:00:30. > :00:35.Today. On tonight's programme: An image our leaders won't want
:00:35. > :00:43.broadcast around the world. Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly comes under fire
:00:43. > :00:45.from unionists after this video was recorded at the weekend. Economic
:00:45. > :00:50.growth versus preserving our environment as the future of
:00:50. > :00:54.planning is debated in the Assembly. Economic investment is already a
:00:54. > :00:58.material consideration, has been for as long as I know. It is already
:00:58. > :01:02.part of the narrative around planning decisions. And I'm joined
:01:03. > :01:12.by our political correspondent, Gareth Gordon, to discuss another
:01:13. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:22.Belfast on Friday night, but the incident Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly
:01:22. > :01:25.found himself involved in made a brief appearance at Stormont today.
:01:25. > :01:31.Unionists have accused Mr Kelly of trying to prevent a police officer
:01:31. > :01:36.from carrying out his duty. Sinn Fein said he was trying to diffuse a
:01:36. > :01:40.tense situation and an Orange Order parade. Either way, it's not an
:01:40. > :01:44.ideal start to the marching season and unionists raise this -- raised
:01:44. > :01:51.this issue at the start of proceedings. The parading season has
:01:51. > :01:58.got off at the weekend to a relatively peaceful start, but the
:01:58. > :02:04.House will be aware of an incident in north best fall -- Belfast, where
:02:05. > :02:09.a Sinn Fein MLA has been videoed, it would appear, to be impeding a
:02:09. > :02:13.police officer in the carrying out of his duty. The police ombudsman
:02:13. > :02:18.has a direction and system to investigate police officers, but can
:02:18. > :02:24.you advise what we as a House can do to ensure that we investigate fully
:02:24. > :02:30.what appears to be the attempted physical impeding of a police office
:02:30. > :02:36.officer by a member of Sinn Fein in this House. Order, let me deal with
:02:36. > :02:39.this point of order first of all. Members will know in dealing with a
:02:39. > :02:44.procedural matter I would also advise members to go to the business
:02:44. > :02:50.office. I am not going to go into the issue on the matter of the day
:02:50. > :02:54.submitted to the business office, which is -- I have made a decision
:02:54. > :02:59.on. Please talk to the business office. That's where we should leave
:02:59. > :03:03.this issue. If it's an issue around procedures very happy to take it.
:03:03. > :03:09.Thank you Mr Speaker. Can you confirm to this House that under the
:03:09. > :03:14.code of conduct of members, it is stated as our public duty that MLAs
:03:14. > :03:20.should uphold the law, therefore given the loutish behaviour of Mr
:03:20. > :03:23.Kelly last Friday what investigation will be conducted... Order. The
:03:23. > :03:28.member knows this issue rests with the committee. That's where members
:03:28. > :03:32.should be directed to as well. Order. Let us move on. Well, I'm
:03:32. > :03:36.joined by Gareth Gordon. What's been the fall out from this incident?
:03:36. > :03:40.you heard, the Speaker managed to close down that debate inside the
:03:40. > :03:44.Assembly chamber, but it's not been so easy outside. It's been raging
:03:44. > :03:49.all day, all weekend indeed. It's another example, no matter what the
:03:49. > :03:56.rights and wrongs of what happened on Saturday night, or Friday night,
:03:56. > :04:02.that what happens on the streets does impact the political process.
:04:02. > :04:05.Practically already Jim Allister has made a formal complaint against
:04:05. > :04:10.Gerry Kelly. A DUP MLA has questioned the fitness for office of
:04:11. > :04:13.Gerry Kelly. An the culture minister, who was injured in that
:04:13. > :04:18.incident, the most significant development today the First
:04:18. > :04:23.Minister, who was at an event this afternoon, was asked about what
:04:23. > :04:29.happened. He said he believed Gerry Kelly's actions were reckless and
:04:29. > :04:33.ill advised. Sinn Fein couldn't let that go. They have accused the First
:04:33. > :04:38.Minister of making politically motivated comments. We see quickly a
:04:38. > :04:43.period with positive headlines which have been flagged up, suddenly
:04:43. > :04:45.replaced by negative ones. This incident curd just hours after the
:04:45. > :04:50.first and deputy first ministers appealed for calm ahead of the
:04:50. > :04:57.marching season. It's almost as if they anticipated trouble. They put
:04:57. > :05:01.out a joint statement on Thursday night for Friday morning. I was at
:05:01. > :05:06.the council meeting in Derry on Friday, where the two men, it has to
:05:06. > :05:10.be said, they appeared as relaxed in each other's company as I've ever
:05:10. > :05:14.seen them. They were making gentle jokes at each other's expense. They
:05:15. > :05:18.were singing from the same hymn sheet, making appeals for calm and
:05:18. > :05:26.respect ahead of the tour of the north on Friday night. Yet, quickly,
:05:26. > :05:28.all the good work, as they would put it, they have accused us in the past
:05:28. > :05:33.of being too negative, they say so many positive things have happened
:05:33. > :05:38.and the success of the G8, it shows you how quickly that can unravel.
:05:38. > :05:42.Now we have Peter Robinson saying Gerry Kelly was ill-advised and
:05:42. > :05:45.reckless. We have Sinn Fein's response. It will be interesting to
:05:45. > :05:49.see what happens when the two men appear together in public and see if
:05:49. > :05:53.that happens. The mood music will be very interesting indeed. Indeed.
:05:53. > :05:58.Thank you very much. Now, back to business on the hill. The planning
:05:58. > :06:02.bill designed to modernise our planning system. The aim is to speed
:06:02. > :06:06.up planning decisions, deliver faster and fairer appeals and
:06:06. > :06:10.toughen up when it comes to enforcing planning laws. The bill
:06:10. > :06:14.sparked a marathon debate he the consideration stage. Several
:06:14. > :06:20.amendments have been tabled. Here's a sample of the early exchanges this
:06:20. > :06:24.morning. Planning is fundamental to everything we do in society. How we
:06:24. > :06:30.plan our towns, cities and rural areas is key to our health and well
:06:30. > :06:33.being. That's why it's important to get it right. My concern about
:06:34. > :06:38.elements of this bill and indeed, some of the amendments that we're
:06:38. > :06:44.going to debate today, is that we're in a rush to seek to get planning
:06:44. > :06:48.quickly at the expense of getting it right. There is no-one who would
:06:49. > :06:54.argue with making planning more efficient. There's no doubt that our
:06:54. > :06:58.track record in this regard has been poor. I think there are any number
:06:58. > :07:01.of examples and I appreciate that some of those examples may be more
:07:01. > :07:05.about speed and may be about lack of speed and a lack of efficiency
:07:05. > :07:12.within the planning system, but I think there are Newham rabble
:07:12. > :07:16.examples of where nebz around this chamber can point to examples in
:07:16. > :07:21.their own constituency where the planning system has impeded economic
:07:21. > :07:24.development. It has cost Northern Ireland jobs, at a time when
:07:24. > :07:26.Northern Ireland desperately needs jobs, at a time whenever thousands
:07:26. > :07:35.of people from these shores are emigrating from anywhere around the
:07:35. > :07:41.world to get employment. I've listened carefully to the two
:07:41. > :07:43.previous contributors, in relation to their support for clauses two and
:07:43. > :07:49.six and talking about Northern Ireland being open for business.
:07:49. > :07:55.However, it is a sad reality that there are many brownfield sites
:07:55. > :07:59.within development zones. There are numerous empty premises in terms of
:07:59. > :08:03.commercial and industrial comem iss. There are many of -- premises. There
:08:03. > :08:08.are many shops and town centres that are already empty. It is
:08:08. > :08:12.questionable as to whether or not planning in itself is the Seoul
:08:12. > :08:16.driver for economic development. do welcome at this stage and support
:08:16. > :08:23.the overall principle of this planning bill coming forward. I know
:08:23. > :08:27.what many people in society, whether that's developers, objectors an the
:08:27. > :08:31.planning service themselves, want to see is a speedier planning process
:08:31. > :08:36.and, at times, it has been very frustrating for all those involved.
:08:36. > :08:42.The principle of this bill at this stage is obviously very welcome in
:08:42. > :08:47.that it is hoping to improve that. In light of some of the amendments
:08:47. > :08:54.tabled at the last minute to the bill, I feel I'm speaking with a
:08:54. > :08:59.heavy heart. In fact, as I have previously stated, I do not think
:08:59. > :09:05.the minister should have moved consideration stage today. This
:09:05. > :09:12.would have allowed everyone the opportunity to assess the amendments
:09:12. > :09:17.cooked up by Sinn Fein and the DUP working closely together behind
:09:17. > :09:22.closed doors. If it transpires by the time this review commences that
:09:22. > :09:26.some disastrous decisions are made on the basis that the so-called
:09:26. > :09:29.economic benefits have been given preference over the environmental
:09:29. > :09:34.damage caused and we're facing a situation in three years' time
:09:34. > :09:39.whereby fracking is taking place across Fermanagh or even in Belfast
:09:39. > :09:42.city centre is now proposed, a Nuclear Power Station has been
:09:42. > :09:46.constructed across Belfast loch from Titanic Belfast and every town and
:09:46. > :09:50.village in the north contains a waste incinerator, will those
:09:50. > :09:56.developments be closed down? Will efforts be made to repair the
:09:56. > :10:05.damage? Or will we be told that it's too late? It is my view that issues
:10:05. > :10:12.around the environment are already promoted, in terms of protection,
:10:12. > :10:17.and legislated for or in terms of practice and policy, accommodated,
:10:17. > :10:20.within the planning system. If this isn't actually going to give any
:10:20. > :10:25.greater weight to the economic materials, then what is the purpose
:10:25. > :10:29.of the bill and the two clauses? think that's a fair question. It
:10:29. > :10:37.might even be a question that you might want to put to your colleagues
:10:37. > :10:43.in the executive. It's questions that might be put to other members
:10:43. > :10:49.of the executive, because I didn't go out of my way to seek in the bill
:10:49. > :10:55.anything further than what was in the act. Given, I would suggest,
:10:55. > :10:59.that economic considerations, economic development is a material
:10:59. > :11:04.consideration, has been for as long as I know, it is already part of the
:11:04. > :11:10.narrative around planning decisions. You may argue, I don't, but some may
:11:10. > :11:18.argue that somehow or other these words on the face of the bill
:11:18. > :11:21.enhance that requirement. I don't agree. But Any Currency -- but in
:11:21. > :11:26.any case economic requirements have been part of the planning system
:11:26. > :11:30.forever and a day I presume. Reaction to that bill so far, I'm
:11:30. > :11:34.joined by economist John Simpson and environmentalist James Robinson.
:11:34. > :11:38.Welcome to the programme. First of all, John, you think this bill is
:11:38. > :11:41.long overdue. This bill is absolutely necessary. I'm not saying
:11:42. > :11:46.that it needs an absolute statement about the economy being a priority,
:11:46. > :11:51.but it needs to bring the economy into play in a way in which economic
:11:51. > :11:55.issues can be put into the balance sheet. If we were now to amend the
:11:55. > :11:58.bill to take that out the reputation for Northern Ireland for being a
:11:58. > :12:02.difficult place to get planning permission would be made worse. We
:12:02. > :12:06.do have a bad reputation because planning permission an the
:12:06. > :12:09.principles behind it have been slow. This bill would tidy it up, improve
:12:09. > :12:16.it and I hope it can be done in a balanced way. I hope that will come
:12:16. > :12:18.out of this debate, which is still going on. You're not so keen now.
:12:18. > :12:22.Economic prosperity has always been part of the material considerations
:12:22. > :12:26.which are there for planning applications. This is not something
:12:26. > :12:30.new. We've always argued that it should be balanced against things
:12:30. > :12:34.like living our environmental limits and creating an equal and just
:12:34. > :12:39.society. So taking planning decisions which account for all of
:12:39. > :12:44.these things is surely the best way of creating a sustainable future so
:12:44. > :12:48.future generation cans benefit from what the decisions are. The balance
:12:48. > :12:52.was already there,if you like, in the programme for Government, around
:12:52. > :12:57.sustainable development, the environment and economic issues. Why
:12:58. > :13:04.are economic issues suddenly to the fore. There wasn't a bill with a
:13:04. > :13:08.clause that said economic issues were a material consideration. We
:13:08. > :13:12.might even disagree whether they were taken into account. So long as
:13:12. > :13:17.we actually take a language of there may be occasions in which something
:13:17. > :13:23.has a strong economic motivation in which any environmental issue might
:13:23. > :13:26.be minor or vice versa, then we will have a planning decision where we
:13:26. > :13:29.can defend the outcomes on the basis we put responsibility. I hope we
:13:29. > :13:33.actually put the responsibility on the minister of environment and that
:13:33. > :13:36.we don't alter that responsibility, which is still for discussion.
:13:36. > :13:39.think it's a bad thing to have the first and deputy first ministers
:13:39. > :13:43.take some of the planning powers to their department? If the first
:13:43. > :13:49.ministers want to have particular bits, it sounds as if they're trying
:13:49. > :13:54.to create an enterprise zone philosophy. Let's have those roles,
:13:54. > :13:57.if they can find an appropriate areas on the rules, but leave it
:13:57. > :14:02.with the department of environment and say to them, you've trained in
:14:02. > :14:05.the past your town planners. You tell us you've been taking into
:14:05. > :14:10.account economic issues. Let's make sure they're absolutely trained to
:14:10. > :14:14.cope with the needs of the 21st century, which will require a
:14:14. > :14:17.sharper training focus. There is the sense of frustration that the
:14:18. > :14:22.environment is coming at the expense of jobs and investment. What do you
:14:22. > :14:26.say to people who champion this bill? Absolutely. When the bill
:14:27. > :14:30.first came out and we read it, the RSPB and other groups were
:14:30. > :14:33.supportive of it. We want to see better planning decisions. We want
:14:33. > :14:38.to see it quick. We want those decisions taken in the best way. If
:14:38. > :14:42.you look back as far as 200#4, the planning commission was clear that
:14:42. > :14:45.it was the public who were saying they needed a system they could
:14:45. > :14:50.trust. With these new amendments we think that trust isn't going to be
:14:50. > :14:53.there. Therefore we need to see a Planning Bill which will secure
:14:53. > :14:57.sustainable development so future generations don't look back at the
:14:57. > :15:01.decisions and think, actually, that was the wrong decision. Well, we
:15:02. > :15:05.still have a few hours to go to make up their minds. Thank you very much.
:15:05. > :15:10.The House continued to divide this evening as the debate on the
:15:10. > :15:14.Planning Bill continued in particular causing controversy was a
:15:14. > :15:17.DUP Sinn Fein amendment to create economically sufficient planning
:15:17. > :15:26.zones to be administered by the first and deputy First Minister's
:15:26. > :15:29.office. The amendment itself clearly states to create opportunities for
:15:29. > :15:37.economic -- economics in the planning application. We're looking
:15:37. > :15:44.at trying to create certain zones for economic beneficial planning
:15:44. > :15:49.applications. It's probably on the same principle as simplified
:15:49. > :15:58.planning zones. I just want to outline the reasons behind all of
:15:58. > :16:03.this. I want to just state at the outset that this is not about OFMDFM
:16:03. > :16:07.taking over this role. If the department of the environment
:16:07. > :16:11.doesn't cooperate, then by order a draft can be laid and approved by
:16:11. > :16:15.resolution of the Assembly, which is another way of saying that the
:16:15. > :16:20.ruling DUP Sinn Fein kabal can override the department and force
:16:20. > :16:26.their will. So, isn't it rather disingenuous to pretend this is
:16:26. > :16:31.anything but a takeover? If it's about cooperation, would that be the
:16:31. > :16:35.same sort of cooperation that the minister had in the announcement of
:16:35. > :16:41.the schemes by the First Minister, which affect his department, in
:16:41. > :16:46.which there was no consultation whatsoever? Can I thank the member
:16:46. > :16:52.for the intervection. -- intervention. It states that in 8
:16:52. > :16:58.br. I go back to the point dr 8 B. I go back to the point and why we're
:16:58. > :17:03.offering there. The reality is this: Instead of us trying to look at
:17:03. > :17:07.creating opportunities and creating jobs within our own constituencies
:17:08. > :17:15.throughout the north, to try and keep our young people here, because
:17:15. > :17:20.clearly, our young people are leaving and if they -- there were
:17:20. > :17:23.jobs here they wouldn't be leaving. To say I was shocked when I saw this
:17:23. > :17:28.amendment would be an understatement. To submit such a
:17:28. > :17:33.substantial amendment with such far-reaching consequences right at
:17:33. > :17:41.the deadline for submission is, in my opinion, unacceptable. At
:17:41. > :17:46.committee I worked closely with my colleagues, including Mr Wear. They
:17:46. > :17:52.were aware of the likely amendments I would seek. I think to not extend
:17:52. > :17:59.similar courtesy to committee colleagues shows that this is Sinn
:17:59. > :18:07.Fein DUP riding roof shooed over the Assembly and indeed, the -- rough
:18:07. > :18:11.Shooed over the Assembly -- shod over the Assembly. We can use this
:18:11. > :18:15.as an opportunity not to lose investments, you know, take a look
:18:15. > :18:19.at our neighbouring jurisdiction, it's not just corporation tax that
:18:19. > :18:23.they use to attract people in. They have the opportunity of using
:18:23. > :18:28.quicker planning approvals and have used that there. On one hand, they
:18:28. > :18:33.use the lower tax regime to attract people then they offer quick
:18:33. > :18:39.planning approval in areas, that is something we should be zooing.
:18:39. > :18:45.That's the examples in learning I'm prepared to learn from them. After
:18:45. > :18:51.all the soft words and after Cameron, Obama and the G8, we are
:18:51. > :18:56.back to the reality of how OFM DFM do business. This amendment proves
:18:56. > :19:02.they don't want to work in partnership. They not only want to
:19:02. > :19:07.have their way without consultation, they want to grab the legal powers
:19:07. > :19:10.from DOE. Yet as others have said another power grab. Our political
:19:10. > :19:14.correspondent, Gareth Gordon, who's been following this debate is back
:19:14. > :19:19.with more analysis. This is a very controversial amendment tonight,
:19:19. > :19:22.particularly the one around the first and deputy First Minister's
:19:22. > :19:26.taking some of that planning power back to the centre. Now critics
:19:26. > :19:30.describe this as a power grab. Is that a fair comment? You certainly
:19:30. > :19:36.could describe it as that. It depends what side of the argument
:19:36. > :19:39.you're on. There is the element of the political coup. It takes some of
:19:39. > :19:49.the planning from the environment department and place it's right at
:19:49. > :19:51.
:19:51. > :19:57.the heart of the OFM DFM. There's no secret of his displeasure in this.
:19:57. > :19:59.Of course, the DUP and Sinn Fein were reporting earlier on how they
:19:59. > :20:03.disagree vehemently about some of the parading issues, they have
:20:03. > :20:06.agreed about this. It's a carve up and they have the numbers to push it
:20:06. > :20:13.through the Assembly. Briefly, there has been ape development this
:20:13. > :20:16.evening. We had been expecting a very late night, for all of these
:20:16. > :20:20.amendments to be voted on tonight. That is now not going to happen.
:20:20. > :20:23.Suddenly, the Assembly heard that there is a petition of concern. We
:20:24. > :20:31.understand that petition has been brought by the DUP about amendments
:20:31. > :20:33.that were brought by the Ulster Unionist Party and inserting the
:20:33. > :20:39.word "environment" in some of the amendments. That means that the
:20:39. > :20:44.whole debate has to close down. They will have to come back tomorrow. So
:20:44. > :20:49.even at this late stage, it's not certain. Very much. The Education
:20:49. > :20:52.Minister announced more places for newly qualified teachers through the
:20:52. > :20:56.project delivering social change. But before the good news, the
:20:57. > :21:01.minister had to defend his record on the controlled school sector.
:21:01. > :21:06.minister in a written reply to a question I submitted on this issue
:21:06. > :21:11.stated that in the Catholic maintained sector there were 182
:21:11. > :21:16.additional places. In the integrated sector 63, in the Irish language
:21:16. > :21:23.sector it was 38. It strikes me that the control sector is at the pure
:21:23. > :21:25.end of your thinking. Do you accept that this is not a fair aloe
:21:26. > :21:31.indication and distribution of the additional places allocated this
:21:31. > :21:39.year. If the member is accusing me of prejudice, I have to say I take
:21:39. > :21:49.it seriously. Outside this chamber to bring me to account and I invite
:21:49. > :21:52.
:21:52. > :21:58.him to use either. Could the minister give his rational for not
:21:58. > :22:05.giving additional places to maintain schools which have a history of
:22:05. > :22:07.oversup scripgs, for example St Francis? I'm not sure how it's
:22:07. > :22:11.associated with this question, perhaps more associated with the
:22:11. > :22:17.previous question. I'm happy to respond. Considering that I have
:22:17. > :22:23.been accused of being prejudiced, the member shows up two good
:22:23. > :22:28.example. I torn down a school, a Catholic school in my own
:22:28. > :22:33.constituency in relation to temporary variation. I don't see how
:22:33. > :22:39.I can display more fairness than that. Why? Because the sums didn't
:22:39. > :22:43.stack up. OFMDFM, delivering social change project is progressing well.
:22:43. > :22:50.The principles of the selected schools have taended information
:22:50. > :22:53.sessions. The -- attended information sessions. The 230 recent
:22:54. > :22:57.graduate teachers will be in post from September onwards. The project
:22:57. > :23:01.will ensure extra support for children and primary schools to
:23:01. > :23:06.achieve the expected levels of reading and maths. It will provide
:23:06. > :23:13.tuition to pupils in post primary schools who are not predicted to get
:23:13. > :23:16.at least a C grade in English and/or maths. I am funding an expansion of
:23:16. > :23:21.this project adding an extra 36 posts to bring more primary schools
:23:21. > :23:25.into the project and to ensure that every qualifying post primary school
:23:25. > :23:28.has at least one fulltime teacher or increasing from one to two teachers
:23:28. > :23:34.for larger schools. It's emerged the Health Minister
:23:34. > :23:37.went against the advice of his most senior civil servient and ordered
:23:38. > :23:42.two proposed health centres to be built by the private sector. The
:23:42. > :23:51.information was revealed as the health committee questioned the
:23:51. > :23:54.secretary. I was minded that they actually cancelled the session.
:23:54. > :23:58.That's how annoyed I am. Over the last number of weeks, we have tried
:23:59. > :24:03.to accommodate the department. Still papers have arrived to us late. We
:24:03. > :24:07.have a responsibility and a job to do. I accept thaw have deadlines and
:24:07. > :24:12.need to get committee papers cleared. I accept all that. But
:24:12. > :24:16.especially on this issue, I gave another week and still, papers have
:24:16. > :24:22.come to us late. The rules of Government pointed to doing this in
:24:22. > :24:26.a way that kept the asset within the public service, owned by the people.
:24:26. > :24:31.What the minister has done is set aside those rules and taken a
:24:31. > :24:37.decision to run an experiment which means the asset will be privatised.
:24:37. > :24:41.The rules of government include the prerogative of ministers to decide,
:24:41. > :24:48.exercise their own judgment. financial rules. With the greatest
:24:48. > :24:52.respect shall the rules, you're a counting officer, you will be hauled
:24:52. > :24:57.in front of the committee with your ability to uphold the financial
:24:57. > :25:00.rules. It said in these case it's was best to build something and that
:25:00. > :25:05.the people of Northern Ireland would own it. The minister overruled that
:25:05. > :25:08.using his powers as minister to say no, we'll privatise them. He has
:25:08. > :25:15.decided to proceed with a third party development on the basis he
:25:15. > :25:24.thinks that's worth considering. I wrong in saying that he overruled
:25:24. > :25:30.it? It's overruling, advice, advisors advise, ministers decide.
:25:30. > :25:34.That's with every decision taken. I'm accountable to advise in line
:25:34. > :25:37.with object objective, evidence-based information in
:25:37. > :25:41.relation to value for money. That was done. The business case is
:25:41. > :25:45.there. It is entirely reasonable and appropriate for a minister to take a
:25:45. > :25:52.different view. That's within the rules. The rules provide for that.
:25:53. > :25:58.What we do know is that despite the minister's protestations that this
:25:58. > :26:02.is not a charter for the stealth privatisation of the asset base,
:26:02. > :26:07.that in fact, it is. If he continues to use ministerial direction and if
:26:07. > :26:11.there's no legislation in place that puts a duty on you to point out to a
:26:11. > :26:14.minister this is contrary to policy, all you can say to him is - it's
:26:14. > :26:19.just against the financial rules. If you direct me to do other-wise, if
:26:19. > :26:27.you say you want to privatise, minister, off you go. Policy is for
:26:27. > :26:31.the minister and for the Assembly. Science, technology, engineering and
:26:31. > :26:35.maths were the main topic in Question Time for the employment and
:26:35. > :26:39.learning minister, Stephen Farry. He was asked how he intends to get more
:26:39. > :26:42.students, particularly young women, to take them up. Science,
:26:43. > :26:50.technology, engineering and maths are becoming increasingly important
:26:50. > :26:55.to our economy. As such I'm providing an additional 1200
:26:55. > :27:00.under-graduate places by 2016. ? Vment In recognition of the high
:27:00. > :27:04.growth potential of the ICT industry, I have identified it as a
:27:04. > :27:07.priority sector for my department. I chair a Working Group which includes
:27:07. > :27:10.representation from employers, colleges, universities and other
:27:10. > :27:15.government departments. We've had a significant increase in the number
:27:15. > :27:19.of applications for compute irscience at both universities.
:27:19. > :27:29.That's to be welcomed. There will come a point where capacity has been
:27:29. > :27:30.reached. The ICT sector in Northern Ireland is growing. It is a major
:27:30. > :27:34.area of indigenous growth. We're attracting inward investment. We are
:27:34. > :27:39.poised to have tens of thousands of new jobs created over the coming
:27:39. > :27:44.decade or longer. That is in the current context, where we don't have
:27:44. > :27:47.a lower level of corporation tax, in the event that we did have to lower
:27:47. > :27:50.the corporation tax level rnings the number of jobs we could create in
:27:50. > :27:54.the sector would be hugely significant. Can the minister
:27:54. > :27:58.outline to the House what discussions are ongoing to increase
:27:58. > :28:03.the number of schools that actually offer computer science as a
:28:03. > :28:07.qualification instead of ICT? believe that the new A-level that is
:28:07. > :28:12.being offered in local schools from September is an important
:28:12. > :28:18.development. It is important that we make a distinction between A-level
:28:18. > :28:22.and computer science and an A-level in ICT. It is the build the
:28:22. > :28:26.programme is makes a difference in terms of people's employability
:28:26. > :28:32.down-the-line and it indicates what companies actually want to see in
:28:32. > :28:34.terms of skilled young people coming through. Despite proportionally more
:28:34. > :28:39.females participating in higher education than males, females
:28:39. > :28:44.account for fewer than 30% of those graduating in stem subjects,
:28:44. > :28:49.excludeing medicine and health. Over 70% of students in ICT and over 75%
:28:49. > :28:54.of those studying engineering and technology are male. As part of a
:28:54. > :28:58.strategy my department is working with organisations such as E skills
:28:58. > :29:05.UK, Improve as well, which are promoting stem careers to females.