15/10/2012 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in the next 30 minutes:

The controversy surrounding the opening of Northern Ireland's first

private abortion clinic. The Health Minister warns that the law on

abortion isn't toothless. If some people that they can get away with

not observing it, they may find that the law is not a paper tagger,

but one with a lot of teeth. I would caution any physician who

would seek to challenge the law. Plus, getting on his red and white

jumper - one MLA reveals his struggles with the Education Bill.

This bill is a sort of where's wally for every politician. We have

to search through it from top to bottom, from word to word to try

and understand what it means. Ulster Bank chiefs are summoned

back to face MLAs. It's true that the incident was a major disaster.

There's no doubt about that from the bank's perspective.

The imminent opening of a private abortion clinic in Belfast this

week was the subject of an urgent oral question by the TUV MLA Jim

Allister. Mr Allister asked the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, if

the Marie Stopes clinic will be monitored to ensure what he called

"strict compliance with the law on abortion". First and foremost, all

health and social care organisations must comply with the

law in Northern Ireland. The current framework, the health and

personal Social Services quality improvement and regulation Northern

Ireland order 2003 is an didation - - additional safe guard which is

Aprillyable. Dlrb applicable. I have asked whether the current

regulations apply to this establishment and if not to require

amendment. Is it not the case that the current RQIA monitoring

arrangements by virtue of the manner in which they're constituted

and the powers given would ensure only that the unborn or killed in

hygienic conditions and would not address the wider concerns of how

many abortions will be conducted in this clinic, on what basis they

will be conducted, will the basis be verified and transparent? And

how it will be seen that all of those matters are in entirely

within the law in Northern Ireland on abortion? As the minister on

this issue will he give assurance that those are the matters at the

end of that exercise will be addressed? The member will recall

that in August I confirmed that officials were developing a data

collection system to collect robust statistics on terminations taking

place in Northern Ireland. It is my intention that all terminations

taking place will be recorded by this system. So work is still

ongoing on this matter. Can the minister outline to this House in a

time frame for the publication of the guidance on the issue and if he

can detail the rationalal of the delaying guidelines? Unfortunately

I can't. The truth is that the guidelines have been produced twice

and they have been take ton court twice and the judicial reviews have

been upheld twice, once by those who were supporting abortion and

once by those opposed to abortion. There is, it is a huge legal

minefield. If individuals Carrie out terminations of pregnancy,

which are outside of the legislation, then they are breaking

the criminal law and in breaking the criminal law, they are subject

to a sentence of up to life imprisonment. To that extent, I

think those who are engaging in the clinic would be well advised to

observe the law and I know that some journalists might be it's a

paper tagger, but that's because it has been largely observed. If some

people think they can get away with not observing it, they may find

that the law is not a paper tagger, but one with a lot of teeth. I

would caution any physician who would seek to challenge the law.

Given the fact that this organisation has come to Northern

Ireland quite quietly and quickly, does the minister, could he explain

why if his department knew why guidance and clarification was not

issued, as soon as the minister and the department was aware of this

group coming to Northern Ireland? The clinic itself may have been

capable to be regulated, it depended on the nature of the work

and indeed of those who were carrying it out and could only be

properly assessed whenever we actually got to this point. Which

is somewhat unfortunate. What we will seek to ensure that in

Northern Ireland the law is not broken and we have made very clear

how the law stands in Northern Ireland on abortion. Could I ask

the minister whether or not he agrees with the current law that

exists in Northern Ireland? And if so, given that there are documented

cases of women being unable to access services on the NHS, due to

the lack of guidelines, for doctors, does he not agree then that there's

nothing to fear about the clinic and indeed, does he welcome it in

that it will ensthaur women are able to access Health Services that

they're entitled to under the existing law? Well, over the course

of the last 45 years, since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed in

England, Scotland and Wales there's been 6.4 million abortions, over

10% of the existing population in GB. If we were to equate that in

Northern Ireland with a population of 1.8 million, it would equate to

around 200,000 abortions. Regrettibly I understand there has

been up to 50,000 women who have travelled to England for abortions.

But the figure left between that is 150,000 people who are alive in

Northern Ireland, who may not, Mr Deputy Speaker, have been alive.

I'd expect around half of those are women. Whenever you talk about

choice, they're living a life where they have the choice to marry, to

have children, the choice of what work they do, the choice of what

education they do. Had they been aborted, they wouldn't have any

choice in life. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots. The abolition of the

education boards and their replacement with a single Education

and Skills Authority is the key element of the Education Bill,

which was voted through overwhelmingly on its second stage

on the floor of the house this evening. The bill is supported by

both Sinn Fein and the DUP, with the Ulster Unionists the only one

of the main parties opposing it. This day has been a long time

coming. The need for reform was recognised as far back as 2002. In

my view, education is too important to wait any longer and the bill

sets out the overall aim of education to contribute to the

spiritual, cultural, social, intellectual and physical

development of children and young people and of the community at

large. The board system is ageing. The model is no longer fit for

purpose. We as elected representatives in this House have

an opportunity to replace it with a model to meet the needs of our

communities, children and young people and our economy. We must

seize that opportunity. I think it would only be right and proper that

we place on record our appreciation and thanks to those who threw many

difficult and challenging years in education, in our education and

library boards have provided a service to our educational family.

It has not been easy. They have gone through a multiplicity of

changes. They've had various direct rule ministers and initiatives. Of

course, I think it would be fair to say that we need to remember where

ESA comes from. I'm glad that ESA didn't have its creation in the

normal political structures, but ESA had its Genesis in the

Department of Education. Given the past record of Sinn Fein, we must

treat this bill with healthy mistrust. Given that the last

Education Minister seemed to list ton no-one, and that the department

often seems to be of that mind too, the Ulster Unionist Party are

opposing the legislation. This bill is a sort of where's Wally for

every politician. Swre to search through it from top to botd om,

from word to word, to try and understand what it means and why

it's been written in such a way. Hidden in every clause, sentence

and schedule could be a Wally of hidden Sinn Fein chicanery. There

is a case for change. The ESA journey has been a long one. No-one

will argue with the review of public administration which was

launched in 2002, with the aim to deliver modernisation and reform

across the public sector. RPA suggested the need for a new single

education and skills authority. It seems to make sense when you

compare Northern Ireland with say authorities like Birmingham. Just

one cautionary note, Northern Ireland is not Birmingham. It took

years to get the executive, to get it to the executive and the sharp

contrast it flew through the executive. It would lead one to

speculate whether some sort of a deal was done. The SDLP's Sean

Rogers. Our Political Correspondent, Gareth Gordon, is with me now.

Gareth, let's stay with education, first of all. This debate over ESA

has been around for a long time. very long time indeed. In fact the

idea of one single authority to replace the five education and

library boards was first mooted around ten years ago. It was due to

become law in January 2010. It became one of the prime examples

used by Stormont's many critics to flag up what they would say was the

executive's failings. Some months ago we were told the parties had

reached agreement, just last month the legislation was passed by the

executive. Today, it had its second reading in the House. That's why

MLAs were debating it. It passed comfortably by 77 votes to 15. The

Ulster Unionist Party opposed it. It was a pretty convincing result.

So does this mean the Education Bill in its present form is

effectively over the line? Well, if it was over the line, there would

be no point in committees. Now it goes to the committee stage. It

will face scrutiny there. There are some people think the whole thing

is much too big, it's a bureaucratsic monster which will be

beyond the control of politicians. The Education Minister denied that

very strongly today. The DUP had big concerns, certainly they had

big concerns about a lack of safe guards for the control sector

within the legislation. They feel that has largely been dealt with by

the establishment with something called the control schools control

body. They're unhappy with special clauses for the Irish language. The

fact there are fewer points of contention is illustrated that the

debate was due to go on for an hour-and-a-half more than it did go

on. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots, certainly made his views on

the opening of a Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast crystal clear

There was a lot of emotion today. We didn't hear anything new. Edwin

Poots warned the law is not a paper tagger and the clinic would be well

advised to observe the law. They say they will fully observe the law

as it is anyway. People here will be watching to see what happens. It

opens later this week. This is far from over. Thank you.

The first-ever housing strategy produced for Northern Ireland was

launched by the Social Development Minister. Nelson McCausland told

the Assembly there will be a fundamental review of how social

housing is allocated. The strategy articulates for the first time what

we see as Government's three main roles in relation to housing and

these are, firstly, to help create the right conditions for a stable

and sustainable housing market that supports economic growth and

prosperity. Secondly, to provide support for individuals and

families to access housing, particularly the most vulnerable in

society. Thirdly, to set minimum standards for the quality of new

and existing homes and for how rented housing is managed. The

strategy sets out how a plan to fulfil these roles under five

themes. These are: Ensuring access to decent, affordable, sustainable

homes across all tenures. Secondly, meeting housing needs and

supporting the most vulnerable. Thirdly, housing and welfare reform.

Fourthly, driving regeneration and sustaining communities through

housing. Fifthly, getting the structures right. The economic

context in which I am launching this strategy is clearly a

challenging one. The Northern Ireland Housing Market is emerging

from a turbulent period. There are hopeful signs that the market is

beginning to stabilise with prices now at more sustainable levels. I'm

keen to do more to help create the right conditions for longer term

market stability. Addressing the supply issue won't be easy. I'm

keen to work with the private sector and others to identify and

develop viable solutions and today I am announcing my intention to

establish a housing supply forum for this purpose. I'm also keen to

maximise the number of new social homes we can bring forward within

the budgets available. Building new social homes will help us both meet

housing need and have a significant positive impact on the construction

industry and the multiplier effect on the economy in general. My

strategy contains proposals to make more effective use of existing

social housing stock. Undertake a fundamental review of how we

allocate social housing, improve the way we support people to live

independently and do more to prevent homelessness. Does the

Minister have any intention of seeking additional funding from the

Executive to enable the construction of more, much-needed

social homes than currently planned and budgeted for? The priority for

me at the moment is to make sure that the money that has already

been allocated to the Housing Executive is used and we do not end

up in a situation where there is an underspend. That is a

responsibility that we are putting clearly to the Housing Executive

and to the Housing Association. There is money in the Budget. I

want to be sure that all of it is spent.

The Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland.

The First Minister, Peter Robinson, provided an update on what the

Executive is doing to try to resolve the contentious issue of

parades. First though, Junior Minister Jonathan Bell was asked

about funding for a programme promoting development in ethnic

minority communities. I am pleased to be able to advise the member

that an extension to the current minority ethnic fund will commence

with immediate effect and run until 31st March 2013. The information

was conveyed to the minority ethnic sector last week. The extension

will allow for engagement and consultation around the development

of a racial equality strategy and how it relates to a longer term

fund. Officials will be meeting to discuss the fund and the strategy

itself. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for

conveying this very good news. Unfortunately, this fund really has

been granted on a six-monthly basis in the last year-and-a-half. I

would like to hear an assurance from the Junior Minister that from

next April that this fund will continue but will continue on a

much-longer basis in order to provide that continuity and that

certainty for the sector? We are still working with the sector on

the racial equality strategy and what they specifically want out of

the fund because we want the strategy and the funding to be

interconnected so they can develop both what the ethnic minority are

reflecting they need and the support requirements they have.

Thank you very much, indeed, Mr Speaker. Can I welcome the Junior

Minister's news. Unfortunately, minority ethnic communities still

remain the target of vile racism by certain in our sections. Will he

add his voice to all the other people in the community who are

asking for any information out there to be passed on to the

police? I fully talk about any form of criminal behaviour to do with

racism, whether it is homophobia, racism, attacks on people's homes,

attacks on people's property, attacks on people's ethnic heritage

and life, that goes without saying. There has been a discussion at

Executive level on the issue of parades and associated protests. At

the last meeting of Party Leaders we discussed the best approach to

establishing the views of all the stakeholders. Suggestions will be

brought to a further meeting on the best process to advance the issue.

The right to assembly, the right to express cultural identity, the

right to protest and the rights of those living and in proximity to

parades are the right to protest. The Deputy First Minister and I

have met with various participants on both sides of the argument and

we remain committed to facilitating discussions in any way that is

helpful. We have indicated our determination to agree a process on

taking this complex issue forward before the year ends.

Thank you very much. I thank the First Minister for his statement.

Will he also give a commitment the OFMDFM will consult with all

parties that any alternative brought forward for the Parades

Commission is not that that was worked out coming from the

Hillsborough Agreement? Well, I would have thought that we were

consulting with all parties when we talked to Party Leaders unless the

member is saying Party Leaders aren't representative of the party

that they lead? So I hope we have met that. Of course, the parties

are all represented on the Executive as well. There is no

intention on the part either of the Executive or of the Party Leaders

to stifle discussion and debate. We want it to be as wide as possible.

We want to encourage people to take part and that is why we are looking

at what the processes will be so that people can feed into those

processes. The First Minister, Peter Robinson.

The Agriculture Minister was also facing questions at the dispatch

box today. Here's Michelle O'Neill outlining why she has opted to

maintain the Agricultural Wages Board. The Agricultural Wages Board

structure is a valuable forum and importantly is used as a benchmark

for the wider agri-food industry. I launched a public consultation on

the review of the board structure. I gave careful consideration to the

responses received. I believe the decision I have now reached is in

the best interest of agricultural workers here. It will now continue

to protect the rights of low-paid agricultural workers by ensuring

enforceable employment conditions which can only have a positive

impact on the sustainability of the rural economy. Can the Minister

tell the House how much the Agricultural Wages Board has cost

the taxpayer? I can advise the member the cost of maintaining the

Agricultural Wages Board has been somewhere in between �20,500 and

�26,500. It's helping us to retain skilled individuals who want to

work in the industry and helping us to attract people into the industry.

The reality is the agri-food sector is continuing to do well. We have

to continue to make sure we have the people who are available to

work in that industry and this is a way to protect those workers. I

appreciate that managing slurry can be challenging. However, since the

closed period was introduced farmers have worked hard to protect

water quality. There has been significant investment in new

slurry storage tanks and slurry is being used more efficiently.

Farmers have been investing in advanced slurry-spread machines.

These machines provide more flexibility in the slurry-spreading

process and deliver a range of productive and environmental

benefits. The scheme has provided �2 million for over 200 of these

advanced red machines. Water quality in our rivers is improving

and it is important farmers keep up the good work. Can I ask if she has

any discussions - has had any discussions with the Health and

Safety Executive associated with farmers not being able to spread

slurry on to their fields? There's ongoing work with the farming

community in terms of preparing for the closed period and for the

difficulties they might find themselves in. DOE are the

enforcers so we have to continue to work with them. I haven't met HSE

on this issue. But anybody who is involved in this area of work

regularly engage with each other because it has to happen.

The Agriculture Minister, Michelle O'Neill.

The Enterprise and Finance Committees held a joint meeting

last week. They were being briefed by the Ulster Bank regarding the

compensation scheme following its systems failure earlier this year,

as we can hear now in our weekly look at committee business. All our

customers are being returned to the financial position they would have

been in had the incident not occurred. We have provided redress

of over �18 million to nearly 300,000 customers in Northern

Ireland. What happened over summer was unprecedented in the RBS Group.

The level of service our customers experienced during this period was

unacceptable and it caused widespread frustration and

inconvenience. It's true that the incident was a major disaster. It's

also clear that we had issues with regard to the contingency plan

relating to our systems operating as they should have. The last

meeting was on 5th July. And one of the issues was raised then, was the

issue of compensation. That particular session was watched

intently by both members of the public and the media. What we were

told then was in regard to compensation - you said we will get

something finalised in the next two or three days so that is the end of

this week or early next week. We left that meeting and the media and

the public were under the impression that within a few days

we would have a compensation scheme in place. So one week passed, two

weeks passed, three weeks passed, four weeks - eight weeks passed

before something was eventually published on 31st August. I think

that is scandalous because there was obviously a lot of difficult

questions at that time that were given by members. We felt extremely

misled by those comments in July and August. When I came before you

in July it was our intention to launch the redress programme

reasonably quickly. And we thought we could. But then as we got into

the complexity, we decided to go into a more broad consultation

process. You shouldn't have given that commitment if you had an

understanding of the situation which most of us did at that time,

you should have been honest and said, "We don't know when a redress

scheme will be put in place." I got the impression at that time on 5th

July there was already a habit from Ulster Bank of giving the

impression to ourselves and the media that something would be in

place next week, or the following week, so we were being thrown a

line. I think that is unacceptable. I understand your views. As I was

saying, we decided to go into a wide consultation process, which we

did. We met with quite a number of bodies. We took feedback. That took

us a number of weeks. When the programme was ready, we launched it.

As I said, since that date, from what we are seeing so far, it's

gone reasonably well. Why would it be that the FSB, a significant

organisation, make the words, make the comment, "the general

perception of the compensation element is that it is derisory"?

believe the reason that term come up and come out in the first day we

announced it is because the focus went straight to the �20. We have

said already that �18 million has been given to 300,000 customers.

That's �60 per customer. Stephen Cruise of the Ulster Bank

ending that look at the joint meeting last week of the Enterprise

and Finance Committees. Gareth Gordon is with me once again.

What is likely to catch our attention tomorrow? Mark, our

health correspondent has uncovered some shocking management practices

going on at Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Fire Service,

including today the fact that a number of unapproved bonuses were

paid to senior officers. The Health Minister will make a statement on

the issue in the Assembly tomorrow and that MLAs will get a chance to

comment. There's also a debate up here on the... They are calling on

anyone with information to give up on this harrowing chapter of our