinary working across two agencies.

I accept that the experiences of parents coming into our constituency offices regarding supporting their children through the statement process or getting their children through the statement process is not always universally good. We have to continually ensure that our services, as I said in response to Mr Newton, the legislation, practices, policies and all the multidisciplinary teams that we have on the ground mean something to parents and that they are making a positive change to young people's lives on the ground.

We have reviewed the SEN legislation. We are proposing to bring forward a paper to the Executive. That is most likely to be after the Christmas break, and we hope to receive agreement from the Executive to move towards publishing legislation in February. That will then go through the necessary Committee and legislative procedures. The discussions thus far with the Committee on the matter have been positive. I hope and expect that that positive engagement will continue. I believe that there may be differences on emphasis, and we may have different points of view on many matters across the House, but I hope that we can reach cross-party agreement on the next steps for SEN legislation.

I am relaxed about a legislative imposition in relation to cooperation between the Departments — other Departments will speak for themselves — but I am not in favour of legislation for the sake of legislation. I believe that the Department of Health and the Department of Education are working very well together in supporting our young people with special educational needs. Of course, we can improve the services on the ground. When there are failings, they need to be highlighted, and they need to be corrected. New legislation will not always be the way forward, as I have pointed out in a number of examples. If it is the will of the House, as we are processing the SEN legislation, to place a cooperation clause in the legislation, and it is there for the benefit of young people, I can assure Members that they will not face any resistance from me.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank all those who have taken part in the debate. I will try to sum up in an appropriate manner the comments that have been made and the reasons why I believe that it is important that we brought the motion to the House today.

As we approach the Christmas season, it is right and proper that we remember the birth of a child — a child who would change the hearts and lives of many, for centuries to come. It is, therefore, appropriate that, on the final day of the House's deliberations before the Christmas recess, again, the focus of our attention is on the needs of children. As parents, we value the children who are at the centre of our lives. As someone who became a very young grandfather, a few weeks ago, I can assure you that the birth of a child brings great joy into a home and into a family.

I believe that, yesterday, in the House, we saw what encouragement and hope can be given to children and parents who face very challenging circumstances when a Minister listens and is not prepared to accept the status quo, and when a determined effort is made to find a resolution. I refer to the statement that was made in the House yesterday by my colleague the Health Minister.

This time of the year is about the season of goodwill and peace on earth; maybe that extends into the Chamber. There are always those who take the opportunity to cry, and, unfortunately, we had an example of that. I will come to that in a minute or two. There are, however, good examples within the system, and references have been made to them by my colleague who proposed the motion and by others in the House. So, let us not undervalue the huge amount of work that is done by many within the educational system, in Health and in other Departments, who endeavour, every day of the week, to ensure that they make an invaluable contribution to the lives of our young people.

I think of those in Castle Tower School in my constituency. The Minister and I had the opportunity to visit that school; in fact, it was the most enjoyable day that I have ever had with the Minister. I was not responsible for this, but a pupil decided that the Minister's tie needed to be straightened and gave it a good, tight pull. Maybe many's the time that I wished that I could do that. In Castle Tower, we saw things that were challenging and circumstances that were very difficult for parents and for young people, but we saw dedication beyond the call of duty.

I also think of the day that I visited Fleming Fulton School. I do not think that I will ever be able to get out of my head or mind the huge challenges faced by those who work in such an environment. However, we saw everybody — the health trust, the education and library board and the Department — working together to ensure that the needs of those children were met.

Despite all of that, we had a contribution from the Ulster Unionist Party. I suppose that all that I can say about Mr Kinahan's comments is that every Christmas needs a Scrooge, and he fulfilled that role. He should apply to the Grand Opera House, and perhaps next year he will be in the pantomime — that is about as much as his comments deserve.

I commend Mr Craig and other colleagues for the way in which they presented the motion to the House. Mr Craig referred in his opening comments to the Programme for Government, his experience of the work of the Resurgam Trust and Sure Start. It was vital that we did not produce the motion in isolation. The help that we received was encouraging. I commend those who helped us with the motion, some of whom are in the Public Gallery. I welcome the support from organisations such as Mencap, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the Royal National Institute of Blind People in Northern Ireland, Children in Northern Ireland and others who contacted us and made correspondence available to us, as they have done for other Members. They also met us, and their sharing of experiences and examples of the frustrations and issues has benefited those whom they represent.

Mr Hazzard made a very valid point about "access to the necessary service". We need to progress that in the weeks and months that lie before us. Another point — I think that it was made by my colleague Mr Moutray — was about appropriate and correct diagnosis. In the past few days, we have heard examples of late diagnoses, such as in yesterday's very high-profile case to which Mr Moutray referred. We have also heard of young people who have not been appropriately assessed, which has led to huge frustration for their parents and others associated with the family.

Mr Rogers's comment that young people cannot wait is true. A situation in which a child or young person waits five years for an assessment of their need is just not acceptable. Through the debate, we can ensure that there is collaboration. From comments made by the Minister in the House, the Health Minister and others, I believe that there is already a will to ensure that there is collaboration and that an approach is taken which is constructed in such a way that it is, ultimately, to the benefit of all the young people involved.

I welcome the fact that Trevor Lunn agreed with the appointment of a coordinator. When putting the motion together, we wanted there to be something of substance. It is very easy — we all do it — to come to the House with a motion, and, if it is not dealt with by a Minister who happens to come from your party, it is easier to say that it is his or her responsibility. However, with this motion, we are asking the Health Minister, who is our party colleague, to buy into the process of the appointment of a coordinator. So it is not a case of our saying that it is up to others and sitting on the outside waiting to gripe and complain if it is not right, as others do.

I remind Members that we have a five-party mandatory coalition, so when it comes to discussing the Budget, roads, health, education and other issues, there should be a collaborative approach. I am glad that Minister Kennedy is more often in the company of my colleagues when he prepares to go to the Executive table than he is in the company of Mr Kinahan.

However, I do not want the motion to become a negative. It must be a positive that sends a message out to parents, schools and organisations that spend weeks, months and years lobbying with passion on behalf of the young people whom they serve, that this Assembly can put in place something that is meaningful and tangible. I take the point that the Minister made about legislation. Let us not just make legislation for the sake of it. As a result of the motion, we should, perhaps, suggest that a working group should be set up with those who have an interest to work with the all-party working group on children and young people and all the organisations that currently have an interest in this particular issue, along with the Health Minister, the Minister of Education and others to ensure that we have a strategic way forward.

Mr Newton mentioned the case of a parent whose request for an assessment was denied for five years. I welcome the fact that, in his response to the debate, the Minister of Education agreed to look at the specifics of that particular case.

Let me conclude with a comment by Mencap about today's motion:

"Mencap particularly welcomes the recognition given to the need for appropriate mechanisms to provide for early indication of needs of children from birth to six years old and the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach and the appointment of a designated co-ordinator as a part of the statementing process to ensure the delivery of services which are holistic and integrated."

That sums up the motion. I trust that, as a result, the Assembly can put in place something that is meaningful for our children, whom we love and for whom we have a duty to provide.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That this Assembly recognises the importance of close collaboration between the health and the education sectors in addressing the needs of young people with special educational needs in a holistic manner; and calls on the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to ensure that the appropriate and effective mechanisms are in place for 0-6-year-olds to provide early identification of needs, that multidisciplinary approaches to addressing need are in place for all pupils with special needs, and that each child has a designated coordinator appointed as part of the statementing process to ensure that the delivery of these integrated services optimises the life chances of the pupils.

The sitting was suspended at 12.47 pm.

On resuming (Mr Speaker in the Chair) —

Oral Answers to Questions

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Question 10 has been withdrawn.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

1. asked the Minister for Regional Development what potential he has identified for saving money through organising a public sector-wide programme to share transport resources. (AQO 5220/11-15)

Ian Milne (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

4. asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline his plans to develop integrated transport projects, such as the pilot scheme carried out in the Dungannon area. (AQO 5223/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 1 and 4 together, because they are related to the same subject. I will give a joint response to both Members, so I ask your indulgence.

My Department is coordinating a cross-departmental pilot project to test the concept of improved integration of publicly funded transport services in the Dungannon area. One of the project's key aims is to improve passenger services and to identify the potential for making operational efficiencies through the better use of vehicles, drivers and technology. Members will be aware from previous discussions that that work is quite complex. I believe that the Committee for Regional Development also recently heard from the various stakeholders about how complex the issue is. As a result, the project is taking a measured approach to testing various opportunities for integration during the pilot period, which is similar to the approach that has been adopted in other jurisdictions.

The areas that will be examined include better integration of Translink and Southern Education and Library Board school transport services; Translink services and the rural community transport partnerships' demand-responsive services; rural community transport partnerships and school transport services; Southern Health and Social Care Trust and Southern Education and Library Board services for pupils and adults with special needs; Southern Health and Social Care Trust and rural community transport partnership services; and the overall demand for public transport services for people with similar needs to ensure the better overall use of resources.

As changes and improvements are introduced to services during the pilot, there will be ongoing evaluation of the new arrangements and an evaluation report will be produced by late 2014. In addition to identifying the processes and arrangements that have worked well for operational efficiency and in improvements to services for passengers, the evaluation will also consider the areas that have been more difficult to resolve and will make proposals on how those can be addressed in the long term.

Alongside the work on the evaluation report, it is envisaged that the Departments that are involved will undertake an economic appraisal to examine the options for the wider implementation of the concepts that are tested during the Dungannon pilot. That would include the costs, benefits and proposals on the preferred delivery options for public transport in the future.

Recognising that user requirements can vary considerably across different geographical areas, it will be important for the economic appraisal to make an assessment of how the approach in Dungannon could be implemented on a wider scale across other areas. That may result in a number of other pilot projects being developed across a number of other council areas in the future.

Account will also need to be taken of how any constraints, such as legislation, funding and current delivery arrangements, can be addressed to provide for a more effective and joined-up approach to the delivery of public transport services. The economic appraisal will also be completed by late 2014.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Before I call Kieran McCarthy, I inform Members that the Minister has come to the Table to ask for more time on a particular question. Under Standing Orders, Ministers can ask for more time, and they are granted more time. The Minister had two minutes, but he now has three. I just clarified that to the House, because I saw some Members looking at the clock, but the Minister came to the Table to ask for more time. I keep saying to the House that, sometimes, the nature of a question means that Ministers need more time.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

Thank you very much for that very important information, because I was one of those who was looking at the clock. I was just wondering when I was going to get a space to put a supplementary question to the Minister. He mentioned rural community transport on a number of occasions, and that is my concern. He mentioned Dungannon, which is a bit away from Strangford. Nevertheless, will he make a commitment to use any savings that he makes in the process to bolster community and rural transport throughout Northern Ireland?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. Let me say to him that this is not simply about saving money; it is about providing better services as we move into the future. I think that that is a very important consideration. Obviously, the evaluations and the detailed analysis will need to take place over the next few months. We are looking particularly at the Dungannon pilot as an opportunity for other places. However, let us see how that goes.

I am not sure about the main thrust of his question, which implies that we are simply doing this to save money. It is not purely or exclusively for that reason, nor should it be, but it is to offer better and, hopefully, improved services to the rural area.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Ian Milne, whose question is grouped, is not in his place. I call Dominic Bradley.

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

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a fhreagra. Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur air: an raibh aon teagmháil aige leis an Aire Oideachais ar an cheist seo? Considering the fact that the Minister of Education is conducting a review of school transport, has the Minister of Education been in contact with the Minister about how that review might feed into the current issue?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. As I think I indicated in my answer, certainly, at a local level, health trust level and education board level, significant cooperation is taking place between my departmental responsibilities, including Translink and others. That is a good thing, and I think that it is very necessary. I understand the point that the Member makes, but that is at a more high-level engagement, which is probably not immediately necessary until we begin to see the evaluation and the results of the roll-out about how progress is being made.

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

2. asked the Minister for Regional Development, given the recent developments regarding Narrow Water bridge, whether his Department is able to assist the Executive in preventing the loss of the additional EU funding. (AQO 5221/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

The failure to secure the necessary additional funding for the Narrow Water bridge project, despite extensions being granted to do so, presents the Executive with a stark reality in EU funding terms. That reality is, quite simply, use it or lose it. The latter option must not be allowed to happen. My Department is ready to assist the Executive to avoid the loss of that funding. In that respect, my Department has a proven track record in drawing down and effectively spending out European funds.

My Department has recently been approached by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), which is now urgently seeking to divert the unspent Narrow Water bridge funds to contingency projects and plug the funding gap. The SEUPB is seeking projects that meet the specific requirements of the INTERREG IV funding programme in as much as they can demonstrate clear cross-border benefits and that could be delivered within the EU prescribed timescales. One such project relates to the upgrading of the Enterprise train running between Belfast and Dublin. Last week, officials from my Department had discussions with the SEUPB, DFP, Translink and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with the intention of preparing a project application.

There are, of course, still several hurdles to overcome before any project can be formally funded, including securing the obligatory SEUPB and INTERREG steering committee approvals and a letter of offer. With that in mind, I intend to discuss those procedural issues with the SEUPB in the next few days to facilitate progress.

The Enterprise project is well positioned: the economic appraisal has been approved; the project is mature; and Translink has great experience in delivering those types of project. I can, therefore, answer my colleague with a definitive yes to the question about whether my Department can assist, and I will, in the expectation of cooperation and collaboration from everyone, make sure that those funds are not lost to the people of Northern Ireland.

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Minister for that. He highlighted one scheme that the money could be redirected to. Would that utilise all that money, or are there any other projects that he may be able to put the money into, including the southern bypass in Enniskillen?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. At the end of the day, all politics is local. The work to the Enterprise would be the most significant project that is potentially available to us. I am, however, aware of others. I believe that a scheme is being brought forward by the authorities in the Republic of Ireland for the maintenance of the Boyne viaduct. Of course, the Boyne will always have special significance to those of us here. The late lamented comedian, James Young, used to say, "We won the battle but they got the river". At least they are looking after it, I suppose.

So, other projects are available. The work on the Enterprise service seems to be the one that we, as a Department, are most interested in moving forward. The Member mentioned the A4 road scheme around Enniskillen. It is not currently a candidate for this funding, but he constantly reminds me of the pressing need for it on a constituency basis, and I have not forgotten about it.

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Does the Minister agree with me that the bridge provides an enormous opportunity for the Down, Newry, Armagh and Louth area? Will he join me in encouraging all parties in the Executive — our party is willing to provide funding for the bridge joining with all parties in the Executive to ensure that the European money is used for the bridge?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for her supplementary question. I understand her position, but I have to say that the situation has now moved on. SEUPB has withdrawn its letter of offer, and, as such, the bridge project is no longer on the table. What is essential, in my view — I hope that it is a view shared by my Executive colleagues — is that we proceed to ensure that European money, which can be expended on projects in Northern Ireland and in a joint nature with the Irish Republic, is fully utilised. I have to say respectfully to the Member that we must concentrate on proceeding, on that basis, to ensure that that European money or its benefits are not lost to the people of Northern Ireland.

Seán Rogers (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

Minister, as regards our disappointments about the A5 road scheme and the Narrow Water bridge project, what discussions have you had with your counterpart in Dublin? What are your plans for developing the cross-border infrastructure? You have talked about the Enterprise, but what about the southern relief road in Newry?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question, and, indeed, I have had discussions with my counterpart in the Irish Republic in relation to both projects. The Member knows that the status of the A5 project remains as a delayed project, rather than an abandoned one. The issues around the Narrow Water bridge project are now well documented and should be fully understood. I know that the Member, though disappointed, will now have an understanding of the situation that we find ourselves in. I am attempting, in cooperation and consultation with both Translink and Irish Rail, to bring forward the Enterprise project. I believe that significant benefits could be accrued by moving forward with that project, and I hope and expect that we will have the full cooperation of the Irish Administration.

Daithí McKay (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

3. asked the Minister for Regional Development what level of cooperation his Department has with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the provision of community transport. (AQO 5222/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

My Department and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development cooperate in the provision of community transport in rural areas by funding and administering the assisted rural travel scheme, which allows members of rural community transport partnerships who hold a concessionary fare pass to receive free transport when using Dial-a-Lift services provided by the partnerships. The scheme allows free use of community transport for those over 60 years of age in areas where public transport is limited.

The scheme aims to assist with meeting Programme for Government targets by making a positive contribution to tackling poverty and social isolation. It is consistent with the regional transportation strategy and with DARD's tackling rural poverty and social isolation framework. Last year, the scheme provided nearly 200,000 journeys. DARD funds the subsidised fare element of the scheme. My Department funds the operational costs incurred by the rural transport partnerships (RTPs).

My Department, the Public Health Agency, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and other agencies cooperate in a special initiative; a project to maximise access to and uptake of services, grants and benefits in rural areas. The project contains five strands, including rural transport, with an objective to deliver and develop a range of actions to address rural poverty and social exclusion. That links with the primary objective of my Department's rural transport fund, to reduce social exclusion by improving and providing transport opportunities for people with reduced mobility in rural areas.

Daithí McKay (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his answer. My party's position and mine is that this service needs to be protected. Will the Minister give the House a concrete assurance that he will not only maintain but increase the £3·2 million per annum that is provided to RTPs, which is minute in comparison with the amount given to Translink every year?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I assure him that we will continue to evaluate the services that are provided. I am encouraged by the numbers using the service and its quality. I need no convincing of its importance to rural communities. I very much hope that we will have ongoing support for it, particularly at Executive level.

John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party, East Londonderry)

Does the Minister agree that in many rural areas a Translink bus that is not linked with community transport is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike at the North West 200? Is he satisfied with the cooperation that he is getting from the Department of Agriculture to make the integration more complete?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary. I understand entirely the point that he makes about better cooperation, collaboration and integration of services. The rural community can in many ways be isolated, and it is important that we make strenuous efforts to improve that and ensure that our public transport systems are not based only in urban centres, particularly Belfast. I am keenly aware of the need to work with others, including the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and my officials seek to do so on an ongoing basis.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

What discussions is the Minister having with Translink to ensure that access to public transport is a priority and also that there is a joined-up approach? In my constituency of North Antrim, people who live in rural areas and have poor access to public transport find it difficult to connect with the rail service from Ballymoney or Ballymena. What discussions are being had so that Translink, rather than depending on RTPs or other public —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I encourage the Member to finish.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

— sector bodies, plays its key role in rural transport?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I understand absolutely the need for a coordinated approach and for Translink to be the leading proponent of that coordination. The Member will know that we have sought to improve park-and-ride facilities at various locations for bus and train users. We will continue to try to roll out and improve that campaign. We are aware of the need for coordination and cooperation. That is very much the remit of Translink, my remit as Minister and the remit of my departmental officials.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Question 4 has been answered.

Paul Girvan (DUP, South Antrim)

5. asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent on road maintenance in the past 12 months in South Antrim. (AQO 5224/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

My Department does not maintain records or analysis of maintenance spend on a constituency basis. However, I can advise the Member that maintenance responsibilities for the South Antrim constituency are shared between the eastern and northern divisions of Roads Service.

In 2012-13, expenditure on structural maintenance, which includes resurfacing, surface dressing, patching and structural drainage, was approximately £23 million in the eastern division and approximately £25 million in the northern division, elements of which will have been directed to South Antrim. In the past 12 months, for example, my Department completed approximately 20 kilometres of carriageway resurfacing at locations in the South Antrim constituency at a cost of approximately £2·6 million. They include the A57 Antrim Road, Antrim; Station Road, Whiteabbey; Monkstown Avenue and Beverley Road, Newtownabbey; and the A6 Belfast Road, Islandbawn.

Paul Girvan (DUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Minister for his answer. A major road project that is under way is the dualling of the A8, and, as a consequence of that, a lot of traffic is being diverted on to small, minor B roads, and the increased traffic — probably of the wrong type — on those roads has had a major impact on their condition. Is there any plan to resurface those roads after the completion of the total project?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his point. Of course, the A8 scheme is very valuable and important to that particular region. It will have the capacity to open up and improve access to places such as the port of Larne. I suppose that there is a consequence. You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs. There will obviously be a consequence to some travelling habits.

The current budget for overall structural maintenance to date amounts to some £104 million. We very much hope — I say this optimistically, in case the Minister of Finance is listening — that we can perhaps take more in January monitoring to help us with that, because current calculations are that we need £129 million a year simply to maintain the roads that we have. That is not to build new roads such as the A8 or the A2 or, as we move forward, the Magherafelt bypass or, indeed, the A26 at Frosses. So, as well as the impressive list of projects that we intend to bring forward, there is the job of maintaining the structure of roads. Of course, increased traffic on the more minor roads will perhaps create worrying conditions. So, we will seek to get more money and to use that wisely.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Minister's staff for their work in south Antrim. We have a lot of great things going on for us, and I know that he will do more for us, particularly on the A8. Can the Minister detail what the out-turn has been for structural maintenance in 2011-12 and 2012-13?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Member for his encouragement and comments, particularly to my staff. The structural maintenance expenditure was £120 million in 2011-12 and £109 million in 2012-13. After a less than successful October monitoring, this year will depend on the outcome of January monitoring. I suppose that the downside of that is that it leaves less time at the end of the year to undertake work. It is an issue that I continue to raise with Executive colleagues, particularly the Finance Minister.

Whilst we are a Department that is willing and able to spend money relatively quickly, it would make more sense if we were allowed more time to better plan that expenditure. That would certainly help those on the ground — the many contractors, and those in the road construction industry — who now face the prospect of a late surge in contracts having to be carried out by the end of the financial year. So the Member's point is well made.

Chris Lyttle (Alliance, Belfast East)

6. asked the Minister for Regional Development how the budget for cycling in Northern Ireland compares to the budget for cycling in other regions in Europe. (AQO 5225/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I do not hold information on the budget allocated for cycling in other sub-member-state regions and, therefore, cannot compare that with the funding allocated in Northern Ireland.

In the current Budget period, over £4 million is earmarked to fund active travel demonstration projects in Belfast, Londonderry, Craigavon and Strabane. In addition, £50,000 has been committed to undertake a feasibility study into a cycle/pedestrian footbridge over the River Lagan, close to the Gasworks site, to Ormeau Park.

While those investments in promoting sustainable transport are important and welcome, I believe that they are not enough. I want to encourage walking and cycling as feasible, reasonable and safe modes of travel, and to invest more in cycling as a key element of transport strategy and delivery. As the Member will know, I have therefore established a new cycling unit in my Department to promote that and to deliver the effective coordination and management of a range of cycling initiatives.

Officials in my Department are currently exploring budget and resource requirements to ensure that the necessary funding is secured to deliver the Department's objectives. Given that the unit has been set up in-year, the annual budget is estimated at around £800,000 for staffing and promotional costs. Discussions are under way to identify what additional resource budget is required and the capital funding necessary for infrastructure measures.

Chris Lyttle (Alliance, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for his answer. I find it startling that he has made no attempt whatsoever to benchmark public investment in cycling in Northern Ireland against any other region in Europe. I am not sure how he is going to encourage cycling and walking if he does not know whether the investment he is making in both is adequate.

Does he accept that significant, bold and courageous public investment was required for the successful development of cycling as an active and sustainable mode of transport in places such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen? How exactly is he going to deliver that here in Northern Ireland?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I am sorry that he has been something of a wet blanket about the news that we have established a cycling unit. As I understand it, the Member is the chair of the all-party group on cycling. I would have thought that it was incumbent on him to further encourage me and speak with his Executive colleagues so that we can get the maximum money available to us.

I am in favour of a cycling revolution. I want to see more people cycling. We have an ideal opportunity next year with the start of the Giro d'Italia being hosted in Northern Ireland. We can promote that as an event, but we can also promote cycling as a legacy project for the Giro d'Italia. I am enthusiastic. I do not want to be a weeping Jeremiah by saying that we cannot do that. We want to move forward, and I am keen to see progress. The chair of the all-party group on cycling needs to give it a good shove, too.

Jimmy Spratt (DUP, Belfast South)

I congratulate the Minister; he has got on his bike a few times in the past. He will know about the Committee's interest in the matter. It has brought great economic benefits, and it is a cross-cutting issue for health and other areas of government. Has the Minister had any discussions with other Departments about increasing cycling and its economic benefits to the economy in Northern Ireland?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Chair of the Regional Development Committee for his encouragement and positive attitude. There are huge benefits for the environment, health and sport. I have been engaging and attempting to engage with other Departments about those benefits. The Health Minister is interested in seeing how cycling can improve healthier lifestyles, particularly for young people.

However, the bottom line is that we have to invest in that, which means more money. That means that I have to win that argument around the Executive table. If the joined-up approach that we are adopting and the potential improvements to health, the environment and sport, as well as to transport and sustainable transport in the future, can be argued successfully, it will mean that additional resources on a par with other places can be expended. The best example that we can look to is London. Mayor Boris Johnson's cycling revolution has transformed public transport and sustainable modes of transport in our nation's capital. I look forward to doing that over here.

Sean Lynch (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. The Minister will be aware that there is a very progressive cycle scheme in Dublin. I ask him for a progress update on the proposals for a similar bike scheme in Belfast. Does he have any concerns about the scheme?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. Indeed, I have had the opportunity to see at first hand the experience in Dublin. We have, in part, funded Belfast City Council to introduce a scheme of that nature in Belfast, and my officials are working with council officials to make it happen as quickly as possible. It will have benefits for commuters who are, hopefully, already using public transport and the quality service that is now available to them on buses and, indeed, trains. As they arrive in Belfast, they will be able to hop on their bike and cycle round to their office or their place of work. That is the joined-up logic of this. It works in other places, and there is no reason why it will not work in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. That concludes oral questions to the Minister for Regional Development. We will now move to topical questions to the Minister.

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

1. asked the Minister for Regional Development whether he or a representative of the Executive will be in attendance at the funeral of the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. (AQT 501/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his topical question. There has been no Executive guidance on the arrangements for Nelson Mandela's funeral. I am able to confirm that no discussion has taken place at Executive level, whether through written correspondence or whatever else, on the funeral arrangements and Executive representation.

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Minister for that. I noted in press reports that the deputy First Minister was going to officially represent the Executive. Can he give us some information on that report?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. Initially, it was my understanding that Martin McGuinness was to attend the funeral in a personal capacity. Of course, the Member will know that, yesterday in the Assembly, the House had the opportunity to pay due tribute on the passing of Mr Mandela. I am not aware of what approach is being taken on the funding of his attendance, nor am I aware of the position that either the Scottish or Welsh First Ministers are adopting. My understanding is that the former Prime Ministers, the current Prime Minister and the Prince of Wales are to attend and are to represent the United Kingdom as a whole.

I think that many people across Northern Ireland will, understandably, feel that it is not appropriate for the deputy First Minister to attend alone, purporting to represent Northern Ireland. I certainly find myself sympathetic to that position. That we have also learned that Mr Gerry Adams will attend some events does not improve that situation. I am also unaware of whether the First Minister declined an invitation to attend, and I am unaware whether he was content with and agreed to the deputy First Minister representing the Executive and the people of Northern Ireland.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Let me say to the whole House that Members should read Standing Orders on topical questions. Topical questions need to relate to the Minister's responsibility in the Department, and I do not know how the funeral of Nelson Mandela fits in to the responsibility of the Regional Development Minister. So, I just warn the whole House that topical questions need to be on the responsibility that the Minister has in his Department.

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

2. asked the Minister for Regional Development whether, given the TEN-T open day on 13 December, the European Commission has released any details of the preferred criteria. (AQT 502/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his question. The Member will know that I have engaged substantially with my counterparts in the European Union, including Vice-President Kallas and other senior representatives. The chair of the Transport Committee, Brian Simpson, has been particularly helpful on all these issues as, indeed, have the Northern Ireland MEPs. I am pleased with the progress that we have been able to make on the TEN-T proposals. We did not win every battle, but, substantially, I share the view of my counterpart in the Irish Republic that, given the challenges that faced us with TEN-T, we have come through it pretty well.

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

The Minister is aware that several members of the Committee will travel to the event. Does his Department have any suitable projects lined up to maximise the potential drawdown of funds?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. On an ongoing basis, my officials seek to identify suitable projects whereby we can attain grant aid. With grant aid for the projects themselves, opportunities appear to be a little more limited, but the funding of studies and consultation exercises and the preparatory work for a lot of important schemes can get EU funding, and we will seek to do that not only as a consequence of next week but as we move into 2014.

Ian Milne (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

3. asked the Minister for Regional Development about the long-term plans for the Door-2-Door transport scheme that ended on 31 March 2013, given that Disability Action is providing an interim service. (AQT 503/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for coming to topical questions. He was, unfortunately, absent for the detailed answer that I had for questions for oral answer, but anyway.

Disability Action continues to provide transport services with grant support from the Department. It is an interim scheme until such times as the Department considers how best to address the transport needs of people with disabilities. Of course, the Member will know that there has been no reduction in the budget for the Door-2-Door service since it ceased on 31 March 2013.

Ian Milne (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Thank you, Minister, for your answer thus far. Could you give us a time frame for when the service might be restored? If Disability Action is now doing the interim service, surely it needs to know whether there will be extra funding available or whatever.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. I hope that I have been able to allay his concerns about any reduction in funding. There has not been a reduction in funding. We continue to assess how best we can provide the service. It is being provided by Disability Action, and we are looking at whether, into the longer term, we should continue in that way and, if not, how we tweak it and improve it. It is not a question of cutting it, and the important thing is that its budget spend has not been reduced. We are satisfied with the way it is being handled at the moment, but we need to give ongoing consideration to these things.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

4. asked the Minister for Regional Development whether, given the worries of senior citizens as reported on Radio Ulster today, he will support the Hands-Off campaign and give a categoric guarantee that the Senior SmartPass will remain come hell or high water. (AQT 504/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am very grateful to the Member for his question. I note that he did not indicate a personal interest.

I am aware of the huge benefits of the concessionary travel system that we have. It is greatly used and allows many people to travel. It improves social interchange, and there is huge benefit to the local economy as people make journeys. Let me be absolutely clear that, on my watch, I do not intend to fundamentally overhaul the concessionary scheme that we have. I hope that that will give considerable comfort to the campaigners out there, whose concerns I understand. Not on my watch, not under an Ulster Unionist, will there be a cutting or a withdrawal of the services that are available under the current concessionary transport system.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

I am delighted that the Minister has given a commitment that, on his watch, the Senior SmartPass will remain. That is very welcome. Along with the Minister, I applaud the Assembly for instigating —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Is there a question?

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

There is, Mr Speaker.

We all take credit for the instigation of a SmartPass for our senior citizens in Northern Ireland. Does the Minister agree that, without the SmartPass, a lot of senior citizens would be housebound, out of sequence and a drain on our health service?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his comments. I agree: the concessionary fare scheme and the SmartPass have afforded people the opportunity to reach out and remain active in the wider community. Whilst success has many fathers, all of us can take pride in the fact that we treat our senior citizens, in particular, in this fashion. One would always want to do more and to seek to improve it, as undoubtedly we will. We are mindful of the costs involved, but, nevertheless, it is a scheme that is working and is popular, and I have no plans to overhaul it.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Steven Agnew is not in his place to ask topical question 5.

David Hilditch (DUP, East Antrim)

6. asked the Minister for Regional Development for his assessment of sandbag provision in Roads Service and NI Water, given that some difficulties were experienced during recent storms. (AQT 506/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his topical question. Obviously, we are into winter. We are mindful that, whilst the conditions at the moment appear to be very mild, we can take nothing for granted. That is certainly the case as we go forward. The Member will know that the issue of sandbags is one that, with the cooperation of councils, my Department has been working to achieve progress on. I am always interested to hear if there are difficulties in a particular area, but, generally, I welcome the increasingly coordinated approach between my Department, its agencies and local government on that.

As this is the last opportunity we know of that the House will meet formally and perhaps my last opportunity to say so in the House, I want to say how much we appreciate the efforts of those who will provide the winter services, who will be watching the clock and the weather forecast, perhaps not able to enjoy fully the Christmas hospitality with their family. I pay tribute in advance to the efforts of everyone concerned, to the more than 300 staff, plus the private operators, who will seek to provide a public service to the people of Northern Ireland by keeping the roads open and keeping people safe.

David Hilditch (DUP, East Antrim)

I welcome the Minister's words on the Department's arrangements with councils. Will the Minister assure us that all sections of the Department are on message, particularly in eastern division, as we approach that time?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am happy to give that assurance. I know that the staff in my Department and its agencies are geared up and adopt a very professional attitude. I am pleased that increasingly good relationships now exist with councils. I hope very much that, as we approach the heavy winter, we can work together successfully.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

1. asked the Minister for Social Development whether he has apologised or plans to apologise to any of the four contractors who, he publicly claimed, had overcharged the Executive by an estimated £18 million in a ministerial statement on 10 June 2013. (AQO 5235/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The figure quoted in my statement to the Assembly in June this year was the figure provided to me by the chairman of the Housing Executive. The latest investigation by Campbell Tickell, the report on which was released on 21 November, reports that there are overpayments estimated to be in the region of £9 million to £13 million. That is still a substantial overpayment. As far as I am concerned and as I have said before, it would not matter whether it was £5 million, £10 million, £15 million or £20 million — it is too much. Let us not forget that this is taxpayers’ money that could have been used to build much-needed social homes. Therefore, in answer to the question, no, I have not apologised nor do I have any plans to apologise.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Question 5 has been withdrawn.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I acknowledge the Minister's answer to the question of whether he had apologised or had planned to apologise to the four contractors who, he said, had overcharged by an estimated £18 million. If the Minister will not apologise, will he give an assessment of the damage, financial and reputational, to the four companies from his quoting a figure on 10 June that he now realises was wrong?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I am not sure whether the Member was listening to what I said. Therefore, perhaps it is necessary to repeat for his information that the figure that was quoted initially was that provided by the chair of the Housing Executive. The second figure was the figure quoted in the report by Campbell Tickell. There is a piece of work that is still ongoing in which the contractors and the Housing Executive together need to come to a final figure for the level of repayments that will be required.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

That was not the question.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I find this difficult to deal with because the Member does not seem to be able to listen. There is nothing to apologise for, therefore there will be no apology. Work is ongoing because there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the Campbell Tickell report. There is also work to be done in coming to a final conclusion and agreement on the amount that will have to be repaid. It is clear that I am saying that there will have to be repayments.

Peter Weir (DUP, North Down)

In light of the fact that failures have been identified and it seems beyond doubt that, whatever the disagreement over the amount, mistakes were clearly made, will the Minister confirm what action will be taken by the board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I thank the Member for the question, which gets to the heart of a core issue here. The Campbell Tickell report was commissioned by the Housing Executive. The board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive accepts the findings of the Campbell Tickell report and regrets the failure to resolve the issues raised at the time when they were first discovered. The Housing Executive board has also agreed that the failing to recover overpayments over the period 2009-2012 was unacceptable and that it needs to be confident that adequate controls are now in place to prevent overpayments in future contracts.

It is clear that there are significant issues to be addressed in the Housing Executive's management of contracts. I welcome the chairman's decisive action to establish a dedicated team to deal with these issues and his proposals to create a new department focusing solely on maintenance contract management. I have assured the chairman that he and the board have my full support in dealing with this regrettable situation and taking forward the wide-ranging programme of change and transformation that is required.

I already meet the chairman regularly and will continue to keep this item on the agenda. I welcome the fact that the Housing Executive board is behaving in such a responsible way. Its attitude is unlike that of others, who seem to have a cavalier attitude to millions of pounds being overpaid.

Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I doubt very much that anyone has a cavalier attitude to millions of pounds being overspent, but, given that we have heard today that the difference in the figures is between £5 million and £9 million, how can the House have any confidence that the Minister's figures are correct?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The key point is the Member's use of the term "the Minister's figures". I repeat: the figure that I reported to the House initially was that provided by the chairman of the Housing Executive. The second estimate was that produced by the company Campbell Tickell. The final figure of overpayments to be repaid will be finalised only when the process has been concluded between the Housing Executive and the companies that were the contractors involved in this regrettable situation.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Not only is the £18 million figure now discredited, but we now know from the Campbell Tickell report that it came with a very severe caveat. That report confirms that the £18 million figure was given as a broad-brush estimate in need of refinement as more evidence was generated. Why did the Minister give no mention of that in his rush to headline the £18 million figure in the House? Does he not think that he had a duty of care to the four contractors, before naming them, to at least enter the caveat that was presented with the figure?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

Again, it is important to recall exactly what was said. The word that was used at the time was "estimate". It was an estimate that was provided to me by the chair of the Housing Executive on the basis of figures that had been given to him. I made it clear at the time that this was only an estimate. However, the fact is — I have said this already this afternoon — that it does not matter whether it is £5 million, £10 million, £15 million, £18 million or whatever: when millions of pounds have been overpaid to contractors by the Housing Executive, any responsible person will recognise that that is a serious issue. Any sensible person will appreciate that the Minister in the relevant Department has a responsibility to make it known to the Members of the Assembly. There would have been cries from all quarters if there had not been a report of such a serious situation. I did the responsible thing and the right thing by making that information available to the House.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The 2011 house condition survey shows that fuel poverty affects 42% of households — about 295,000 households — in Northern Ireland. The survey recorded that there were 135,170 households in fuel poverty where the householder was aged 60 or over, and that represents 46% of all fuel-poor households. Some 83,190 — 52% — of the householders aged between 60 and 74 are in fuel poverty. Some 51,980 people — 60% of householders aged 75 and over — are in fuel poverty. It is quite clear that, as folk get older, there is a higher level of fuel poverty. I welcome the fact that the Member has raised the issue.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

For many years, our flagship scheme has been the warm homes scheme, which has helped over 117,000 households in Northern Ireland to improve the energy efficiency of their home. We also have the boiler replacement scheme, which provides a grant of up to £1,000 to help householders to replace older, less efficient boilers. Those schemes operate right across Northern Ireland, including the south Antrim area.

Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his answer. The Minister is aware that, every week, a large sum of pension credit is unclaimed by people aged 60 and over. Can the Minister give us some idea of what he is doing to address that issue?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The Member raises the issue of income. Fuel poverty is impacted mainly by three factors, one of which is income. That brings us to the area of benefit uptake, which we have made a priority in the Department over the past two years, with the result that we have gotten to a much better situation than previously. In fact, in one year, we trebled the income brought into Northern Ireland through benefit uptake over the previous year, which was a considerable achievement. It was done through more targeted interventions in raising awareness of the benefits that people should be claiming. There was clear evidence that there was not necessarily the level of awareness among older people that there should be, and they were one of the sectors that we felt needed a particular intervention. So, work has been done in working with organisations that deal with older folk. However, there is a whole series of targeted interventions, looking at particular areas such as folk living with cancer, elderly folk and young families. That sort of more-targeted intervention is the best way forward. There will be general awareness raising, but there is also the targeted approach.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Minister for his answer and congratulate the staff in Antrim and Newtownabbey councils for the work they do in this field. Does the Minister accept that the rates of fuel poverty, as previously measured, have fallen only 2% in recent years, from 44% to 42%? Does he believe that this is indicative of his Department's failure to address the issue effectively?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The point is more indicative of the Member's failure to understand the nature of fuel poverty, which is not the responsibility of one particular Department but of a number of Departments. For example, in large parts of Northern Ireland, in the west of the Province, people do not have access to gas. That is an area that Arlene Foster, my colleague in EETI, is taking forward to ensure that gas pipelines move to the west of the Province. One of the key factors in the higher level of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland is that we are so heavily reliant on oil, whereas, in GB, there is a much greater reliance on gas. Therefore, that impacts on the west of the Province. It is one of the biggest problems we face.

We have also worked extensively to deal with the energy efficiency of homes, with energy inefficiency being the problem. For example, last week, I had the opportunity to visit some building sites in Stuttgart, Germany, to see the work that they are doing to make their houses much more energy efficient.

So, it is about raising income, and our benefit uptake programmes are quite effective in that regard. The cost of fuel is not within the remit of my Department, but spreading the gas network will help. It is also about the energy efficiency of homes, and the more we can do in that regard, the better. That is why a pilot is being done in Springfarm in south Antrim on the best way to retrofit homes. All that will contribute to reducing the level of fuel poverty.

Seán Rogers (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

Will the Minister advise the House whether he has any plans to help those with long-term sickness or cancer with their fuel poverty concerns?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I have already mentioned that with respect to our benefit uptake campaign. I also mentioned that income is an issue in reducing fuel poverty. As regards people who are suffering from cancer, we have made that a focus for the targeted benefit uptake campaign, and that was one of the more successful interventions. So, we can do something there, but, in respect of a specific intervention for people suffering from cancer, our other programmes are entirely open to people who have that unfortunate condition. The boiler replacement scheme and the warm homes scheme are generally available. That is the one thing that is particularly relevant and most helpful to people with that particular problem.

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

3. asked the Minister for Social Development what methodology was used for the procurement of the Campbell Tickell report. (AQO 5237/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The chairman of the Housing Executive, in his press release dated 10 June 2013, stated that the board of the Housing Executive had commissioned an independent review into how the organisation has been dealing with planned maintenance contracts over the past five years following evidence of substantial overcharging. The initial processes of appointing the consultant at that time were managed by the chairman.

The Member may wish to note my answer to a question for written answer — AQW 24342/11-15 — in which I explained the procurement process followed in the appointment of Campbell Tickell. However, for the benefit of the Member today, I can advise again that the procurement process followed was in line with the appropriate procurement guidance for the direct award of contracts, also known as single tender action, and the use of consultants.

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his answer up until now, but it is my understanding that the process that the chair of the Housing Executive followed was done over a short period — a matter of days — and did not follow the tendering procedures that were set down for awarding contracts.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The Member's first point relates to the nature of the process. I was not party to that process, but I have already stated that I am reliably assured that the appropriate procurement guidance was followed, that there is guidance for the direct award of contracts, or single tender action, and the use of consultants, and that that was followed.

On the timescale involved, it is important to bear in mind that this was something that needed to be done quickly. We are talking about very substantial amounts of money. It was important that the Housing Executive moved quickly to show its concern about the situation and that it got information to clarify how the situation had arisen. In answer to an earlier question, I spoke about the course of action now being taken by the Housing Executive in the light of that report. I think that it is that outworking of the report that proves that the chairman and the Housing Executive took the right approach by moving forward on this as a matter of urgency.

John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party, East Londonderry)

I listened very carefully to the Minister's response, but surely he must understand that at this stage the Tickell report is so discredited that the only honourable thing for the Minister to do is to put his hands up and say, "Look, it's rubbish".

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

Campbell Tickell, the company concerned, has previous experience in this field. It has reported on a wide range of matters, including fraud, mismanagement, financial malpractice, complex financial issues, and governance and management issues, and it previously conducted a statutory inquiry for the then Housing Corporation that looked into mismanagement in a specialist housing association. So, this is a field in which it has some experience, and I suspect that it probably has more experience of it than Mr Dallat has.

Leslie Cree (UUP, North Down)

I thank the Minister for his response. In my opinion, the Campbell Tickell report simply did not come close to the forensic investigation, for example, that was carried out by ASM Horwath into Red Sky. The Minister may be aware that, in addition to the Campbell Tickell report, one was produced in conjunction with the contractors. It led to four sets of individual accounts by two independent cost consultants, one of whom was appointed by the Executive and the other by the contractors. Will the Minister try to bridge the apparent massive contradiction between that report —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

I urge the Member to finish.

Leslie Cree (UUP, North Down)

— and the one produced by Campbell Tickell?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

Let me assure the Member that there are not two reports. There is only one report. Whatever may have appeared in a press statement from somebody or other, there is no second report. A process of work is being taken forward by the contractors and the Housing Executive, but the only report — the one that was commissioned by the Housing Executive board, the one that has been endorsed and accepted by the Housing Executive board and the one that was presented to the Social Development Committee — is the Campbell Tickell report. It is a report that people would be very foolish to dismiss out of hand in the way in which some people want to.

Earlier, I used the word "cavalier", and there seems to be an almost cavalier approach to some of this. The issues that have been identified in the Campbell Tickell report are very serious, substantial and substantive. They need to be addressed, because they get to the bottom of why the situation arose. They get to the bottom of how it was that there were such serious shortcomings in the Housing Executive and why, in that context, it was possible for such substantial overpayments to be made.

William Irwin (DUP, Newry and Armagh)

4. asked the Minister for Social Development to outline his plans for the housing stock in the Armagh district. (AQO 5238/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

A range of improvement schemes are programmed in the Housing Executive Armagh district office area for 2014-15. They include kitchen replacements at 48 dwellings at Woodford and Caramoyle; external cyclical maintenance at 291 properties at Armagh town and Charlemont; double glazing at 144 dwellings at Tandragee, Armagh town and Poyntzpass; and heating replacements at 73 dwellings at various locations in Armagh town and rural areas.

A total of 18 Housing Executive properties are also included in the proposed stock transfer programme in the Armagh district area: six at Hillside Avenue and Hamiltonsbawn, and 12 at Drumhillery Park, Middletown. That transfer process will begin in mid-2014.

In addition, a number of newbuild schemes are programmed to be delivered in the Armagh City and District Council area during 2013-14 to 2015-16. Those include 28 units of supported housing and 36 units of general-needs housing. The Housing Executive is in the process of formulating a new social housing development programme for the three year-period from 2014-15 to 2016-17. Subject to my approval, the programme will be published on the Housing Executive website in January 2014.

William Irwin (DUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. Can he tell us whether there are any winter checks on older properties that do not have proper insulation?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The Housing Executive is carrying out an ongoing programme on the energy efficiency of all of its property stock. I referred to that earlier. It is part of a wider piece of work, first, to identify the value of the stock. If the value of the stock is to be established, its condition needs to be known. Secondly, the Housing Executive wants to identify areas where there are particular problems of energy inefficiency that might be addressed through the work that is being taken forward in Springfarm Heights. Quite a number of rural properties have old stone walls and a low level of thermal insulation. The question is how best to address that. The work that is being carried out in Springfarm Heights will, hopefully, help to determine the best way to address that to the benefit of tenants.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. Before I call Mr Beggs, I am sure that he is conscious that this is a specific question that relates to a specific constituency area, namely Armagh district. I have no doubt that he has no intention of widening out the question. It is important that I say that before I call him, but let us not prejudge the Member. [Laughter.]

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

The Minister has indicated that some 36 new general-needs housing units will be built in the Armagh area. Can he advise the House how he ensures that that plan adequately reflects the changes and requirements that may result from the Welfare Reform Bill?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

One issue that I have raised in the past couple of years with the Housing Executive when it brings forward its social housing development programme is, indeed, the potential impact of welfare reform and the need, therefore, for a number of smaller properties that are suitable for one or two people. The first time I raised it, I did so because, when I challenged the Housing Executive about that, officials actually admitted that they had not taken any account of welfare reform in designing the programme. They were sent back to redo the job and came back with a revised programme. That now features in their programme; there are more smaller properties to address potential need in the longer term and difficulties that might arise from what is commonly referred to as the bedroom tax.

Stephen Moutray (DUP, Upper Bann)

6. asked the Minister for Social Development for his assessment of how the funds that have been awarded to Lurgan Town Arena Football Club for new facilities will benefit the Lurgan area. (AQO 5240/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The grant of £461,000 that was awarded to Lurgan Town Football Club will allow the club to provide a new and larger clubhouse; a half-size 3G pitch, which will be available for use by local schools; replacement floodlights; and associated site works. Not only will that help the club to increase the number of young people who participate in sport, but it will allow it to engage further in the local community by running education, health and social awareness programmes.

I had the opportunity of visiting the ground in Lurgan some time ago. It is a club with 380 members, many of whom come from neighbourhood renewal areas. The club has 40 volunteers, which very much ties in with our Department's commitment to support volunteering. I am pleased to say that the club's 3G pitch is already oversubscribed. So, it is an excellent example of a local football club playing a role in the wider community context.

I encourage neighbourhood renewal areas to consider always the inclusion of sport and sporting facilities and programmes in their overall programmes. Sometimes, neighbourhood renewal partnerships may overlook sport, but it has an important role to play in health and in addressing young people's needs.

Stephen Moutray (DUP, Upper Bann)

I thank the Minister for that very positive news. I will perhaps push him further and ask him to indicate when the Mourneview and Grey estates' multi-use games area, which is also in Lurgan, will be completed.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I am pleased to assure the Member that the Mourneview multi-use games area is being constructed by Craigavon Borough Council with funding of £145,000 from the neighbourhood renewal investment fund. I am aware of the many delays that the scheme has experienced, first, in finding a suitable site and, more recently, in finalising the legal arrangements with the Southern Education and Library Board and completing the tendering exercise. I understand that the contractor is due to go on site after Christmas, and it is hoped that, weather permitting, the project will be completed by the end of March 2014. That will be good news for people in the Mourneview area.

Paula Bradley (DUP, Belfast North)

7. asked the Minister for Social Development for his assessment of the number of people on the social housing waiting list, including those in housing stress, in North Belfast. (AQO 5241/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

As at 1 December 2013, a total of 3,884 applicants were registered on the waiting list for the North Belfast constituency area. Of those, 2,255 were deemed to be in housing stress with 30 points or more.

Paula Bradley (DUP, Belfast North)

I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that there is a narrative amongst some members of the media and amongst politicians that the housing need in the North Belfast constituency is overwhelmingly nationalist. Will he confirm whether that is, indeed, true?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I thank the Member for her question. I will take the opportunity to explain that that narrative is totally false, unfounded and erroneous. When people register for housing, they can self-identify as Protestant or Roman Catholic, or, indeed, they can choose from a range of other options including none, refused, unknown, mixed or other religious group.

The figures for those in North Belfast who self-identify as either Protestant or Roman Catholic are, in many ways, quite similar. For example, there are 1,479 people from the Protestant community and 1,489 people from the Roman Catholic community on the waiting list in North Belfast as of 1 December. So, there is a difference of less than 1%. Therefore, the housing waiting lists for Protestants and Roman Catholics in North Belfast are roughly equal. You will find that, over time, there will be slight fluctuations and the figure may go 1% one way or the other over a period of months as people come on and off the waiting list. However, the figures refute very much the damaging and what I would describe as almost corrosive narrative that suggests that there is an overwhelming demand in one community and virtually no demand in the other community. The housing waiting lists in the two communities are virtually the same.

Sometimes, people argue that we should deal with people who refuse to identify or whose religious identity is unknown. However, that takes away people's right not to self-identify. Even when you look at that, however, and you attempt to allocate people to a particular group on the basis of where they have chosen to live, you see that if someone from Ardoyne, for example, has put down Ardoyne as their choice of area, they are probably not from the Protestant/unionist community.

Likewise, if somebody puts down for mid-Shankill, they are probably not from the Catholic/nationalist community.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

The Minister's time is almost gone.

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

Even if you do that, it makes virtually no difference. The needs in the two communities are almost exactly equal.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

That concludes questions for oral answer to the Minister for Social Development. We will now move to topical questions.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

The Minister was severely critical last week of the sentence handed down by the courts to Thomas Beresford, the loyalist bandsman. How does he reconcile that criticism with —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. I warned the House that topical questions should be questions on the responsibility of the Minister within his Department. I am prepared to let the Member finish, because sometimes questions and supplementary questions grow legs.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

1. asked the Minister for Social Development how he reconciles his severe criticism last week of the sentence handed down by the courts to Thomas Beresford, the loyalist bandsman, with his obligation under the Pledge of Office to support the police and the courts and to uphold the rule of law. (AQT 511/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I am sure that there will be some reflection afterwards about whether questions of this nature are appropriate. I am sure that the Speaker will want to consider that in due course. However, I will just make two points to the Member. First, on that occasion, I very clearly spoke as a local representative, representing the interests of people from the community. Secondly, I said in the statement — if the Member had read it all, he would have known — that there should be respect for the law. That was clearly stated. My comment was purely on the extent of the punishment that was handed out to the individual in the context of that being the very first instance of someone being brought before the courts and then sent to prison for months for playing a piece of music.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Minister for his answer. He was critical of the court's decision, and he can hardly divorce himself from being the Minister when it suits him in such situations. Given his intention to crack down on benefit fraud, how does he expect to be taken seriously, when he can be so selective in his support for court decisions and his adherence to the Pledge of Office?

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

The Department for Social Development deals with a lot of complex and difficult issues that matter a lot to people, such as housing, welfare, community regeneration, addressing dereliction and addressing town centre regeneration. I am disappointed that the Member was unable to find anything within that broad remit about which to ask a question. I would take his question more seriously if I had seen a pattern from him of challenging some Ministers from the other side of the Chamber about some of the things that they have done, but I have never heard him do it yet.

Stephen Moutray (DUP, Upper Bann)

2. asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the investment by his Department, since he became Minister, in town and city centre public realm works. (AQT 512/11-15)

Nelson McCausland (DUP, Belfast North)

I thank the Member for the question, which is on one of the very central areas of work that my Department undertakes and one that is highly valued by local communities, councils, traders and residents. Improving the public realm in a town or city is a fundamental part of any regeneration programme. During my time in office, I have approved funding of £66 million for 177 public realm schemes across Northern Ireland. For example, some schemes have been completed in Belfast city centre phase 1, costing £28 million; Station Square in Portrush, £1·3 million; Lurgan town centre, £1·8 million; and Queen's Quay in Londonderry, £688,000. Those schemes have involved making improvements to pavements, roadways, street lighting, furniture and public art. All the schemes have been widely welcomed by the local community, residents, visitors to the towns and cities and local traders, because they have had a positive social and economic impact on those areas.