:00:28. > :00:38.$:/STARTFEED. Hello. Welcome to Stormont today. In the next 30
:00:38. > :00:39.
:00:40. > :00:44.minutes, the biggest shake up in You have to change fast without
:00:44. > :00:50.leaving the most vulnerable behind. We're looking for the colour of the
:00:51. > :00:54.money. Because we have not seen one of those agreed to as of yet.
:00:54. > :00:58.Health Minister announces major changes for the Health Service.
:00:58. > :01:02.During the next three to five years the current number of residential
:01:02. > :01:06.homes would be reduced by at least 50% across Northern Ireland as we
:01:06. > :01:09.support increasing numbers of people to live in non-institutional
:01:09. > :01:18.settings. And find out why our MLAs are fighting to hold onto their
:01:18. > :01:21.marbles. Let's start with the big issue of
:01:21. > :01:25.the day, welfare reform. It was trailed in advance as the biggest
:01:25. > :01:28.set piece debate for some time. In that respect it didn't disappoint.
:01:28. > :01:32.Our reporter, Chris Page, followed proceedings through the day and
:01:32. > :01:35.he's with me now. Chris, it had the feeling of being a big day today?
:01:36. > :01:39.It really did. This was one of the most important pieces of
:01:39. > :01:42.legislation this Assembly has dealt with in recent years, Welfare
:01:42. > :01:45.Reform Bill. It's been brought in by the Westminster Government for
:01:45. > :01:50.England and Wales. It will generate lots of changes to the Social
:01:50. > :01:56.Security benefits system, replacing the Disability Living Allowance
:01:56. > :02:00.with a Personal Independence Payment. It rolls six benefits into
:02:00. > :02:04.a universal credit payment. Something that affects tens of
:02:04. > :02:08.thousands of households and up to MLAs whether to bring it in here.
:02:08. > :02:12.More from you shortly. First a flavour of the debate on the floor
:02:12. > :02:17.of the House. There are people in our society who have never worked,
:02:17. > :02:22.who have no concept of what work means or requires of them. So we
:02:22. > :02:28.have to change systems, behaviours and attitudes. We have to change
:02:28. > :02:37.fast without leaving the most vulnerable behind. Breaking parity
:02:37. > :02:45.is a choice we can make. But it will have huge costs. Those costs
:02:45. > :02:50.will be met through less money for schools. Less money for hospitals,
:02:50. > :02:56.less money for the police. I believe there are four principles
:02:56. > :03:03.underpinning this legislation. To protect the vulnerable, to get
:03:03. > :03:06.people back to work, to develop a system which is fair and to
:03:06. > :03:15.encourage personal and social responsibility. This bill is far
:03:15. > :03:20.from perfect. I'm not saying what will emerge from our scrutiny will
:03:20. > :03:26.be perfect, however I do hope that as part of the scrutiny process, we
:03:26. > :03:32.will identify changes that will not have significant costs but can
:03:32. > :03:42.address some of the shortcomings of the bill. There has been discussion
:03:42. > :03:43.
:03:43. > :03:49.in the media about possibly defering. The truth of the matter
:03:49. > :03:54.is we have run out of road. We have been told at all times by the
:03:54. > :03:58.British Government ministers that yes, your circumstances as a --
:03:58. > :04:01.they prevail in the Northern Ireland means we should have
:04:01. > :04:05.flexibilities in the way the system will be administered. What we're
:04:05. > :04:10.looking for is the colour of the money. Because we have not seen one
:04:10. > :04:14.of those flexibilities agreed to. We are -- have referred to issues
:04:14. > :04:20.like the monthly payment. The monthly payment under universal
:04:20. > :04:24.payment is designed to be paid to a single person in the home. We know,
:04:24. > :04:28.we know that the big fear there is that that is a regressive step.
:04:28. > :04:32.That mean that's for the most part a lot of women once again are going
:04:32. > :04:35.to be brought back to the position where they're going to be dependent
:04:35. > :04:40.on somebody for every penny they might need in their household. Is
:04:40. > :04:44.that what we want? Maybe some people do. Some of my best friends
:04:44. > :04:48.are men, but some men are not very fair when it comes to money in
:04:48. > :04:54.their pocket in their household. This legislation, the biggest
:04:54. > :04:57.reform of our Social Security system in generations, has, as has
:04:58. > :05:02.been said, the potential to encourage thousands of our people
:05:02. > :05:08.to move from welfare dependencey into employment, to make the
:05:08. > :05:14.failing system fairer and to save billions of taxpayers pounds, but
:05:14. > :05:19.it also has the potential, if implemented wrongly, to destroy
:05:19. > :05:23.lives, to take away support from people who cannot afford to lose
:05:23. > :05:27.anything else. Of course, you could forgive us for knowing why Sinn
:05:27. > :05:33.Fein may have tabled this so-called reasonable amendment. The dogs in
:05:33. > :05:37.the street have a view. They can say it. They believe it's a game of
:05:38. > :05:46.political brinksmanship. They think by getting to this stage they can
:05:46. > :05:52.send out hard hitting basis and their base will see welfare reform
:05:52. > :05:57.has been. We welcome the need for a simple more accessible benefit
:05:57. > :06:02.system, but we will not accept this bill, which as it stands, is a
:06:02. > :06:09.shameful attack on the vulnerable our society. We will not Val low
:06:09. > :06:14.the Tories peddling of cuts dressed as reform, nor the demonisation of
:06:14. > :06:18.those on benefits. We are not oblivious to the implications of
:06:18. > :06:21.breaking and the constraints of parity. We hear loudly the
:06:21. > :06:27.threatening noises from Westminster and their echoes in this chamber
:06:27. > :06:31.and over the air waves. But we cannot and we will not accept any
:06:31. > :06:36.legislation that will force thousands of our citizens into
:06:37. > :06:40.poverty. We know the place to make significant changes to the bill was
:06:40. > :06:46.in Westminster. While that leaves us in a difficult situation, we
:06:46. > :06:49.need to acknowledge our duty is to progress with the bill and make
:06:49. > :06:53.changes in our power. Delaying the process is not the answer. The
:06:53. > :06:57.costs of delay are considerable, including as the minister has
:06:57. > :07:01.already highlighted, the risk that those Northern Ireland residents
:07:01. > :07:04.who deliver Social Security services on a UK-wide basis could
:07:04. > :07:09.lose their jobs. We don't have the tax base to sustain our local
:07:09. > :07:14.system or pay for deviations from what happens in the rest of the UK.
:07:14. > :07:18.Parity works in our favour in that it enshurz a level of provision we
:07:18. > :07:24.could not otherwise afford. Alliance does not believe it's
:07:24. > :07:27.feasible we breach parity in terms of benefits and thresh hods. We can
:07:27. > :07:32.push operational matters to fit local circumstances, this is where
:07:32. > :07:37.our focus needs to be. That's a flavour of what MLAs had to say.
:07:37. > :07:42.How would you sum up the tone of the debate? In the days leading up
:07:42. > :07:47.to this debate, there had been sharp words exchanged on the air
:07:47. > :07:49.waves between MLAs. Whenever they got into the chamber, during the
:07:49. > :07:53.debate, the atmosphere was relatively calm, perhaps reflecting
:07:53. > :07:56.the fact that so many people are affected by the measures under
:07:56. > :08:00.discussion here. There were a few interinjections an the Speaker had
:08:00. > :08:04.to call them to order a few times. That's the nature of politics here.
:08:04. > :08:08.On the whole while speakers were passionate they listened to each
:08:08. > :08:13.other. Sinn Fein was unhappy with aspects of the proposed legislation.
:08:13. > :08:16.How did that play out today? Sinn Fein have reservations about
:08:16. > :08:20.aspects of the bill. They want more flexibility on payments rather than
:08:20. > :08:24.the payments being made once a month, as is the plan under the
:08:24. > :08:28.reforms, they want them made more oftden. They want payments made
:08:28. > :08:32.available to more than one member of the household. These reforms
:08:32. > :08:35.mean one member of the household is able to pick up benefits. They
:08:35. > :08:38.tabled an amendment that the bill should be deferred to allow more
:08:38. > :08:43.time for the executive to negotiate with ministers in Westminster. But
:08:43. > :08:48.they did not lay down a petition of concern, in other words demand the
:08:48. > :08:52.issue was subject to a cross- community veto in the Assembly. The
:08:52. > :08:56.DUP put the counterargument to that. Nelson McCausland there speaking
:08:56. > :09:00.about breaking parity. He said if the Assembly did not keep in step
:09:00. > :09:05.with Westminster they would lose out on millions of pounds of
:09:05. > :09:07.funding from the Treasury. As far as what happens in e. Is concerned,
:09:07. > :09:11.it's pretty obvious that the committee sage is going to be
:09:12. > :09:16.critical. What can we expect? Whenever the bill goes before the
:09:16. > :09:19.committee, MLAs will get down into the details of the bill. You can
:09:19. > :09:24.expect lots of horse trading, discussion on really very, very key
:09:24. > :09:30.points. Then the bill will go back before the Assembly and MLAs will
:09:30. > :09:36.decide at the third stage when the bill will be made law. Thanks Chris.
:09:36. > :09:39.Kevin Higgins from Advice NI also joins us. Welcome to the programme.
:09:39. > :09:42.Thanks very much for being with us tonight. We've talked a lot already
:09:42. > :09:47.on the programme about what politicians make of this debate.
:09:47. > :09:52.What do you think people at home watching this are likely to be
:09:52. > :09:56.concerned about? I think that we can't lose sight that full scrutiny
:09:56. > :09:59.of this legislation has to take place over the next two months. I
:09:59. > :10:04.believe that there is scope for subStan shale change. I think
:10:04. > :10:10.people watching this, people across Northern Ireland will believe that
:10:10. > :10:13.we Advice NI, politicians will have failed them in the legislation
:10:13. > :10:17.which gets royal assents in March is the same as introduced today,
:10:17. > :10:21.then we will have failed the people of Northern Ireland. The committee
:10:21. > :10:23.stage is critical as far as you're concerned? It's critical. We
:10:24. > :10:29.believe that the committee can influence and can change this piece
:10:29. > :10:32.of legislation. We recognise that parity is a very serious issue.
:10:32. > :10:37.We'll not be able to change the system of benefits and the amount
:10:37. > :10:41.of benefits payable. But we have seen already things like monthly
:10:41. > :10:46.payments, the inclusion of Housing Benefit can have the potential to
:10:46. > :10:50.change. We would like to see that go further, with DLA we would like
:10:50. > :10:54.a legislative process there that can examine and make sure the
:10:54. > :11:02.provider does their job properly in terms of medical examinations and
:11:02. > :11:10.also, that perhaps a statutory advice and information where people
:11:10. > :11:13.are affected Negtively. There's no question of breaking parity with
:11:13. > :11:17.Westminster, is there? Do you concede that? Absolutely. The
:11:17. > :11:21.amount of money that's involved I concede that. As I said we do think
:11:21. > :11:25.there is scope for change. In actual fact there has to be change.
:11:25. > :11:29.We've heard a lot about Northern Ireland has a set of special
:11:29. > :11:34.circumstances that there needs to be mitigation. Let's see the colour
:11:34. > :11:38.of that mitigation. If this legislation means that people who
:11:38. > :11:42.need help most get that help, if it also helps people back into work
:11:42. > :11:46.who are currently not in work, that's what the Conservatives say
:11:46. > :11:51.it's about, wouldn't those be good things? Wouldn't they be changes
:11:51. > :11:55.for the good overall? Absolutely. We support the simplification. We
:11:55. > :12:01.support changes for the good. But let's, we are also there to talk
:12:01. > :12:03.out and speak for the vulnerable. So let's say, take the example of
:12:03. > :12:06.Disability Living Allowance that's being replaced by Personal
:12:06. > :12:11.Independence Payment. We had the Treasury document in June 2010 that
:12:11. > :12:14.said that change would lead to a 20% cut in expenditure. So that
:12:14. > :12:18.would mean there's going to be people that will miss out. People
:12:18. > :12:23.won't get the benefit maybe that would have got it in the past.
:12:23. > :12:27.People will be put off it that are getting it at the moment. That can
:12:27. > :12:31.have a huge impact on household impact. What are the implications
:12:31. > :12:33.for the people who won't meet more stringent criteria when the new
:12:33. > :12:39.legislation is on the books? Clearly you think that's going to
:12:39. > :12:45.be a problem. I think it has to be a problem. If we learn the lesson
:12:45. > :12:51.of incapacity benefit reassessment where people are being reassessed
:12:51. > :12:57.onto ESA. Not everybody is making the journey successfully. We fear
:12:57. > :13:00.the same thing might happen with DLA to PIP. It underscores the idea
:13:00. > :13:04.how populations engage with the committee stage. It's very
:13:04. > :13:07.important for what happens next and what the legislation will look at
:13:07. > :13:11.in six months' time. It's worth making the point that all the
:13:11. > :13:18.parties actually involved in the debate had reservations about the
:13:18. > :13:20.bill. Even the DUP said some aspects were unpalatable. But they
:13:20. > :13:30.thought nonetheless the bill should be allowed to go to the committee
:13:30. > :13:36.stage and that's the place where detailed cfrgs should take place.
:13:36. > :13:41.- consideration should take place. Do you share the thought by Mark
:13:41. > :13:45.Durkin that this could lead to the demonisation of the people who are
:13:45. > :13:49.on benefits, is that a real dainksner We will pay careful
:13:49. > :13:54.attention to the language that is used. We don't want to see
:13:54. > :13:57.demonisation. Any of us could be made redundant, lose our jobs,
:13:57. > :14:02.suffer ill health and Social Security is something to be lauded.
:14:02. > :14:05.It is a great thing to have. We would stand up against demonising
:14:05. > :14:09.anybody that relies on the Social Security system. We'll leave it
:14:09. > :14:13.there for now. Thank you both. Now the Health Minister has told
:14:13. > :14:17.the Assembly that the number of publicly owned residential homes
:14:17. > :14:20.would be cut by half under the transforming your care health
:14:20. > :14:23.proposals. Edwin Poots was launching a public consultation
:14:24. > :14:27.which will run until January next year. Our society is changing. We
:14:27. > :14:30.have a growing and ageing population with people living
:14:30. > :14:33.longer. This is of course something to celebrate that the population is
:14:33. > :14:38.living longer, but it also means that there are more people with
:14:38. > :14:41.long-term conditions and inevitably places more demands on the health
:14:41. > :14:47.and social care services including hospitals and other resources. The
:14:47. > :14:53.treatment and care of sit zepbsz is changing. We have increasingly
:14:53. > :15:03.specialised service was technology driving improvements and how we --
:15:03. > :15:03.
:15:03. > :15:07.can design and provide care. Transforming care indicated that
:15:07. > :15:13.services could rise in demand by 4%. We need to improve services but in
:15:13. > :15:17.a way that secures, improves productist and value for money.
:15:17. > :15:20.What has not chainked is a belief in the core principles of the NHS.
:15:20. > :15:23.These principles are that Health Services are generally free at the
:15:23. > :15:29.point of delivery, based on individual need not ability to pay.
:15:29. > :15:32.The new model of care is focused on ensuring that more services are
:15:32. > :15:36.provided in the community, closer to people's homes, where that's
:15:36. > :15:40.possible. During the next three to five years, the current number of
:15:40. > :15:43.statutory residential homes would be reduced by at least 50% across
:15:43. > :15:48.Northern Ireland. As we support increasing numbers of people to
:15:48. > :15:51.live in non-institutional settings. This does not necessarily mean a
:15:51. > :15:55.reduction in residential homes provided bit independent sector,
:15:55. > :16:01.where there continues to be a demand for these services, they
:16:01. > :16:05.will continue to be provided. Prot posal for mental health include six
:16:05. > :16:11.in-patient mental health units for those aged 18 and over, to reduce
:16:11. > :16:16.stigma and provide access. It is desirable to locate mental health
:16:16. > :16:19.hospitals close to acute hospital provision. We cannot ignore that
:16:19. > :16:23.significance savings would need to occur to causeway Hospital. The
:16:23. > :16:28.community in that area need quality services over the coming years.
:16:28. > :16:31.It's important we plan carefully to deliver that objective. This is not
:16:32. > :16:36.a cost-cutting exercise, but about improving service delivery and
:16:36. > :16:40.making better use of the available resources. It is also anticipated
:16:40. > :16:44.there would be reductions in our overall workforce of around 3% over
:16:44. > :16:48.the next three to five years. The change is proposed with a shift in
:16:48. > :16:52.services into the community may mean some staff working in a
:16:52. > :16:55.different way or in a different place. Some staff may choose not to
:16:55. > :17:01.make the change and they will be supported in their decisions.
:17:01. > :17:05.state in the statement about the proposal to close at least 50% of
:17:05. > :17:10.the statutory residential homes. But that doesn't necessarily mean a
:17:10. > :17:14.reduction in the private residential homes. Can you provide
:17:14. > :17:20.assurances that this doesn't represent a privatisation of
:17:20. > :17:25.elderly care through the tapbs forming your care strategy. First
:17:25. > :17:30.of all, there is a lesser demand for residential care and throughout
:17:30. > :17:36.the transforming your care process we have identified that amongst the
:17:36. > :17:39.public there is a greater desire to spend their later years or indeed
:17:39. > :17:45.younger people who become incapacitated to spend that in a
:17:45. > :17:49.real home, the home of their choice as opposed to a residential home.
:17:49. > :17:54.In that respect, we need to observe and honour the wishes of the public
:17:54. > :17:59.and seek to do that. Second aspect of it is that many of our
:17:59. > :18:03.residential care homes were built in the quite distant past. Many of
:18:03. > :18:08.them do not meet the standards in terms of room sizes, in terms of
:18:08. > :18:13.overhead hoists and so forth. That would be available in many other
:18:13. > :18:18.facilities. I can't ask members of the public to use a facility owned
:18:18. > :18:23.bit public, which is not as good as perhaps a facility available within
:18:23. > :18:27.the private sector. Therefore, if the private sector are doing their
:18:27. > :18:32.job well in that respect, they will continue to receive support to
:18:32. > :18:38.Carrie out that work. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots. Now who
:18:38. > :18:43.could forget recent scenes like this around Belfast city centre as
:18:43. > :18:47.commuters complain new bus lanes are causing traffic chaos. It's not
:18:47. > :18:53.just commuters complaining. MLAs want answers. They quizzed the
:18:53. > :18:58.relevant minister, Danny Kennedy today. Let me make it clear, there
:18:58. > :19:02.is no war on motorists and I tell the House that it is regrettable
:19:02. > :19:09.that during the bedding in period some have suffered disruption to
:19:09. > :19:13.their journeys. One of the objectives of this project is to
:19:13. > :19:18.persuade people who drive through the city centre without a
:19:18. > :19:23.destination there to travel around the city centre. This would free up
:19:23. > :19:27.street space for those people who need to drive into the city centre
:19:27. > :19:32.for shopping, work or leisure. It is designed going forward to make
:19:32. > :19:35.car and bus journeys faster and easier. I met yesterday with the
:19:35. > :19:38.Chamber of Commerce representatives and Belfast city centre management,
:19:38. > :19:44.who expressed their concern that media coverage was sending out the
:19:44. > :19:49.wrong message. Let me take this opportunity to send out the right
:19:49. > :19:53.message - Belfast is open. Belfast is accessible. It's a good place to
:19:53. > :19:59.do business. It's important that Belfast on the move is allowed to
:19:59. > :20:06.bed in, settle down and work. And the plan is and my expectation is
:20:06. > :20:12.and hope is that we can then progress to a rapid transit system
:20:12. > :20:16.for the city. I accept the rational that the minister has said out. I
:20:16. > :20:21.believe it's a legitimate one, but the experience of the ordinary
:20:21. > :20:26.commuter has been one of shambles, not Belfast on the move. Either I'm
:20:26. > :20:29.loseing my marbles or the minister has lost his marbles previously. I
:20:29. > :20:35.have to say to the minister that this needs to be rethought and
:20:35. > :20:44.rethought quickly. I do say to the member that significant
:20:44. > :20:50.consultation has taken place. Full public consultation was jointly
:20:50. > :20:57.launched by Connor Murphy and the then Lord Mayor in Belfast City
:20:57. > :21:01.Hall on 3rd September. This consultation which included Belfast
:21:01. > :21:06.chamber of trade and commerce and the city centre management showed
:21:06. > :21:13.broad support for the proposals. There is an inevitable bedding in
:21:13. > :21:17.period. We will continue to monitor and continue to work at this.
:21:17. > :21:21.Because this works in other places. There's no reason why it shouldn't
:21:21. > :21:25.work in Belfast. Can he give the House any idea of the extent of the
:21:25. > :21:28.investment needed to provide the greater Belfast area with a
:21:28. > :21:33.transport infrastructure that would be fit for purpose particularly in
:21:33. > :21:39.the light of the city centre changes? If we had �100 million we
:21:39. > :21:45.could look at a straight fly-over, which would significantly transform
:21:45. > :21:50.some of the travelling habits of our population. If we had �100
:21:50. > :21:58.million we could introduce, without delay, perhaps, a rapid transit
:21:58. > :22:04.system. That is the scale of the commitment that the executive will
:22:04. > :22:07.need to be carrying forward, if it is serious about whole-scale and
:22:07. > :22:11.wide-spread improvement to the strategic road network that will
:22:11. > :22:17.make a positive contribution and improve the flow of traffic, both
:22:17. > :22:21.in the city centre and its outer limits. Danny Kennedy. Fuel poverty
:22:21. > :22:25.was among the main topics raised during questions to the social
:22:25. > :22:28.develop minister. Nelson McCausland updated members on new energy
:22:28. > :22:34.efficiency schemes which will be used to help combat the problem.
:22:34. > :22:36.Tackling fuel poverty remains a key priority for my department.
:22:36. > :22:42.Alongside continuing to deliver mainstream schemes, such as the
:22:42. > :22:45.warm home scheme, the housing executive heating replacement
:22:45. > :22:50.scheme, and winter fuel and cold weather payments, my department is
:22:50. > :22:54.working on a number of exciting new pilots. I recently launched a
:22:54. > :22:59.boiler replacement scheme offering a grant of up to �1,000 towards the
:22:59. > :23:04.cost of replacing old boilers, if they have in the family an income
:23:04. > :23:08.of less than �40,000. The housing executive has received over 14,000
:23:08. > :23:11.expressions of interest in the scheme and they are sending out
:23:11. > :23:16.application forms. �12 million has been allocated to the scheme over
:23:16. > :23:23.the next three year with �4 million available for grants before the end
:23:23. > :23:27.of March 2013. My department is working with the university of
:23:27. > :23:31.Ulster, housing executive and a number of local councils to deliver
:23:31. > :23:35.energy efficiency improvements to homes in small concentrated areas.
:23:35. > :23:39.The university of Ulster has developed a sophisticated
:23:39. > :23:43.targetting mothodology which can identify areas of poor housing and
:23:43. > :23:47.low incomes which could indicate a high prevalence of fuel poverty and
:23:47. > :23:51.then a pay-as-you-go for oil pilot was launched this year. The results
:23:51. > :23:56.have been positive. I'm keen for this technology to be rolled out.
:23:56. > :23:59.Officials have been having discussions with kings span
:23:59. > :24:06.renewables. I have asked officials to progress this important
:24:06. > :24:11.initiative as quickly as possible as I believe inr insulation of pay-
:24:11. > :24:16.as-you-go oil systems would help households who struggle to pay.
:24:16. > :24:20.I thank the minister for his response. Particularly important in
:24:20. > :24:26.terms of the initiatives that the minister has quiets rightly
:24:26. > :24:35.outlined. Will the minister accept and implement the recognitions in
:24:35. > :24:39.the fuel poverty report? We will look at every piece of
:24:39. > :24:43.documentation, every proposal that emerges and whatever we think in
:24:43. > :24:49.there is viable and will help the situation we will consider it. If
:24:49. > :24:54.it's practical, if it works, then we'll give it good consideration.
:24:54. > :24:57.Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and I thank the minister for his response
:24:57. > :25:00.earlier on. Has his department undertaken recent research to
:25:00. > :25:10.determine the most up to date figures of those considered to be
:25:10. > :25:14.in fuel poverty? Yes, indeed that was referred to in the initial
:25:14. > :25:18.answer where we spoke about work that is being undertaken by the
:25:18. > :25:22.university of Ulster which has a sophisticated targetting
:25:22. > :25:26.mothodology, which can identify areas of poor housing and low
:25:26. > :25:30.incomes where it would indicate there was a high prevalence of fuel
:25:30. > :25:35.poverty. We've been working with experts and indeed the work that
:25:35. > :25:38.we're doing at the university is innovative. I'm very encouraged by
:25:38. > :25:41.that. Therefore there is academic rigour, anything that we're going
:25:41. > :25:51.to do in future will be evidence based. That's the point that the
:25:51. > :25:51.
:25:51. > :25:54.member is making, I think. Is the minister aware of any new
:25:54. > :25:59.technologies which will improve energy efficiency of homes?
:25:59. > :26:05.always open to new and innovative ways to improve the domestic energy
:26:05. > :26:11.efficiency of households in fuel poverty. For example, Glenn dim
:26:11. > :26:16.plex has developed a quauntum system. The project is an electric
:26:16. > :26:20.heating system using surplus renewable energy from windfarms to
:26:20. > :26:27.heat dwellings. There's a report on the performance and this report is
:26:27. > :26:30.currently being considered. Chris Page is with me again. Where
:26:30. > :26:35.we've been recording this programme our politicians are still debating
:26:35. > :26:39.the welfare bill. They're still in the chamber. The vote was supposed
:26:39. > :26:47.to have taken place at about 8.30pm. Because this is such an important
:26:47. > :26:51.issue for MLAs they're taking their time over it. Whenever a vote takes
:26:51. > :26:59.place it's pretty safe to predict the bill will be voted through. The
:26:59. > :27:04.DUP, Ulster Unionists are behind it. Sinn Fein and the SDLP have dauld
:27:04. > :27:08.for delays. It will go to committee stage I believe. Nelson McCausland
:27:08. > :27:13.has a meeting in London with one of the welfare reform ministers in
:27:13. > :27:17.Westminster. He's likely to push for more concessions to say, on the
:27:17. > :27:21.basis of this Assembly today, I'm under pressure. He may argue phoar
:27:21. > :27:25.Northern Ireland to have more flexibility on when benefits
:27:25. > :27:29.payments are made. That's something the parties are generally agreed on
:27:29. > :27:33.should happen. They might push for a Housing Benefit payment to be
:27:33. > :27:40.made to landlords and not through tenants. This is set to be one of
:27:40. > :27:45.the touch stone issues for the Assembly. BBC Radio Ulster news and
:27:45. > :27:49.our news online service will have the result of that vote when it
:27:49. > :27:53.happens. Absolutely. Keep your eyes online and on the radio this
:27:53. > :27:57.evening and tomorrow morning. was a pretty unusual sight in the
:27:57. > :28:01.Great Hall at lunch time today. Some MLAs had apparently lost their
:28:01. > :28:06.marbles, what was that all about? This events was called the great
:28:06. > :28:14.push for meantal health. It looked like something resembling curling.
:28:14. > :28:19.What it was was an event to mark World Mental Health Day. We had
:28:19. > :28:23.teams of MLAs, journalists and civil servants playing a game where
:28:23. > :28:28.they pushed marbles around obstacles. The aim was to keep all
:28:28. > :28:37.the marbles. The cones represented some of life's obstacles like debt,
:28:37. > :28:40.bereavement or illness. A good way to put it in the spotlight. Thanks
:28:40. > :28:44.very much for everything tonight. That's all for this week. Do make a