:00:26. > :00:28.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today, and it wasn't the best
:00:29. > :00:31.of days for the Speaker, Robin Newton, who had to come
:00:32. > :00:34.to the House to apologise to Members for not declaring his links
:00:35. > :00:38.to Charter NI, when ruling against an urgent debate
:00:39. > :00:41.Yet again proceedings in the chamber were dominated by debate over
:00:42. > :00:47.The man at the top table in the Assembly admits he got it
:00:48. > :00:57.wrong over the loyalist organisation Charter NI.
:00:58. > :01:02.hindsight, I accept it would have been better if I followed my initial
:01:03. > :01:05.ease instincts. I apologise unreservedly to the house for not
:01:06. > :01:07.having done so. Meantime, the Executive Office
:01:08. > :01:20.continues to be asked We could talk about this, and the
:01:21. > :01:23.basis on which he was employed by Charter NI is really a matter for
:01:24. > :01:24.Charter NI. It has absolutely nothing to do with this executive.
:01:25. > :01:27.And joining me with his thoughts on today's developments
:01:28. > :01:34.is our Political Correspondent, Stephen Walker.
:01:35. > :01:39.The Speaker, Robin Newton, was the man saying sorry
:01:40. > :01:43.Mr Newton told the Assembly he was wrong not to reveal his links
:01:44. > :01:45.to Charter NI when ruling against an urgent debate
:01:46. > :01:49.The Speaker now accepts he should have delegated the matter to one
:01:50. > :02:04.In relation to Charter NI, to make it clear that, while I have offered
:02:05. > :02:07.advice, I do not hold and have never held a position as adviser to
:02:08. > :02:14.Charter NI. My involvement with Charter NI has an organisation,
:02:15. > :02:18.working on the ground in my constituency, has been no different
:02:19. > :02:22.than it would be with any organisation in my constituency
:02:23. > :02:28.seeking advice from their elected representative. When a first urgent
:02:29. > :02:32.oral question was received in relation to Charter NI, on the 24th
:02:33. > :02:37.of October, 2016, I gave consideration to whether I should
:02:38. > :02:41.take the decision. Given the time pressure, I proceeded to take the
:02:42. > :02:46.decision, but in doing so, I made it clear to my office that in future,
:02:47. > :02:50.if future decisions were required, it would be prudent for me to
:02:51. > :02:57.delegate to avoid any perception of conflict. As a consequence of that,
:02:58. > :03:02.when a second urgent question was tabled on the 8th of November, the
:03:03. > :03:06.decision was delegated to the principal deputies to you in line
:03:07. > :03:12.with the instruction given to my office on the 24th of October. The
:03:13. > :03:19.principal Deputy Speaker of the Commons to two procedural advice and
:03:20. > :03:22.made a decision on the basis of it. In hindsight, I accept it would have
:03:23. > :03:26.been better if I had followed my initial instincts and those who
:03:27. > :03:32.delegated the first question. I apologise unreservedly to the house
:03:33. > :03:38.for not having done so. Members can be assured that I will burn on the
:03:39. > :03:39.side of in the future. -- err on the side of caution.
:03:40. > :03:43.The Social Investment Fund dominated much of today's proceedings.
:03:44. > :03:45.In response to an urgent oral question from the SDLP asking
:03:46. > :03:48.what audits had been carried out on the fund, the Deputy First
:03:49. > :03:50.Minister said organisations which have benefited from the fund
:03:51. > :03:52.have been subjected to the full checking
:03:53. > :04:03.This includes, firstly, a review of the organisational structure to
:04:04. > :04:07.ensure that a board and appropriate management structures are in place,
:04:08. > :04:11.and secondly, a review of the financial and governance processes
:04:12. > :04:15.to ensure the necessary policies and processes to manage and account for
:04:16. > :04:17.funding are in place and implemented effectively.
:04:18. > :04:22.Is the completely satisfied that no conflict of event as exists within
:04:23. > :04:28.Charter NI, or any other organisation funded by the Social
:04:29. > :04:31.Investment Fund cache macro is he completely satisfied.
:04:32. > :04:34.Given the community prioritising projects to avoid certain needs, a
:04:35. > :04:38.project to manage any conflict of interest was put in place. Group
:04:39. > :04:42.members were required to declare conflict-of-interest went potential
:04:43. > :04:50.projects were being proposed. And when a conflict was found, the group
:04:51. > :05:00.member was not permitted to be involved in any discussion or
:05:01. > :05:05.decision around the proposal. Can he explain precisely what added
:05:06. > :05:08.value for the management fee the Charter NI are paid, what this
:05:09. > :05:11.smaller and less experienced organisation are actually bringing
:05:12. > :05:18.to the project? They're actually hasn't been an
:05:19. > :05:23.allegation from anybody, even in the opposition, that ?1 of the ?1.7
:05:24. > :05:28.million was misappropriated in any way. There has not been an
:05:29. > :05:33.allegation whatsoever, and indeed, from our perspective as we go
:05:34. > :05:38.forward, we will go forward on the basis that, if there are specific
:05:39. > :05:41.allegations, if there are specific allegations to be made, people
:05:42. > :05:46.should make the allegation, and we can then have them investigated. And
:05:47. > :05:53.if they're then needs to be a police investigation, we can... Well, it is
:05:54. > :05:58.exactly what you asked. Can I ask the member not to
:05:59. > :06:02.intervene from a sedentary position? This debate and controversy has been
:06:03. > :06:05.sparked by the case of Mr Dees stared, and the question of whether
:06:06. > :06:11.he was an appropriate person to be employed at public expense by
:06:12. > :06:18.Charter NI, despite his alleged paramilitary role. As another case
:06:19. > :06:21.that he was employed not because of his -- not in spite of his
:06:22. > :06:24.paramilitary role but because of it, and this reflects British government
:06:25. > :06:28.policy, effectively endorsed by the executive, which involves paying
:06:29. > :06:30.ministers to buy off paramilitary schema can I remind the member
:06:31. > :06:37.questions need to be brief. I don't set that argument at all. --
:06:38. > :06:40.I don't accent. There are many projects to the north, and I would
:06:41. > :06:47.challenge anybody, and I remember at the time, there was some controversy
:06:48. > :06:51.around this issue, somebody saw a headline in the Irish News that this
:06:52. > :06:55.was a slush fund for paramilitaries. Well, where are all these
:06:56. > :06:59.paramilitaries? We can talk about him and the basis on which he was
:07:00. > :07:03.employed by Charter NI, which is really a matter for Charter NI. It
:07:04. > :07:06.has nothing to do with this executive with the British
:07:07. > :07:09.government. Can the Deputy First Minister
:07:10. > :07:12.confirmed that, in relation to the structures and the processes of the
:07:13. > :07:17.Social Investment Fund, that these were cleared and went through a full
:07:18. > :07:20.business case process, they were cleared by the accounting officer of
:07:21. > :07:23.the department, cleared independently from the Department by
:07:24. > :07:25.the Department for finance and personnel, and they were
:07:26. > :07:31.periodically reviewed throughout the process of policy development by the
:07:32. > :07:38.public sector exam Clyde Gateway process?
:07:39. > :07:40.I absolutely agree with the member. What's more, all of this was
:07:41. > :07:41.well-known within this Assembly. Martin McGuinness happy to agree
:07:42. > :07:43.with that point from the DUP's Emma Little Pengelly - and Stephen
:07:44. > :07:47.Walker is with me now. Once again the Social Investment
:07:48. > :07:56.Fund is the issue that It is a story that won't go away, a
:07:57. > :08:00.story that has been in the headlines for weeks now. It is a story that
:08:01. > :08:03.broadcasters have been talking about, newspaper journalist have
:08:04. > :08:06.been talking about, and I think when you look at the timeline of this
:08:07. > :08:12.story, you get an understanding of how detailed it has been. The story
:08:13. > :08:15.was on BBC Spotlight, then that was the Guardian interview, then the
:08:16. > :08:18.story in the Belfast Telegraph, when it was thought he was about to
:08:19. > :08:22.resign, and we have had various stories in the days afterwards. So
:08:23. > :08:23.it is the story that won't go away, and as we have just heard, dominated
:08:24. > :08:24.proceedings today. The problem for the Executive
:08:25. > :08:27.is that as long as this story continues, it will overshadow
:08:28. > :08:36.the other work of the Yes, I mean, that is the point that
:08:37. > :08:41.the executive mate. Arlene Foster has used this phrase that she finds
:08:42. > :08:46.the story a distraction. She says it is important to see this in context.
:08:47. > :08:50.She says what about ?1.7 million, a whole fond of 18 million. She says
:08:51. > :08:53.there is a lot of good work being done. I suppose it is worth
:08:54. > :08:56.reminding viewers that Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness are agreed on
:08:57. > :09:02.the sense that you have to see this in context, but they on what to do,
:09:03. > :09:06.because at Martin McGuinness thinks that he needs to reconsider his
:09:07. > :09:10.position, Arlene Foster says that as an employability matter, and really,
:09:11. > :09:17.she can't intervene when it comes to judge an eye. -- when it comes to
:09:18. > :09:22.rrChartern. And it was certainly a day to forget
:09:23. > :09:30.for the Speaker, Robin Newton. He said he should have been aware of
:09:31. > :09:35.his arrangement with Charter NI. This wasn't an official arrangement.
:09:36. > :09:37.He was basically saying that as an MLA, he advises democratic. He said
:09:38. > :09:41.he should have delegated that issue when it came up for review. There is
:09:42. > :09:45.an old adage in politics, that when you are explaining, you are losing
:09:46. > :09:49.the argument. He had to come to the chamber today to explain. It will be
:09:50. > :09:58.a day I suspect he will want to forget.
:09:59. > :10:01.And briefly, do you think he can now draw a line and put this behind him?
:10:02. > :10:04.He obviously wants to draw a line under it. But I think if there is
:10:05. > :10:06.another episode, people will be asking questions about him. It was
:10:07. > :10:08.clear today the opposition accepted his apology, but I think if there is
:10:09. > :10:11.another episode, further questions will clearly be asked.
:10:12. > :10:13.Thank you very much. We will hear more from you later on.
:10:14. > :10:16.It was the Deputy First Minister's turn to represent the Executive
:10:17. > :10:18.Office during Question Time today - and not surprisingly
:10:19. > :10:20.the Social Investment Fund was raised, but so too was another
:10:21. > :10:30.What engagement has taken place with the Irish government, particularly
:10:31. > :10:33.to identify issues of mutual interest, and also to exert joint
:10:34. > :10:38.influence on the British government and the EU?
:10:39. > :10:42.Well, as I said earlier, there is ongoing engagement between officials
:10:43. > :10:44.up to the head of the civil servants level, and specifically, we are
:10:45. > :10:49.engaging with various governments through the North - South
:10:50. > :10:52.ministerial Consul and the respective administrations. We will
:10:53. > :10:57.be carrying out an audit of border issues. This was discussed at the
:10:58. > :11:03.meeting last Friday. We will also engage further in Brexit via the
:11:04. > :11:05.British- Irish consul. Can the Deputy First Minister
:11:06. > :11:11.explain whether it is his assessment of the approaches have a different
:11:12. > :11:14.devolve that ministrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh?
:11:15. > :11:16.We are all very conscious of the responsibility they devolved
:11:17. > :11:23.Administration is out of the people that they represent. In Wales, the
:11:24. > :11:27.people of Wales voted to leave. In Scotland, the people of Scotland
:11:28. > :11:31.voted to Remain. People here voted to remain, and of course, people in
:11:32. > :11:36.England voted to leave also. So that does leave us with a very
:11:37. > :11:42.challenging situation to deal with, and no doubt, in the reports that
:11:43. > :11:48.are coming out of London almost on a daily basis about the appeared in
:11:49. > :11:53.ability thus far of the British government to have a collective view
:11:54. > :11:56.as to how to approach these negotiations, is also exercised in
:11:57. > :11:59.the devolved institutions. Both the Deputy First Minister and I
:12:00. > :12:03.agree on the need for special status of Northern Ireland. But would he
:12:04. > :12:05.also recognise that, if this is to get traction with the whole
:12:06. > :12:10.community, including with Unionists, that this has to be sold in very
:12:11. > :12:12.pragmatic terms, about the interest of Northern Ireland, and therefore
:12:13. > :12:17.be decoupled from wider constitutional aspirations and?
:12:18. > :12:21.Asfar as I'm concerned, everything is on the table. Nobody can put
:12:22. > :12:24.their hand on their heart and say that we have this negotiations going
:12:25. > :12:32.to work itself out, or where we will find ourselves, in a year or two
:12:33. > :12:36.year's time. If it is a hard Brexit, I think it will have very dramatic
:12:37. > :12:39.repercussions for devolved institutions, particularly for
:12:40. > :12:44.ourselves, who are in this unique position of having a land border
:12:45. > :12:50.with a country that is in Europe. So I think in the time ahead, in the
:12:51. > :12:52.discussions that we will see happen between our officials, but also
:12:53. > :12:56.between the First Minister, myself and the Taoiseach, the best way
:12:57. > :13:02.forward for us is to work very closely together, so that we can
:13:03. > :13:06.reach an outcome which can then be put to both the British government
:13:07. > :13:07.and the European Union as the combined wisdom of both governments,
:13:08. > :13:17.north and south. Would he accept that this process
:13:18. > :13:19.has been flawed, there is lack of accountability of the
:13:20. > :13:28.decision-making that went along with it? I would not accept it was flawed
:13:29. > :13:34.at all. Practically every party in this Assembly have been involved in
:13:35. > :13:37.the process from the very beginning. It was interesting, even though
:13:38. > :13:43.people have now seized on what is a very sad situation in relation to
:13:44. > :13:50.East Belfast, they have seized on it in an effort to criticise the
:13:51. > :13:53.overall programme. Whenever the junior minister or first blister
:13:54. > :14:08.went to Eniskillen last week for the opening of a ?900,000 investment
:14:09. > :14:10.from the SIF fund that UUP and SDLP were tripping over themselves to get
:14:11. > :14:14.photographs. The Deputy First Minister unable
:14:15. > :14:16.to resist that pop at the two And the Economy Minister also faced
:14:17. > :14:20.Question Time today. Simon Hamilton was asked
:14:21. > :14:21.about the important issue The Minister revealed
:14:22. > :14:25.Northern Ireland is on track to meet its renewable energy targets
:14:26. > :14:30.and that he supports The second North-South
:14:31. > :14:34.interconnector is to be considered in February next year and this
:14:35. > :14:41.prospect such as for a gas fired power station, battery storage,
:14:42. > :14:45.compressed air storage, have the potential to contribute to our
:14:46. > :14:52.future security of supply. Supplementary. I thank the Minister
:14:53. > :14:57.for his answer. The Minister will be where that the UUP will be putting a
:14:58. > :15:00.motion on energy to the Assembly tomorrow, will he take the
:15:01. > :15:04.opportunity to indicate tomorrow what is Plan B is if there is
:15:05. > :15:09.further delay in the north - south interconnector? I look forward to
:15:10. > :15:16.not least having to provide the entire House with the opportunity,
:15:17. > :15:22.and I hope the defeat is brought forward an effort as I will respond
:15:23. > :15:31.in kind. This is a challenging issue. I know that the committee
:15:32. > :15:36.will have got a clear indication of the seriousness of this issue and
:15:37. > :15:38.the challenges it faces. If the motion is brought to the House
:15:39. > :15:48.tomorrow in that spirit I will respond in kind. The member is
:15:49. > :15:51.fairly new to the Ulster Unionist Party but he'll really has that
:15:52. > :15:55.fatalistic tendency which runs through the Ulster Unionist Party
:15:56. > :15:58.like a stick of rock, he has already written off the interconnector
:15:59. > :16:04.before it has gone to the planning appeals committee. The member is
:16:05. > :16:10.right. It is an incredibly complex issue. I wanted to run through this
:16:11. > :16:15.planning process properly. In terms of the principle of the
:16:16. > :16:21.interconnector to something that I am committed to. But essential not
:16:22. > :16:24.just terms of security of supply in the long term but also any
:16:25. > :16:31.integrated electricity market viable. What does the Minister
:16:32. > :16:36.intends to do to promote future development of renewables in
:16:37. > :16:41.Northern Ireland stop there is already considerable support for
:16:42. > :16:48.renewable electricity. It will remain in place until 2037. It has
:16:49. > :16:56.been a successful project in this respect, in terms of increasing
:16:57. > :17:00.renewables generated electricity. In 2005 electricity consumption from
:17:01. > :17:05.renewable sources was 3% in Northern Ireland, but has now grown to 25.4%
:17:06. > :17:12.at the end of last year. We are well on course to meet our electricity
:17:13. > :17:17.consumption by 2020. There is already a considerable amount of
:17:18. > :17:21.renewables on the growth and some more to receive offers and I believe
:17:22. > :17:27.not only will be meet the 40% target but all of those offers when they
:17:28. > :17:30.are met able to generate 100% of peak demand from renewable sources.
:17:31. > :17:32.Simon Hamilton, clearly optimistic that those renewable
:17:33. > :17:37.It's emerged that an immediate review of vulnerable inmates
:17:38. > :17:42.with mental health issues is to be carried out.
:17:43. > :17:43.The Justice Minister made the announcement following recent
:17:44. > :17:45.deaths in Maghaberry Prison and a high-profile case
:17:46. > :17:57.Since November 2015 there have been five deaths in custody in Northern
:17:58. > :18:05.Ireland, four relating to mental health issue. In November the prison
:18:06. > :18:10.population totals 1533. Of these 417 were recorded as having a mental
:18:11. > :18:15.health awareness and a further 740 prisoners recorded as having an
:18:16. > :18:18.addiction. This amounts to over 75% of the prison population. However
:18:19. > :18:24.read poetry at the custody environment is not designed to help
:18:25. > :18:28.those with chronic mental health issues, whatever tuning provide to
:18:29. > :18:32.star in prison officers, identifying and supporting prisoners of mental
:18:33. > :18:37.health issues as a high priority for the prison service but not every
:18:38. > :18:40.episode of self harm can be prevented. Tragically some suicides
:18:41. > :18:51.will happen despite the best episodes bat the best efforts of
:18:52. > :18:54.staff. I believe there will be positive benefits. It will help with
:18:55. > :19:00.sickness absence rates and hopefully that will enable us to have our full
:19:01. > :19:05.quantity of prison officers soon that we can better deal with
:19:06. > :19:11.prisoners. Prison staff and senior staff stood by for over half an hour
:19:12. > :19:16.and watch while our man slashed himself and blinded himself
:19:17. > :19:20.manually. Is the Minister satisfied that the demo comes out of this
:19:21. > :19:23.review that prison staff will be encouraged to take the initiative
:19:24. > :19:28.and take responsibility when required and stop this sort of thing
:19:29. > :19:33.if it is being observed, rather than wait for somebody to give them
:19:34. > :19:37.guidance? I would certainly hope that it ever does come out of this
:19:38. > :19:40.review that they can provide more of an immediate response so that they
:19:41. > :19:47.do not have incidents happening like the member describes. But this has
:19:48. > :19:51.to be a holistic approach. Giving officers the right training and
:19:52. > :19:54.skills in terms of how they can deal with the immediate environment and
:19:55. > :19:59.also looking at their health care site to ensure we do not get to that
:20:00. > :20:03.point. The assessment is prisoners are coming and protect only into
:20:04. > :20:06.Maghaberry, is it effective enough, but also in terms of resource and
:20:07. > :20:16.use of resource, the present resource review team said resources
:20:17. > :20:21.could be brought into place. I have stated before that this proposal has
:20:22. > :20:24.been at best ignored but the degree of resistance and around it. With
:20:25. > :20:28.the Minister revisit that and perhaps that would allow some
:20:29. > :20:34.resource. Any approach taking forward we have to have more focus
:20:35. > :20:38.on us now that present with mental health problems. 75% is not an
:20:39. > :20:43.insignificant number. It is something we need to take seriously.
:20:44. > :20:50.I would hope that review will take into account how to move forward. I
:20:51. > :20:54.am keen to look to see what we need to put in place to ensure that this
:20:55. > :20:55.is not as much of a problem in the future.
:20:56. > :20:57.Claire Sugden on her continuing challenge of dealing with prisoners
:20:58. > :21:02.Charter NI and Dee Stitt may have temporarily replaced Brexit
:21:03. > :21:04.as Stormont's current buzzwords, but it's hard to keep a good
:21:05. > :21:08.Brexit will, of course, have a huge impact on our
:21:09. > :21:11.agricultural industries and it was a motion raising that
:21:12. > :21:13.concern which the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP
:21:14. > :21:25.I hope I'm whom probably hear more from the Minister that at this point
:21:26. > :21:29.in time lots are being given at executive level at consultative
:21:30. > :21:34.committee for development of strategy. A strategy which does not
:21:35. > :21:40.leave as in the situation where farmers and food sector in the
:21:41. > :21:44.situation that come 2020 financially and otherwise falling off the edge
:21:45. > :21:47.of Hartcliffe. That has to be avoided at all costs, irrespective
:21:48. > :21:54.of what people's views are in relation to Brexit or not to Brexit,
:21:55. > :21:58.we must at all avoid that situation. Farmer after farmer was saying we
:21:59. > :22:02.want to get out of Europe. Why did they want to get out of Europe?
:22:03. > :22:07.Because over the period of 45 years that they were in Europe they had
:22:08. > :22:13.managed to invent something that 2800 different regulations affecting
:22:14. > :22:19.farming. That is one for every week we were in Europe. They were
:22:20. > :22:24.regulated to death. Farmers could not get on the work they had to do.
:22:25. > :22:29.Our farmers depend on payments received such amounts to 265 million
:22:30. > :22:34.per year in basic payments. The single farm payment and other
:22:35. > :22:41.payments ensure farmers have the means to survive and without these
:22:42. > :22:45.farming incomes would have been negative last year and in four of
:22:46. > :22:49.the last five years. Last year the UK received 3 billion of support,
:22:50. > :22:55.almost 10% into Northern Ireland, therein lies the danger however or
:22:56. > :22:58.of Northern Ireland were only to receive a proportion of future
:22:59. > :23:03.funding through the Barnett Formula we would only be looking at
:23:04. > :23:09.receiving approximately one third of what we receive is present. We have
:23:10. > :23:14.the much trumpeted guarantee of EU funding or the equivalent of EU
:23:15. > :23:18.funding until 2020 which given it is going to take until 2019 at the
:23:19. > :23:25.earliest for the UK to leave the EU is not much of a guarantee of any
:23:26. > :23:29.long-term basis. All the evidence is that the UK Government is likely to
:23:30. > :23:34.seek to reduce the amount of funding provides pervasive agriculture so we
:23:35. > :23:39.have the likelihood that after 2020 we will be receiving something less
:23:40. > :23:45.than 10% of something less than ?350 billion. These uncharted waters
:23:46. > :23:51.provides a living and opportunities not only for as in this House but
:23:52. > :23:55.also for our farmers. I and the wider executive will be a strong
:23:56. > :23:58.voice and I am committed to engaging with those who are in a position to
:23:59. > :24:02.make decisions which will benefit the sector moving forward. I want to
:24:03. > :24:06.ensure a debate about the future free Mac moving forward and not one
:24:07. > :24:11.dominated by funding the focus of what that funding might be used for.
:24:12. > :24:15.The advantage of leaving EU is a beacon design our policies which
:24:16. > :24:15.give as scope to remove the unnecessary bureaucracy associated
:24:16. > :24:17.with the current arrangements. The second big piece of joint
:24:18. > :24:20.Opposition business today As is now their way,
:24:21. > :24:24.the SDLP and Ulster Unionists came together to raise the issue,
:24:25. > :24:37.and to criticise the Education The draft strategic area plan as put
:24:38. > :24:41.forward by the Minister of education is flawed. First of all matters
:24:42. > :24:45.concerning that is based on the scene sustainable schools policy
:24:46. > :24:49.which underpins the previous area plan which was called into serious
:24:50. > :24:56.disrepute by the Public Accounts Committee only a few months ago.
:24:57. > :24:59.Removal schools play a key role in communities particularly where small
:25:00. > :25:06.isolated communities live alongside one another. Such schools are often
:25:07. > :25:10.the local point for communities and their proposed closure causes
:25:11. > :25:13.concern among the people who live there. Moving the school out of the
:25:14. > :25:19.village will leave a big hole in community. I have and continued to
:25:20. > :25:23.fight for services to be located in rural areas. The sustainability of
:25:24. > :25:31.communities. I have questioned ministers. However I cannot support
:25:32. > :25:34.the ongoing provision of a school in a little area does not meeting the
:25:35. > :25:39.educational needs of our children. It is with regret we have to bring
:25:40. > :25:42.this motion today. I would have hoped the value of the rule schools
:25:43. > :25:52.to the many communities would have been self evident but what is clear
:25:53. > :25:57.from the proposals put forward is that visual schools are being
:25:58. > :26:01.targeted by stealth. In an area as small as the north we need to make
:26:02. > :26:06.decisions based on a vision of the entire north and the interest of our
:26:07. > :26:10.young people and the quality of education they receive. Any such
:26:11. > :26:15.vision must also have input from pupils, parents, teachers and
:26:16. > :26:18.principals, as well as what has been suggested in the document, the
:26:19. > :26:24.managing authorities and sectoral support bodies. They want to have
:26:25. > :26:28.separate legislative protection for visual schools but this is deemed
:26:29. > :26:32.necessary to provide protection what is the level of protection for
:26:33. > :26:35.schools that fall outside of those areas. If you are a pupil in
:26:36. > :26:42.Belfast, in Londonderry, in Portadown, Ballymena? The Ulster
:26:43. > :26:43.Unionist Party the SDLP are happy to simply abandon you.
:26:44. > :26:46.Peter Weir - and Stephen Walker has rejoined me for a final word.
:26:47. > :26:50.Today was another Opposition day today where the SDLP and the UUP
:26:51. > :27:06.We are getting to see the SDLP and the Australian in a working
:27:07. > :27:09.together. What happens behind the scenes as the SDLP and the Ulster
:27:10. > :27:13.Unionists get together and decide what subjects they are good to talk
:27:14. > :27:17.about, what speakers are going to talk, what time they want to spend
:27:18. > :27:23.on certain subjects. We saw today the subjects that they chose, The
:27:24. > :27:29.Beatles farming, they chose poverty, deprivation, and the issue of rural
:27:30. > :27:33.schools, and emotive subject. They chose subjects that they felt chimed
:27:34. > :27:37.with the electorate saw behind the scenes there is a lot of
:27:38. > :27:38.organisation going on between the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party
:27:39. > :27:40.we are going to see more of it. And finally Stephen,
:27:41. > :27:42.we had the spectacle of a rather unusual event in a Stormont
:27:43. > :27:50.corridor today. Yes. I am going to try to avoid too
:27:51. > :27:55.many pounds because a lot of pans were used. This was the spend a
:27:56. > :27:59.penny campaign to twin the toilets and storm of the pilots in Uganda,
:28:00. > :28:05.it is about raising the issue of clean drinking water and sanitation
:28:06. > :28:09.and the campaign was spearheaded by clear Hana of the SDLP and we can
:28:10. > :28:15.listen now to what she had to say at the launch today. One third of the
:28:16. > :28:18.world's publisher does not have access to good sanitation, yesterday
:28:19. > :28:22.was world toilet Day so we thought it was the opportunity to remind
:28:23. > :28:27.people when they are spending a penny of that need that is out there
:28:28. > :28:33.and international developments. There are light-hearted wheeze to
:28:34. > :28:43.raise this. Thank you for coming. The toilets twinning organisation.
:28:44. > :28:47.Basically saying this is a serious issue. There was a good turnout. The
:28:48. > :28:49.Speaker was there as well. That's it for now, but there'll be
:28:50. > :28:55.more of the same tomorrow night - Until then, from everyone
:28:56. > :29:03.in the team, goodnight.