:00:28. > :00:34.With Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on the programme
:00:35. > :00:37.tonight: A visit to the Children's Hospital brings an injection of cash
:00:38. > :00:46.from the Finance Minister. I am shocked by what I saw. Professionals
:00:47. > :00:53.going beyond the call the duty to save children.
:00:54. > :00:58.A fracas over Fermanagh as a debate about job creation in the West heats
:00:59. > :01:05.up. The minister can tutt and roll her eyes as she always does.
:01:06. > :01:06.We'll have analysis of the day's business from our political
:01:07. > :01:14.correspondent, Martina Purdy. While the loss of the A5 road scheme
:01:15. > :01:18.was a bitter disappointment to many people west of the Bann, the money
:01:19. > :01:21.that would have been spent on it was thrown back into the finance pot and
:01:22. > :01:28.today the Finance Minister delivered the good news of what projects will
:01:29. > :01:38.now benefit. The capital reallocation exercise was completed
:01:39. > :01:45.by my officials over the summer. The executive allocated ?75.2 million to
:01:46. > :01:53.DRD. This will allow DRD to continue construction of the Belfast to Larne
:01:54. > :02:07.road scheme and complete work on the Magherafelt bypass project. An
:02:08. > :02:11.additional eight kilometres of roadway will be built improving
:02:12. > :02:16.access and road safety on that route. Funding will deliver planned
:02:17. > :02:22.road structural maint tans nans and other road iment improvements. It
:02:23. > :02:27.will ensure that DRD can complete bus procurement orders and begin
:02:28. > :02:34.replacement of the Strangford to Portaferry and Rathlin ferries. DRD
:02:35. > :02:41.will commence early design and preparatory work for the A6 road
:02:42. > :02:46.scheme. The A6 work does not commit the executive to this project. The
:02:47. > :02:53.executive took a view until there is clarity on the A5 project, we are
:02:54. > :03:03.not afford to commit to the A6 project since delivering is
:03:04. > :03:08.unaffordable. The executive agreed to allocate ?33 million to the
:03:09. > :03:13.Department of Health. Two weeks ago, I accepted an invitation from the
:03:14. > :03:18.Health Minister to visit the Children's Hospital. I was shocked
:03:19. > :03:22.by what I saw. Dedicated health professionals going beyond the call
:03:23. > :03:25.of duty to treat extremely ill children, but doing so in
:03:26. > :03:31.surroundings that I am ashamed to say are far from fit from purpose.
:03:32. > :03:39.Therefore, I pleased that this allocation enables the department to
:03:40. > :03:42.begin construction on a new Children's Hospital. A new
:03:43. > :03:47.state-of-the-art regional hospital to care for sick children from all
:03:48. > :04:04.over Northern Ireland. There was ?19.9 million allocated to DARD. It
:04:05. > :04:13.provides funding for further flood elevation works in East Belfast.
:04:14. > :04:19.There was ?16.1 million pounds in respect of the regional stadium
:04:20. > :04:28.construction project. 11.8 million was allocated to the Department of
:04:29. > :04:42.Learning. Redevelopment at Queen's University, asbestos removal at
:04:43. > :04:46.Stranmillis College. Members may recall I brought a motion to the
:04:47. > :04:50.assembly acknowledging the economic value of Northern Ireland's
:04:51. > :04:58.outstanding historic buildings. So I am pleased that this allocation will
:04:59. > :05:00.see assets like those enhanced. Simon Hamilton hoping to preserve
:05:01. > :05:03.our historical buildings. Our political correspondent, Martina
:05:04. > :05:07.Purdy, is with me now. The minister gave us a detailed break down of the
:05:08. > :05:10.redistributed funds. How significant is this money first of all for the
:05:11. > :05:14.Children's Hospital at the Royal? Well, it is hugely significant,
:05:15. > :05:19.Mark. This project has been talked about for decades as my colleague,
:05:20. > :05:26.the health correspondent, reported tonight. Back in 1973 when Gloria
:05:27. > :05:33.Hunniford was a young reporter, it was talked about then. By the early
:05:34. > :05:36.1990s Baroness Denton brought forward proposals for a new
:05:37. > :05:43.hospital, but the money was never forthcoming and again, when
:05:44. > :05:48.devolution was restored in 1999, the Sinn Fein Health Minister tried to
:05:49. > :05:51.get the new hospital and in 2007 another Health Minister, the Ulster
:05:52. > :05:56.Unionist, also asked for the money and was unsuccessful. So we are
:05:57. > :06:06.getting the money. It is in part due to the fact that the A5 road pro
:06:07. > :06:12.ject is being tied up in environmental issues. We now have a
:06:13. > :06:17.completion date of around 2021. There has been a bit of politicking
:06:18. > :06:20.around the distribution of the millions today? Well, there is
:06:21. > :06:25.always tension where there is money concern. Roy Beggs, he issued a
:06:26. > :06:34.statement expressing regret that the money for the hospital didn't come
:06:35. > :06:39.forward earlier. He said, it was interesting that the money is being
:06:40. > :06:42.made available because there is not just a DUP Finance Minister and a
:06:43. > :06:46.DUP Health Minister. That's one of the benefits of having a party in
:06:47. > :06:50.charge of both. There is no tension there, about who gets the credit,
:06:51. > :06:54.the DUP? It is an executive project, about you a DUP minister is
:06:55. > :06:58.announcing it and a DUP minister gets credit through the health
:06:59. > :07:04.portfolio. There is questions raised today by the Sinn Fein chair of the
:07:05. > :07:11.Health Committee. Welcoming the project, but saying in a recent
:07:12. > :07:17.beefing briefing, the impression given to the committee there was
:07:18. > :07:22.other commitments. He couldn't get money out of the
:07:23. > :07:26.cash machine at lunch time? Yes, after announcing the mlts, he found
:07:27. > :07:30.-- millions, he found that the bank machine was out of order! He used
:07:31. > :07:36.his card. Did you buy him lunch? I had to lend
:07:37. > :07:42.one member a tenner for lunch! We saw quite a few robust exchanges
:07:43. > :07:50.between two Fermanagh representatives, Arlene Foster and
:07:51. > :07:55.Sinn Fein's Phil Flanagan. Yes, Phil Flanagan brought forward a motion
:07:56. > :08:00.critical of Invest Northern Ireland's job record. The Enterprise
:08:01. > :08:05.Minister who hails from Fermanagh was not impressed with the points
:08:06. > :08:10.that Phil Flanagan was making. It did get rather tetchy and personal.
:08:11. > :08:14.These two politicians don't see eye to eye on a range of issues and
:08:15. > :08:18.found themselves on opposite sides of the arguments on issues such as
:08:19. > :08:25.fracking as one of my colleagues pointed out, he doesn't see them car
:08:26. > :08:29.pooling to Fermanagh any time soon! Let's see that lively debate. The
:08:30. > :08:36.motion as brought by Sinn Fein's Phil Flanagan. Since April 2009
:08:37. > :08:40.there hasn't been a single invest NI led visit by a potential foreign
:08:41. > :08:44.investor to either counties Fermanagh or Tyrone. That's not good
:08:45. > :08:47.enough. There is not enough being done to create jobs and attract
:08:48. > :08:54.investment into struggling rural areas and the minister can tutt and
:08:55. > :08:58.sigh and roll her eyes as she always does when somebody brings a motion
:08:59. > :09:01.in criticising her department. But that's is a fact, we have statistics
:09:02. > :09:06.to back it up. Every country in Europe has its own
:09:07. > :09:11.version of the west of the Bann problem and every country know there
:09:12. > :09:15.is not much point in regional imbalanced are best addressed in a
:09:16. > :09:18.growing economy, improved road transport, power and communications
:09:19. > :09:23.infrastructure are essential elements of a package that a
:09:24. > :09:25.prospective investor would want to see. This motion highlights an
:09:26. > :09:29.important issue, the fact that we have next to no clarity on the
:09:30. > :09:34.number of jobs created as opposed to those promoted. We cannot judge our
:09:35. > :09:39.success against the programme for Government. Some of our members are
:09:40. > :09:42.so small-minded that they want to start talking about a job created
:09:43. > :09:46.here in this county. A job created in that constituency. When you look
:09:47. > :09:52.at foreign direct investment around the world, they will think nothing
:09:53. > :09:55.of planting down a Northern Ireland and creating jobs for the whole of
:09:56. > :09:59.Northern Ireland. How do you expect to go and plead with these companies
:10:00. > :10:03.to come into your constituency whenever they read the papers and
:10:04. > :10:10.whenever they read the Hansard of this place they see you run the
:10:11. > :10:18.place down. 60% of the investment, support offered from 2011 to 2012
:10:19. > :10:22.went to eight constituencies across the north. Those eight
:10:23. > :10:27.constituencies are located in around the greater Belfast area. That is
:10:28. > :10:31.factual. It is also important to highlight that the target set for
:10:32. > :10:35.Invest Northern Ireland are again for job promotion. So the programme
:10:36. > :10:40.for Government sets out job promotion targets. It doesn't set
:10:41. > :10:42.out job creation targets. If the member wants to take that up with
:10:43. > :10:45.his colleagues in the executive, that's a matter for him. We don't
:10:46. > :10:51.force people to go to particular areas in Northern Ireland. They tell
:10:52. > :10:57.us where they want to go and we then facilitate it, but we do that
:10:58. > :11:01.because people make bids. They sell themselves. They are positive and
:11:02. > :11:06.that's one of the reasons why I have got very much involved in the smart
:11:07. > :11:10.region concept in Fermanagh and Omagh because if I'm challenging
:11:11. > :11:14.other areas and saying what are you doing? What are you doing to bring
:11:15. > :11:18.foreign direct investment to your region then I think I have to step
:11:19. > :11:26.up to the plate as well and that's what I have done. We are planning
:11:27. > :11:32.for Invest NI's conference. It is coming to Fermanagh. I note from the
:11:33. > :11:37.Fermanagh Herald he says they will not come out of their hotel. I will
:11:38. > :11:44.make sure they will come out of their hotel. That's the negative
:11:45. > :11:53.attitude I expect from Mr Flanagan. Last Friday, I engaged from with
:11:54. > :11:58.young people with Joe Burn and with a representative from the Ulster
:11:59. > :12:03.Unionist Party. This was arranged by the Peace and Reconciliation Group.
:12:04. > :12:07.A range of questions were put to the audience and one of the questions
:12:08. > :12:11.was in ten years, do you think you will be living in Fermanagh or
:12:12. > :12:15.Tyrone? The answer was 78% of the young people thought they wouldn't
:12:16. > :12:19.be living in Fermanagh and Tyrone because of the lack of job
:12:20. > :12:24.opportunities. Is this the same conference that the member told
:12:25. > :12:33.young people that the only thing I brought to Fermanagh was fracking?
:12:34. > :12:39.When did the fracking start in Fermanagh? The minister is nearly
:12:40. > :12:43.correct except from the tense. From all of the contributions from the
:12:44. > :12:46.DUP members, there was not one single member that put forward any
:12:47. > :12:51.kind of a defence as to why there was no foreign investors brought to
:12:52. > :12:55.places like Fermanagh, Tyrone or Derry and that really says it all.
:12:56. > :12:59.In her final contribution, the minister said I was wrong in saying
:13:00. > :13:06.that the Invest NI delegates would stay in the hotel and she would see
:13:07. > :13:12.to it, they will be taken out of the hotel. That's right, they will
:13:13. > :13:23.probably be taken to the Giant?s Causeway and Titanic Museum as
:13:24. > :13:26.always happen. The Justice Minister told the
:13:27. > :13:29.Assembly today that he remains committed to a separate prison for
:13:30. > :13:33.women, but that it's unlikely to happen in the near future. David
:13:34. > :13:36.Ford was making a statement on the second anniversary of an independent
:13:37. > :13:39.review into the Prison Service. Mr Ford told the Assembly that the
:13:40. > :13:41.reform of the prison system is making good progress. The report
:13:42. > :13:43.calls for change across the prison system in Northern Ireland. Its 40
:13:44. > :13:46.recommend dayses were challenging, but I believe then and I believe now
:13:47. > :13:48.that it set the road map to delivering an effective, efficient
:13:49. > :13:50.and sustainable service. I said at the time of publication that
:13:51. > :13:53.implementing the recommendations would be a long-term process and
:13:54. > :13:56.that we would have to put in places foundations if reform was to be
:13:57. > :13:59.embedded throughout our prisons. The service established a reform
:14:00. > :14:02.programme to put in place the foundations tor delivery and to
:14:03. > :14:08.drive the necessary changes. The reform programme is at the half-way
:14:09. > :14:11.point. Good progress is being made. Nine recommendations have been
:14:12. > :14:15.approved by the prison review oversight group. This group provides
:14:16. > :14:18.oversight and scrutiny of the programme and includes a robust and
:14:19. > :14:22.challenging independent element. I anticipate that a further nine
:14:23. > :14:25.recommendations will be brought forward to be signed off by the
:14:26. > :14:29.group at its December meeting. If those are signed off, almost half of
:14:30. > :14:36.the recommendations will have been implemented. That demonstrates
:14:37. > :14:43.steady progress. There is a Prison Service initiative at mag gab bury.
:14:44. > :14:46.I also wanted to see support put in place for those with addiction
:14:47. > :14:51.issues. Prison staff are being selected to work on the addiction
:14:52. > :14:54.programme which will be piloted in the New Year. This will be a
:14:55. > :14:58.complete programme regime which will support prisoners to break the cycle
:14:59. > :15:02.of addiction. It is the first of its type in the British Isles and
:15:03. > :15:07.demonstrates the approach that prison staff are willing to take to
:15:08. > :15:11.deliver change. Today, I want to focus on the needs of females. I
:15:12. > :15:13.wish to put on record that I remain committed to having a separate
:15:14. > :15:18.prison for women. However that will not happen in the near future. To
:15:19. > :15:22.address this, a four stage approach will take place with I will deliver
:15:23. > :15:24.positive change for female prisoners. Reforming the prison
:15:25. > :15:29.system in Northern Ireland is the biggest change programme in the
:15:30. > :15:34.public sector since the formation of the PSNI in 2005. The
:15:35. > :15:38.recommendations from the report were not straightforward. As I said
:15:39. > :15:42.previously, the vision of the report was to deliver end to end
:15:43. > :15:46.transformational change. That means changing the structures, ethos and
:15:47. > :15:49.culture of the people who work for prisons and how they work with those
:15:50. > :15:54.who are in custody. All of which has to be delivered within today's
:15:55. > :15:57.financial restrictions. The Prison Service is an organisation in
:15:58. > :16:02.transition and many people are working to make changes a reality.
:16:03. > :16:12.I'm encouraged by the work that's being done and the pro he gres that
:16:13. > :16:16.has been made. David Ford, the Justice Minister on
:16:17. > :16:18.the state of prison reform in Northern Ireland. Joining me now is
:16:19. > :16:22.Professor Phil Scraton, who wrote two human rights reports on women in
:16:23. > :16:26.prison in Northern Ireland. David Ford says he is committed to a
:16:27. > :16:29.separate prison for women but are we really any closer to that happening?
:16:30. > :16:31.I am concerned about that, Mark. I mean, we made those recommendations
:16:32. > :16:40.way back in 2005le. We were against the move to Hydebank Wood. The move
:16:41. > :16:43.did happen and it has been a disastrous move for women. Their
:16:44. > :16:50.rights are breached on a daily basis. We know the story of women
:16:51. > :17:03.being transported with men. They can't move around the campus of
:17:04. > :17:09.Hydebank Wood. They don't enjoy the freedoms of a medium security jail.
:17:10. > :17:11.All of those issues remain unresolved issues around strip
:17:12. > :17:20.searching and the Prison Service will say they are not strip
:17:21. > :17:24.searched, they have a top half. All those issues we raise eight years
:17:25. > :17:36.ago are still profoundly there and they were there in in Ann Owers
:17:37. > :17:40.report. On four of the key criteria of judging the prison, it was poor
:17:41. > :17:46.on four and only satisfactory on one. That is unacceptable and if
:17:47. > :17:49.that's what is going to continue until 2015, even with the minor
:17:50. > :17:53.adjustments that will be made in that time, it means that we are
:17:54. > :18:00.presiding over not only the inequality of women in our jails,
:18:01. > :18:03.but a serious abuse of their rights which would not happen in any other
:18:04. > :18:07.European state. What are the implications for
:18:08. > :18:11.individual women prisoners if this change doesn't happen as quickly as
:18:12. > :18:15.you would like it to happen? Well, the implications are clear. Except
:18:16. > :18:19.for a small number of long-term prisoners who actually have to
:18:20. > :18:22.endure their imprisonment alongside others who are coming and going and
:18:23. > :18:27.that's unacceptable. But apart from that, we are going to see women and
:18:28. > :18:32.they go in for short periods of time, going in and out of that
:18:33. > :18:39.prison over the next three to four years who are going to endure the
:18:40. > :18:45.processes we have identified that are unacceptable. It is not only
:18:46. > :18:53.those of us who are independent researchers. Ann Owers team pick up
:18:54. > :18:57.and it is not acceptable. David Ford was at pains to point out
:18:58. > :19:01.the reform of the prison system here is a huge task, but steady progress
:19:02. > :19:06.is being made. Do you accept that? The devil is in the detail, Mark.
:19:07. > :19:11.What David Ford did not do today is demonstrate which of the nine have
:19:12. > :19:14.been resolved. Which of the forthcoming nine will be resold and
:19:15. > :19:22.we are only half-way after two years. We are only half-way to
:19:23. > :19:27.meeting the demands of Ann Owers report. That's slow progress. I have
:19:28. > :19:31.been inside the prisons many times and I understand the problems of a
:19:32. > :19:35.root and branch change, but it is not quick enough and while that's
:19:36. > :19:42.happening prisoners and their families endure that process that
:19:43. > :19:48.breaches their rights. Thank you very much indeed.
:19:49. > :19:55.Earlier, we saw lively exchanges in the chamber and the temperature rose
:19:56. > :20:02.during questions to the Culture Minister.
:20:03. > :20:06.Can I ask the minister if she would confirm that the City of Culture
:20:07. > :20:15.legacy plan will be will be brought forward this year and can she assure
:20:16. > :20:22.that Derry football club will be included? With the ?3 million that
:20:23. > :20:32.the Derry City council has will put a dent into the Foyle Valley plan.
:20:33. > :20:35.It is really important that we use opportunities through sport and
:20:36. > :20:38.physical activities through, the arts and the community development,
:20:39. > :20:46.through health, social development and the rest to make sure that we
:20:47. > :20:51.leave a good footprint and I believe the Foy Valley project is one of
:20:52. > :20:56.those. Has the minister been able to ascertain how many boxing clubs we
:20:57. > :21:02.have and how many need modernisation programmes? Well, there is well over
:21:03. > :21:06.60 boxing clubs across the north you know, it would be fair to say that
:21:07. > :21:12.many of them, if not all, well certainly, I would say the majority
:21:13. > :21:18.of them would need some support around capital and support. I think
:21:19. > :21:23.you could count on one hand the number of clubs that don't need any
:21:24. > :21:28.support at all out of the 60. It is not the wax lyrical here, but we
:21:29. > :21:33.continually praise the work and the product of boxers in this assembly
:21:34. > :21:38.and this chamber. We continue to acknowledge the commitment and work
:21:39. > :21:41.and the role models to play for children and young people within our
:21:42. > :21:46.communities. We have to get behind the sport and make sure not only do
:21:47. > :21:53.they have the facilities, but they will attract other youngsters to the
:21:54. > :21:57.sport because any parent walking in, despite the success, they walk in
:21:58. > :22:01.and see the facilities, I couldn't blame some of them for being tempted
:22:02. > :22:05.to walk-out again despite all they do. They need to get behind the
:22:06. > :22:09.support and put the investment where it is needed and boxing is one of
:22:10. > :22:16.the sports that needs it. As the minister is a minister of the Crown
:22:17. > :22:20.on a 24 /7 basis and subject to the constraints and obligations of the
:22:21. > :22:28.Ministerial Code at all times, why then this summer did she see fit to
:22:29. > :22:33.align herself with partisan protests against expressions of British
:22:34. > :22:39.culture in Northern Ireland? And be present on several occasions...
:22:40. > :22:45.THE SPEAKER: Order, please. As I have said that the member is
:22:46. > :22:50.consistently silly. He provides nothing, but divisive politics to
:22:51. > :22:54.this House. He has done nothing in terms of community relations,
:22:55. > :22:59.building good or better relations. I think he has a brass neck to
:23:00. > :23:05.question my adherence to the Ministerial Code which belongs to
:23:06. > :23:09.this place. The member, despite his expertise, alleged of knowing
:23:10. > :23:12.standing orders inside out, needs to ask the right question which is
:23:13. > :23:15.right and pertinent to the question he asked in the first place. If he
:23:16. > :23:21.has any difficulty with doing that, I am happy to sit down with him and
:23:22. > :23:35.show him how it is done! The Culture Minister offering
:23:36. > :23:40.tuition to Jim Allister. Row the PSNI are recruiting was
:23:41. > :23:45.under discussion. The opening up of the recruitment
:23:46. > :23:52.process of the PSNI and it allows for a further tran formation and
:23:53. > :23:56.civilisation of the police force which is not fully representative of
:23:57. > :24:00.the society we live in. As the member will know from his
:24:01. > :24:07.role on the policing board, there are numbers around the budget. The
:24:08. > :24:13.Police Service are in a process to start a new campaign. The important
:24:14. > :24:19.issue for this campaign given that the 50/50 targets are removed is to
:24:20. > :24:23.get the affirmative action programme to ensure they get the widest
:24:24. > :24:27.possible range of applicants and to continue the work they have been
:24:28. > :24:31.doing to ensure they become a representative service. Can he be
:24:32. > :24:35.equally clear in temples of what the people of Northern Ireland are
:24:36. > :24:38.missing in terms of the NCA operating operating here and the
:24:39. > :24:44.impact that it would have on the people of Northern Ireland if we
:24:45. > :24:48.don't have the full implementation of the National Crime Agency here?
:24:49. > :24:53.What we will not have if we don't have full operational powers, the
:24:54. > :24:59.NCA will not be able to deliver the same assistance to the PSNI until
:25:00. > :25:06.the 7th October we had from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.
:25:07. > :25:10.It will hamper a variety of crimes, drug smuggling, fuel laundering. It
:25:11. > :25:17.the not mean that those activities cannot be carried out against such
:25:18. > :25:23.criminals, but it will mean the PSNI has to devote resources
:25:24. > :25:27.There is now an opportunity for him as a minister of justice to bring
:25:28. > :25:33.forward legislation which would tackle serious crime and indeed,
:25:34. > :25:37.make it effective, but make it atable? -- accountable?
:25:38. > :25:42.Well, I am not sure what legislation I could bring to on any meaningful
:25:43. > :25:47.time scale which would enable us to fix the gap because even if we were
:25:48. > :25:51.to seek to bring forward a new Bill in this place and even if there were
:25:52. > :25:55.complete mrit theical agreement, there would be a significant gap to
:25:56. > :25:59.allow the consultation, the drafting, the processes in this
:26:00. > :26:02.House and I do not believe we can wait for those processes to be gone
:26:03. > :26:06.through. I believe we have now got to the situation that the
:26:07. > :26:11.accountability mechanisms are in place to allow the NCA to operate
:26:12. > :26:20.within Northern Ireland subject to our normal policing architecture
:26:21. > :26:26.here. Subject to the prime assy of the NI, reporting to the policing
:26:27. > :26:30.board, all of those are issues which we have got.
:26:31. > :26:36.Can I ask the minister that access to justice won't be compromised by
:26:37. > :26:39.any reform of Legal Aid? I can assure him as I have assured the
:26:40. > :26:44.House and the committee before, that it is my ambition to not take issues
:26:45. > :26:48.out of scope for Legal Aid unless an alternative better method can be
:26:49. > :26:53.provided, but there is no doubt that the financial challenges we face are
:26:54. > :26:58.placing pressure to the point that current ex-pented ture on Legal Aid
:26:59. > :27:02.-- expenditure on Legal Aid is meaning I have to make cuts in other
:27:03. > :27:09.departments and that's an issue that needs to be addressed. The issue we
:27:10. > :27:14.maintain as far as possible the access to the legal advice that
:27:15. > :27:23.people need. The Justice Minister explaining how
:27:24. > :27:31.money is tight in his department. Martina Purdy is with me again. So
:27:32. > :27:34.Arlene Foster had a sharp exchange with Sinn Fein's Phil Flanagan over
:27:35. > :27:37.job creation, but the mood is perhaps much lighter between the
:27:38. > :27:38.First and Deputy First Ministers this evening.
:27:39. > :27:45.Well, Mark whatever tensions they may have over the Maze, they don't
:27:46. > :27:54.tend to fight in public and they are visiting Boston and Chicago. They
:27:55. > :28:01.are visiting companies and I was hearing today in the he corridors,
:28:02. > :28:03.there maybe good news shortly. Watch this space! That will be
:28:04. > :28:08.interesting. Behind the scenes, you have been looking into Stormont's
:28:09. > :28:12.approach to flying the Union flag? Well, Stormont has been looking at
:28:13. > :28:16.it for around a year when the controversy arose over the flying of
:28:17. > :28:21.the Union flag over Belfast City Hall and the decision to limit the
:28:22. > :28:25.flying of the Union flag to designated days. The cross party
:28:26. > :28:31.commission which is responsible for Parliament buildings has a paper
:28:32. > :28:33.which it has to consider. Here is a number of options. They were
:28:34. > :28:44.supposed to meet this week. The meeting will happen in November.
:28:45. > :28:48.OK. We will hear more about that. That's it for now. Join me tomorrow
:28:49. > :28:53.night at 11.20pm here on BBC Two. For now, bye-bye.