:00:29. > :00:34.Hello. Welcome to Stormont Today. While phone hacking is dominating
:00:34. > :00:41.the news again with a movie star ranting against the tabloids, life
:00:41. > :00:46.is equally gripping up here on the hill.
:00:46. > :00:54.Jim Allister showed off his softer side. It was in the Queen's library
:00:54. > :01:01.I first asked my wife to go out with me. It was the turn of the
:01:01. > :01:11.SDLP to play bad cop. Here we are, speaking on cleebing rivers when
:01:11. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:17.there are more -- cleaning rivers Money and how to make more of it is
:01:18. > :01:23.the driving force behind the executive's programme for
:01:23. > :01:27.Government. Would you give the executive a loan,
:01:27. > :01:33.based on their programme for Government? There is a dispute in
:01:33. > :01:37.terms of the success of the last one, was it 50 or two-thirds of the
:01:37. > :01:40.programme. It was delivered. I might charge a high interest rate
:01:40. > :01:46.for that. It is risky. Speaking of interest rates, one of their big
:01:46. > :01:52.pledges is to have this loan, this money available to small and
:01:52. > :01:56.medium-sized businesses. Of course the banks have had a particularly
:01:56. > :02:01.hard time, justifiably so many would say. This is the Government's
:02:01. > :02:09.answer then, to take business away from the banks? We will see how it
:02:09. > :02:14.works. I with speak as someone from a bank who has not taken any
:02:14. > :02:18.taxpayers' money. It is risky out there. We have to be very
:02:18. > :02:22.responsive to our shareholders in terms of how we lend. Obviously the
:02:22. > :02:26.Government will see the dilemma for us. They will have to be cautious
:02:26. > :02:30.with the taxpayers' money and the type of loans they make. Could you
:02:30. > :02:35.do more though? Could the banks do more to help our smaller
:02:35. > :02:41.businesses? Certainly we have a programme, Let's Talk Business,
:02:41. > :02:44.which the bank has run for a time now.Vy been part of that myself,
:02:44. > :02:49.looking for good business propositions. That is our own bank
:02:49. > :02:53.at the moment and how we try and bring things forward. You have to
:02:53. > :02:57.recognise that the business climate is difficult. There is high
:02:57. > :03:00.uncertainty out there. The global, the national environment. Risk is
:03:00. > :03:06.high. There is high uncertainty. More to talk about later in the
:03:06. > :03:09.programme. Stay with us. Academic underachievement among working
:03:09. > :03:12.class boys dominated questions to the Education Minister this
:03:12. > :03:17.afternoon. Before him the Agriculture Minister was asked
:03:17. > :03:27.about recent poor weather and the effects it has had on the potato
:03:27. > :03:31.
:03:31. > :03:41.crop. That is where we start with Mr McAllistte,.
:03:41. > :03:46.- McCallister. Our department likes to call itself
:03:46. > :03:52.a real champion. We need to see action. Could she detail why she
:03:52. > :03:57.accepts a case for flooding in urban areas, but not in rural areas,
:03:57. > :04:02.particularly in relation to potato farmers. I think I am a rural
:04:02. > :04:06.champion. I will work with the farming community to do all I can.
:04:06. > :04:12.We have to be very careful. When it comes to flooding people's homes,
:04:12. > :04:17.that's one issue. Then, people have their crop damaged, damage to their
:04:17. > :04:22.business, effectively is a separate issue. You cannot say one is more
:04:22. > :04:25.deserving than other. Some issues we need to make sure is that
:04:25. > :04:32.farmers have insurance to cover this event. I am happy to work with
:04:32. > :04:35.farmers in terms of advice in terms farmers in terms of advice in terms
:04:35. > :04:40.of what my department can do. Given much of the crop has been
:04:40. > :04:45.lost through flooding. It's not practical to put a thatched roof
:04:45. > :04:50.over the fields, has the minister made any reputation to supermarkets
:04:50. > :04:55.to ensure at least they'll get a fair price for their crops?
:04:55. > :04:59.recently had a meeting with Sainsbury's. I intend to meet the
:04:59. > :05:04.other major supermarkets also. When we get the ombudsman, I think that
:05:04. > :05:08.will be a good help to farmers, obviously not at this stage, but in
:05:08. > :05:14.the future. We need the ombudsman to have proper teeth, to make sure
:05:14. > :05:18.farmers from every level get a fair price for the product they produce.
:05:18. > :05:23.Is this problem of education underachievement in Protestant
:05:23. > :05:28.communities now undercontrolled? Is it decreasing and therefore
:05:28. > :05:34.improving? Can he tell us the level of the work there still has to be
:05:34. > :05:38.done? Could he quantify what his department is doing for dis
:05:38. > :05:43.advantaged Protestant communities, regarding the work we are talking
:05:43. > :05:47.about? Well, I don't wish to get into an argument with the members
:05:47. > :05:51.as to which community is suffering the most in terms of educational
:05:51. > :05:57.underachievement. I will say this, neither sections of the community,
:05:57. > :06:02.in its broadest terms is doing well. Particularly those young people in
:06:02. > :06:06.working-class areas, particularly those young people in areas of
:06:06. > :06:10.multiple depravation, regardless of their creed or colour. What affects
:06:10. > :06:14.them is their class. That is the thing we need to tackle. My
:06:14. > :06:19.department, from a predecessors, through to myself, have developed
:06:19. > :06:22.policies which are designed to celebrate success and challenge
:06:22. > :06:26.under-achievement. That is what we are doing. We are seeing an
:06:26. > :06:32.increase in the number of young people from all backgrounds leaving
:06:32. > :06:34.our school systems with recognised qualifications. It is up to 3,000
:06:34. > :06:42.from 2006. Our policies are beginning to bite particularly.
:06:42. > :06:50.Policies on their own will not simply work. I think that the
:06:50. > :06:53.school system has embraced the educational output. Teachers and
:06:53. > :06:58.classroom assistants, they have all embraced this and moving forward. I
:06:58. > :07:03.will also say this, until we open up all our schools to all our
:07:03. > :07:07.people and we have the previous question of education, I think
:07:07. > :07:15.crossing the barrier will be achieved. The difficult one and the
:07:15. > :07:23.challenge which faces us all, we cross education across the divide.
:07:23. > :07:27.That is a challenge. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Could
:07:27. > :07:31.I ask for his response to allegations that he used the launch
:07:31. > :07:39.of the programme for Government to effectively bury the publication of
:07:39. > :07:42.a report on literacy and numeracy, which found wide dispartiy for
:07:42. > :07:47.pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds? No. I was the person
:07:47. > :07:53.who insisted we had a launch of the report into numeracy and literacy.
:07:53. > :07:58.I believe it is so important... I could have signed off in that
:07:58. > :08:02.report. I was the one who asked for a public launch. It is unfortunate
:08:02. > :08:06.it clashed with the programme for Government. I can assure you there
:08:06. > :08:11.was no conspiracy. I believe my department and my party's history
:08:11. > :08:16.in the department. There is a defensible set of policies in place.
:08:16. > :08:21.It is now showing results. 3,000 more young people leaving school in
:08:21. > :08:26.the last term with recognised examinations than there was in 2006.
:08:26. > :08:33.That is a result. Is it good enough? No, it's not good enough.
:08:34. > :08:36.We intend to bureau down on under- achievement. Celebrate success and
:08:36. > :08:40.challenge under-achievement. There is no conspiracy on this one.
:08:40. > :08:45.Everyone has had time to digest the programme for Government. There's
:08:45. > :08:49.been praise, but some criticism too. I asked the enterprise minister if
:08:49. > :08:53.it will have to broaden its remit to create the 25,000 jobs the
:08:53. > :09:00.programme talks about. We are in a different situation
:09:00. > :09:02.than we were in when I took this job on in 2008. As well as re-
:09:02. > :09:05.balancing the Northern Ireland economy we have to re-build the
:09:05. > :09:10.Northern Ireland economy. That is what my economic strategy talks
:09:10. > :09:14.about, re-building and re-balancing. We will look at the medium to
:09:14. > :09:17.longer term measures to help us have higher productivity and close
:09:17. > :09:22.the gap in relation to standards of living the rest of the United
:09:22. > :09:28.Kingdom, we must recognise we have to re-build as well. The re-
:09:28. > :09:31.building around the jobs fund, that �t0 -- �90 million is something I
:09:31. > :09:34.have encouraged Invest Northern Ireland to do. You have seen them
:09:35. > :09:39.do it around their business programme, which talks about
:09:39. > :09:45.increasing the number of exports, increasing the number of jobs. That
:09:45. > :09:50.is something they have to deal with for the short-term problems we find
:09:50. > :09:56.ourselves in. You mention the jobs fund. How many jobs has it created
:09:56. > :10:00.so far? Around 400 jobs. We have 1300 jobs approved. They have not
:10:00. > :10:04.just been announced yet. I hope to make announcements in the near
:10:05. > :10:11.future. What about the lick quitty fund? �50 million. At the end of
:10:12. > :10:16.How can you convince us it is a good risk? These companies will be
:10:16. > :10:21.a good risk? I don't see it as a risk. I see it as filling a gap
:10:21. > :10:27.which has firmly been identified for us. When we look at statistics
:10:27. > :10:32.which came out recepbtdly in relation to small and medium-sized
:10:32. > :10:36.enterprises, 92% of those companies were having finances from
:10:36. > :10:40.mainstream banks. That has dropped back to 65%. That does identify the
:10:40. > :10:45.people having to look elsewhere for funding. We need to help in
:10:45. > :10:50.relation to that package. That is why we've put together this, what
:10:50. > :10:53.we call "the growth loan fund." It will help businesses looking to
:10:53. > :10:57.grow, but having difficulty getting that finance. Of course there will
:10:57. > :11:00.be safeguards in and around that money. We will not just hand out
:11:00. > :11:04.any money to any company that comes forward to us. There is a need to
:11:04. > :11:10.fill that gap. That is what people have asked me to do. That is why we
:11:10. > :11:15.came forward with this proposal. When it comes to the number of jobs
:11:15. > :11:22.you want to create, we have job losses, 33,500 in the last three
:11:22. > :11:29.years, if you take on top of that the welfare changes how will you
:11:29. > :11:33.get 114,000 on benefits into work by 2015? Sh There has been a
:11:33. > :11:38.misunderstanding about that figure. One of the strengths of the
:11:38. > :11:43.economic strategy is it does not just sit with me, but my other
:11:43. > :11:48.executive colleagues N the economic strategy you have targets put
:11:48. > :11:54.forward about 8,000 more affordable homes. Just like the minister
:11:54. > :11:57.putting forward that he will take 114,000 people off benefits and
:11:57. > :12:00.into training and employment opportunities. Actually, something
:12:00. > :12:04.which has been missed in the last programme for Government, the
:12:04. > :12:11.target was 90,000 and that target, ass I understand it, was met. There
:12:11. > :12:14.is a need to be challenged and a need to work ahead on that. That
:12:14. > :12:18.114,000 is not related to the welfare reform. We will have a
:12:18. > :12:22.discussion at the executive about how we deal with all those issues.
:12:22. > :12:27.That work around 114,000 is what they are doing in their every day
:12:27. > :12:32.work at present. Angela, corporation tax - it looks as far
:12:32. > :12:38.away now as ever. How important is it for us to have those powers to
:12:38. > :12:43.reduce the rates? Well, I am a big supporter of the corporation tax.
:12:43. > :12:47.We have, certainly, we have forecasts from Oxford Economics in
:12:47. > :12:52.terms of where the economy will grow in the years to come. Really
:12:52. > :12:55.without some.... We talk about a silver bullet, it is not the silver
:12:55. > :13:01.bullet, it will not work in isolation. We need skills for it to
:13:01. > :13:06.work. We need something as a small regopbl economy we need something
:13:06. > :13:11.extra -- regional economy we need something extra. When you look at
:13:11. > :13:15.what we are competing 100 miles down the road in the Republic of
:13:15. > :13:24.Ireland. It is hard to attract them to pay a higher level of
:13:24. > :13:32.corporation tax. As Northern Ireland paid the
:13:32. > :13:37.penalty over farming subsidies? The Department of Agriculture made
:13:37. > :13:40.mistakes in implementing the single farm scheme. Members wanted
:13:40. > :13:49.assurances that farmers would not have to wait longer for this year's
:13:49. > :13:52.payments. How well this impact on the current wave of farm
:13:52. > :14:02.inspections for a single farm payments as the department has been
:14:02. > :14:03.
:14:03. > :14:08.slow up to this very day it? tried my best in that very lengthy
:14:08. > :14:15.statement to clarify my position. I have clearly said it is �80.6
:14:15. > :14:19.million. DEFRA holds 11 million. I cannot be any clearer than that,
:14:19. > :14:26.that is the figure that has been audited. It is clear for everybody
:14:26. > :14:31.to see it. Could I ask the Minister who is to blame for this issue? Is
:14:31. > :14:39.it the Department, the commission, farmers or a combination of all
:14:39. > :14:44.these stakeholders. I thank the Member for his question. It is very
:14:44. > :14:49.simplistic to blame anyone for this situation. That is not to say the
:14:49. > :14:54.various parties are not at fault. In relation to the Department's
:14:54. > :15:00.responsibilities, some of the issues are very technical. The
:15:00. > :15:03.department had issues in terms of the maps they issued. The
:15:03. > :15:13.commission delayed the whole process and it made everything a
:15:13. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:21.lot slower and harder to deal with. Some farmers had not legitimate
:15:21. > :15:26.land. You need to look at it in the round and those areas need to be
:15:26. > :15:33.considered. The that has to be recognised, that the department was
:15:33. > :15:37.at fault for the delivery of the system. Discrepancies found buried
:15:37. > :15:45.EU Audit -- auditors were generally very minor. If your department has
:15:45. > :15:48.created a minor errors that has enabled you to ecru 80.6 million, I
:15:48. > :15:57.would hate to see if your department was making major errors.
:15:57. > :16:02.As I understand it there is more coming down for the inefficiency in
:16:02. > :16:08.regarding the Forest end of muscles. Where will it stop. Northern
:16:08. > :16:12.Ireland's pubs are a major tourist attraction, but times are tough in
:16:12. > :16:16.the local tavern and rates relief could help. At least that is what
:16:16. > :16:22.members of the finance committee have been told. Here is our weekly
:16:22. > :16:26.look at the work of this dormant committees. It's his key to our
:16:26. > :16:29.tourism and culture and has been around for an off a long time. The
:16:29. > :16:34.majority are owned by families who have passed it down through the
:16:34. > :16:40.generations. We ran a very responsible industry and provide a
:16:40. > :16:48.lot of employment, particularly in rural areas where you do not have a
:16:49. > :16:56.mobile workforce. Our rates is the early business rate based on our
:16:56. > :17:04.turnover and we pay 30% more than any other commercial body. To be
:17:04. > :17:08.honest, that has evolved as a social levy because we sell alcohol.
:17:08. > :17:13.But the supermarkets sell the majority, but they pay the standard
:17:13. > :17:20.rate. We are small businesses, we are spread right across the
:17:20. > :17:27.province. It is where people meet, it is where the cohesion comes from.
:17:27. > :17:31.I have a village where I live close to and church groups use it, it is
:17:31. > :17:37.where people moving into the area meet the locals and become part of
:17:37. > :17:47.the community and were the cornerstone of the tourism industry
:17:47. > :17:53.is. 70% of tourists eat in a pub and it is the number one thing to
:17:53. > :18:01.do when visiting the province. All the hotel rooms in the province you
:18:01. > :18:10.can have as you like, and we are part of that fabric. The future
:18:10. > :18:14.growth of tourism and the economy means we are a key in that. I have
:18:14. > :18:19.been in touch with a large number of prison officers, both current
:18:19. > :18:24.and past. They were offended by the manner in which it was handled and
:18:24. > :18:30.I am asking upon reflection, do you think that is an issue that he may
:18:30. > :18:37.regret and what would you say to those officers and families? It
:18:37. > :18:42.caused them heard. I believe what I said reflected the reality of that
:18:42. > :18:46.position, although I accept my phrasing was a bit clumsy. If
:18:47. > :18:52.people were offended by what I said, it was certainly not my intention
:18:52. > :18:56.to cause offence and I regret any offence was caused. Clearly we are
:18:56. > :19:00.now in the position we have established the different levels
:19:00. > :19:04.which the issue will be dealt with. The issue will have to know be
:19:04. > :19:12.dealt within a way which takes account of all the views around the
:19:12. > :19:19.Executive table. We have made our position very clear that if it does
:19:19. > :19:24.come to the Executive table, we will not support it, so I would
:19:24. > :19:32.suggest it is not worth considering by the Prison Service. Can I come
:19:32. > :19:37.in? I understand you are a member of the DUP and you have a party
:19:37. > :19:42.position, but you are also the chair of this committee. The chair
:19:43. > :19:49.of any committee, and I had done this in my capacity as chair of
:19:49. > :19:55.other committees, I believe the chair should maintain where
:19:55. > :20:02.possible a non-partisan position. If there are contentious issues
:20:02. > :20:10.arising I do not think it is appropriate for you to be active as
:20:10. > :20:16.a spokesperson for the DUP on such a sensitive issue. The other
:20:16. > :20:20.colleague could quite properly raise such issues. I beg to differ
:20:20. > :20:25.in terms of how I should conduct myself as chair.
:20:25. > :20:29.The SDLP were firing on all cylinders this morning because of
:20:29. > :20:33.the lack of legislation coming to the floor of the House. Dolores
:20:33. > :20:36.Kelly made her attack during the debate on a cleaning our rivers.
:20:36. > :20:41.She said there were much more pressing issues the Executive
:20:41. > :20:44.needed to take action on. Once again we start another week in the
:20:44. > :20:49.absence of Executive Business other than the Minister's statement this
:20:49. > :20:54.morning. It is disgraceful. At a time when youth unemployment is at
:20:54. > :21:00.its highest ever, one in five young people in the north are unemployed,
:21:00. > :21:05.over the weekend and today there is a plea from small retailers for the
:21:05. > :21:10.Executive to do something to help them. We have not seen any business
:21:10. > :21:16.coming through that is going to do that, nor any suggestions from the
:21:16. > :21:19.Executive. There is no imperative bide his Executive to deliver.
:21:19. > :21:25.why do you think there is such a delay in getting legislation
:21:25. > :21:30.through the House. It has not just been this time around, it was the
:21:30. > :21:35.same over the last four years. If any of the issues were not agreed
:21:35. > :21:39.on, they are still sitting in the in-trays. Peter Robinson said
:21:39. > :21:44.clearly last week that his Executive would be judged on
:21:44. > :21:48.delivery and that is a message we are putting strongly to Sinn Fein
:21:48. > :21:51.and the DUP. They have to start looking at their parties and
:21:51. > :21:58.constituency interests and look at the needs of all of the people of
:21:58. > :22:03.the North. You are on the Executive, you minister is there, could the
:22:03. > :22:08.Minister of their environment not be doing more? He has eight pieces
:22:08. > :22:12.of legislation which are going through various processes, such as
:22:12. > :22:16.the climate has changed bail. He has written to the first and Deputy
:22:16. > :22:22.First Minister about their responsibility in terms of the
:22:22. > :22:27.Social Investment Fund and the social protection fund. Each has
:22:27. > :22:31.�20 million allocated this year and will not be spent. These funds are
:22:31. > :22:35.supposed to be targeted at the most vulnerable. He has also written
:22:35. > :22:42.about the fuel poverty initiative and nothing has been agreed on
:22:42. > :22:45.those with no movement on any of these fronts. He will try to
:22:45. > :22:52.delayed their a form of public administration. He wants 15
:22:52. > :22:59.councils and everyone else has said 11. He has not been delaying it, it
:22:59. > :23:04.is the DUP who has shifted position. We agreed 15 as the preferred model,
:23:04. > :23:08.but Sinn Fein wanted to go for seven. Alex Atwood has an
:23:09. > :23:14.intelligent argument in terms of the 15, one that can show that
:23:14. > :23:19.money can be saved even more so than with the 11 model. But
:23:19. > :23:23.unfortunately Sinn Fein and the DUP are too busy interfering in his
:23:23. > :23:29.department rather than managing their own. On a slightly different
:23:29. > :23:35.issue, you were a judge at quite a controversial contest last week.
:23:35. > :23:42.Tell us a bit more about that. was one of my local constituency
:23:42. > :23:47.businesses that sponsored the event. There were 14 young women who went
:23:47. > :23:52.through to the MS Ulster finals. The successful winner fortunately
:23:52. > :23:59.came from my own constituency of. She won not only a modelling
:23:59. > :24:03.contract, but she is also going to get onto the front page and various
:24:03. > :24:07.other prizes. But there was a letter put into each pigeonholes
:24:07. > :24:12.say it should not have taken place at Stormont. And as some people
:24:12. > :24:18.said it was demeaning. They were not tripping up and down in bikinis,
:24:18. > :24:24.it showcased their talent. It showcased the talent of many of our
:24:24. > :24:28.young women. They are graduates anywhere or at university. I do not
:24:28. > :24:32.think it was demeaning in any way. What is demeaning to our young
:24:32. > :24:36.people is the fact so many of them or face the prospect of
:24:36. > :24:41.unemployment, no training and many are having to leave our shores to
:24:41. > :24:47.look for work elsewhere. The local library is many things to many
:24:47. > :24:52.people, but a dating service? That is what was revealed today in the
:24:52. > :24:58.Chamber by an incurably romantic MLA. I also have a soft spot for
:24:58. > :25:04.the library and maybe I should declare an interest, but it was in
:25:04. > :25:12.the Queen's library I first asked my wife to go out with me. Enough
:25:12. > :25:17.sentiment about that. She did end up as a librarian. She was a
:25:17. > :25:23.student at that time. Enough sentiment. Dolores Kelly, we saw a
:25:24. > :25:27.different side to Jim Allister. all have our own personalities and
:25:27. > :25:34.people should get to know as as a person rather than a politician on
:25:34. > :25:38.the TV box. There are many facets to each of us. We spent a lot of
:25:38. > :25:44.time waiting for it and now we have it and will spend as much time
:25:44. > :25:48.talking about it. Earlier, Martina told me about the general reaction
:25:48. > :25:53.to the programme for Government. There is a broad welcome it is
:25:53. > :25:57.finally out and there is a mixed response. Some people are saying
:25:57. > :26:03.the 23rd 1000 job target is ambitious. One of the targets that
:26:03. > :26:08.is a talking point is this notion of 114,000 people coming off and
:26:08. > :26:12.employment and into jobs. One Executive soars, not a minister,
:26:12. > :26:17.thought this was bizarre because they said there are 60,000 people
:26:18. > :26:24.unemployed, the Executive has pledged to create 25,000 jobs. How
:26:24. > :26:30.can you get 114,000 of unemployment? Aisling Foster batted
:26:30. > :26:36.back from the Department. programme has finally settled on 11
:26:36. > :26:41.councils, is that right? That is the figure that has been agreed.
:26:41. > :26:47.The environment -- environment minister is not happy. One thing
:26:47. > :26:51.that did come up today was that the council's collectively, 26, 0 more
:26:52. > :26:55.than �400 million in loans to the Department of Finance. It is
:26:55. > :27:01.worrying if you are trying to finance a shake-up. Some councils
:27:01. > :27:05.are quite heavily in debt. 25 million for Belfast. But when you
:27:05. > :27:09.are start pushing them together, the ones that do not owe so much
:27:09. > :27:14.will be resentful of having to take on some of the debt of the others.
:27:14. > :27:19.It does not leave much leeway for council's borrowing. This week the
:27:20. > :27:24.Assembly is opening up its doors to the Arts Council. The work of 24
:27:24. > :27:28.local artists is being showcased and the Arts Council is excited
:27:28. > :27:32.because it is the first time this is happening. The public will be
:27:32. > :27:40.able to look at the art work. One of the pieces getting lots of
:27:41. > :27:48.attention is a helicopter made out of yellow will. That is by Brendan
:27:48. > :27:52.Jamieson. There are lots of other artists as well. The Department of
:27:52. > :27:57.Employment and learning said the 114,000 target is measured in terms
:27:57. > :28:01.of the number of people who will go off benefit and into work by
:28:01. > :28:06.employment support programmes. Angela, we are a small business
:28:06. > :28:11.economy, is there enough in the programme about enterprise?
:28:11. > :28:16.that is simply the answer to that question. It is great to have the
:28:16. > :28:21.economic strategy, but it falls down in two key areas. Enterprise
:28:21. > :28:26.is hardly mentioned. You cannot have economic growth and the
:28:26. > :28:31.service new sectors without small businesses coming forward. It falls
:28:31. > :28:36.down in education. Our targets are not nearly as ambitious as they