:00:25. > :00:28.Coming up in the next 30 minutes, David Ford outlines his vision
:00:29. > :00:42.A justice system which protect the citizens and treat victims with
:00:43. > :00:45.respect and fairness and makes best use of scarce public resources. A
:00:46. > :00:48.justice system of which we can all be proud.
:00:49. > :00:51.As the racism row rumbles on in the Assembly the Social Development
:00:52. > :01:01.I will take no comment at all from Sinn Fein members about anything to
:01:02. > :01:04.do with racism after 30 years of the terrorist campaign that thrives on a
:01:05. > :01:06.racist attack on anyone who was British and not Irish.
:01:07. > :01:12.And I'm joined by the political commentator, Cathy Gormley-Heenan.
:01:13. > :01:14.Proceedings at Stormont were very much dominated
:01:15. > :01:17.by justice and education issues today, but the media focus was
:01:18. > :01:22.The Queen was in Belfast attending several functions with the Duke
:01:23. > :01:25.The couple visited Crumlin Road Jail, the set
:01:26. > :01:27.of the American television series 'Game of Thrones' and attended
:01:28. > :01:33.But it wasn't just the locations chosen for the Queen
:01:34. > :01:49.The Queen was here today and she spent much of the day in the company
:01:50. > :01:54.of the Deputy First Minister. This has become something of a regular
:01:55. > :01:58.occurrence. It certainly is. The impact factor is probably not as
:01:59. > :02:01.high as it was but this was the first visit that Martin McGuinness
:02:02. > :02:04.and the Queen met privately and a loan without intermediary is
:02:05. > :02:07.probably not as high as it was but this was the first visit that Martin
:02:08. > :02:08.McGuinness and the Queen met privately and a loan without
:02:09. > :02:11.intermediaries to soften the conversation or move either one of
:02:12. > :02:13.them in a particular direction. And again, these sorts of actions are
:02:14. > :02:18.part of the choreography of the peace process. First you have the
:02:19. > :02:23.meeting elsewhere, then with people and then alone. I expect further
:02:24. > :02:28.meetings to take place. They seem everything relax uncomfortable in
:02:29. > :02:33.one another's company. Yes, and that is a great difference between the
:02:34. > :02:37.political and personal. As part of the political portfolio he needs the
:02:38. > :02:39.Queen in his capacity as Debbie the First Minister but personal
:02:40. > :02:45.relationships have been built up for a long time. They are both obviously
:02:46. > :02:52.very aware of the symbols of being seen together. The symbolism today
:02:53. > :02:56.was phenomenal. Part of the tour was in Crumlin Road jail, that spoke
:02:57. > :03:00.volumes. Both Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson were detained at Her
:03:01. > :03:04.Majesty 's pleasure in the prison at different points during the conflict
:03:05. > :03:08.and the fact that both of them were together with her and taking her on
:03:09. > :03:12.the tour was hugely some bollard but even more so the fact that she went
:03:13. > :03:17.to Crumlin Road steel which was a jail which is very popular for
:03:18. > :03:22.tourists and that agreement was found between unionists and
:03:23. > :03:26.nationalists on the use of that jail as it is the traction spoke volumes.
:03:27. > :03:31.The Queen the Queens Phil then it was made public several years ago.
:03:32. > :03:34.That has never happened before. Is that another example of the
:03:35. > :03:39.increased normalcy of the relationship between the northern
:03:40. > :03:44.Irish republicans and the Royal family? Yes and sending the message
:03:45. > :03:50.that there is absolute faith in the PSN I to look after the Queen on her
:03:51. > :03:53.visit. And briefly, the first and deputy first ministers might have
:03:54. > :03:58.been showing the Queen the sites but they have also been thinking about
:03:59. > :04:03.politics, day-to-day politics in the background. There was a beating at
:04:04. > :04:07.Stormont Castle logo has been scarce and there could be talked before
:04:08. > :04:11.next week. Well anything happen before the summer recess? We only
:04:12. > :04:16.have 12 and a half weeks but the message before the election is that
:04:17. > :04:20.we have a window of opportunity to sort this out at my question would
:04:21. > :04:23.be, what has happened since the end of the elections until now that has
:04:24. > :04:24.delayed progress again on this issue?
:04:25. > :04:27.Back to Stormont now and the debate on the Justice Bill
:04:28. > :04:39.I am bringing forward measures to improve the way that the system
:04:40. > :04:42.supports victims and witnesses, speeds up his profession and
:04:43. > :04:48.increases the level of protection the system provides a Giggs they do
:04:49. > :04:50.is founders. Part one trait a single jurisdiction for county and
:04:51. > :04:56.magistrate courts, this will bring these two court cases in line with
:04:57. > :04:59.the High Court, Crown Court and Coroner's Courts, delivering greater
:05:00. > :05:03.flexibility in the disposal of court business by allowing cases to be
:05:04. > :05:07.listed in or transferred to in terms of court weather is good reason for
:05:08. > :05:11.doing so. The new arrangement will allow us to better meet the needs of
:05:12. > :05:14.victims and witnesses, allowing cases to be dealt with at the court
:05:15. > :05:25.venue that best suit particular case. Part of the mix prosecutor --
:05:26. > :05:29.prosecutorial fines different. This will increase capacity. It will
:05:30. > :05:32.enable some fences to be dealt with at an early stage without cost to
:05:33. > :05:37.the court, enable prosecutorial resources to be better connected to
:05:38. > :05:41.prosecute more serious offences. This dispenses with the idea of the
:05:42. > :05:46.investigating officer to appear in court and releases resources to
:05:47. > :05:52.policing. Part four contains provisions that will improve the
:05:53. > :05:55.experiences of victims and witnesses in the justice system. It will
:05:56. > :06:00.increase the standard of service that victims and witnesses can
:06:01. > :06:04.expect to receive. These provisions should also give rise to a greater
:06:05. > :06:08.focus on the needs of victims and witnesses across the criminal
:06:09. > :06:12.justice system. Too often victims and witnesses are unclear about the
:06:13. > :06:16.services available to them. They might not know when they should be
:06:17. > :06:19.provided with information about their case or what measures are
:06:20. > :06:24.available to help them get the best evidence in court. The charges will
:06:25. > :06:27.address this by setting out for victims and one is a statutory basis
:06:28. > :06:31.what services are to be provided, the standards of service required
:06:32. > :06:39.and the clear indication of how they should be treated by criminal
:06:40. > :06:41.justice agencies. Part seven makes provision for the introduction of
:06:42. > :06:45.violent offences orders to help mitigate the risk of violent repeat
:06:46. > :06:49.offending. The court can make an order where it is satisfied it is
:06:50. > :06:53.necessary for the purpose of protecting the public from the risk
:06:54. > :06:56.of serious violent harm caused by the offender. The provisions aim to
:06:57. > :06:59.provide a similar level of protection to the public from the
:07:00. > :07:04.risk posed by violent offenders. This is already provided to sexual
:07:05. > :07:10.offences prevention orders to manage the risk from sex offenders. The
:07:11. > :07:17.bill include Ruth reforms to manage guilty pleas. -- the bill includes
:07:18. > :07:22.reforms. The provisions will require sentencing courts to state the
:07:23. > :07:26.sentence that would have been imposed if a guilty plea had been
:07:27. > :07:30.entered at the LA is reasonable opportunity and places the duty on
:07:31. > :07:33.the defence solicitor to advise a client about the benefits of an
:07:34. > :07:37.early guilty plea. With these provisions we hope to encourage
:07:38. > :07:41.those guilty of a criminal offence to admit their guilt at the earliest
:07:42. > :07:44.reasonable stage. This bill is part of a blueprint for the better
:07:45. > :07:49.justice system in Northern Ireland, one that protects it citizens,
:07:50. > :07:53.treated victims with respect and fairness and make the best use of
:07:54. > :07:55.scarce public resources. In short a justice system of which we can all
:07:56. > :07:56.be proud. The Justice Minister, David Ford,
:07:57. > :07:57.outlining his proposed changes to the justice
:07:58. > :08:00.system in Northern Ireland. And Cathy Gormley-Heenan
:08:01. > :08:01.is still with me. The Minister is promising a justice
:08:02. > :08:05.system we can all be proud of. Yet he has several areas to
:08:06. > :08:20.improve and he also needs It is, some of the efficiencies that
:08:21. > :08:24.can take place as part of the bill do not actually require a lot of
:08:25. > :08:28.money. For example one of the more senior judges recently, just as we
:08:29. > :08:32.complained that the length of time it was taking some cases to even get
:08:33. > :08:36.to court needed to be addressed and that be addressed quite easily by
:08:37. > :08:41.ensuring that representatives from the Public prosecution service have
:08:42. > :08:44.to go to court to explain why there is a goalie in the proceedings in
:08:45. > :08:49.blue have now been brought before the court in a timely fashion. That
:08:50. > :08:52.does not cost money at all but requires personnel to be available
:08:53. > :09:05.to the court in a certain period of time. Thank you for now. This is
:09:06. > :09:11.what this assembly is all about. Legislating on things that impact on
:09:12. > :09:15.people 's lives and now that we have started this bill through the
:09:16. > :09:20.passage of the house it becomes the house is built. It is up to MLAs to
:09:21. > :09:24.shape this bill. In 2012 the committee brought a report to the
:09:25. > :09:27.assembly on this crucial piece of work that had been undertaken
:09:28. > :09:33.regarding the experiences of and services provided to victims. And
:09:34. > :09:36.witnesses claim encounter the criminal justice system. The
:09:37. > :09:41.findings before difficult reading. Statements such as an accord, people
:09:42. > :09:46.are misinformed, ill informed or not informed at all. As the trauma
:09:47. > :09:49.suffered by families can often be exacerbated by the criminal justice
:09:50. > :09:54.system. This made the committee determined to ensure that the
:09:55. > :09:58.changes would take place. We would be in support of the idea of a
:09:59. > :10:02.single jurisdiction. We will support that because it was out playing very
:10:03. > :10:07.clearly. Rather than bringing this measure in with other aspects of the
:10:08. > :10:13.court system. We will ensure better case management and in terms of the
:10:14. > :10:22.use of witnesses and particularly victims, they will assist this
:10:23. > :10:28.process and we will make sure the courts are held in appropriate
:10:29. > :10:37.places. In my own experience as a lawyer that to some extent victims
:10:38. > :10:54.and even witnesses were regarded... As incidental to the legal process,
:10:55. > :11:00.to the trial. I think that the interests of victims was often boxed
:11:01. > :11:07.during the course of those trials. -- often lost. What we have with the
:11:08. > :11:13.justiciary and indeed amongst lawyers generally is the realisation
:11:14. > :11:17.that victims do count. I welcome any efficiency that is brought into the
:11:18. > :11:22.criminal justice system. I am sure that is what we are hoping to do
:11:23. > :11:26.with this bill. And who would not welcome a faster federal justice
:11:27. > :11:29.system? Although I hope that the minister is not indicating that we
:11:30. > :11:35.do not have a fair justice system at the moment. I am wondering that when
:11:36. > :11:39.we have a faster justice system will that bring more economic savings to
:11:40. > :11:44.the justice process? We have talked a lot in the justice committee and
:11:45. > :11:48.indeed at various times in this house about the legal aid bills and
:11:49. > :11:54.I have been one who has said that we need to reduce the legal aid bill
:11:55. > :11:57.but we must also reduce and look for other efficiencies in the justice
:11:58. > :12:03.system. I wonder if this faster process is being proposed within
:12:04. > :12:09.this bill and will it actually result in any economic savings? The
:12:10. > :12:14.introduction of prosecutorial fines, for low-level offences, is an
:12:15. > :12:18.important member -- important way to reduce pressure on courts. Many
:12:19. > :12:27.offenders plead guilty and Magistrates' Courts, rendering many
:12:28. > :12:30.experiences are necessary. I can take of no circumstances where if
:12:31. > :12:34.you were a barrister or a solicitor you would ever let your client into
:12:35. > :12:43.the dock without having told them, by the way, you fight on and are
:12:44. > :12:47.convicted you will look at this range of sentence. If you plead
:12:48. > :12:54.guilty you will probably look at this range of sentence. To think
:12:55. > :13:01.that, all, a disabling through for a criminal justice system to put it in
:13:02. > :13:05.clause 78 with all of the celebrity that this brings that it shall be
:13:06. > :13:13.the solemn duty of solicitors to advise their clients of what would
:13:14. > :13:16.happen in respect of an early guilty plea. Such nonsense.
:13:17. > :13:20.Social Development Minister told the Assembly today that more that
:13:21. > :13:23.1400 jobs in Northern Ireland could be directly under threat if the
:13:24. > :13:27.Nelson McCausland was referring to public sector employees here who
:13:28. > :13:29.work indirectly for the Department of Work and Pensions in England.
:13:30. > :13:32.The jobs could be lost because the staff will no longer be operating
:13:33. > :14:01.the same social security systems. What might be the implications in a
:14:02. > :14:08.job situation? Around 600 staff are currently employed. It provides
:14:09. > :14:16.processing for a number of working age benefits in the South East of
:14:17. > :14:20.England. That work is done on behalf of the Department for work and in
:14:21. > :14:25.so. There are 800 staff employed in the child maintenance service
:14:26. > :14:31.providing service to the eastern area of England for the Department
:14:32. > :14:39.for Work and Pensions. The total number of staff is over 1400.
:14:40. > :14:45.Following a meeting with Iain Duncan Smith in March 2012, I highlighted
:14:46. > :14:51.to this assembly my concern that these jobs will be at risk if
:14:52. > :14:58.Northern Ireland does not progress with welfare reform. That is because
:14:59. > :15:02.many of the competitive advantages that Northern Ireland offers will
:15:03. > :15:07.disappear as the staff will no longer be operating the same
:15:08. > :15:12.systems. While I share some of your frustrations, can you tell the house
:15:13. > :15:18.when you last meaningfully engaged with any of this political parties
:15:19. > :15:23.in this chamber to progress that matter? It is a matter that is
:15:24. > :15:29.brought up regularly around the executive table. On many occasions.
:15:30. > :15:35.Because I think that is where the matter sits at the moment. The
:15:36. > :15:39.member would also be a way that there is a ministerial subcommittee
:15:40. > :15:46.which has been working on this for some time. We the point some time
:15:47. > :15:50.ago for everything possible that could be done in terms of extracting
:15:51. > :15:55.agreements from Westminster and trying to get our reasonable package
:15:56. > :16:04.of flexibility is in Northern Ireland, that is work that was done
:16:05. > :16:15.in quite some time ago. Can I ask the Minister Fred he agrees that the
:16:16. > :16:31.treatment of Michael was racial and intimidation? The disappointing --
:16:32. > :16:35.it is disappointing sometimes divide the people take situations and
:16:36. > :16:42.telling them to make political points. The members should learn
:16:43. > :16:45.that lesson. The situation has been clearly identified by the Housing
:16:46. > :16:52.executive and by others and the nature of their decision. I'm not
:16:53. > :16:57.familiar with the details of the situation other than what I have
:16:58. > :17:06.read in the newspapers. Having said that, anyone should have the right
:17:07. > :17:11.to be treated equally by the Housing executive and should not
:17:12. > :17:17.disadvantaged or discriminated in any way because of their race or
:17:18. > :17:22.anything else. I would take no comments at all from Sinn Fein
:17:23. > :17:28.members about anything to do with racism after 30 years of a terrorist
:17:29. > :17:29.campaign that thrived on a racist attack on anybody who was British
:17:30. > :17:33.and not Irish. The Education Minister today
:17:34. > :17:36.revealed the names of the 15 schools which have been
:17:37. > :17:38.approved for rebuilding. John O'Dowd told
:17:39. > :17:40.the Assembly that ?170 million will be divided between eight primary
:17:41. > :17:42.and seven post-primary schools. The Minister said
:17:43. > :18:03.the schools were selected according Limited capital re-sources have been
:18:04. > :18:07.made available to me. The scale of investment goes across a wide and
:18:08. > :18:11.diverse schools estate. I am sure that every member of this house can
:18:12. > :18:17.identify a range of schools that are in need of investment. I would love
:18:18. > :18:21.to be in a position to make a statement that promises investment
:18:22. > :18:27.to all schools in need. But I must be realistic and ensure that any
:18:28. > :18:31.school announced for investment will be sustainable for many years to
:18:32. > :18:42.come. The major project I am announcing today are as follows.
:18:43. > :18:54.St Mark's and St Luke's Primary Schools, Twinbrook.
:18:55. > :19:31.Monkstown High School and Newtownabbey Community High School.
:19:32. > :19:34.St Joseph's High School, Crossmaglen.
:19:35. > :19:48.In welcoming this announcement, I think it is mixed with good news,
:19:49. > :19:53.partial news and no news. I think in respect of the case of this
:19:54. > :19:59.announcement, some of it is a case of jam tomorrow. If you want jam
:20:00. > :20:10.tomorrow, you have to grow fruit today. Are preparations in
:20:11. > :20:18.recognition of the lead in time. The announcements I have been making
:20:19. > :20:22.since June 2012 have been learning processes. The Department for
:20:23. > :20:29.Education is now taking forward the largest capital programme. Could the
:20:30. > :20:33.Minister tell us what it will mean to the construction industry in
:20:34. > :20:47.terms of finance going into that industry? A recent report carried
:20:48. > :20:53.out by the construction industry suggest that every pound announced
:20:54. > :21:00.in relation to capital investment stimulates a further two within the
:21:01. > :21:06.construction industry. My primary objective is to build new schools
:21:07. > :21:10.for our pupils and communities. But I am acutely aware that this
:21:11. > :21:24.announcement will also help the construction industry.
:21:25. > :21:28.And it was a busy day for the Education Minister, as he was also
:21:29. > :21:31.called to answer an urgent oral question, tabled by the chair of the
:21:32. > :21:34.The Minister told the Assembly he hasn't cancelled teaching
:21:35. > :21:36.redundancies after 120 school staff scheduled for redundancy were
:21:37. > :21:45.All applications were assessed against a strict code Delia --
:21:46. > :21:52.criteria. I am prized Tora ties and -- I have prioritised schools in a
:21:53. > :21:59.closure or amalgamation situation. If funding were available, I would
:22:00. > :22:03.be in a position to proceed with a further 28. 93 applications have not
:22:04. > :22:10.been approved as they did not meet all the criteria. But if funding
:22:11. > :22:19.were to become available, they may proceed. They have not been approved
:22:20. > :22:31.at the stage for various reasons. I have not cancelled teacher
:22:32. > :22:38.redundancies. I find it ironic to be called to the chamber for not
:22:39. > :22:43.funding redundancies. Can the Minister tell the house
:22:44. > :22:49.today where did you know that this scheme was not going to be fully
:22:50. > :22:53.implemented and why was this scheme introduced without there being
:22:54. > :23:00.financial security in regard to his budget? In relation as to when I
:23:01. > :23:09.became aware of the situation, when it became clear that the safest --
:23:10. > :23:22.the executive was not in a position to agree. That bid has not yet been
:23:23. > :23:25.successful. Once that became clear that it would not be in place in
:23:26. > :23:29.time, I informed schools of the position we were in.
:23:30. > :23:33.A new apprencticeship strategy announced by the Employment Minister
:23:34. > :23:35.came up several times during the course of question time today.
:23:36. > :23:38.But first, we heard about the possibility of a veterinary school
:23:39. > :23:45.being established at the University of Ulster's Coleraine campus.
:23:46. > :23:54.The proposal has been brought forward by the University. It has
:23:55. > :24:02.the discretion to offer better now vacate -- veteran Larry courses. It
:24:03. > :24:11.is preparing an economic proposal to support it. This proposal might be
:24:12. > :24:18.used to bid for additional funding. Would you consider the possibility
:24:19. > :24:25.of economic support from agriculture and rural development because of the
:24:26. > :24:33.subject matter? Investment is very expensive. The universal themselves
:24:34. > :24:42.are talking about a school of 250 students, 50 across five years. It
:24:43. > :24:55.is more expensive to train of it than any profession you might think
:24:56. > :24:58.of. -- a vet. The university can go ahead with his from its existing
:24:59. > :25:06.resources, but that might be a distortion. It is something we can
:25:07. > :25:10.consider, but it has to be determined. The minister talked
:25:11. > :25:18.about apprenticeships at level seven and level eight. What uptake does he
:25:19. > :25:25.anticipate at those levels and what resource strategy will he be
:25:26. > :25:30.deploying? Today, we are launching the high-level policy framework for
:25:31. > :25:34.apprenticeships and we are making a major switch from a situation for
:25:35. > :25:41.apprenticeships are primarily offered at level two and level
:25:42. > :25:49.three. We have a fresh youth training offer which will address
:25:50. > :25:55.the level two issue. This is very much in the hands of sector
:25:56. > :26:05.partnerships to develop the framework. It is possible, we have
:26:06. > :26:11.seen in other parts of the world apprenticeships being delivered at
:26:12. > :26:15.level seven and level eight. We want to make sure that Northern Ireland
:26:16. > :26:20.is part of that, but it is in the hands of the business community to
:26:21. > :26:27.come forward. Can I ask the Minister, he read a
:26:28. > :26:39.statement this morning saying that while he -- that access would be
:26:40. > :26:47.widened, could you expand on that? We are looking at the expansion of
:26:48. > :26:51.apprenticeships. We want to look at any particular barriers that exist
:26:52. > :26:57.and we have raised issues about some of the gender imbalances that exist
:26:58. > :27:01.already. Also people with disabilities. This will be
:27:02. > :27:06.cross-referenced with work we are doing without disability employment
:27:07. > :27:10.service. We are developing a disability employment strategy which
:27:11. > :27:15.will be available in the autumn. And Cathy Gormley-Heenan
:27:16. > :27:18.is with me again. There's just another week left of
:27:19. > :27:22.the Assembly and there's a definite Not much of a serious nature
:27:23. > :27:35.is being discussed or passed? One of the things before the
:27:36. > :27:39.election was that everyone thought that welfare reform would not be
:27:40. > :27:46.touched until the election was over and dealt with swiftly afterwards.
:27:47. > :27:50.But given the severity of the penalties from the Treasury this
:27:51. > :27:57.would be dealt with before the end of the parliamentary term. That
:27:58. > :28:03.hasn't happened. If it is delayed until September, we have another ?10
:28:04. > :28:12.million of penalties. A good effort, could do better.
:28:13. > :28:16.Now, sometimes politicians up here on the hill can be accused of
:28:17. > :28:19.of being a little out of tune with the electorate
:28:20. > :28:42.but this evening in the Great Hall that certainly wasn't the case.
:28:43. > :28:44.That was Ross Houston from the Lisburn Flute Orchestra.
:28:45. > :28:47.He'll be taking part in a Guinness world record attempt in September
:28:48. > :28:52.Do join me for The View on Thursday at 10.35 on BBC1.
:28:53. > :28:57.Until then, from everyone in the team, bye bye.