Official Report: Tuesday 23 June 2020

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I inform the Assembly that the Budget (No. 2) Bill received Royal Assent. The Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020 became law on 17 June 2020.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I advise the House that Sinn Féin's nominating officer notified the Speaker that Ms Linda Dillon has been nominated to fill the vacancy of Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures with effect from 18 June 2020. The Speaker is satisfied that all the requirements of Standing Orders have been met, and she is duly appointed.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Yesterday, all Members will have received correspondence from the Speaker that referred to the current unavailability of the Principal Deputy Speaker to chair Assembly proceedings. In light of that and the continuing unavailability of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker Mr McGlone, it is likely at times in the weeks ahead that the Assembly will need to rely on its arrangements for Temporary Speakers, or else I will be in this position permanently, without any breaks.

Standing Order 9A provides that:

The Speaker, therefore, approached Mr Kelly and Mr Wells, as the two oldest of the longest-serving eligible Members, and they confirmed that they are willing to assist the Assembly, if required, over the next few weeks. That means that, if I am unable to chair a sitting of the Assembly, it shall be chaired by Mr Kelly, if present. If Mr Kelly is not present, the sitting shall be chaired by Mr Wells, if present. If neither of the two is present, it will fall on anyone else who meets the criteria. I hope that that is clear.

Mr Allister: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Section 52C of the Northern Ireland Act is very clear. It states that when a North/South body meets with Ministers present, a Minister:

Today, we are going to get a belated statement about a meeting — for what it was worth — that took place on 11 March, over three months ago. That contemptuous treatment of this Assembly arises in circumstances where the Assembly has had 14 plenary sittings since 11 March, yet it is only today that the Executive deign to bring a statement to this House. Can the Speaker's Office write to the Executive, remind them of their statutory duty under section 52C, and indicate that they are expected to meet it?

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): The Member is entirely correct. Ministers should report:

Clearly, that has not happened in this case; it is some time since the meeting occurred. The junior Minister may, perhaps, want to comment on that. However, I will refer the matter to the Speaker and I am aware that there will be concern about this issue. I am sure that the Speaker's Office will subsequently be in touch with the Executive Office to try and establish what has happened and, hopefully, it will not happen again.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): The Speaker has received notice from the Executive Office that the First Minister and deputy First Minister wish to make a statement on the North/South Ministerial Council institutional meeting of 11 March. Before I call junior Minister Kearney to make a statement on their behalf, I remind Members that, in light of the social distancing being observed by parties, the Speaker's ruling that Members must be in the Chamber to hear a statement if they wish to ask a question has been relaxed. Members do still have to make sure that their name is on the list, and they can do so by rising in their place and their name will be added to the list of those who wish to ask questions; alternatively, they can provide information to the Speaker's Table directly.

I remind Members that this is an opportunity to ask questions on the statement, and they should be concise. It is not an opportunity for Members to make statements themselves. I encourage Members to ask concise questions so that as many Members as possible will be able to follow and also ask questions.

Mr Kearney (Junior Minister, The Executive Office): In compliance with section 52C, paragraph 2, of the NI Act 1998, I want to make the following statement on the 11th North/South Ministerial Council institutional meeting that was held at the NSMC joint secretariat offices in Armagh on 11 March this year. The Irish Government was represented by Helen McEntee TD, Minister of State for European Affairs. The Executive was represented by junior Minister Gordon Lyons and me. Minister McEntee chaired the meeting. Minister Lyons has agreed that I will make this report on his behalf.

The Council approved the appointment of board members to the trade and business development body InterTradeIreland and directors to Tourism Ireland Ltd to fill a limited number of urgent and critical vacancies that were affecting the governance of both boards. The Council agreed that appointments will be made at future meetings of the NSMC to fill the remaining vacancies on those boards and the boards of other North/South ministerial and other North/South implementation bodies.

Mr McGrath (The Chairperson of the Committee for The Executive Office): I thank the Minister and welcome his timely and extensive report [Laughter.]

I welcome the appointments and appreciate that they are filling spaces on North/South bodies following the lack of an Assembly for three years and that they are essential appointments to important boards. I hope that the appointments do not follow what has happened in the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). I tried checking the North/South Ministerial Council website but cannot find the names of the people who were appointed, and I was wondering whether we could get those as soon as possible, unless they are maybe posted elsewhere. Given the critical North/South nature of the bodies and the work that the Council does, will the Minister detail the obvious, urgent and additional workload that the Council and the bodies will have to undertake as a result of the rushed Brexit process that we are being subjected to?

Mr Kearney: I thank the Chair of the TEO Committee for that contribution. For your information, the appointments made were Florence Bayliss and Adrienne McGuinness, who were appointed as board members to InterTrade Ireland, Joan O'Shaughnessy, who was appointed as chairperson, and Nóirín Hegarty, who was appointed as a member of the board of Tourism Ireland. All members of the implementation bodies should be available online, and I will speak with officials after this morning's meeting to clarify whether that is, indeed, the case.

On the broader issues that the Member raised, clearly, in the context of Brexit this has implications for the work of the NSMC. While the British Government's withdrawal from the EU and their practical application of the withdrawal agreement will have implications under strand two, these are not solely issues that will be addressed under the auspices of the NSMC. However, as identified in the agreed protocol, it is envisaged that the NSMC and North/South implementation bodies will play a role. One instance of that will be the negotiation and operation of Peace Plus, for example. In second terms, the 'New Decade, New Approach' document also commits the Brexit subcommittee to initiate an assessment of the impact of Brexit on the institutions on a North/South and on an east-west basis.

Ms P Bradley: I thank the junior Minister for his statement. Given that remote working has now become the new norm and, indeed, the Executive are encouraging it, do you see value in meetings North/South taking place via videoconference or other technology, going forward?

Mr Kearney: Yes, I do, and I see it being applicable in the context of the necessary convening of meetings of the British-Irish Council (BIC), and it would be of assistance in the convening and full operation of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIC).

Mr Sheehan: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráiteas. Are there any plans for the North/South Ministerial Council to meet in plenary format any time soon?

Mr Kearney: The requirement for seeking meetings of the NSMC in plenary format rests with the Irish Government. The Irish Government are responsible for convening the next plenary meeting of the NSMC. That has not been done. It is a huge disappointment that we have not, since the restoration of our power-sharing Government in the North, seen a plenary sitting of the North/South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council or the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

In my opinion, we need to see all strands, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, within their institutional framework, back to work and as urgently as possible. Frankly, Government formation in the South of Ireland and the onset of COVID-19, which we have all been living through, do not constitute valid reasons for not convening a plenary sitting of the NSMC. That should be done urgently, and the Taoiseach, either a caretaker or the incoming Taoiseach, should move immediately and urgently to remedy that failure.

Dr Aiken: I thank the junior Minister for his statement. It is interesting to see that, in this New Decade, New Approach era of openness and transparency, appointments have been made to significant boards in the North/South process. Will the Minister outline the recruitment process, the remuneration package and the approach that was taken to make sure that they had the best people for the job, and will he explain, bearing in mind that the discussions on New Decade, New Approach agreed that a D'Hondt process should be brought into appointments to boards, how it is that that seems to have been completely ignored?

Mr Kearney: The appointments made on 11 March were Irish Government appointments. A number of vacancies are extant in relation to the full complement of the implementation bodies. There are currently 10 Executive vacancies on the boards of the North/South implementation bodies, and it will be up to the Executive to nominate the individuals to fill those allocated vacancies. Those appointments will be formally made at a subsequent NSMC. That cannot happen until the next plenary meeting, which is the responsibility of the Irish Government to convene.

Unfortunately, I do not know the remuneration for members, chairs or vice-chairs of boards, but I will ensure that that information is shared with you.

Mr Muir: 11 March was a long time ago, especially in the context of the public health emergency that we have been experiencing with COVID-19 and the economic crisis. Why has the North/South Ministerial Council not met since then? COVID-19 does not stop at the border, and it is a real reason why these institutions should be working. They are there for a purpose. Why have we not been utilising them?

Mr Kearney: I thank the Member for his question, which overlaps with the earlier question from Pat Sheehan. I apologise, Members, that this statement was not brought to the House at an earlier stage. There have not been plenary or sectoral meetings of the NSMC in the period that you stipulated. The only meeting that has occurred under the auspices of NSMC has been the institutional meeting, on which I have provided a report.

It is simply not acceptable. We need to see all the bodies under all the institutional frameworks of the Good Friday Agreement in full operation. We have re-established our power-sharing institutions in the North. It is time that the NSMC became fully operational. The responsibility for convening the next meeting of the NSMC rests with the Irish Government, Frankly, we should dispense with the foot-dragging and the prevarication. An Taoiseach should move urgently to ensure that that plenary meeting takes place.

The Member is absolutely right. It has been too long a passage of time. I add, for the Member's information, that six meetings have taken place in a quadrilateral format since the beginning of COVID-19, to address matters pertaining to that. I emphasise that all those meetings, with the exception of the institutional meeting that I attended, took place outside strand two of the institutional framework.

Mr T Buchanan: How will the Minister ensure that Tourism Ireland's priorities and resources are sufficiently focused on Northern Ireland for the next crucial period for our tourism sector?

Mr Kearney: I thank the Member for his question. He will be aware that the joint First Ministers will notify the Executive of any future NSMC meetings, including the agenda. A report will be made to the Assembly by the appropriate Minister after each such meeting.

The cross-community requirement in the legislation requires that appointed Ministers attending sectoral meetings of the NSMC be accompanied. That will ensure that, on the next occasion on which tourism matters relating to our affairs in this region are being addressed under the framework of the NSMC, we will have attendance and have two Ministers involved in the process: the lead Minister and an accompanying Minister. I am sure that the necessary preparation will be undertaken to ensure that our interests are adequately addressed so that we come through this very challenging period, in which there are huge challenges for our tourism and hospitality industry, and enter a recovery that maintains and grows the resilience of the industry in the North.

Ms Anderson: I acknowledge the appointment of board members to InterTradeIreland and directors to Tourism Ireland. That is welcome news for all to hear. What impact has the Government formation in the South had on the functioning of the all-Ireland Ministerial Council during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Mr Kearney: Again, that question overlaps with two previous questions. The fact is that there has not been a plenary meeting of —.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I remind the Minister to address the Chair so that his comments are picked up by the microphone.

Mr Kearney: Yes, of course, a LeasCheann Comhairle. That is very helpful advice from you. [Laughter.]

There has not been a plenary meeting. There have been no other meetings under the auspices of the NSMC, and that situation needs to be addressed urgently. That can be done only by the Irish Government, however. As I have twice repeated, the onus is on the Irish Government to convene the next plenary meeting. It is up to the Irish Government to propose a date and bring forward a clár — an agenda — and for them then to ensure that that is passed on to the joint heads of government in order that —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Junior Minister, if you are not facing the mic —.

Mr Kearney: — they can —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Order. Order.

Mr Kearney: — process that work —.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Order. Please take your seat. I tried to encourage you to address the Chair. I am barely hearing you, and I am sure that Hansard will be struggling. Please address your comments through the Chair so that your microphone picks everything up and it is duly recorded for others to hear.

Dr Aiken: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Points of order are not taken during statements. You may raise the point of order after the period for questions has expired, if that is OK. Junior Minister.

Mr Kearney: OK, a LeasCheann Comhairle. As I was trying to finish saying, the requirement is on the Irish Government to identify a date, provide an agenda and process that to the joint heads of government in order for them to agree with the agenda items to be addressed in that plenary meeting and, in turn, confirm a date. It is my hope that that process will be carried out as expeditiously as possible.

Mr Harvey: Junior Minister, what impact has the absence of a Government in the Irish Republic had on the effectiveness of North/South bodies?

Mr Kearney: I thank the Member for his question. Again, it overlaps with other Members' contributions. We have not had any sittings of the North/South Ministerial Council since we restored power-sharing here in the North. That extends to the non-operation of stand three. We have not seen a BIC meeting and we haven't seen the convening of the BIIC. If we are, in fact, to ensure that our power-sharing Administration and strand one under the Good Friday Agreement are to be fully and properly supported, then we need to see full activation of strands two and three.

A lot of issues have had an impact on political, civic and community life, not least COVID-19 over the last few months, but none of them should get in the way of the effective implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. While a Government has not yet been formed in the Twenty-six Counties, that process is still under way. Nevertheless, there is a caretaker Government in place, and it is the responsibility of the caretaker Government to fulfil their requirements under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement strand two framework.

Ms Sheerin: I thank the Minister for his statement. How many meetings of Ministers, North and South, have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the memorandum of understanding proved beneficial between both Administrations?

Mr Kearney: Mar a dúirt mé ní ba luaithe, bhí sé choinne ann ó bhí an phaindéim ag feidhmiú fud fad an oileáin leis na míonna seo anuas. There have been six meetings in a quadrilateral format since the beginning of COVID-19 but, as I said earlier, they have all taken place outside the strand two framework. The memorandum of understanding, as the Member rightly observes, has been signed between both Administrations and it has been of benefit. It has been a useful document; it codified effectively the work of the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser respectively across the island and the work that the two Ministers of Health were already involved in. Nevertheless, it serves as an important benchmark for ensuring that the fightback against COVID-19 is taken forward in an effective and coherent way on an all-island basis, so that we can maximise common working on the sharing of information, modelling and data and that, as we move into the process of universal community testing and contact tracing, we ensure that that can be effectively carried out on an all-island basis.

Mr O'Toole: I thank the Minister for the update. There is clearly a specific Brexit interaction in relation to the appointments to the board of InterTradeIreland and, particularly, with regard to the implementation of the protocol, in relation to the protection and development of the all-island economy. I appreciate what the Minister said about the lack of an Irish Government to convene or interact with, but has the Executive Office written to the Irish Government urging them to commission a specific strand of work under the North/South Ministerial Council to get InterTradeIreland to ramp up work on managing the implementation of the protocol and on ensuring that businesses in all parts of the island are best placed to adjust to the protocol and take advantage of continued access to the European single market?

Mr Kearney: The 'New Decade, New Approach' document makes provision for the establishment of the Brexit subcommittee, which has been tasked with the initiation of a full assessment of the impact of Brexit on the various institutions, as I indicated earlier — not just the institutions in and of themselves but, obviously, the sectors for which they are responsible for overseeing. Consideration of that particular issue — the assessment — has now been taken forward in the forward work programme. I am of the view that — I am sure that the Member shares my opinion — North/South Ministerial Council meetings present an opportunity for all Ministers, North and South — going back to Members' earlier questions — to discuss Brexit issues that are going to impact very directly on their respective areas of cooperation on an all-island basis.

Mr Nesbitt: I will stay with 'New Decade, New Approach'. Part 2, paragraph 4, makes a commitment to:

Does the junior Minister think that the timing and content of his statement today meets that standard?

Mr Kearney: I thank the Member for his question and take it at face value as a genuine enquiry. Yes, I agree that we always needs to aspire to international best standards and ensure that they are maintained both in our political life — political governance — and in how we conduct civic and community business. The limitations of the statement are that it is simply restricted to the business that was carried out on that day. The meeting took place. I do not believe that it lasted much more than 12 minutes, and it was for our power-sharing Government to approve the proposals being put forward by the Irish Government for the appointments to be made. Had I had more to say, I would, of course, have shared that wisdom and those thoughts with the Member.

Mr Nesbitt: The names?

Mr Kearney: I provided the names earlier on. Perhaps you did not hear them.

Ms McLaughlin: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. The North/South Ministerial Council is an important body, and it should be an important component of our economic recovery at this time. It is regrettable that many of its boards are so badly depleted when we most need them to be fully operational. The two, in particular, for our economic recovery are InterTradeIreland and Tourism Ireland. On Tourism Ireland, the Irish draft programme for government has in it a commitment to support the linkage of the Wild Atlantic Way and the Causeway Coast, which promises to provide a major boost to Derry city, as we are at the beginning and end of both. Can the Minister give a clear commitment that Tourism Ireland will fully engage with the project and that the Executive will this time give full support to this important vision? I say "urgently": we are going into a period now — a very short tourism opportunity — and it will be about staycations. We need the focus of Tourism Ireland to be on this island and between the two components of this island.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): The Member has asked her question. Minister.

Mr Kearney: Of course, the Member is right, particularly given that we are living through the associated economic and social emergency alongside our health emergency. It is essential that we proceed to reboot, warm up and reactivate our economy in all of its sectors at this point in time. The sector that faces greatest jeopardy at this time, because it is so seasonally sensitive, is our hospitality and tourism industry. Yes, the Executive are fully committed to ensuring that all aspects of our tourist industry in this region are maximised. I can give the Member an assurance that, when the next NSMC plenary meeting convenes — as I said, that needs to be done urgently; there should be no more foot-dragging or prevarication, and the Irish Government should convene that meeting — that will provide an important opportunity and forum for the issues to be discussed in detail and in a strategic sense.

Miss Woods: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. Given the lack of detail here, has there been any discussion or arrival at an agreed position regarding engagement with the Specialised Committee on the Northern Ireland protocol, either through quadrilateral meetings or otherwise?

Mr Kearney: Yes. It falls outside the context of this discussion, but I am happy to share information on that issue. The need for the Specialised Committee to meet is urgent. It has been addressed in the context of quadrilateral engagements with the British, Scottish and Welsh Governments, alongside our Administration. There has been one meeting of the Specialised Committee. In recent weeks, I have twice asked for a date to be confirmed for the second meeting of that committee. As the Member knows, it has specific operational responsibility for the implementation of the protocol. No date has yet been set, but, at the meeting of the Joint Committee that took place earlier this month, the vice president of the European Commission asked, specifically, for a date to be set. The British Government Minister, Michael Gove, gave a commitment that a date for the second meeting of the Specialised Committee would take place within four weeks. At this point, I do not have that date to share with the Member.

Mr Allister: I want to ask about the openness and transparency or lack thereof of the North/South bodies. Take InterTradeIreland as an example. If we go to its website, we discover that no annual report or accounts have been published from 2017, no corporate plan from 2014-16 and no board of director minutes from March 2019. Why is that? When you go to the website and look at who the board of directors are, the ones that you have just announced are not even there. Three faces jump out at you — Jimmy Spratt, Timothy Cairns and Councillor Greenfield. Are the appointments to these just sinecures for political hacks who do not need to have any expertise on the subject matter?

Mr Kearney: Gabhaim buíochas leis an chomhalta as ucht an cheist thábhachtach sin a chur. You are absolutely right: all the affairs of government, including all institutional strands of the Good Friday Agreement, must be subject to maximum transparency. If that detail is omitted from the online records, I will raise it with officials. I expect that that should be fully provided. I see no reason why all of the information that the Member has inquired about should not be made publicly available online and through other sources.

Mr McNulty: Minister, it is hilarious that you are attacking the Irish Government after 100 days after 1,000 days of prevarication and foot-dragging by the two joint Ministers' parties. This place remained down for 1,000 days, and you are attacking another institution after 100 days.

Did the Ministers have any discussions about the particular challenges that they would face? Specifically, I refer to cross-border workers, many of whom have been left behind during the pandemic?

Mr Kearney: The Member's comments are slightly misdirected by drawing out a suggestion of some insinuation. The reality is that we have not had any meetings of the North/South Ministerial Council since the restoration of our institutions in the North. I am sure that the Member understands. I assume that he is familiar with the detail of the Good Friday Agreement and that he has read it. It is a requirement that all strands of the Good Friday Agreement should be operable at the same time. It is a source of great regret that we have not seen the convening of the NSMC. Clearly, if the option had been available to our Administration to convene the next plenary meeting, that would have been dealt with at an earlier stage. The issue is beyond our control. I urge the Irish Government to address the omission of meetings of the North/South Ministerial Council as quickly as possible.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Are there any other Members who wish to ask a question?

Mr O'Dowd: Minister, annex B to 'New Decade, New Approach' sets out firm commitments from the Irish Government, including the establishment of a working group composed of representatives from the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association, as well as the Clerk of the Dáil, to consider and make recommendations within six months focused on developing North/South parliamentary relationships. The six months is now up. Have there been any developments?

Mr Kearney: Míle buíochas leat as ucht an cheist thábhachtach sin a chur. The Member is correct in noting that detail. It is a precise explanation of the state of play. That has been placed as an objective question: the objective answer is, "No, that has not happened".

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Are there any other Members who wish to ask a question?

Mr Aiken, you wished to raise a point of order.

Dr Aiken: Yes. My point of order is that, much as enjoy hearing the junior Minister — Declan is a fellow MLA from my constituency — the degree of disrespect that he showed to you after you made your ruling is something that I would like the junior Minister to address. It is not just an issue of turning round and whatever it happens to be; for some of us of a certain age it is quite difficult to hear the junior Minister speak sometimes. I think that, on this occasion, the junior Minister might like to apologise to the Deputy Speaker. Thank you.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): The Member has his point on the record. I was trying to encourage the Minister to address the Chair to ensure that everyone is able to hear and that the acoustics are appropriate. The Member has his point on the record, and I am sure that the Speaker's Office will liaise with the Executive Office to encourage all Ministers and junior Ministers to put their remarks clearly on the record so that everyone will be able to hear what is being said.

I ask Members to take their ease for a few moments.

Mr Poots (The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs): Apologies for not being in the Chamber at the very outset; it is tricky to get used to the new system.

We are here to talk about the opportunities that exist for a new green growth strategy and delivery framework. It is hard to imagine circumstances that have had such a devastating global impact as those that we face.

In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a swift and cruel blow, with the loss of many lives. It has single-handedly brought countries, economies and people to a standstill across the world, as we work out how to manage and, ultimately, defeat the immediate and ongoing threat that it poses. As in most areas of our lives, the answer to the crisis will involve sustainability, specifically economic, social and environmental, at the heart of everything that we do. Recent months have proved challenging for everyone. There is no blueprint for a pandemic or one single plan that fits all circumstances. We have tried, and will continue to try, to do our best for the people of Northern Ireland, based on the evidence and information available to us.

The public have been very understanding and have sacrificed a great deal to implement the strict conditions that we had to introduce to prevent the spread of the disease. We owe them a great deal of gratitude. Thanks to their resolve and their actions, we have seen a significant fall in transmission, cases of COVID-19 and deaths due to the disease. Therefore, we have been able to introduce greater freedoms. That exemplifies what can be achieved with clear leadership and a willingness to work together to a common good.

I firmly believe that, even in the darkest times, we have a duty to plan for the future, and this is no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic, despite the pain and suffering that it has caused, has forced us to live and work differently, to think differently and to behave differently. Around the world, people are travelling less, using less energy and finding new ways to communicate, to socialise, to work and to learn. At the same time, there have been tremendous benefits for the environment, at the micro and macro levels, that we can all recognise. As we plan our recovery from the effects of the pandemic, it is crucial that we adopt a holistic approach, building on the many lessons learned in recent months. Rather than picking up where we left off, I am recommending economic renewal that recognises the importance of our environment and advocates green growth as a pathway to a sustainable future.

I have spoken to Members from all parties and to people across Northern Ireland, and it is clear to me how much we value our environment. That has never been more apparent than in recent months. People have longed for the opportunity to escape the confines imposed by COVID and engage with nature. For many of us, interaction with the natural environment has sustained us through the lockdown. For evidence of that, you only need to talk to the people who make the five million trips to our forest parks each year.

I share that appreciation of nature. That is why I have asked for sustainability to be placed at the heart of everything that DAERA does. It is also why I believe that if we understand the value of the environment, our natural capital, the challenges that we face can become an opportunity to benefit everyone. Therefore, my message today is one of revolution — a revolution in our economy that, if embraced, will benefit our businesses, people and environment.

In Northern Ireland, we have not always been handed the resources that are available to other parts of the world, such as the coal or oil that drove the Industrial Revolution. Instead, we have been blessed with a rich and fertile land that feeds us and sustains our well-being. Those natural assets attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and feed millions of people in the UK and across the world. People come here because of the beauty of our landscape and the welcome that they receive. Our exports grow because we can compete with the best in the world. We must look after both if we are to continue to survive and prosper. We have always used anything that we have to great effect and, as a result, have made a greater impact on the world stage than one would expect given our size, location or history. Knowing how to make the best use of what we have is ingrained in us and is a trait that will help us to recover from COVID and serve us well in the future.

Why do I say this? Our economy is changing. Over the next 30 years, it will become unrecognisable. There are many reasons for that, but perhaps the most important is the commitment by the UK Government to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. Now, I am not prone to declaring climate emergencies or promoting panic, but I do recognise the value of data and evidence. It is irrefutable that, globally, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. We, in the UK and Ireland, have managed to reduce our emissions since 1990, but the big picture means that we need to do more.

In 2018, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, stated, in a special report, that limiting global warming to 1·5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society. The new UK net zero target will deliver on that commitment to reduce emissions. Overall, we have reduced our emissions in Northern Ireland by 18% in recent years. We have gone down from emitting 24 megatons of carbon dioxide in 1990 to 20 megatons in 2017, and, while this is not enough, it proves that we can make progress when we work together. Average global temperatures have increased and will continue to rise unless there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This will have far-reaching consequences for sea level rise, biodiversity, extreme weather and other factors that impact on our society.

Whether or not you or I accept these reports and predictions, reducing emissions will have significant economic opportunities and societal benefits. For example, in 2019, the UK Government estimated that there were more than 430,000 green-collar jobs in the UK and that this figure could rise to two million by 2030. It is important to understand how these benefits come about. First, we must stop squandering our resources. Preventing waste is fundamental to better productivity and more sustainable economic growth. When we waste energy, we produce avoidable greenhouse gas emissions. When we waste assets like food and fill up landfills, we produce greenhouse gas emissions. While we waste nutrients in our food production system, we pollute our water, damage ecosystems and reduce biodiversity. When we fail to support people to develop a connection with their environment, we waste human potential, possibly the most damaging of all.

However, when we treat energy, biological diversity, material resources and people as the assets that they are, we begin to see what is possible. I will give you three examples of this. The first of these is the agri-food industry. Essentially, we have created an asset that is the envy of many economies across the world. The asset benefits everyone by providing high-quality foods, jobs and exports, which bring in valuable revenue streams. The industry is worth some £4·9 billion in sales, supports up to 100,000 jobs and feeds up to 10 million people. Imagine the scale of that for a moment. Here we are in this small place, using our natural capital and the skills and expertise of our people to feed a global megacity the size of London. Furthermore, as an employer, our agri-food industry creates opportunities to attract homegrown talent in the form of highly developed, talented and educated young people. Of course, this scale does bring challenges, not least for the environment. They are challenges that can and will be addressed. Ultimately, however, this will be achieved by making the industry more sustainable and profitable. For example, despite progress in reducing phosphorous in our rivers, water quality remains a problem, and the picture in the marine environment is similar for nitrogen. Both cost our environment and us dearly. Northern Ireland Water is the single largest energy consumer in the country, but this is because our water has become polluted due to a range of contributing factors, not limited just to agriculture. So, by minimising the wasteful escape of nutrients into our water, we not only protect habitats and biodiversity but increase productivity and save on energy costs.

At this point, I want to recognise the enormous contribution that farmers are making to safeguarding and improving our environment. My Department has been running environmental schemes since 1988. The current environmental farming scheme (EFS) was established in 2017, and farmers have enthusiastically responded, signing up in large numbers. To date, almost 5,000 farmers are participating in the scheme, and more will follow. In the first two tranches, EFS has delivered over a quarter of a million new trees, which will absorb well over 100,000 tons of carbon over their lifetime. EFS has also delivered over 200 miles of new hedgerows, which, in addition to capturing carbon, is a haven for birds and insects and improves our biodiversity. EFS will also contribute significantly to improving water quality by protecting our rivers and watercourses from livestock. EFS represents a long-term investment in our environment.

We have also made great strides on carbon efficiency in the agri-food sector. For example, our dairy farmers have over the past 20 years reduced their greenhouse gas footprint by around 35% for each litre of milk produced, and they produce 2·2 billion litres annually. Most notably, they have achieved that while growing their business through improved genetics and nutrition. More needs to be done, however, and more can be done right across our food supply chain.

It is worth noting that around one fifth of the Amazonian rainforest has been cut down in order to produce beef. If, in future, that beef is imported into the UK in large quantities, it could threaten our market and people's livelihoods as well as the global environment. It is therefore important that we understand just what we have in our agri-food industry and the role that it plays in protecting our future. We can become a global leader in the production of high-quality food from sustainable systems, and I believe that we can become a strategic food zone. We can do so by achieving a balance between feeding the world and feeding the planet.

The second example is in the area of recycling. When I previously held the post of Environment Minister, the household recycling rate was just over 34%. At that stage, the received wisdom was that we could not achieve 50% by 2020. Since then, we have made huge progress and, I am pleased to say, exceeded that target. However, the circular economy and recycling are not just about a percentage; they are about economic opportunity. Recent studies have highlighted the economic potential of recycling for the Northern Ireland economy. Upwards of 13,000 job opportunities could be created using this approach. One example of the potential is that, three years ago, my Department provided funding to Ulster Supported Employment Ltd (USEL), a social enterprise company that deals with mattresses. Initially, the project employed 16 people, and it increased the number of mattresses recycled annually from 2,000 to over 60,000. Today, 25 people are employed.

Just three of Northern Ireland's manufacturers, employing a total of 750 people, annually create £110 million in economic value for the local economy by reprocessing paper, plastic and glass recyclates from our households. They have the potential to add a further £50 million to the local economy if more high-quality recyclate was available. To address that need, my Department launched a £23 million capital programme last year to provide financial assistance to councils. It was designed to increase the quality of recycling. Some £3·45 million has already been allocated to projects estimated to deliver an additional 7,500 tons of recycling and over 7,800 tons of CO2 savings, which equates to £485,000 of carbon savings.

The third example is in the area of green energy, and it is a key policy led by my colleague Diane Dodds, Minister for the Economy. Through various means, we have achieved a position in which 45% of our energy is provided from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy. Again, this is a result that would be the envy of many countries across the world. However, through further innovation and investment in renewable energy systems and the storage of that energy, we can go further. The Department for the Economy is developing an energy strategy that will make this a reality.

I stated earlier that Northern Ireland can become a strategic food zone. I also believe that Northern Ireland can become a strategic energy zone. The success of our prosperity agreement programme demonstrates how we can work in partnership with business to deliver significant environmental benefits. Recently, we signed our second prosperity agreement with Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company. It sets targets for reducing energy and water consumption; for the reduction of CO2 emissions; and for increasing the amount of recycled plastic in its products.

The point of citing all these examples is this: even with all the challenges that we have faced in our society and in our history, we know that great things are possible when we work together. We need to be seen to play a lead role. We know that we need to put our environmental house in order and show that we in Northern Ireland have the innovation, skills and determination necessary to influence meaningful outcomes that can benefit us locally as well as people across the world.

That brings me to green growth. This is a globally recognised concept, with organisations such as the OECD developing a set of strategic principles in their economic policies. It is not a new concept. It was the precursor to the green new deal that was developed a decade ago in response to the global financial crisis. Although considerable progress was made back then, the concept was, arguably, ahead of its time. I believe that its time has come.

For evidence of that, we need look no further than our neighbours in the EU, who have adopted green growth as the basis of their European green deal. It aims to transform the European Union from a high- to low-carbon economy while improving people's quality of life through cleaner air, water and improved health. By working together across the British Isles and internationally, we can co-design a green growth strategy and delivery framework that will deliver for Northern Ireland. Green growth is about working together to value our environmental assets, growing those assets and, in so doing, growing our economy.

There are three key elements to making that work. The first element of green growth is a co-designed, environment strategy from the Executive, entitled the "Green Growth Strategy". It will be designed in collaboration with a broad and inclusive range of people from across the business community, environment sectors and the community and voluntary sectors. Although I have characterised those as separate sectors, in reality, the boundaries are not so clear. I know many people in the business community who are determined to make a difference to climate change and the environment. People in the environment sector understand the importance of working with the business community to secure positive outcomes, and organisations in the community and voluntary sector know that an excellent way to empower people and communities is to connect them with their environment. It is my intention that the strategy will be discussed at the Executive, with co-design and consultation during the autumn and a strategy finalised by next spring.

That brings me to the second element of green growth, namely the delivery framework. It will be a series of interconnected programmes that demonstrate green growth in action. The first of those will be key foundation programmes, exemplars of what I like to call "strategy by doing"; in other words, they are major objectives that will contribute to the aims of the strategy but in a way that demonstrates real impact on the ground. For example, in March, I announced the first of those in the Forests for our Future programme, which aims to plant 18 million trees over the next decade. That is the type of foundation programme that will be at the heart of what we are trying to do in green growth.

Another element to be delivered over the next 10 years and beyond is keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment. Through that programme, all plastic that comes into Northern Ireland will remain in the economy and out of the environment. It will be much broader than but will include reform of the packaging producer responsibility system in line with other parts of the UK and participation in a UK-wide deposit return scheme. We will engage in both of those. Another element is growing people’s well-being and confidence through the environment. That will aim to deliver measurable and population-wide improvements in well-being. It will focus on the educational, social and economic benefits associated with the connection between people and their environment, which is something that we have truly appreciated the importance of in recent months. Another element is sustainable growth through technology. That will involve the full roll-out of broadband across Northern Ireland. That, in turn, will support a network of new businesses and services by connecting people and communities in Northern Ireland and across the world. Another element is smart cities and rural communities. We will design the programme with communities and for communities to develop natural green connectors and corridors across cities, towns and landscapes, connecting people and their environment. That will also involve the use of connected technologies, such as office networking tools and the Internet of things, to promote efficient energy use. A further element is blue carbon habitats. That will involve the development of blue carbon habitats, increasing biodiversity and carbon capture.

Finally, we recognise the valuable contribution that agriculture already makes to our environment. However, we can continue to improve sustainable land use, healthy rivers and growing biodiversity. That will involve the comprehensive mapping of soil quality and water catchments across Northern Ireland in support of low-carbon farming; a significant increase in our green infrastructure, for example, hedges and peatlands, to sequester carbon, improve biodiversity and act as natural barriers against pollution and flooding; new food and agriculture policies to encourage and reward businesses for sustainability and environmental outcomes; a scenario-planning model to map, predict and, ultimately, monitor the benefits of different green growth interventions; and the movement of all sensitive sites towards favourable management, including land and marine. I would also envisage programmes in the first phase for an increase in renewable energy to a point where we become a net exporter and sustainable transport using renewable energy to achieve net zero emissions.

I will discuss the proposals with my ministerial colleagues, so that we can bring them back to the Executive. We are also, of course, working with the Department for Infrastructure on adaption programmes to deal with the impact of climate change. As well as planning a significant increase in sustainable transport, we will develop the strategy and delivery framework through a process of co-design and co-delivery. Green growth will happen only if people have ownership and if all the key players work together towards a shared goal. The framework will operate under the oversight of the Executive through an interministerial group that I will chair.

Given the importance of green growth, I have asked the DAERA permanent secretary to lead the development work together with officials from across the Northern Ireland Civil Service and a broad group of stakeholders. The third element of green growth is the development of proposals to address New Decade, New Approach. The recommendations include commitments on climate change, including legislation and reductions in plastics waste.

At the beginning of the statement, I promised to set out the opportunities for Northern Ireland that are possible if we work together to improve our environment and create jobs and economic growth the green growth way. I hope that the statement gives you a flavour of the opportunities, recognising that co-design means not having all the answers in advance. We can make a difference, and we can achieve economic, environmental and social benefits if we use the right approach; indeed, I would argue that we must, if we are to achieve the benefits together. We need a vibrant economy to provide people with meaningful work; we need to give people an opportunity to work their way out of poverty; and we need to help those who cannot help themselves. Importantly, however, we need to do all that in a way that cares for and enhances our environment, as, ultimately, we are part of that environment.

I hope that colleagues will recognise the emphasis on partnership in the statement and the proposals that it contains. They are ambitious, I grant you, but I make no apology for that, because it is what we must do and what people expect us to do. My Department will work with people from across the political spectrum to make it happen. It is my hope that Members will reciprocate in a spirit of partnership. While green growth will be a major challenge for all of us, I believe that, with a vision of sustainability, goodwill and an evidence-based approach, we can make a huge difference to our place and to the people of Northern Ireland at the heart of the next economic revolution.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): We now come to questions to the Minister on his statement. As usual, some latitude is given to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the relevant Committee.

Mr McGuigan (The Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs): I thank the Minister for his statement. Green growth is a highly aspirational strategy. The statement is welcome, as it contains many worthwhile aims and objectives. However, on the basis of its content, what has been announced seems to be the start of a process. Many of the programmes, ideas and concepts referenced in the statement are not new; they have been around for a while. What is new, I suppose, is bringing them together and appointing a permanent secretary to lead on them. What is missing is detail such as budget, timeline, proper aims and objectives and delivery plans. What resources has the Minister allocated to the delivery of green growth? Can he provide the AERA Committee with a detailed delivery plan, including a time frame?

Mr Poots: Today's statement is about delivering the concept. Over the next year, as we work with other Departments, with the Committee and, indeed, the entire House, that concept will become the strategy, and the strategy will be bid for on the basis of what, we recognise, is needed to move it forward. It is important for all of us that we understand that, environmentally, this is an opportunity for our economy, not a threat to it. It is an opportunity to build. That is what we want to do: we want to build our economy in a sustainable way; we want to ensure that growth happens in a sustainable way; and we want to ensure that, as we do things that help and protect the environment, we grow our economy alongside that.

We will produce budgets. However, now is just not the time. That work will happen in due course, when the strategy is more formalised.

Mr Irwin: I thank the Minister for his positive statement. I welcome the road map for the future, particularly on the need for more work to be done around the circular economy, in particular the better use of our waste material. Keeping waste in our economy is a must. How do you foresee Northern Ireland delivering on that approach?

Mr Poots: We have significant opportunities, and I referenced the £23 million fund that is looking at how we can better improve on our waste strategy. Achieving a 50% recycling rate by 2020 was an admirable aim. I set that policy way back in 2010 and was told that we had no chance: we did it. Now we are looking at 2030 and what we can achieve. Can we achieve 70%? That is a decision that I have to make, but it certainly would be a noble aspiration. Achieving 70% is one thing, but making good utilisation of the product is another matter entirely. In your constituency, for example, Cherry Pipes recycles a lot of plastics. In Fermanagh and South Tyrone we have a company recycling a lot of bottles. We have others recycling considerable amounts of paper that are then reused. All that is absolutely critical.

Last week, I met three companies that employ 700 people in recycling. They keep huge volumes of that waste in the economy in Northern Ireland. I do not want to see recycling happen and then that material being put on a ship to China and we do not know what is happening to it. We want to see it recycled here. It is about supporting businesses to do that here and ensuring that we have that circular economy.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I ask the Minister to address the Chair. When he turns round, he will find that the microphone is not picking up all that he says. It may cause difficulties for Hansard. I urge him to address the Chair at all times.

Ms Hunter: I thank the Minister for his statement and note its timely nature, given that temperatures in the Arctic Circle reached a record high of 38° at the weekend.

Would the Minister agree that, to protect our natural capital for generations, we need to take action now, but we also need to ensure that we raise a generation of young people who are environmentally aware? To that end, would he agree that green growth and climate awareness should form part of the curriculum?

Mr Poots: I am used, Mr Chair, to addressing the House as well as you. It is a habit that I have of actually speaking to the Members who are asking questions and so forth. However, because we only have the one Speaker, I will take your advice on the matter.

In terms of the question asked by the Member for East Londonderry, it is critical that we get our younger population on board with us. The one thing that I despair of is the amount of waste that is thrown on the side of our roads. On every country road that you go up there are used drink cans, papers from food outlets, crisp bags and all sorts of things. It is not appropriate. It should not happen. Education should take that out of the system, so we need to encourage the environment to be at the centre of education. There are now, GCSEs in land use and agriculture and so forth. We need to encourage more of that, particularly if hundreds of thousands of jobs are potentially to be created across the United Kingdom for that. It is important that people are educated in a way that prepares them for those jobs.

Mrs Barton: Minister, thank you for your statement. I welcome it very much as the way forward for our new green growth strategy. What way do you intend to work in the future with machinery producers in relation to their energy efficiency? Our tractors, as you know, guzzle up so much oil and diesel etc.

Mr Poots: Thankfully, a lot of tractors have become more fuel-efficient over the years, so the more modern tractor is more fuel-efficient than older tractors. I know that many people do not like it, but the bigger the machine and the equipment behind it, the more energy-efficient they are. That is a good thing. It works better if there are fewer, bigger machines rather than lots of smaller machines. We see the opportunities that exist with electric cars, but I suspect that they do not exist to the same extent for HGVs and tractors and agricultural machinery. That is where we need to be looking at other opportunities, such as hydrogen. I welcome the work that has been done by Wrightbus, for example, in Ballymena, in developing hydrogen buses. If it has been done for buses, I assume that it can be done for tractors and lorries. In efforts to achieve a more circular economy, can we capture hydrogen from the residual refuse derived fuel (RFD) waste? Can we derive fuel from that? Those are areas that we need to look at. That is how we can grow the economy and go forward in an environmentally sustainable way, because 100% of that material, which could be described as waste, has a useful purpose.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Members, I encourage you to make sure that your mic is pointing in an appropriate direction.

Mr Blair: On behalf of the Alliance Party, I thank the Minister for the extensive statement, particularly the address therein of the remaining, growing and global challenge of climate change. I hope that what has been called an economic revolution might also provide opportunities for an environmental protection revolution. In light of that, will the specific 'New Decade, New Approach' commitment to a climate change Act be included as we take forward green growth? Will it be done in the context of looking at opportunities for technologies, research and development and skills within that area?

Mr Poots: I have been considering the proposals of the NDNA agreement for the establishment of an independent agency to form part of the possible outline of a future Programme for Government. That will be no small task, given the scope of the potential impacts, and other issues will need to be addressed.

I agree entirely with the Member that this is a window of opportunity for us and that it should be seen as such. As new agreements are made, or deals or done, after the UK moves on from the European Union, we could be left with challenges with imported food coming into the UK that is of a different standard to ours, for example. The message that needs to go out to the public is that that food has been produced in a sustainable way, with regard to animal welfare, environmental production, food miles, for example, and the treatment of the people employed in the processing of the goods. If we can apply those sustainability measures to whatever we produce in Northern Ireland — not just food — it will help us sell our product as a premium product.

I do not want Northern Ireland to be competing at the bottom end; I do not want us to be a commodity-based market. I want us to be a producer of premium goods and to be recognised across the world as such, just as German manufacturing, for example, is recognised as being amongst the best in the world. I want whatever Northern Ireland produces to be recognised as amongst the best in the world. People will pay a premium for that, and there will be a benefit to the entire economy and to the people who work in that economy.

Mr Harvey: I welcome the Minister's statement and the way in which he highlighted the important role that farmers play in protecting the environment and the importance of continuing to support our farmers in that work. How does the Minister foresee his Department assisting farmers in the future?

Mr Poots: A series of things can be done. We have challenges around water management. We make considerable use of the assets that exist, which applies a degree of pressure. Helping with capital investment schemes, and more research and development through AFBI and others, will be important.

We will be looking at further tranches of the environmental farming scheme. Providing good advice to farmers, a wider roll-out of good practice and not reinventing the wheel will be important. In all of that, we do not intend to reinvent the wheel where good practice exists.

How do we harness that good practice? How do we encourage others to participate in that good practice? How do we ensure that we can improve on that, where possible? I know that the farming community will buy into that because we have so many innovative and excellent farmers in Northern Ireland.

Mr McAleer: I thank the Minister for his wide-ranging statement. The Minister will be well aware that his Department is leading an environment strategy that will, I believe, come to the Chamber next week for consent on a legislative consent motion for the Environment Bill. Could the Minister indicate where he envisages that green growth strategy fitting within the environment strategy and the Environment Bill?

Mr Poots: The Environment Bill is necessary to ensure that we do not leave gaps after we leave the European Union. I do not believe that it stops with the Environment Bill. We need to be looking at the green growth strategy, and giving it resource and legislative cover. All those things will be applied as we develop and understand the direction that we are taking.

Mr T Buchanan: I thank the Minister for his wide-ranging statement, and the vision and opportunities presented within the green growth strategy. Minister, you touched on this earlier, but would you agree that in the context of producing environmentally sustainable food, that Northern Ireland, and, indeed, the UK, are well-placed, and that, therefore, we should reduce our reliance on imported food that we have little or no control over how it is produced?

Mr Poots: Absolutely. I challenged some supermarkets during the early part of COVID about their importation of goods. I will continue to do that, and to make clear that they have a premium product on their doorstep that we need to make greater utilisation of. That product is actually of higher value as a consequence of the standards by which it is produced.

During COVID, there was one weekend when Calais was proving a tad difficult and there was a panic about not having enough food in the UK over the following week. That is a demonstration of the importance of food security. I know that some advisers in Number 10 at the start of the year were suggesting that we did not really need farming in the UK. That is a nonsense of a suggestion for the environment and the public's well-being.

Sustainable food can and should be produced here. We need to have the support to do that and to ensure that we can go forward. We are not going to be cutting down rain forests or engaging in those negative environmental activities that are happening in many other parts of the world in producing food.

It needs to be recognised that it will cost a bit more to do that, but for the food security of this country we need to ensure that we have as much food as possible produced at home at the local base and import less, if possible.

Dr Archibald: I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the ambition around the green growth strategy and partnership working. You have outlined strands of work that fall across sectors. It not be any surprise to the Minister to hear me say that climate legislation with binding sectoral targets would provide a framework for our strategies and programmes. I urge him to expedite that.
On the current work, will the Minister work with the Economy Minister to ensure that the green growth strategy fits in with the economic recovery plan?

Mr Poots: Yes. I will work with the Economy Minister and all Ministers on this. We brought this strategy to the Executive on an awayday. I think that that was in February, but it was certainly before COVID struck. We are keen to press ahead with it. COVID has delayed it slightly, but that is a blip and will not prevent us carrying this out. As we come out of COVID, we now want to focus on its delivery. So, yes, the Economy Minister will be crucial, as will the Infrastructure Minister. However, every Minister will have a role in delivering this. I will work with all my Executive colleagues on its delivery.

Ms McLaughlin: Thank you, Minister, and congratulations on your policy statement. It is a really good start and I look forward to its further development. I am also pleased with your commitment to work with the other Ministers on this because it is an all-government approach for the future. It is important that all Departments support the green recovery programme. Does the Minister share my concerns about the future of factory farming? It harms the environment and is arguably bad for human health as well, as shown with the recent COVID-19 outbreaks in meat-processing plants in Germany, France, Spain, Wales and England. Are you concerned about that?

Mr Poots: It all depends on what the term "factory farming" is referring to. I do not consider farms that have higher levels of livestock and have to employ additional people over and above the family to be factory farms. Some of the larger pork farms that we have and that are being developed in Northern Ireland can reduce the amounts of ammonia and other gases as a consequence of their being prepared to make significant investment. We need to reflect on that. You can have older or smaller systems in place the environmental footprint of which is much larger given their output. We are not in the situation of the United States, for example, where you could go to a farm that has 20,000 cows; that is factory farming. However, we do have larger farms. Some of those larger farms are carrying out best practice. We need to recognise that and not simply label something a factory farm when best practice is being followed. Let us judge everything in the round and on its merits as opposed to its scale. We will need to judge in the round the environmental impact that they make relative to their output.

Mr K Buchanan: I thank the Minister for his very detailed statement. The agri-food industry is a sector that I was proud to work with for many years. What further practical steps do you think that that sector could take to fit in with your document or road map?

Mr Poots: Good practice needs to be followed throughout the system. From the very start of the process and right through its entirety, factories need to identify good practice on how they manage their waste, how they manage their effluence, what energy they are using, whether they can produce energy of their own and resource water of their own. All those things are in there. I know of facilities that are almost entirely circular and perhaps some that are entirely circular. That is important and something that many businesses have been looking at. It was not on the radar 20 years ago but it is now. It is very important for them and many are responding in positive ways. It is a selling point. There are facilities that are producing their own energy and using it to chill their fridges, drive the lorries and other vehicles that are doing the transporting and so forth.

Those are all excellent and innovative ideas that are making a significant contribution to the circular economy that we desire.

Mr Muir: I thank the Minister for his statement. However, I have concerns about the seriousness with which he is judging the situation. He prefaced the statement by saying that he is not someone who is:

The House declared a climate emergency, and it is a clear and present risk to us all. It should not be underplayed.

I declare that I was previously a member of Ards and North Down Borough Council and an employee of Translink. My question is about the plans to incorporate this into the multi-year Programme for Government. What engagement does he plan to have with other Executive colleagues, including the Minister for Infrastructure, to ensure that we have a coordinated approach that it is incorporated in the Programme for Government?

Mr Poots: We are very happy to work with all the other Departments, as I indicated to other Members, and transportation is a very important issue. However, COVID-19 has taught us all the lesson that we probably do not need to use as much transport, whether that be aeroplanes, cars, trains or buses, and that many of us can do much more work from our homes. That has been demonstrated to be something that we are capable of doing, and it is a very important demonstration, because we have talked about working from home for years and people were always a bit unsure about it. The fact is that much of the work that we do can be monitored and you can see the outputs of the individuals. Where it is achievable, it should not be regarded as a negative by either business or government.

I want to see less of all forms of transport on our roads, with more people working from home. COVID-19 has awoken us to the possibilities that exist, and that, again, provides an opportunity for the economy in Northern Ireland, because it is much more inexpensive to employ someone to work from their home in Holywood, Hillsborough or wherever else than have those people sitting in an office in London, living in London and going through that transportation system. There are opportunities for Northern Ireland, and we need to embrace them.

Mr O'Toole: First, I welcome the Minister's announcement that he will not cut down the rainforests. The orangutans in Belvoir forest and Tollymore will be relieved and pleased to hear that.

His statement included stressing the importance of the spirit of partnership, and I welcome that. Will he ask his permanent secretary in the Department to look at opportunities for green growth that present themselves from the position that Northern Ireland finds itself in vis-à-vis the protocol? He has talked about that in the past. I do not want to start another row with him over Brexit — we will have lots of time for that in the future — but the European green deal involves one of the biggest markets in the world announcing the biggest ever transition towards a low-carbon economy. How does the protocol enable us, our businesses and workers to avail themselves of that while also benefiting from the pan-UK frameworks and opportunities? Can he ask his Department to look at those opportunities and ensure that they are reflected in the strategy?

Mr Poots: We will look at every opportunity that lies there, whether it is European or beyond the shores of the European Union. We are very happy to look at whatever opportunities exist, but the policy that I wish to follow is that we produce premium product at the top end of the market, not the bottom end. That is the market that we need to go after. Obviously, parts of the European Union will fit that bill.

Ms Bailey: I am deeply concerned at the emphasis on growth in the strategy. Why must the economy always be at the centre of every discussion that we have about sustainability and why must relentless growth be the only lens through which we can view solutions? There must come a point when we seriously consider how much growth this planet can sustain. I agree with the Minister's opening sentence though: it is hard to imagine a set of circumstances with more devastating global impacts than those that we currently face. However, if we open our eyes, we will see the other ongoing emergency which threatens the lives of millions more people; one that is set to destabilise and destroy entire economies.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were brave enough to implement unthinkable changes overnight in order to protect people. We made the impossible possible. Will the Minister, please, continue to be brave enough to implement the actual change that is needed to halt the breaking down of the climate, and turn that strategy into a real green new deal?

Mr Poots: The emphasis on growth with regard to the environment demonstrates that both can be done in conjunction. If we do not have growth, we have retraction. If we have retraction, we have unemployment. If we have unemployment, we have hardship and misery. I am not someone who will bring about hardship and misery. Perhaps, it is the policy of the Green Party to make people unemployed and have hardship and misery, and to compare the challenges that we face environmentally to COVID-19. The response to COVID-19 is temporary and was made in the moment to respond to a particular crisis. No Government in the world could sustain what is currently happening. The borrowing of tens of billions, trillions, pounds and dollars is not sustainable. Perhaps, the Green Party thinks that that is sustainable as an environmental solution, as opposed to reducing greenhouse gases, carbon, methane and ammonia, and, at the same time, allowing businesses to grow and create jobs, opportunities and wealth, which can, then, be invested in health, education and infrastructure. That is my way. The Green Party may want to have some sort of trashed place. I do not want that. I want a vibrant Northern Ireland that is positive and forward-looking.

Mr Allister: How we miss Sammy Wilson

at a time like this to give a reality check on that misty-eyed aspirational statement. I do not say that there are not worthwhile things in it — there are — but I must ask the Minister where the audit is of the cost of what is called "green growth", or some other fancy title, in terms of existing jobs, set-up costs, and costs that are piled upon the consumer. Today, I have heard, again, much praise of the renewable sector. However, I seldom hear about the resulting costs to the consumer of funding and subsidising the renewable sector. Where is the balance sheet? Will the Minister produce a balance sheet of costs against benefits on those aspirational proposals?

Mr Poots: I thank the Member for his question. We are in circumstances in which many of the actions that have been taken have actually been cost-neutral or have had marginal costs, but the benefits have been phenomenal. The Member would do well to reflect upon that. Significant organisations have engaged in partnerships with us through prosperity agreements, not because it is misty-eyed but because it is economically beneficial to the company and helps it to sustain its position in the market and continue to provide jobs. Some of those actions will actually create economies in those companies.

I do not know whether the Member is suggesting that it is a good idea to use plastic that has been produced by oil once and, then, put it into the ground, where it will still exist one thousand years later. I do not know whether the Member thinks that it is a good idea to have waste from the agri-sector going into waterways. Most farmers do not believe that. The vast majority of farmers do not want it. So, I am not sure where the Member is coming from; I do not know whether he thinks that using energy that is produced by combustion in the next 100 years, as opposed to the energy that exists around us, is a good idea. I would much prefer to use energy that is harvested in the Irish Sea, the Atlantic Ocean or the hills of County Tyrone than use gas that comes from Russia — from Mr Putin — or use oil that comes from Iran. I would much prefer to have energy security from our own sources, and the benefits of that to the environment are there to be seen. So, the route that the Member is going down is not a particularly logical one.

Mr Carroll: Teachers probably would not miss Sammy Wilson, given his recent comments, but that is for another day.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that we have six months to change course in order to avoid a climate catastrophe. The next three years, whether action is taken or not taken, will shape the next 30 years. I want to ask the Minister about a just transition. We are likely to see highly skilled workers in Bombardier and Thompson Aero Seating losing their jobs. What steps will his Department take to ensure that workers are not thrown under the bus because of COVID-19 or the economic crisis that is likely to come and to ensure that their skills and efforts can be utilised to protect the environment so that we have a just transition?

Mr Poots: It is hugely unfortunate that those job losses are happening. Unfortunately, there is a reality, and COVID has driven that home in the aerospace industry, and there will be radical change there. We have a specialist aerospace industry in Northern Ireland, and job losses are a consequence that has come about and we need to look at how we can address that and support those workers by providing high-quality jobs, maybe in other industries that are not under the same threat. We will see many job losses over the next number of weeks and months, but as we come out of COVID we need to be very flexible and fast on our feet in demonstrating how we can create other opportunities for people who are losing their jobs.

Mr Stewart: I agree entirely with the Member for East Londonderry on the issue of an education process for young people to try to encourage them to think more green through recycling and protecting our environment.

I agree entirely with the Minister; I loathe, as I am sure all Members do, dumping. That is a growing issue in my constituency of East Antrim, as is protecting our waterways, which you also refer to in your statement. Do you support further sanctions and regulations to try to tackle that because it is starting to happen on an industrial scale, and I want to see more done to protect our countryside?

Mr Poots: NIEA always seeks to recover the costs that are involved, and it is for the courts to then impose the fines. Members have often indicated their dissatisfaction with that. The scale of the fines that can be imposed is quite significant, but it is not always utilised. That is an issue that the Member rightly raises. I am not in a position to impose fines; we set the law and others administer it. It is for the people who administer the law to impose the appropriate fines and sanctions on those whose activities have brought them before a court.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): That concludes questions to the Minister on his statement. I ask Members to take their ease for a few moments while the Temporary Speaker takes the Chair.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): I have received notice from the Minister of Education that he wishes to make a statement.

Mr Weir (The Minister of Education): I want to make a statement to the Assembly regarding my major capital works investment plans in the coming period. In my statement to the House on 5 May 2020, I announced investment of around £40 million, across 16 schools, under the school enhancement programme. My focus today is on major capital works projects that I have approved to advance in design. Before I announce those projects, I would like to provide the House with a brief update on the Department's current capital works programme.

My Department is responsible for the planning, management and delivery of a fit-for-purpose schools estate that will provide a first-class educational experience for pupils, staff and wider school communities and help our young people to fulfil their potential. The schools estate is wide and diverse, spread across five sectors, with an even broader management authority base. There are many challenges in managing such an estate, not least of which is the need to balance the limited capital resources that I have available to me against the much-needed capital investment in our schools. It is, therefore, essential that any capital investment is targeted at supporting the delivery of modern, fit-for-purpose schools that are viable and sustainable into the future.

Since 2012, 66 projects have been announced under the major capital works programme. Twenty-six of those projects are now complete, eight are currently on site, 20 are in the design phase, 11 are at business case preparation stage and one is on hold. In addition, 76 projects are being progressed under the school enhancement programme, and a further 27 major capital projects are being progressed under the Fresh Start programme.

In terms of capital budget, I have agreed a provisional budget of £40 million for the major capital works programme and the school enhancement programme in the current financial year, with a further budget of Fresh Start funding of £19·1 million for the Strule shared education campus and agreed shared and integrated school projects. Smaller investment at a larger number of schools continues to be delivered through the minor works capital programme, for which I have agreed a budget of £64 million in this financial year. I also continue to recognise the much-valued education and development of our young people being delivered in non-school settings through youth programmes throughout the country and have ring-fenced a budget of £10 million for capital works for youth centres.

In delivering across those programmes, I am also conscious of my Department's wider environmental responsibilities. I am aware of the emerging regulations aimed at bringing our public buildings to near-zero emissions, and accordingly, following my statement today, I shall instruct my officials to examine how best practice in that regard can be reflected in the design and delivery of the projects that I will announce shortly.

My delivery teams in the Department and its arm's-length bodies continue to work hard to progress projects across all those programmes. However, the time required to develop any major capital project from concept through to actual build means that sufficient projects must be advanced to the point where they could effectively utilise funds that may be available in the future. Therefore, in addressing the need for much greater capital investment across the schools estate, I must ensure that I have sufficient announced projects at an early development stage to ensure that capital budget available to me can be utilised to the greatest extent.

Rather than congest the early stage delivery pipeline with a large number of projects, it is my intention to make modest but more frequent announcements on capital to ensure that those projects announced have gained real traction before the next announcement is made. Therefore, following my announcement today, I intend to ask my officials to commence preparation for a further call for project nominations later in the year to facilitate a further announcement in 2021. This will facilitate schools that need major capital works but have either not scored highly enough on this occasion to feature in this announcement or did not satisfy the gateway requirements but shall do so in the future following, for example, the outworking of a statutory development proposal to either rationalise or amalgamate. For that reason, I have decided to announce nine new major capital projects, with estimated capital in the region of £156 million. An announcement on this scale means that there is sufficient delivery capacity to ensure that work can continue on previously announced projects while also allowing these additional projects to be moved forward at pace.

I take the selection of major capital works projects to advance in design very seriously as, effectively, it is a competitive process. It is, therefore, critical that the process used to select projects is documented and, more importantly, followed. In the last number of years, this has been achieved through the development of a protocol for the selection of projects to advance in design, and the same process has been utilised on this occasion. I do not intend to go into the protocol in great detail. However, in brief, Mr Derek Baker, the Department's permanent secretary, launched a call for major works projects in September 2019 for primary and post-primary schools. By the closing date, 31 October 2019, a total of 89 eligible applications were lodged by school management authorities and sectoral bodies. The applications lodged were assessed in line with the 'Protocol for 2019/20 Major Works Call for Projects', which was agreed and published on the Department's website in advance of the launch of the call. A gateway check was undertaken to ensure that schools considered for major capital investment were viable, sustainable, had certainty about their development and had not been announced to receive major capital funding under the second school enhancement programme. The gateway check resulted in 21 schools being ruled out from further consideration. The remaining 68 schools were ranked on merit based on a scoring system, which was detailed in the protocol, and separate prioritised lists were drawn up for primary schools and post-primary schools.

In deciding the number of schools to announce under the major capital programme, I considered the capital budget required to build these schools, the Department's current capital works programme and the capacity of the resources required to develop and deliver the projects. I understand that there are many competing budget pressures at this time, and the current COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on resource budgets. However, it is important to look to the future and give some much-needed good news not just for schools and the wider school communities but for the contractors, the professionals in the construction industry and the wider economy that will benefit financially from the announcement. Whilst construction spend on these projects is not likely to commence until the 2024-25 financial year, making this announcement today will ensure a steady pipeline of projects in design that, in turn, will ensure the continued modernisation of the schools estate in future years as these projects move to construction.

Now, I wish to turn to the list of major works projects to be advanced in design. Today, I am announcing nine projects to advance in design. These schools will benefit from a total estimated capital investment of £156 million. The list comprises three primary schools and six post-primary schools. The three primary schools to be brought forward in design are Holy Trinity Primary, Enniskillen, St Catherine's Primary, Strabane and St Mary's Primary School, Craigavon. The six post-primary schools to be brought forward in design are All Saints College, Belfast, Blessed Trinity College, Belfast, St Conor's College, Kilrea, St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel, St Patrick's College, Maghera and Tandragee Junior High School, Tandragee.

It is important to recognise that many schools in the estate are old and are costly to maintain, and others are not operating with sufficient pupil numbers to provide the optimum learning environment as recommended by Bain. There must be careful consideration as to how the available funding is invested. Focusing on area planning and investing in schools that are viable and sustainable will help us all in this endeavour. The schools that have been announced today have met these criteria. In making this announcement today, it is my intention that these projects will be taken through to construction. However, I stress that authorisation to proceed to construction on any individual project will be based on the level of capital funding available at the point when the design is complete and all necessary approvals have been secured.

I recognise that today's announcement will be good news for some and disappointing for many others. For those who have not been successful in their application, I advise that it is my intention to make smaller, more frequent announcements of major capital projects. That approach will ensure that schools that are subject to area planning considerations will be better placed to apply under the next major capital works call for projects.

Finally, I reaffirm that my Department's strategy for capital investment in the coming years will continue to be shaped by the outworking of area planning and the delivery of a modern, fit-for-purpose estate of viable and sustainable schools.

Mr Lyttle (The Chairperson of the Committee for Education): I thank the Minister for his statement. I will also use this time as an opportunity to continue thank our teachers across Northern Ireland for their hard work, dedication and innovation during the public health emergency and for continuing to work well beyond their contracted hours to achieve a return to education here.

We welcome this investment, but I imagine that most MLAs will be deeply concerned at reports today of a dispute between the DUP and Sinn Féin delaying investment in free school meals and, I understand, quite possibly childcare. Will the Minister update the Assembly on why there has been a delay in delivering that investment in free school meals and childcare and ensure that a political dispute will not lead to further delay in that investment?

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for some of his comments, and I join him in thanking not only the teaching workforce in the current situation but the many non-teaching staff who have helped to deliver over the last few months and who will, indeed, continue to deliver.

The question was somewhat tangential to the statement, but let me make it clear that we want to see a resolution to all budget issues, including the victims' pension. That will be progressed, and there is common consent on free school meals in particular. I am confident that that will be progressed to ensure that we will have that provision for our vulnerable children. Particularly for free school meals, in Northern Ireland, the levels of funding for and, indeed, coverage of a number of children have been much greater than in other parts of the United Kingdom. That is something that I welcome, and I look forward to a resolution to all those issues.

Mr Humphrey: I thank the Minister for his statement, and I welcome the investment in particular in Blessed Trinity College, which has come from the merger between Little Flower Girls' School and St Patrick's College in North Belfast. That school could certainly do with the investment, so I welcome that.

I thank the Minister for his ongoing work on and support for education in the decisions that he is making in very difficult times. I also thank him for the time he took to visit the Belfast Boys' Model School a couple of weeks ago, and I know that he will visit the Belfast Model School for Girls later this week. Will any further announcements be made on school capital development in this tranche, particularly on Seaview Primary School in North Belfast, which needs a new school urgently and which I mentioned to him before?

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for his comments. Yes, and I know that he has been lobbying on a number of projects, particularly Seaview, and that he has been a strong supporter of that school. It is important that we keep a pipeline of projects going. Therefore; it is my intention to make another call in 2021. That will mean, as is inevitably the case with any capital announcements, that those schools that receive will be very happy and those that do not will be disappointed. In some cases, some of those schools will be fairly high on the list, although I am not going to mention particular schools.

A further call will be made in 2021, and the intention will be to make sure that we have a number of calls, with perhaps smaller announcements. On occasions, there have been announcements where there have been a greater number of schools and a longer gap between those calls. I want to make sure that all schools are treated fairly and are given that opportunity. Seaview and, indeed, other schools that have not been successful in this particular call will have that opportunity at the next call, and it will be in 2021.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): Before I call the next Member to ask a question, I remind Members that to ensure that Hansard and other Members can pick up your comments, you must speak into the microphones and speak through the Chair.

Ms Mullan: I thank the Minister for his statement. It is welcome news for the successful schools, but many in my city will be disappointed after the announcement, in particular the Irish-medium sector. We have three Irish-medium schools in the city that have operated in so-called temporary accommodation for between 15 and 30 years. You are aware of their situation, and in your statement you say:

I ask you to come to Derry and meet those schools to discuss their needs and outline the process.

Mr Weir: I am happy to meet anybody to outline the process. The position is that 89 schools applied, and 68 made the gateway check. By doing so, all 68 are investable. However, there are limitations on resources. One of the restrictions is that something can be done many times over. The scheme was announced in 2019 and scored according to the criteria in the protocol that was existence at that point. It is done directly and fairly, according to those objective criteria. It means that, at times, in individual announcements, different sectors may have different levels of success.

I am committed to ensuring that schools, as much as possible and where it is needed, will get that new school build. However, actions across the board, in individual circumstances, can be taken to ensure that, if there is inadequate provision, where something can be done temporarily in a particular school, it will be looked at. That will be borne in mind as we move into the autumn. We will try to make sure that we maximise the number of children who are directly into the classroom.

I am more than happy to meet anybody from any sector to explain the situation. Inevitably, in announcing successful schools, there will be a much greater pool of schools that will be unsuccessful. That is not because they are without merit; it is because, in the ranking according to the criteria, they were not ranked ahead of other schools that we could announce.

Mr McCrossan: I thank the Minister for his statement. For once, I thank you very happily for the announcement in relation to Strabane. It is welcome news, particularly for the principal, Mrs Bridget Wilders, her team and the many families across Strabane who have long awaited the new build and the advancement of the project. Some 470 pupils await this, so it is welcome news.

Many schools across Northern Ireland, including my constituency, are anxious about the return to school, which your Department is working on. What investment or plans are in place to ensure that there is the necessary infrastructure to ensure the safety of staff and pupils in the school environment? For instance, a lot of the discussion has been not just about class sizes but about classroom sizes. What happens in a situation where a small school cannot accommodate the pupils, even with a one-metre distance between pupils, in the classroom? Will provision be made for extra space, and will that be financed by the Department or the EA?

Mr Weir: We have been working on that, and the Finance Minister is keen to be supportive where possible. It may be that practical solutions can be provided. One of the constraints on capital works is that there cannot always be a quick turnaround of that. We are in a rapidly developing situation. My aim is to reach a point that enables everybody to be back in place this autumn all the time. That depends on the wider medical and scientific situation, but it is not something that has been in any way given up or abrogated. Guidance has been issued. Some schools will be able to do it; for many others, the constraints on space will mean that they cannot, if the current environment still prevails. At present, we are making the effort to maximise space and numbers. If there are temporary solutions that can be put in place to aid that, they are to be taken into account. I will seek wider support for the paper that was put to the Executive.

There is also a challenge out there that may be more about providing other locations that can be used for supervised learning. If the voluntary sector, the community sector, Churches and others can assist by providing additional space on a temporary basis, the community should use the opportunity to pull together to try to provide it. We will work with schools to maximise the opportunities to provide space. That work will be ongoing in the weeks to come.

Mrs Barton: Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement. On the subject of new builds and new schools, I welcome the news about Holy Trinity Primary School in Enniskillen. I also welcome the £19 million for the new integrated school project in Omagh, because a lot of pupils from Fermanagh and South Tyrone are educated in Omagh. I thank you for both.

We have gone through a pandemic with COVID-19. To follow on from Mr McCrossan's question, I would like to know what planning there is for future classroom sizes etc. I know that there are specific instructions when plans are being drawn up for new-build schools. What does the future hold? Are you intending to have classrooms made larger to accommodate social distancing, if it has to be in place in the future?

Mr Weir: It is important that whatever we do be future-proofed, although we cannot always simply react to the precise circumstances. The position, which is always kept under review, is that, whenever schools have been built in recent years, they have been built to handbook specifications on size. For instance, in the primary sector, classrooms in schools of a particular size tend to be 60 square metres or above. The problem is not with what has been built in recent years but is sometimes a reflection of the historical situation. For instance, we find that roughly a third of classrooms are 50 square metres or below in size. As I said, the problem is not to do with the specifications for new builds or any schools that have been recently built but is more to do with the historical situation. What the best specifications are in the handbook is something that will always be kept under review to ensure that we have something that is fit for purpose.

Ms Bunting: I welcome the statement from the Minister and indeed his strategic vision and commitment to the ongoing improvement of the learning environment for Northern Ireland's children. I draw his attention to where he mentions in his statement £10 million being ring-fenced for capital works for youth centres. I would be grateful if he would expand on the detail. I also draw his attention to the fact that those buildings are dependent on the projects still being in existence in circumstances in which there is a dearth of overall funding, as well as on having the pupils to fill them. I am certain that he is cognisant of the issues, but I would like some reassurance from him that he is giving consideration to them, because he will be aware of the good work that goes on with our young people outside the school curriculum.

Mr Weir: It is undoubtedly the case that, while good work happens in schools, that work is supplemented by those involved formally, particularly through the Youth Service, and by other organisations. I think in particular of voluntary youth organisations and some of the uniformed organisations. There is a range of settings in which, from a practical point of view, there is that level of delivery. I know that this is on a slightly different subject, but, as we look ahead to the summer, I am keen that, in addition to what is done officially through Youth Service, broad permission be given to organisations to take action over the summer, provided that they follow the public health advice.

The £10 million is provided on the basis that youth centres are slightly different from schools. It would be unfair if they were bundled in together. That would be like comparing apples to pears. That is why there has been a level of separate provision. When I accompanied a couple of Members on school visits in the north-west some months ago, we visited a youth centre, and I think that it is progressing. I think that an official announcement was made about the work ongoing on that and the replacement. There is a critical role for the Youth Service.

It is the case that longer-term provision is made on the basis of ensuring that there are pupils to fill the places. Over a decade ago, when it was probably felt that there was a fairly open amount of money that would simply go on and on, a number of capital announcements were made without ensuring that that provision was future-proofed. That is why, as part of any process, the gateway check is there to make sure that schools meet the requirements of area planning. As time moves on, it is likely that there will be changes to the gateway checks. Some schools will fail to make it because of an artificial barrier in their numbers that, sometimes, reflects their historic enrolment. It is the case, therefore, that any announcements will be made on the basis that the school is sustainable into the future. The gateway check, therefore, becomes critical in making sure that we are not, potentially, pouring money into a school that may not have a future five or 10 years down the road.

Ms Ennis: I thank the Minister for his statement. I am absolutely delighted to see the inclusion of St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel. The Minister will know of my persistence in ensuring that there is financial investment in the school and in the wider Mourne area. I cannot think of a school that is more deserving. As someone who has worked closely with the board of governors of St Louis Grammar School, I know that they will be absolutely thrilled to be included in today's announcement. The investment is absolutely necessary and justified. It will allow the much-needed new school build to proceed at pace, and it will ensure continued educational excellence and the viability of education in the Mournes.

Will the Minister outline the process for the next steps for schools? I invite him to Kilkeel to meet the teaching staff and the board of governors to discuss the next steps with him, and I know that he will be very much welcomed.

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for her observations. I suspect that there will be at least 18 different views in the Chamber about which is the most deserving school project to be at the top of any list. That is why there always needs to be objective criteria. I will be happy to go down to Kilkeel or to other places. On a visit to Newry, I met all the post-primary principals from the Newry and south Down area, including, I think, representatives from Kilkeel. I think that there was somebody there from St Louis Grammar School.

The next steps in the process will be to work through the business case and carry out a feasibility study that will make sure that what is put forward is fit for purpose. In most cases, it will be a direct new build, but, if there is a different solution, that is what will be done. By their nature, major capital works tend to take longer than other types of capital works, in part because one of the issues is that a project board will have to be established in each case. Where those works differ from the school enhancement programme, not just in terms of scale, is that, as part of the process, there will be a site search. Areas will be scoped out in the local area to establish the best location according to value for public money and its fitness for purpose. That will, inevitably, mean that things take a bit longer.

In the current circumstances, however, there will be no barriers to that. We all live in a slightly more virtual world than we did a few months ago, and all those issues will be able to be commenced. It will follow, if you like, standard procedure, but, again, I will be happy to meet representatives of the school at some stage.

Mr Frew: What is the breakdown of spending across all the schools that have been successful today? Will the Minister enlighten the House on the differences between the school enhancement programme and the major capital works programme?

Mr Weir: There will be individual budgets that are tentatively set aside. Roughly speaking, because the bulk of them tend to be of a much greater scale, we are looking at around about £20 million on the primary side of it, for the three schools, and the remainder of the budget being spent on the post-primary side. Those will be adjusted a little bit as we move into feasibility studies and business cases.

On the school enhancement programme, there are two major differences which then lead to a consequential change. First, there is an upper limit of £4 million on the school enhancement programme. Major capital works are pitched above that. The school enhancement programme also has a minimum level of investment of £500,000. The other issue is that the school enhancement programme is essentially to take an existing building and, by its nature, enhance it. So it may well be that an additional sports hall is built, a science block or something of that nature. It will involve work happening on site.

With major capital works, there will be an examination of, effectively, what is the best site on which to rebuild a new school. On some occasions, that will mean a build which actually takes place on the site of the existing school, but that is not necessarily the case. A school enhancement programme will always take place on site. That affects the speed of turnaround, both in terms of size and the fact that it takes a major element out of the process. School enhancement programmes will typically be delivered a lot quicker than major capital projects.

Dr Archibald: I thank the Minister for his statement. It is welcome that St Conor's in Kilrea, which is in my constituency, is one of the post-primaries that have benefited from investment to advance and design. It is also welcome that the design and delivery of these builds will be based on net zero emissions. That is very welcome.

Ms Bunting addressed the £10 million that has been ring-fenced for youth centres. When do you expect announcements around that to be made? Will they be included in this process, or is a completely new process required for those projects?

Mr Weir: In terms of the exact timescales, I can certainly get back to the Member. In many ways, it is a separate project, and quite often the nature and scale of youth centres will tend to be smaller than a major capital build with schools. That is why it is kept on a separate side of it, and also on the basis that it is not comparing like with like, so it will be dealt with in a separate way.

Mr McNulty: Will the Minister join with me in applauding our principals, teachers, school staff, parents and pupils, whose roles have been completely reconfigured and who have had to make the best out of very difficult and challenging circumstances?

I welcome the statement today and the continued investment in our school estate. I particularly welcome the inclusion of Tandragee Junior High School, and I especially welcome the commencement on site of St Joseph's High School in Crossmaglen. Will the Minister update the House on the proposed new builds at St Peter's, Collegeland and St Malachy's, Armagh, both of which were announced in March 2016?

Mr Weir: First of all, I am happy to join in the thanks to teaching and non-teaching staff. I also think that we should be thankful for the role played by parents and students, who have been left at times in a very difficult situation, particularly younger children, and who must be wondering at times what is going on. I am certainly happy to congratulate them on that.

In terms of the specifics of the two projects, I do not have the detail directly at hand, but I will be happy to write to the Member with the detail.

Mr Butler: I thank the Minister for his announcements today and, whilst none of them extend to Lagan Valley, I join in the thanks that everybody has given from their respective areas for the schools that have benefited. You did talk, Minister, about emerging regulations aimed at bringing our public buildings to a near-zero net emissions target, which is appropriate, ambitious and commendable, but I would have liked to have heard a line about therapeutic design. When we talk to young people, the number-one issue that they talk about is mental ill health, and schools and the school environment have a major part to play. I would like to have heard a commitment towards a zero-suicide-focused design. Can the Minister give us a commitment today that that is indeed the case, and it was just omitted from his statement?

Mr Weir: Everything will always be tried to be done around mental health. I am conscious of what can be promised. All of us have the ambition to see zero suicides. Whilst there is a contribution with regard to the environment, it is a much wider issue than simply the school buildings.

One thing that has struck me is around designs that have been put in place. To be fair, from visiting school buildings, even with schools that have been built in the last decade or so, you will see that consideration has been given, in the design, to the impact of the broader mental health environment. For example, in a school that is roughly 10 years old, you will see a much greater use of space and light, and the atmosphere that that automatically creates is conducive to helping with broad schooling and also mental health. That is part of the broader process.

With regard to design, there is much more imagination and thinking, particularly around the use of windows and open spaces which create a better atmosphere. Buildings can take us so far but there is a range of other interventions which, as all of us know, need to happen. They are happening to some extent, but we need to make sure that they are there. That is why, for instance, in this year's budget I have given additional funds. It remains to be seen whether further assistance is possible from the COVID side of it, but, prior to that, I was keen to commit additional spend around mental health, particularly focused in primary schools which, to some extent, have maybe been the poor relation of that funding, but there are additional resources this year that will tackle the issue not just within the school system but in a wider context as well. It is a job for all of us.

Mr Dunne: I thank the Minister for his announcement today. The investment in new builds is really welcomed. Does the Minister recognise, or have any ideas, around further opportunities for investment in our schools, especially in the north Down area? Bangor Central Integrated Primary School has long awaited such an announcement, which you are aware of, Minister.

Mr Weir: Bangor Central is part of the Fresh Start money, so it is happening. As is often the case, and particularly with a major capital announcement, it takes a while to go through processes. I give the Member an absolute assurance that Bangor Central and a number of other projects are happening. Priory Integrated College, for instance, is part of that. The Member may be very keen to slip a couple of additional schools into the announcement today but it is what it is.

It is important, in getting this right, that there will be a mixture of major capital announcements and, as part of that, I want to create a mix and also a school enhancement programme because that can also be the solution as well as other minor works. Despite circumstances, there has been a small increase in the maintenance budget this year. If we can head off problems, prior to them happening, that is also something that would be welcome.

Ms C Kelly: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I am very glad to see St. Catherines’ Primary School in Strabane included in the plans, going forward. I also welcome the further commitments made around the Strule project. What does today's announcement mean for the Strule project with regard to the delivery of the campus?

Mr Weir: It is confirming that, within the capital budget, further work will be done this year. Unfortunately, because of the particular circumstances of Strule, there was disruption caused by the COVID intervention. That has knocked things back a little bit. Strule is the biggest single investment that Education has put into place in any one site. It may even be one of the biggest investments that the Executive as a whole have ever put in, so it is a key priority.

With regard to the direct reference to the nine schools, that does not directly impact on Strule but it is a clear indication of the direction of travel and that there is an ongoing commitment to Strule. I had the great honour, along with the then First Minister and deputy First Minister, of visiting Arvalee School when it was opened. It was the first element and I look forward to seeing the other schools on campus being opened as well.

Ms Armstrong: Thank you, Temporary Speaker. It seems quite strange to say that but it is good to see you sitting up there. It is a different way to look at this place.

Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement. In it, you confirm a further £19·1 million for Strule and shared and integrated education. The dictionary definition of further is additional. Given that Fresh Start is a fixed budget, is that more money? Will the Minister breakdown how the £19·1 million will be spent? If Strule accesses the majority of that amount, is that part of the planned spend on Strule or is this more money that is going out of Fresh Start to one project? If the Minister is able to access further capital funding, what money is he planning to spend to facilitate the necessary space for the educational restart programme?

Mr Weir: We have been working with colleagues on any additional support that can be there, particularly on a temporary basis, for the restart programme. It is ultimately a profiling issue. One of the restrictions that was put on Fresh Start — the Member will be only too aware of this — was that what was provided by the Treasury was ring-fenced to a particular amount of money. Therefore, if bidders missed out, they did not get another chance in that particular year. We have been able to some flexibility.

Wearing a different hat, I can say that that was initially secured through the confidence and supply arrangement, but it has been honoured by the Government since. It was about ensuring that all the money that was available through Fresh Start was delivered in that period. Consequently, that meant some re-profiling, with some stuff being brought forward at times. The aim is that everything — from across the considerable support of £500 million — is spent within the time constraint.

Mr Givan: I know that, today, there will be schools that are, rightly, very pleased with the outcome, but the people in Dromore will be extremely disappointed with this decision. There is a school with over 1,000 children, a canteen that can only serve half of them and no disability access. They have to access sports facilities from outside their precincts, and there is an expectation that that school needs to have a new build. What assurances can the Minister give that, in the next call, the criteria that are used will not disadvantage schools, such as the school in Dromore, which are not able to merge with another school in their vicinity because they are already at capacity and bursting at the seams?

Mr Weir: I will make two points, and I know that I will visit Dromore High soon. First of all, the criteria are always kept under review to try to make sure, as we move ahead, that any future call is done on as fair a basis as possible. I know that Dromore High has very strong needs, as do a number of schools. The other thing is that because nine schools have been given the green light, when it comes to the next call, they will effectively be out of the picture and will not be at the head of queue. That means that, when a further call is made, whether it is on this or on other issues, those schools that missed out today will have a much greater opportunity to feature in the top number. Once a capital announcement is made, it effectively puts successful schools out of the picture. I appreciate that a number of schools in Northern Ireland have not been successful today. That is not to say that they will not be successful in the future.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): The Business Committee has arranged to meet at 1.00 pm. I propose, therefore, by leave of the Assembly, to suspend the sitting until 2.00 pm. The first item of business will be Question Time, after which questions on the Minister's statement will resume. The first Member to ask a question will be Sinéad Bradley.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Members will be aware that, as part of our phased resumption of Question Time, only listed questions will be asked of Ministers. Topical questions remain suspended until 4 July. Members who ask listed questions will have an opportunity to ask a supplementary question. I will keep progress under review during Question Time and, should it become apparent that time is available near the latter part of questioning, I may ask other Members to ask supplementary questions.

Ms Ní Chuilín (The Minister for Communities): I thank the Member for his question. It is a very good question. During the current crisis, the advice sector has been critical in assisting the most vulnerable people in our society and advice organisations across our community continue to deliver front-line support. I want to acknowledge that work and thank them for what they have delivered on the ground every day as we now move into a period in which restrictions are being eased.

I am committed to protecting those who are in most need across our society and access to community-based, independent advice services is critical in meeting that commitment. My officials have worked closely with regional and local front-line advice organisations on a co-design production approach to develop support mechanisms. Transition planning is now well under way to assist regional and grassroots organisations to return to normal business, whilst ensuring that those who have been affected by COVID-19 continue to receive much-needed support.

The community helpline will continue to connect the most vulnerable people to local support services through our stakeholders in the voluntary and community sector, and I have allocated additional funding to support that. Some £1·8 million of additional funding for debt-related advice will provide much-needed support to the individuals and small businesses that are experiencing financial problems due to coronavirus, and my officials are exploring options to ensure that that funding achieves the maximum impact. My Department continues to provide significant direct financial support of over £6·4 million per annum, which supports 360 jobs in the sector and delivers independent, community-based advice services to over 230,000 citizens.

Mr Muir: I thank the Minister for her response. I also welcome her to her role and pass on my and my party's best wishes to Deirdre Hargey for a speedy recovery after her period of illness.

We are emerging from a public health emergency and moving into an economic crisis and recession. Will the Minister meet the advice sector to explore further what support measures are required to ensure that it can assist people as we go through the economic downturn ahead?

Ms Ní Chuilín: The short answer is yes; I will absolutely continue the work that Deirdre Hargey started and will work with officials to do so.

I saw some of the social media commentary on advice from the very start of the crisis. Everyone possible, all the partnerships, have worked together and the advice sector has loomed large. It is important that we talk to the experts, learn lessons from the lived experience and try to adjust the services so that they go to those who are in need. We also need to listen to the experiences of those who are delivering the services to ensure that the services are effective and on the ground and that people get a better outcome. I am happy to meet the structural and independent advice sectors. Those at the grassroots who have been working throughout the crisis definitely need a hearing.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I thank the Member for his question. My officials have had contact with National Museums NI about that matter. Museums NI has recently reviewed the relationships with the Model Engineers' Society Northern Ireland, which had enjoyed access to the walled garden in the Transport Museum for over 50 years to operate its model engines. Museums NI is developing a master plan for the Cultra site, which will provide a better look at unlocking its potential to meet its long-term objectives.

With those considerations in mind, Museums NI indicated to the Model Engineers' Society, in October 2019, that its continued use of the walled garden would not form part of future plans for the site. However, Museums NI has not yet given the society formal written notice to vacate. This is, ultimately, an operational matter for the management of Museums NI to decide.

Mr Easton: I thank the Minister for her answer. Does she agree that it is a shame that the Model Engineer's Society of Northern Ireland may have to leave the site? Would it not have been better to look at different areas of the site, where there are large spaces to which it could move? At this late stage, would the Minister consider writing to the Ulster Transport Museum to ask whether it would look at other areas of the site to which the society could move?

Ms Ní Chuilín: The Member will appreciate that I am just coming into this role. I am happy to write to Museums NI. I am happy to get an update and better briefing. I am certainly happy for my officials to communicate with the society to ensure that, if there is potential, my officials, the museum's officials and the society can try to work something out, because the society has been there for 50 years, but I cannot make any further commitment, and I will not try to. The best I can do is try to get them together to see what comes out of that, and I will keep the Member informed.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I thank the Member for his question. The social supermarkets pilot programme has been running since October 2017, with five sites in operation. By the end of March this year, almost 120,000 people had received support through the programme, which redistributed148 tons of food. The model provides a more significant experience than a food bank. In addition, it provides people with a pathway out of poverty by supplementing food with access wrap-around services, including debt, budgeting and healthy eating advice, as well as training skills and other opportunities.

A roll-out evaluation of the pilot programme up until March of this year was completed and it indicated that support was reaching those who are particularly vulnerable with low income, debt obligations and high levels of unemployment. The most common household profile has been that of lone parents. The evaluation also indicated that the programme is achieving significant outcomes for its users, with really good, positive impacts on well-being, healthy eating and food stability.

Additionally, the programme has provided a platform for collaboration. All five social supermarkets have connected with wider support networks to leverage their involvement. That includes my Department's Make the Call initiative, which ensures that individuals get access to all the benefits and support to which they may be entitled. The Member may be aware that my predecessor, Deirdre Hargey, decided to extend the pilot while a business case is undertaken to assess the case for rolling out a fuller programme.

Mr G Kelly: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a freagra. I think that the Minister has answered my second question. It is a wide-ranging programme, and the outcomes that she describes are very heartening. It is unfortunate that it took COVID-19 to see how these sort of projects work. Effectively, the pilot is being moved forward, and I hope that the assessment comes back on that fairly quickly. That was a comment rather than a question.

Ms Ní Chuilín: Fair enough. I appreciate that. I think that a lot of people will be asking for similar social supermarkets in their constituencies. In fact, most of us know of food banks and community and church support groups that have been instrumental throughout this crisis. What we have all learned from this is that we all need to pull together and work together. Providing food security for people is important but so is providing advice and guidance on areas such as debt management, mental health and employability. The Strategic Investment Board (SIB) did the review and evaluation, and that is being disseminated with a view to bringing more social supermarkets to many more constituencies.

Mr McAleer: Ceist uimhir a trí. Question 3.

Ms Ní Chuilín: Question 4? Just keeping you on your toes, Declan. [Laughter.]

Ms Ní Chuilín: Despite the current COVID pandemic, councils continue to play a key role in delivering essential services, such as waste collection and disposal, community support and the provision of registration and cemetery services. All Members will be aware of the severe financial challenges that each of the councils are facing. The funding of £20·3 million from DFC will help to assist councils with their cash flow and support them in the delivery of the vital services that they are providing to the community at this time, but it will also help to ensure that they are ready to play their role in our post-pandemic recovery and limit the financial impact on ratepayers going forward.

I also recognise that councils have unique community insight to reach grassroots groups and are really well placed to ensure that citizens receive as much help as possible. DFC has provided £1·5 million of additional community support funding, and this money is an initial tranche and more will follow. This is to provide assistance to those at risk due to financial stress, ensuring access to food for those in most need and helping to connect those living alone or living in rural areas, who are likely to experience greater challenges, and people from all walks of life. As I said, this is a step forward to help citizens to help neighbours with deliveries of food and medicines so that they can remain safely in their homes.

Mr McAleer: I thank the Minister for her answer to question 4. Will the best practice and the lessons learned from the pandemic be carried forward in future dealings with local government?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I think that they have to be. I know that this is probably a well-worn phrase, but COVID-19 presented us all with challenges, and we were literally trying to deal with those as best as possible. In the past, local government has always stepped forward in emergencies. I cannot speak for your constituency, but I can certainly speak for Belfast and for what Belfast City Council has done during the global pandemic. In the Department for Communities, our support and appreciation for the work of local government has been well recorded, and I want to take the opportunity on behalf of us all to do that. We must learn lessons. We must work out what we did not do so well but would like to do better, and we must work out what we did well and would like to do more of. I have absolutely no doubt that there will be a financial cost to that, but lessons learnt must be part of our post-COVID recovery.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I thank the Member for her question. I am pleased to advise that my Department has moved quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to relieve hardship and ensure that the people who are in most need get the help and support that they need. This has included introducing measures to ensure that the social security system is more flexible and to reassure very vulnerable people about the continuity of their benefits.

In total, 16 sets of emergency regulations have been made in response to COVID-19. The immediate impact of these changes include increasing the amount payable under universal credit so that the average award will go up by approximately £90 a month, regulations to ensure that grants to self-employed people are appropriately treated in their universal credit award and temporary changes to statutory sick pay rules to ensure that support is available from day one for individuals who are sick, self-isolating or shielding. That also includes changes to the local housing allowance rates, which benefits private rented sector tenants. People in receipt of carer's allowance will continue to be paid the benefit even if they have temporarily ceased caring or because they have been affected by COVID themselves. Other changes are changes to maternity allowance and statutory maternity pay as well as the coronavirus job retention scheme. The specific discretionary support scheme has been enhanced by introducing the living expenses grant to help those who find themselves in a financial crisis due to the impact of COVID. An increase in the discretionary support annual allowance income threshold to £20,405 will also ensure that more people on low incomes can access emergency financial support.

Ms Ennis: I thank the Minister for her response. Is she considering continuing any of these mitigating factors once the crisis has passed?

Ms Ní Chuilín: A lot of these will have been direct Barnett consequentials from DWP, and I think that everybody has recognised that the Executive have also found additional money and that DFC has spent it very well.

The existing mitigation packages will continue. Collectively, as an Executive, we need to look at what additional support we can give to people who are really vulnerable, particularly those who are on benefits. We are still working our way through this. We will look at any potential that we have that will not have a massive impact on the budget, to help the people who need it most.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I am committed to delivering long-term, sustainable solutions to poverty in all its forms, including food poverty. There is no doubt that pre-existing inequalities have been exacerbated during the pandemic. The increased need for food support is evidence of that. The extent of food poverty in our society has been underlined by the response to the access to food programme. One of the key elements of our emergency response during the current crisis has been the delivery of more than 150,000 food boxes to those in most need since my Department launched its COVID-19 food parcel service in April. Alongside that, allocations of £1·5 million in financial support to councils enabled a significant community response, with the majority of interventions relating to food. There is also the increase in the use of food banks, with the Trussell Trust reporting a 142% increase in demand for its services here. Given those issues, my predecessor, Deirdre Hargey, agreed a package of medium-term measures to support people experiencing food poverty, including the introduction of some grant flexibility to allow grant-funded organisations to respond to coronavirus and £3·3 million of funding for food-related projects delivered under the neighbourhood renewal People and Place strategy.

Ms Mullan: I thank Minister Hargey and this Minister for their sterling work and numerous interventions over the past number of months, particularly the measures that have protected and supported the most vulnerable. Many of those interventions, while welcome, have shone a light, as the Minister said, on many areas of poverty and need across society. Has the Minister engaged with other Ministers to develop a cross-departmental approach to food poverty?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I know that holiday hunger is an issue close to the Member's heart. Just this morning, Minister Peter Weir and I discussed last week's announcement and what we could do, given that the school term ends on Tuesday 30 June. It was a good, productive meeting, and we are committed to trying to address food poverty in the form of holiday hunger. The Member will be aware through her role on the Education Committee that, in the short, medium and long term, we need to bring forward an anti-poverty strategy that does not just look at holiday hunger during COVID but tries to address it in the long term. The phrase "heat or eat" represents the experience of many, and we need to put our best foot forward to get this sorted once and for all. In the interim, we are looking at getting free school meal supplements to families.

Ms Ní Chuilín: The role and regulation of the private rented sector is one of the Department's priorities and certainly one of mine. The Department's consultation exercise on proposals for change to the role and regulation of the private rented sector ended on 3 April 2017. To improve standards for the benefit of tenants and landlords, my Department is carrying out a comprehensive review of that sector's role and regulation. Areas included in the review are supply; affordability; security of tenure; tenancy management; property standards; and dispute resolution. Minister Hargey was considering how to take forward the recommendations of that review and what other measures may be necessary, including proposals that may warrant future legislation.

Since the outbreak, Minister Hargey has put in place legislation to ensure that private tenants are protected from eviction during the COVID emergency. It requires landlords to give tenants a minimum of 12 weeks' notice to quit. At this time, it is vital that those who live in private rented accommodation are not forced out of their home. My Department has issued detailed guidance to landlords and tenants. I also commend the services of Housing Rights, which the Department funds to provide expert housing advice, mediation and guidance.

Ms Flynn: I am not sure if the current health and safety regulations are included in the review that the Minister spoke about. If not, will the Minister commit to carrying out a separate review of those regulations in the private rented sector?

Ms Ní Chuilín: The honest answer is that I am not sure, but, when you look at security of tenure and standards, the key word for me is "standards". We need to look at the conditions that tenants live in and look at things like when the electricity was last checked and whether there is mould or damp. More than half of the population in the private rented sector receive housing benefit. Those are public funds, and, unfortunately, there is a better standard of homes in public housing than in private housing. That is not to say that private housing is bad; it is just that we have an obligation to ensure that tenants live in a safe, clean and proper environment. I will see what that review covered and will write to the Member and share it with the Committee.

Ms Ní Chuilín: The Member has probably listened to some of the previous answers, so, if it sounds a bit repetitive, I apologise.

Access to the food programme, as the Member will know, has proven to be one of the key elements of our emergency response during the current pandemic. More than 150,000 food boxes have been delivered to those most in need since my Department launched its COVID-19 food parcel service in April. Alongside that, allocations of £1·5 million of financial support to councils have enabled a significant community response to those in need of food, income and connectedness. I am aware that there are a number of people across the community who currently rely on regular food parcels from DFC and are likely to continue to require its support when the present crisis ends.

As part of the transition from an emergency response, Deirdre Hargey decided to extend the food parcels beyond 26 June for people currently receiving a food box who have been told to shield by their GPs and have no other access to food. That support will be available for those who are medically shielding and in need of a food box until the end of July. For those who are not medically shielding, the Department recently made allocations of £1·5 million in support to councils. That enables them to make a significant contribution to those in need of food, income and connectedness. Furthermore, DFC, as the Member may be aware, has been delivering the social supermarkets pilot programme as part of its welfare mitigations package.

Mr K Buchanan: I refer to the Minister's letter, dated yesterday, regarding the information that she provided about carrying out an interim review. My question is obviously timely. Will she confirm who fed into that review: delivery partners, Advice NI, councils? There seemed to have been a different approach across councils where some people were getting them and some were not. I appreciate that it was put in at speed, but there is a different approach across areas. What did that review entail?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I will have a look. I agree: I do not think that anybody wants patchiness, where one area gets a really good service and another area gets a half-decent service. Regardless of where your constituency is, regardless of who the citizens are, they deserve the very best that we can provide for them. I will try to find out, and I will write to the Member. If he wants to share that correspondence with the officials up in the office, I will try to get him a quick response.

Ms Ní Chuilín: The Department and Sport NI have provided both financial and practical support to the sector, including advice on accessing COVID-related relief programmes, maintaining the health and well-being of members and putting together specific protocols for a safe return to sport. In terms of financial support, Sport NI immediately paid the sector grants that were due under existing programmes. The Department and Sport NI launched the sports hardship fund, which now totals £1·245 million. That will enable 620 clubs to receive a £2,000 grant to assist with the cost of maintaining their facilities. In addition, Minister Hargey made the case for clubs to be included in the eligibility criteria for the £25,000 hospitality, retail, leisure and tourism scheme. I can advise that I have submitted a bid through the June monitoring round to help to prepare for further assistance to the sports sector. My officials continue to work with Sport NI on the return-to-sport framework, which provides vital guidance to sports' governing bodies as they develop their protocols for a safe return to sport.

Mr McGrath: I welcome the Minister's reference to a bid in the June monitoring round to get additional funds, because, as, I am sure, many Members are aware, within 48 hours of the scheme opening, it had to close. There will be hundreds of groups that were not able to access the scheme. If there are additional moneys, will the Minister commit to helping some of the governing organisations, as that might help to send funding out on the ground?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I remember it well, because I was on the Committee for Communities. We, particularly Jonny, remember the explosion almost of people who had had very little time to put their application in before the whole thing closed. Governing bodies are key. Any sport affiliated to a governing body providing advice, guidance and information is supported by Sport NI. It makes sense that Sport NI would use governing bodies to help to disseminate information and to support them so that, if they apply, they are in a good place. To be honest with you, in relation to previous questions, I think that a lot of local sports clubs, not so much the governing bodies, have been outstanding throughout this period, because they are all citizens and residents. They have experienced great hardship, yet, despite that, they have rolled their sleeves up and got stuck in.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I acknowledge the contribution that the hospitality sector makes to the economy and to society more generally. I am keen to see that sector play its part in the safe recovery from COVID-19.

The outdoor spaces close to hotels, bars, restaurants and cafés could be utilised to maximise opportunities for businesses to deliver their services while ensuring the safety of staff and customers. I also emphasise that the needs of our citizens who are partially sighted or have disabilities or other mobility issues should be foremost in our minds when making any changes to our streets.

The Department for Communities owns a number of public spaces in our towns and cities as well as sites that have been acquired for regeneration purposes. The Department is willing to make those available, where it can be helpful, to support safe queuing, social distancing or to provide spill-out spaces for clubs, cafés, bars and restaurants. I am also grateful to my Executive colleague the Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, as we have written to all councils asking them, as planning authorities, to take a flexible, pragmatic approach to the use of street seating.

Miss McIlveen: I welcome the progress made since the question was submitted, particularly in relation to correspondence with councils.

Can the Minister outline what plans her Department has to help to revitalise small towns, such as Newtownards and Comber in my constituency, as we move towards post-COVID-19 recovery?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I will look at the portfolio of regeneration schemes. As a former Minister, the Member will appreciate that I want to look at that, because I am aware that, in an area that she did not mention — Bangor — there has been ongoing regeneration. However, that is not to say that the rest of that constituency does not have bids or calls in. It is important that we use whatever time we have now to make sure that the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, so that, when we go back to normal — whatever that may look like — we do not waste time doing things that we could have done earlier to speed the process. I will certainly look at what regeneration programmes there are.

I know that my Department and that of my colleague Edwin Poots could work on extending regeneration schemes to towns and villages, right down to small rural places of fewer than 5,000 people. I will certainly look at it and write to the Member to give her an update on what is happening in her constituency.

Ms Ní Chuilín: This is an important issue for my Department and me. On my behalf, it was raised by the permanent secretary, and I will discuss it with the chair and the chief executive of the Housing Executive at the forthcoming accountability meeting.

Prior to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the Housing Executive took forward a pilot scheme with a view to streamlining a major adaptions process. Following the success of that pilot in the south region, the Housing Executive mirrored that approach in the north region, with timescales for improvement in both cases. In the 12 months prior to lockdown, the Housing Executive moved towards recruiting additional staff resources to undertake the design element of adaptions in-house. That has been proven to increase the quality and has definitely improved the time frames. While good progress has been made, there are still backlogs following the insolvency of a consultant who previously provided much of this work, along with other external factors.

To mitigate that kind of ripple effect from contractor insolvency in the future, the Housing Executive has gone to tender with the larger contractor framework, and is hoping to attract a larger pool of contractors, in order to limit the need for further procurement through the duration of any new contract framework.

Mrs D Kelly: I thank the Minister for her answer. The Minister will be well aware that any delays increase the applicant's dependency. Is the Minister confident that there is sufficient funding to tackle the backlog, so that whenever the systems are put in place and the consultants etc are engaged, we will be able to fast-track, especially given the importance to the construction industry as well as to the applicant?

Ms Ní Chuilín: To be honest, I cannot say I am confident yet, because I have not looked at all the details. I assure the Member that she should be confident that I will certainly make that a priority. That is the only commitment that I can give.

As well as the backlog I outlined, she and other Members will be aware that there has been a backlog in occupational therapists (OTs) doing the assessments that are passed on to the housing providers, either the Housing Executive or housing associations, so that adaptions can be carried out. Meanwhile, people who have to go from one place to another, for example the kitchen or the bathroom, are in sheer agony. Their quality of life has reduced, so I am with her. I want to make sure that we make the process as smooth and streamlined as possible, so that we are not sitting in this situation again.

As well as looking at contractor arrangements, I am also looking at reports about the staff side representatives and allied health professions who are needed. We need to unlock that; people are waiting too long. To be honest, their lives are miserable and I do not think that any of us want that on our watch.

Ms Ní Chuilín: I thank the Member for his question and I also thank all those who have been involved in what has been a really great community effort.

Minister Hargey responded quickly. On 20 March she established an emergencies response leadership group. The group, which includes local grassroots community groups as well as the wider voluntary and community sector, has worked side by side with the Department, health and social care trusts, and local councils to ensure that tailored support is in place for the most vulnerable. The speed at which that cross-sectoral partnership approach was developed was particularly important. The COVID-19 community helpline was launched on 27 March, only a few days after shielding was announced.

I mentioned earlier, and the Member was present, that access to food has been one of the most critical elements to the emergency response. Access to medication is also particularly important for those who are shielding and those who support them. In partnership with the Department of Health, we helped match over 250 community pharmacies with voluntary and community groups that have delivered over 34,000 prescriptions. A further partnership has also seen the launch of a virtual well-being hub, providing mental health and well-being resources and support for those impacted by the crisis.

Throughout the response, the Department has ensured that financial assistance is successfully provided to those impacted by the pandemic. An enhancement to discretionary support was quickly put in place and over 99% of all universal credit claims have been paid on time each week, despite the caseload almost doubling.

Mr Stewart: Thank you, Minister, for your response. I congratulate you on your new position. I wish you well and I wish a speedy recovery to former Minister Hargey.

I know that the food hampers and packages have been discussed already. We all take our hats off to that scheme to help those most in need.

One of the success stories and positive aspects to come out of the whole COVID crisis has been the community across the country uniting to help the most vulnerable. It has been amazing to see big groups coming together. We talked about a post-COVID debrief. If we have to roll out such a scheme again, can we look at the quality of some of the food that is being put out, because, in the hamper scheme that we were running locally, we were seeing some out-of-date bread and damaged goods? It is never going to be perfect, but some of the most vulnerable were also being missed.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Will the Member come to his question?

Mr Stewart: Thank you.

Ms Ní Chuilín: That is not good enough, to be honest with you. We all have dignity, and nobody wants to get out-of-date bread. There is a message when you get that: you feel like an afterthought, despite all of the good efforts and good heart behind it. I hear that.

What lessons can be learned? We have to learn lessons regarding access to some of the supports under the social supermarkets. They are looking at fresh fruit, fresh meat and fresh bread. We are all entitled to fresh food. Lessons will be learned. If we go into a second quarter, councils will be taking forward the support for money, but it is also about due diligence. Everybody knows what they do not want to do again, but we need to put a plan on paper for what we will need to do post-COVID, and, God forbid, if we ever go through a second wave of this, to ensure that we are in a better position than we were in March.

Ms Ní Chuilín: During the crisis, volunteers have been critical to the success of community-level response. They have been involved in a wide range of activities to support vulnerable people, from providing practical support, delivering food, delivering prescriptions and collecting shopping, through to providing emotional and well-being support. Sporting organisations and faith-based groups have stood out for their contribution. They have played a massive role, as have some businesses in their volunteering role.

Sporting organisations have been key stakeholders throughout the crisis. I commend everyone who has volunteered, particularly the grassroots organisations. In many ways, volunteers have been the first responders during the crisis. It is important to recognise the individual acts of kindness shown by many people: checking on their neighbours; picking up their neighbours' messages; chatting to each other across the fence; walking their neighbours' dogs, or whatever it has been. Those strong communities and strong bonds have been crucial throughout the emergency, and we will continue to ensure that their significance and contribution is recognised as we, hopefully, move into the recovery phase.

Mr McGuigan: I echo the Minister's kind words and praise for the support and contribution of the community, voluntary and sporting organisations during the crisis. Does the Minister believe that there are lessons to be learned from the mobilisation of volunteers across community, voluntary and sporting sectors and that it can be built upon?

Ms Ní Chuilín: The answer is yes: it definitely can be built upon. In North Belfast — my constituency, and Paula's — we had soup deliveries from north to west Belfast, from the New Lodge to the Shankill. Relationships, which had always been there and had worked through the most difficult times, shone throughout the pandemic. On Sundays, people on the Shankill made all the soup for the residents; roast chicken and roast beef were cooked in another kitchen; and the youth clubs tried to put it all together and deliver it safely. There were lots of groups involved. People from GAA clubs, soccer clubs and Scout groups, for instance, were out delivering. You would not have got that effort in the absence of a crisis, despite the fact that they all do good work. We cannot lose sight of those connections and friendships that will, hopefully, endure well beyond the crisis.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Members, we are coming to our final question. I hope to be able to take a supplementary question if anyone wishes to rise in their place.

Ms Ní Chuilín: My Department is seeking to target and help those in most need. I am sure the Member has listened. The food parcel service has been critical and, in particular, has delivered to people who are vulnerable or have been shielded through notification from their GP. The boxes have also been available to people who are not shielding, but who are in critical need of food. People are able to request support through the COVID-19 community helpline. A triage system is operated locally through helplines to assess the needs of a person, regardless of whether they are shielding or non-shielding, or have already received support through other networks, such as family and friends.

Mrs Barton: Thank you for your answer, Minister. Some who were eligible for food parcels did not get them. With the service continuing, will there be a guarantee that those people will be considered second time around, if you understand what I mean, starting from July?

Ms Ní Chuilín: We were told that 40,000 people received shielding letters, and that figure more than doubled. In my constituency, people got their first shielding letter only four weeks ago, never mind the continuation letter. Granted, they were helped out by neighbours, but without their neighbours' vigilance, they may have been ignored.

I understand what the Member is saying. That is the sort of lesson that we need to build into the review to ensure that those people are not missed a second time. For those shielding, the food boxes are continuing until 31 July. After that, we need to look at other opportunities for support.

Ms P Bradley: I thank the Minister for her answers. My question is in a similar vein. How confident are you that the right people are going to get them, and what conversations have you had with the Department of Health? We know that the Department for Communities was not at fault for people receiving shielding letters only four weeks ago. Are you confident that the right people are going to get them and that GPs have done their job and sent out those shielding letters?

Ms Ní Chuilín: We discussed that at the Communities Committee and were really frustrated that some very vulnerable people had only got their shielding letters. We were worried that they were invisible, by and large. They had good community networks and neighbours, but if they lived in an isolated or rural area, such as Rosemary represents, that is a fear for us all. I will be having conversations with the Department of Health to try to ensure that something like that does not happen again.

Mr O'Toole: I welcome the Minister to her job, and well done for stepping up at short notice.

She will know, as a former Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, that the arts sector in Northern Ireland is on its knees as a result of COVID. Our arts and cultural sectors are critical to how we live across the island. They are also critical to economic recovery and tourism. I do not know if she has had a chance to look at detail of the letter that she will have got from the cultural sector. They want support —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): The Member has asked that question, and is way by the issue of the delivery of food parcels —

Mr O'Toole: OK. Will she look at the proposals —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I will offer it to the Minister —

Mr O'Toole: — and will she form a cultural task force —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): — if she wishes to make a response. Minister —

Mr O'Toole: — to help to aid the recovery of the arts and culture —?

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Order. I will ask the Minister if she wishes to make a response.

Ms Ní Chuilín: The answer is yes, even though it has nothing to do with food. Yes, I saw the letter. We saw it at the Committee. It was detailed, so we are certainly looking at it. Again, it is about the Executive's five-stage recovery plan and how we can move forward. I fully understand the absolute pressure that the arts sector is under. It is about people's livelihoods, and people are having to go to food banks, so there is a connection — they are going to food banks. So, I understand.

Ms Armstrong: I will be quick. Minister, thank you very much for you answers. As we know, some who needed food parcels did not get them. Unfortunately, many who did get them did not need them. Are you considering having an easy version of how to decide who does need them, and I do not mean by means testing, and will you continue the priority slots in supermarkets?

Ms Ní Chuilín: I will take the last point first. The priority slots in supermarkets are important. Some supermarkets in north Belfast are keen to do that post-COVID, particularly for people working in education and health, but certainly for the elderly and children with autism.

In north Belfast, and I hate using north Belfast as an example, there is a lot of need and a lot of food was delivered. I am unaware of people getting food who did not need it. I am not saying that it does not happen, but I am not aware of it.
Do we need to tighten things up? Absolutely. We need to ensure that people who did not get, do get. That is where we are all coming from. Whatever the lessons and experiences, that is one of the things we will look at coming out of this.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): That is the end of questions to the Minister for Communities. I ask Members to take their ease for a few moments.

Mrs Dodds (The Minister for the Economy): I am wholly opposed to the Department for Education England's intention to impose a student number control on full-time undergraduate English domiciles at Northern Ireland's higher education providers in the coming academic year. I am shocked that another jurisdiction in the United Kingdom is seeking to control student numbers in Northern Ireland and concerned about the impact that it may have on our local sector. This intention runs contrary to what had been agreed amongst the four UK Administrations at the beginning of May on a number of measures relating to admissions for the coming academic year under the UK admissions package.

Local institutions will have already started to determine their recruitment of English domicile students without any indication that the Department for Education England restrictions would be imposed on them. For the proposal to be brought to the fore at this stage in the recruitment and admission cycle is not just unfair but unprecedented. Five local institutions are impacted on by the decision: Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University, St Mary's University College, Belfast Metropolitan College and South Eastern Regional College. I have raised my opposition to the action directly with the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, and the Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan. On the basis of legal advice, it appears that neither I nor my Department can stop the Department for Education England introducing the measure. However, I continue to raise the concerns of the local sector with the Universities Minister and seek a solution for any local institution negatively impacted on by the decision.

Mr McCrossan: Thank you, Minister, for the answer to that important question. This year, the academic year has been hugely disrupted. Our every way of life has been hugely disrupted, but the academic year for students has been disrupted from start to finish. Has any consideration been given to the waiving of tuition fees for the students affected this year? Has your Department had any engagements with the universities on that? Student debt is a big issue, and I do not see why students should incur that debt, given that they have not benefited from the full educational opportunities.

Mrs Dodds: This is a very important issue for students. However, universities are autonomous financial bodies. It is up to the universities to decide whether they wish to pursue any return on the fee charged. In fairness to universities in Northern Ireland and unlike many universities in GB and the Republic of Ireland, Ulster University, Queen's and others have allowed students to opt out of their accommodation contract. They have not been charged for the third term of that accommodation. Universities have also been conducting a lot of online courses and online teaching. We have ensured that student loans will be paid in the third semester. We have also ensured that provisions for those in training or other similar programmes will be paid. Universities have done a significant amount to alleviate student hardship. Of course, in the last monitoring round, I was allocated £1·4 million from the COVID hardship fund, and, with the reprioritisation of resources in my Department's budget, I have been able to double that. An additional £2·8 million is going into the student hardship funds, and the universities will administer that because they know best the students who attend their universities.

Mrs Dodds: COVID-19 has had a devastating impact across Northern Ireland, and its impact will be felt in each council district. I have not tried to minimise or sugar-coat that position in any shape or form.

My Department recently published the 'Charting a Course for the Economy' document, which is a plan to restart our economy, and I am pleased to say that some of the actions outlined in the document are under way, such as the much-needed reopening of non-essential retail stores on 12 June.

A key aspiration for promoting economic recovery and rebuilding the Northern Ireland economy will be the development of a competitive, regionally balanced green economy with opportunities for all. Our longer-term economic policy objectives will be reflected in a new economic strategy that will set out how we will seek to drive growth and prosperity for the benefit of all the people across Northern Ireland. In that strategy, we will seek to continue to support the industries that are core to our economy — the tourism, agri-food and manufacturing industries — but we will also seek to identify new opportunities for growth for the Northern Ireland economy in areas where we are already world-class and in areas where we already make a significant impact across the world. We will seek to grab those opportunities for Northern Ireland.

For the north-west and for the council region there, I am pleased that we have recently, as an Executive, agreed the new city deal and the Inclusive Future fund, which will see over £200 million of investment in the city. That will provide, in the medium term, an important stimulus to economic and inclusive growth across the wider region.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): I remind the Minister that she has two minutes for answers and, if she feels that she needs additional time, she can request an additional minute at the start.

Mr Durkan: The north-west is the worst-performing subregional economy on these islands. I could ask a supplementary question about the failure to expand the university, one about the tug of war that is ongoing with the medical school or one about Invest NI's record in the north-west, but all those issues are symptomatic of failed economic policy. The Minister talks about a new strategy: strategy is one thing, but policy is another. The last independent review of economic policy —

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Can we have a question?

Mr Durkan: — took place in 2009. Will the Minister commit to a fresh independent review of economic policy here?

Mrs Dodds: I am committed to an economic strategy that is for all of Northern Ireland, that is inclusive of all of Northern Ireland and that gives us balanced regional growth across the whole of Northern Ireland but, importantly, an economic strategy that captures all that we do best and grabs the opportunities for the future. That is why I announced the Economic Advisory Group and why, this week, I will talk to a group of stakeholders in my Department, right across the full spectrum of the economy, about the important opportunities for the whole of Northern Ireland.

In relation to the important economic development opportunities in the north-west, on 22 May, the local council submitted the strategic outline cases for two innovation and two digital projects to my Department and to the UK Government for approval. We are committed to assessing those projects and getting them back out, because they will drive economic growth in the council area.

Mrs Dodds: My Department fully appreciates the terrible impact that the COVID-19 crisis is having on all citizens across Northern Ireland, especially the most vulnerable. We are engaging with other Departments to ensure that the Executive's priorities to support citizens and businesses are implemented as quickly and effectively as possible.

On telecommunications matters, my Department maintains regular contact with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which leads on telecoms policy, and with other key stakeholders, including Ofcom and industry bodies. As telecommunications policy is a reserved matter, DCMS is leading on a UK-wide basis regarding a cohesive package of support for the telecoms sector. The importance of connectivity has been underscored at this difficult time. The telecommunications industry, led by DCMS, has implemented a number of initiatives to ensure that customers, especially the vulnerable, can keep connected with work, family, friends and important services. I have met Mobile UK to discuss how some of those measures operate in Northern Ireland. That engagement is not directly related to the #NoOneLeftBehind Internet Access for All campaign. My Department is aware of the letter issued by Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) in April 2020 but has not been contacted directly.

The telecommunications industry has worked with a cooperative spirit in responding to the needs of vulnerable consumers during the COVID-19 crisis. Details of the various initiatives can be found on my Department's website. I am also happy to write to the Member about those initiatives, if that is at all helpful.

Ms Ennis: I thank the Minister for her detailed response. The 'Connected Nations 2019' report showed that, in the Newry, Mourne and Down area, only 7% of premises had ultra-fast broadband, compared with 92% in Belfast. Nine per cent of premises in Newry, Mourne and Down were unable to get broadband speed of even 10 megabits. That is a serious issue for students, families and businesses, notwithstanding the current crisis and the necessity to work from home at this time. Can the Minister ensure that Project Stratum will prioritise areas with the lowest coverage?

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for her question, which is, of course, incredibly important. I am delighted that we are currently assessing the bids for Project Stratum. The Member will know that that arose from the confidence and supply arrangement. Government continues to fund that important infrastructure improvement in Northern Ireland. I hope that we will be in a position to award the contract for Project Stratum in late September and that we would have operations on-site by late winter or the early spring of 2021. It is massively important to address the issue of poor broadband connectivity. The COVID-19 crisis has made us more aware of how important it is for all areas of Northern Ireland to be connected. Reiterating my theme of a regionally balanced, more competitive economy, that is an important infrastructure investment that the Executive will make to ensure that we achieve just that.

Mrs Dodds: We are all, understandably, perturbed by the job losses in our constituency of Upper Bann in Thompson Aero Seating and the wider industry. Officials from Invest Northern Ireland are in advanced discussions with Thompson Aero Seating. They met recently to agree the company's training and business plan, which included a discussion on the skills and capabilities required for Thompson Aero Seating to implement its recovery plan and meet market demands. My careers department has also been in touch to offer the company assistance in the form of tailored careers advice for those workers who face redundancy. We all recognise that this is an incredibly difficult situation, in which many people face an uncertain financial future.

Mrs D Kelly: It is good to hear that the Minister's officials are working with the company on its sustainability and long-term future, but it is imperative to get the 500 people who have lost their jobs placed urgently on retraining schemes and into jobs that are available in the area. What specific action is being taken to match those people up with retraining schemes and available jobs? Will the Minister consider giving additional funding to the Southern Regional College or elsewhere to provide the classes and training schemes for those individuals?

Mrs Dodds: The Member made a really important point: for those individuals who face redundancy in the near future, it is important that we are able to offer retraining, if that is necessary, or further job opportunities. That is why all branches of my Department will be working with those employees, through, for example, a dedicated jobs fair or further careers advice. It is also very important that the local further education college is able to offer the appropriate reskilling and upskilling courses.

It is worthwhile noting that I spent most of this morning talking about skills in Northern Ireland and how to recover the local economy and protect it in the future by building the skills of our people, which are probably our greatest resource. I intend to bring to the Executive a package of measures that will detail how, as part of our recovery, we will invest in, and build on, skills. Crucial to that recovery will be the skills gap, which can be dealt with by our further education colleges in particular. I am really looking forward to bringing that package of measures forward and to working with our further education colleges to ensure that we address the skills gap. That may be about apprentices and making sure that we have a recovery programme for apprentices who have lost their jobs in Thompson Aero Seating or the wider manufacturing supply chain. These are really important issues that we need to get working on for our short- and medium-term recovery.

Mrs Dodds: Youth unemployment is a particularly concerning issue and stretches across several Departments in addition to the Department for the Economy, not least the Department for Communities. A key response to youth unemployment is encouraging employment opportunities, and a priority for my Department is the promotion of, and support for, the apprenticeship system, which plays a key role in creating an effective and sustainable pipeline for skills development in the Northern Ireland workforce. Increasing participation in, and awareness of, apprenticeship training provision is another priority.

Through my Department’s ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeships programmes, employers are encouraged to create apprenticeship opportunities that are open to all young people across a wide range of occupational areas. Colleges, universities and other work-based learning providers are funded by my Department to deliver apprenticeship training from level 2 to level 7. For those aged 16 to 24, ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeship funding is available at all levels without restriction. For apprentices who might lose their job or for young people unable to secure employment as an apprentice, my Department provides a guarantee of a full-time training place through its Training for Success programme to all those under the age of 18.

My Department has also implemented a package of supplier relief measures related to the retention of services across ApprenticeshipsNI, Training for Success and disability support provision, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the continued viability of our skills infrastructure.

To support the rebuilding and renewal of the economy, my Department is developing an apprenticeship recovery initiative, with ongoing engagement with the UK Government and devolved Administrations to explore additional measures to support existing apprenticeships and apprenticeship opportunities through shutdown and recovery phases. Those will, of course, require investment, and I will make an announcement on the additional support needs for the arrangements in due course.

My Department also provides an all-age Careers Service, with a particular focus on youth, to support them in seeking employment but also to provide advice and guidance on the learning and progression options available to them.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Again, I remind the Minister that two minutes are allocated for answers. If she feels that she requires additional time for an important answer, she can request it.

Ms Dillon: I thank the Minister for her very detailed response. Does she agree that not every young person wants to be an apprentice? Some would like to be an entrepreneur. Many of those whom we encouraged to be entrepreneurs are now in a very disadvantaged position because they have been given no financial assistance as someone who is newly self-employed or a sole trader. Does the Minister have any plans to address that issue?

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for her question. She raises a really important point. One of the things that I would like to see us develop further is our thoughts on entrepreneurship and how we can develop that for young people in further education colleges and, indeed, throughout their education and training. That is one of the things that it is very viable and possible for us to introduce as a matter of great importance.

I understand, of course, the very deep problems that young people who are entrepreneurial and have started their own business have experienced over the last months. The Member will also be aware that, in my Department, I have been working through the various grant schemes that are available. I will, in due course, make recommendations and a paper available to the Executive. They can decide where any underspend or further funding might go to fit any particular group that feels that it has not been supported in this situation.

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for his question. I have no immediate plans to introduce new legislation in relation to agency workers. As Minister for the Economy, I wish to work with Executive colleagues and the Assembly to ensure that measures relating to employment rights balance workers' rights with the flexibility that Northern Ireland businesses need to succeed.

The Agency Workers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 already entitle agency workers to the same basic employment rights as employees after a 12-week qualifying period. That includes statutory sick pay after completion of the 12 weeks' service. In addition, recent legislation, introduced in the context of the COVID crisis by the Minister for Communities, allows employees to receive statutory sick pay on the first day of illness rather than on the fourth. That is in line with EU and UK-wide legislation.

Mr Gildernew: I welcome the fact that agency workers get statutory sick pay and the initiative taken by the Minister for Communities to improve their situation. However, the Minister will be aware, as is everyone in this House, of the unprecedented commitment shown by key workers at this time. Yet, after 12 weeks, those agency workers still do not qualify for maternity pay, paternity pay, lay-off or redundancy. Does the Minister believe that those workers are entitled to the same rights as every other worker?

Mrs Dodds: Of course, I support the Member when he refers to the sterling work that has been done across many sectors of the community in Northern Ireland during the difficult time that we have experienced. In food factories and various other parts of the economy, people have gone to work and served their community by making sure that essential supply and food chains are available to us in every situation. It also includes those people who have worked in small and large retail stores during a very difficult time.

I am committed to employment rights that are sensible, proportionate and extended to all. I encourage anyone, agency worker or otherwise, who believes that their employment rights have been breached in any way during this difficult time, to use the Labour Relations Agency workplace information service for impartial information on employment rights. In addition, the Law Centre NI provides free independent specialist legal advice on employment rights, and those are important avenues people can use should they feel that their rights have not been respected during this period.

Ms Anderson: I will take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on her position. It is the first chance I have had to do so.

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member. It seems a long time since the European Parliament and the end of January. It is only a few months ago and a lot has happened, but thank you.

I recently published my framework for rebuilding the economy into a more competitive, inclusive and greener economy that will benefit all parts of Northern Ireland. The framework focuses on delivering higher-paying jobs, a highly skilled workforce and a more regionally balanced economy. Addressing regional imbalance is integrated into all the work of my Department. For example, Project Stratum will address regional imbalance and broadband access, and it will bring broadband to those premises currently unable to access such services.

Delivering benefits for all of Northern Ireland is also integrated into the work of Invest NI. Invest NI is actively working with Derry City and Strabane District Council and regional partners to develop a coordinated approach to the development and growth of the regional economy in the Foyle constituency. Skills will also play a key role in our economic recovery, and the initiatives in this area will also help rebuild the economy of the Foyle constituency. I have been developing new initiatives to help sustain apprenticeships and support the pipeline of skills.

North West Regional College has been doing impressive work in continuing to deliver courses. The college has worked quickly to move delivery to an online platform and has developed new courses in response to the pandemic. The college is also delivering a range of fully funded online courses. That will assist those who have become redundant or who wish to upskill or reskill to secure employment.

Ms Anderson: Minister, I know that you were not in office but you have inherited Invest NI's woeful record for visits to Derry from 2016-19. Can you outline how Invest NI's overseas team engages with prospective foreign direct investors who might come to a city like Derry? How does it market the talent and skills that Derry has to offer? In the time ahead, will you market Derry, in the context of tackling regional disparities?

Mrs Dodds: I again thank the Member for her question. Over the last five years for which figures are available, Invest NI has offered £81 million of assistance to local businesses located in the north-west. That is with the north-west being defined as having Invest NI's regional area office, which covers the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area and the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. That assistance will have delivered £439 million in support of the creation of 4,280 jobs across the region. I understand that Invest NI plan to publish its latest figures for 2019-2020 in the reasonably near future.

As I said, my economic strategy will be central not just to the recovery from COVID, but to Northern Ireland's future going into its second century. Central to that will be producing an economy that has greater skills, is more regionally balanced and greener and that looks to grab the opportunities of the future. We will invest in the core of our economy, which is our manufacturing, our agri-food, our tourism sector, but we will also look to where the new job opportunities are and to where we can create them. Central to that, of course, will be the work of the city deals. I have been to Magee university, and I was extremely impressed by the forward-looking approach to those areas of the economy that will bring more and better-skilled jobs and investment for the future.

Mrs Dodds: To date, I have had no engagement with stakeholders on sectoral bargaining in the childcare sector, nor is my Department aware of any requests from them to discuss it. However, I note that the issue has implications for the Ministers of Education and Health in their respective responsibilities for childcare in Northern Ireland.

I am, of course, always open to working with Executive colleagues, the Assembly and stakeholders to make sure that the wider plans I have for ensuring that our employment legislation framework takes account of the needs of workers and businesses in these very difficult times.

Ms Flynn: I thank the Minister for her response. The Minister will be aware of the report of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) on childcare, which was published last year and which found that workers in this sector are underpaid, with almost half being paid below the real living wage. The introduction of sectoral bargaining would help to set minimum standards of pay and conditions to devise career paths for workers in the sector, which has been historically categorised as a low-wage industry. Will the Minister ask the Labour Relations Agency to convene a sectoral bargaining forum between childcare providers and trade unions?

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for her question. For me to do that would require the stakeholders to say that this is something that they, of necessity, want.

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for her question. The fourth round of negotiations concluded at the beginning of this month. Whilst it is clear that the UK and EU share similar objectives in many areas, progress will need to be made on governance and on issues relating to open and fair competition. As negotiations proceed, the Executive continue to press the UK Government to do all that is possible to facilitate our trade within the United Kingdom and with the European Union, including the Republic of Ireland. A positive outcome to the negotiations will be particularly important for cementing our trade within the UK on goods, our trade on services with the EU and for electricity trading. I believe that a deal is achievable, but we clearly have some way to go in those negotiations, which will no doubt intensify in the coming months.

Miss McIlveen: I thank the Minister for her response. Her Majesty's Government is carrying out a consultation on free ports and, while it may not be for the Minister to respond to, I ask what consideration her Department is giving to that, and the associated benefits and potential opportunities for Northern Ireland?

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for her question. It is important that we respond to our national Government in relation to the free ports issue. We need to understand the economic benefit for Northern Ireland and how that will benefit all the people and regions of Northern Ireland.

I am committed to exploring any and all options to ensure that we have the policy tools to drive the Northern Ireland economy forward. That is hugely important, at a time when we are recovering from the pandemic emergency, and in a difficult space in trying to reopen and revitalise our economy, and ensure that, for the future, we are able to grab every opportunity to have a more inclusive economy.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Pat Catney has just entered the Chamber. Do you wish to ask the question? [Laughter.]

Mrs Dodds: Maybe they will also clap when I give the answer. [Laughter.]

I am not terribly sure about that.

I thank the Member for his question. It is a really important issue and one that, given the statements made today in our national Parliament, is incredibly important to Northern Ireland and to the recovery of this particular sector.

The work of the tourism recovery steering group and its supporting working group is ongoing, and a number of key issues are being progressed by my Department, in partnership with the industry and other stakeholders. A key focus in recent weeks has been our work with the tourism and hospitality industry to identify a clear road map and timescales for the safe reopening of the industry.

This partnership approach has been crucial in informing the Executive’s decision to begin the reopening of key sectors of the tourism and hospitality industry. I am delighted that, depending on the rate of infection, caravan parks, camping sites and self-catering tourist accommodation will be able to reopen on 26 June 2020, with hotels and other tourist accommodation being able to reopen from 3 July 2020.

The Executive’s decision, to allow visitor attractions, restaurants, cafes and coffee shops to reopen from 3 July, is also an important step forward, as is enabling the reopening of pubs and bars for the provision of food, and the conditional opening of beer gardens.

The steering group and working group are also progressing work in key areas, such as the development of overarching guidance to the visitor economy on how businesses can operate as safely as possible once lockdown is eased, research on consumer sentiment to inform the industry and marketing plans including plans for marketing in our domestic market, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Catney: Thank you very much, Minister. I am aware, from your previous answers to me, that an advisory group has been set up to look at the gaps in the COVID response funding. Our hospitality and tourism sectors contain a vast proportion of single-person businesses. How close are we to finding support for them?

Mrs Dodds: I thank the Member for his question. As I indicated in response to an earlier question, I am bringing a paper to the Executive and it will be for them to decide what is done with the underspend that is a result of the grant funding that we have had. We will know the outcome of that process in the reasonably near future.

These are important conversations and the Executive will make a balanced judgement on all the competing issues. I will say in general, however, that the greatest and biggest help that we can give to our tourism and hospitality sector is to allow it to reopen safely and in a way that makes it financially viable. I notice that, in our national Parliament, the Prime Minister has indicated that, in England, he would like the social-distancing measurement to go down to 1 metre-plus, with 1 metre being the minimum distance. I have made no secret of the fact that I am advocating 1 metre on behalf of the industry. At 1 metre, our restaurants, our hotels and our coffee shops are more viable than they are at the 2-metre social distance. Just after our Prime Minister's announcement this morning, I wrote to my Executive colleagues and indicated that we, too, should formally review the social-distancing advice, because we want our hospitality and tourism industry to be sustained and to be sustainable into the future. We need to make sure that the provision is there for it to do that, in a way that is safe, of course, with all the reasonable mitigation measures being in place.

Mrs Dodds: It is crucial that we move as quickly and safely as possible from the devastation wrought on our economy by the pandemic and that the Executive work collaboratively to that end. The provision of childcare for those returning to work is one of the key supporting measures for restarting the economy, and I am working closely with Executive colleagues, and in particular the lead Departments of Health and Education, to align work and childcare.

Miss Woods: The Minister will be aware that we have still to experience the brunt of the negative impact of COVID-19, with further business closures and redundancies to come. Those will affect not only employers but the livelihoods of many. In the light of the fact that people will be made redundant, what advice has the Minister or her Department given to date to employers on engagement with trade unions? Will she recommend that all employers across all sectors and regions of Northern Ireland have trade union representation, especially when decisions are being made that affect employees' futures?

Mrs Dodds: Of course I recommend that there be full consultation with trade unions on any or all redundancies, where that is applicable to the particular sector of the economy.

Mrs Dodds: The Northern Ireland Executive's business support grant schemes and the microbusiness hardship fund have now closed, with over £300 million of support to businesses having been paid out to date. Outstanding applications and payments are being verified and processed as quickly as possible.

The Welsh Government's economic resilience fund is still operational, so we do not have the necessary information to carry out a meaningful comparative analysis at this time. I have asked my officials to consider the outworking of the three support measures that have been managed by my Department. Along with Executive colleagues, I will continue to examine those areas of the economy that have been unable to avail themselves of financial support to date, as well as businesses' investment needs, as we move forward with attempts to reopen and rebuild the local economy.

Mr Nesbitt: If the Minister were an entrepreneur struggling to survive this public health crisis, would she rather have access to Welsh grants or Northern Irish loans?

Mrs Dodds: My Department has made significant amounts of money available to businesses right across Northern Ireland, including almost 24,000 businesses, run by very entrepreneurial people, that are in receipt of £10,000 from the small business fund and those businesses in receipt of £25,000 from the scheme targeted at tourism, hospitality, leisure and retail.

We have also looked at the businesses that are covered by the microbusiness fund. Of course, we will continue to look at other options that are available to the Northern Ireland economy as we go forward, not just at grants that mitigate the impact of COVID-19 but the recovery measures that will be important for the vulnerable but viable businesses that we will need to help and see through a difficult time.

I have done some reprioritising of my departmental budget in that respect. I have looked at providing funds to Invest NI and InterTradeIreland around e-commerce. We have looked at how businesses can get online and at the support that we can give to them in relation to those measures. We will, of course, look at a whole-Executive package and we will speak, as an Executive, about that later this week.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): That end questions to the Minister for the Economy. I invite Members to take their ease for a few moments.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): Colin McGrath has given notice of a question for urgent oral answer to the Minister of Health. I remind Members that if they wish to ask a question, they should indicate so by rising in their place continually. The Member who tabled the question will be afforded an opportunity to ask a supplementary question.

Mr Swann (The Minister of Health): With your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, I ask for an extra minute to give my answer.

I am confident that the changes to RQIA's management personnel and board membership will have no impact on the organisation's day-to-day work. Let me make it clear that I continue to have total confidence in the staff who work in the organisation. I am grateful to those staff for their continued commitment to delivering on RQIA's priorities because this has been an unprecedented time and the organisation's staff have worked tirelessly and consistently with colleagues across health and social care (HSC) as an integral part of the regional response to support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the receipt of a request from the Department, and in response to an urgent need for support across the HSC, RQIA significantly reduced its inspection activity and review programme. That temporary measure was introduced in order to, understandably, minimise the risk of health and social care professionals and other visitors spreading infection in care homes. I remind the House that similar decisions were taken in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

The resignation of the board members is regrettable, especially coming at this incredibly challenging time. That is why, within hours of the former board members resigning, I moved quickly to appoint Christine Collins MBE as the new interim chair. I am confident that Christine will further strengthen the voice of people who use the health and social care system; something that I am very keen to see. As I said last week, I have asked officials to consider how, going forward, we might further strengthen the voice of people who use services in the field of regulation, quality and improvement, in keeping with our approach to co-production and partnership working.

In the light of the move to rebuild HSC services across Northern Ireland, and with community transmission of COVID-19 now significantly reduced, the Chief Medical Officer has written to RQIA seeking to enable it to increase its activity across all areas of work. RQIA has developed a revised, flexible inspection process that it intends to implement from July 2020, following engagement with providers and trusts. I am confident that RQIA will continue to take a pragmatic and flexible approach to how and when inspections take place and will endeavour to meet the statutory minimum requirements where possible. In the immediate time, it is important that RQIA focuses its activity where it is most needed, following an assessment of all the risks.

I have today asked David Nicholl of On Board Training to undertake a review of the circumstances that gave rise to the recent events in RQIA. David has a wealth of experience in this area and is a highly respected independent figure, and I look forward to receiving his objective analysis of the position.

Mr McGrath: I thank the Minister for coming today to address this urgent matter and for his response to my question, which has at its core the protection of our vulnerable and elderly relatives.

It would appear that the management of RQIA was systematically dismantled in the middle of a global pandemic, without the consent of its board. Was this the sensible thing to do, Minister, given that our care home sector is on the front line of the pandemic? Who took these decisions, and do you stand over them?

Mr Swann: I thank the Member for bringing the matter to the House, because I think that it is something that needed to be addressed, not just publicly but in the Chamber.

With regard to the management changes that we made in the teeth of the COVID-19 pandemic, Members should always remember that this was just a few months ago, when we were looking at scenes across western Europe and in Italy where people were lying in hospital corridors waiting for treatment. In changes of management, the RQIA's chief executive, Olive Macleod, has actually taken up a temporary post within the Public Health Agency (PHA), which is another front-line part of our fight against COVID-19. Dermot Parsons, previously the director of assurance, has been appointed as the interim chief executive of RQIA, and Emer Hopkins, previously the deputy director, has taken up post as interim director of improvement. So it is not a completely new management team. We took Olive out to place her in the PHA at a time when we needed to strengthen what the PHA was doing with regard to test and trace and our entire system there. We used her expertise, and Dermot and Emer were promoted internally to retain the collective knowledge and management experience within RQIA.

Mr Gildernew: Given the quite unprecedented nature of the en masse resignation of the board, does the Minister accept that the Department's actions have called into question the independence of RQIA?

Mr Swann: I do not think so. I think that there are difficulties in relationships, which the independent inquiry that I have asked David Nicholl to take forward may tease out. I was made aware of tensions between the board and the executive management of RQIA at the start, while we were actually working through our response to the pandemic. Those tensions will be teased out and worked out, but I do not think that the independence of RQIA has been affected at all. The reaction, now that we have stood up inspections again as from yesterday, will actually strengthen that input as to how we manage the care home sector in the next few months and make sure that it is prepared for any second surge, should that occur.

Mrs Cameron: I thank the Minister for the opportunity to ask some questions on the subject. With hindsight, does the Minister accept that the Department's focus on minimising the risk of health and social care professionals from RQIA spreading infection within care homes was disproportionate, given the rapid spread of the virus in those homes at the height of the first wave?

Mr Swann: As I said in my earlier statement as well, the steps that were taken with regard to repurposing RQIA were the same steps that were taken in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. It was not about stopping inspection or stepping it back. It was about a reduced inspection process, but it was also about utilising the professional talents and capacities of those people working within RQIA — social care workers, nurses and healthcare professionals — that we can actually put in place to support care homes with regard to infection control, the use of PPE and how they actually supported residents as well. It was about repurposing a cohort of highly qualified and reliable staff, who knew the sector, to aid us in the response and how we tackled COVID-19.

Ms S Bradley: Minister, given the critical need for a regulatory body at this time, can you outline how long you anticipate it to take for a new board to come together? Are you planning any interim measures that could, perhaps, bridge the gap until a full board can be put in place?

Mr Swann: That is a critical point. As I said, that is why I moved at haste to appoint Christine Collins, the current chair of the Patient and Client Council. She comes with experience, not just of the health sector but of chairing a board.

To clarify the point, I wrote to the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland on Thursday 18 June to inform her that, on the 17 and 18 June, the active non-executive chair and five non-elected board members had resigned. So I have already engaged with the Commissioner for Public Appointments. That process will now start, and I hope to have a full board in place by the end of July.

Dr Aiken: I thank the Minister for his response so far and for his swift response in setting up the independent investigation into the RQIA. However, can the Minister ensure that the terms of reference cover why the recent board of the RQIA did not action the many recommendations from previous investigatory reports and, particularly, those from the Care Inspectorate and the Commissioner for Older People?

Mr Swann: When looking at the terms of reference and what to ask David Nicholl to do, I would rather concentrate on this specific issue. I am aware that the Commissioner for Older People has raised a number of concerns around outstanding pieces of work that the RQIA were undertaking and are due to undertake. In the initial steps, I will ask David to look at this specific focus because I cannot afford to distract the current staff of the RQIA as we move back into the inspection phase that they are tasked and empowered to do.

Ms Bradshaw: Minister, in your press statement, from the last 24 hours, you said that you wished that the board members had approached you and raised the issues so that you could have resolved them. We now know that emails were coming forward from the former chair and the interim chief executive to your Chief Medical Officer and permanent secretary as far back as the end of April. When did you become aware, and what have you done, to try and resolve the issues?

Mr Swann: I was made aware in early May that there were tensions between the executive and the board of the RQIA. I was not aware that it was to the extent that it was, neither was the Chief Medical Officer or the permanent secretary. When the resignations came through, they came as a surprise. I was due, that afternoon, to meet with the chairs of all the arm's-length bodies, including the chair of the RQIA. She resigned on the morning that I was due to meet her. That was actually in the diary and ready to happen but, unfortunately, events overtook that being possible.

Mr Easton: I thank the Minister for his answers so far. Will the Minister give us a guarantee that the RQIA will be able to function properly after these resignations?

Mr Swann: I can. I made it clear, in my statement earlier, that the staff of the RQIA are still doing the functions that they are meant to do; they are still doing that very well as a group of highly professional individuals who are tasked with the regulatory inspection side of our care homes and our health system. I am confident that they will perform the tasks that are part of their duty and role. I am also reassured that the oversight function is there as well, with the appointment of Christine Collins as the interim chair of the board until we get a full board in place.

Mr Sheehan: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. I thank the Minister for his statement. Given the fact that there has been a serious number of scandals in our care sector over the last number of years, particularly in Dunmurry Manor and Ashbrook, and the fact that so many residents in the care sector have died during the pandemic, what will the Minister do to ensure that a proper regulatory authority is there, in the time ahead?

Mr Swann: The Member makes a valid point, and it is something that I have raised in previous statements. We need a root-and-branch review of what RQIA and the body does. We have restricted them in the legislation of the inspections that they could carry out, and there is an expectation that the inspectors with RQIA should look at more than they do. That is why the appointment of Christine Collins, who is coming from the Patient and Client Council, is important. I said in my statement that it is crucial that, in the appointment of the next board, we make sure that there are people on that board who have the lived experience and have the patient input, so that the board reflects wider society and those who rely on RQIA carrying out its inspections.

Ms Bunting: In light of the high-profile resignations from the board, what immediate steps will the Minister take to ensure that there is community and public confidence in the work of RQIA at this critical time for safety, support and care for those living and working in our residential care homes?

Mr Swann: I thank the Member because she makes an important point. All those who have loved ones in care homes have been through a trying time over the past 14 weeks, when they have not had visiting access or been able to get in to see their loved ones. There is a reliance on the staff of the care homes and those inspectors. Inspectors from RQIA will now engage again with care home facilities to make sure that that reliance and reassurance is there.

With regard to reassurance, as, I think, I said in my statement, in the appointment of the interim chair with her experience from the Patient and Client Council, I hope that there is more of a merging of the thought process and a synergy of the two organisations that can increase the patient voice and input into what RQIA does.

Mr Chambers: Given the fact that similar decisions have been taken across the United Kingdom, does the Minister consider that the operational decision to reduce the number of routine inspections of care homes in March, which was designed to reduce the disruption of routines in homes and to curtail the introduction of the virus into care homes, and the decision to redeploy staff involved to other more pressing duties around the pandemic were justified and the appropriate thing to do in the circumstances at the time?

Mr Swann: I refer the Member to a previous answer, when I said that staff of RQIA were being redeployed and repurposed to support the care home sector and their residents and to provide their professional

should it be social workers, the nurses or even the pharmacists who were part of the RQIA inspection team. It is about enabling them to get into homes as part of the physical support that we were giving to care home workers, the management and the residents.

As the Member will be aware and as I referred to in my statement, what we did in March was in the teeth of the pandemic of COVID-19. We were seeing it spread not just across the United Kingdom but across western Europe and the world. The decision that was taken at that time was the same as the decision that was taken in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

Miss Woods: I thank the Member for asking the urgent oral question. The Commissioner for Older People has rightly described the resignations of the board as a worrying development. This morning, he said that the circumstances surrounding the resignations were a mess and that this could not have come at a worse time. Does the Minister agree that independence is vital to provide proper scrutiny? Did the Department undermine RQIA's independence, and does he think that RQIA should be given greater statutory independence in order to better fulfil its functions?

Mr Swann: I thank the Member for her comment. I also noticed that the Commissioner for Older People said this morning:

I fully concur with what Eddie Lynch said this morning, because that is the direction of travel that I am going in as Minister.

With regard to the independence of the RQIA as an inspectorate, I am keen to reinforce that. It is already there in legislation, but, as I said earlier, it is also about bringing the patient/user experience into that inspection and quality process. That has maybe been missing in the past. When you engage with some of the families — Mr Sheehan referred to previous reports — and look at the findings and outworkings of many of those, the feedback was that there was a lack of family and user input. When we reconstitute a new board — I intend to do that — I hope that those voices are heard, to provide not just independence but insight into that lived experience.

Mr Allister: Knowing that he was coming to the House this afternoon, why did the Minister choose to announce the investigation by Mr Nicholl at a press conference, rather than to the House, given what some previous Speaker's rulings have said about the importance of Ministers giving the House its place?

When the board members resigned, they said that they had done so because of decisions taken by the Department into which they were given no input: is that correct? If so, does that suggest a degree of overbearance and interference by the Department that calls into question the perceived independence of the regulator?

Mr Swann: I assure the Member that no disrespect was meant to the House or anybody in it in the announcement of the inquiry. I have given the Executive press conference every Tuesday over the past two or three months. Today, I was asked and made a statement about what would be coming in regard to appointing David Nicholl to complete the inquiry. The issue has received much press coverage this morning, and many Members have made statements about what they were going to tell me today when I came to the House. When a member of the press asked me, I responded and made a statement. I apologise to the House for that, but I am here to answer a question for urgent oral answer and will speak shortly in a mental health debate, so, Mr Allister, time did not allow me to do anything different. The Member knows that I have great respect for the House and its Members.

With regard to the timing of the decisions that were taken on the repurposing of the RQIA and the inspectorate, it was a direction from my Department so that we were able to repurpose those members of staff in the RQIA and make sure that we reacted promptly and accurately to support those in care homes who needed that support. We did that by reducing the number of inspections that the RQIA was able to conduct. How many inspections the RQIA can carry out per year is mandated in legislation, so it required a change in legislation. My Department was mandated to do that to allow it to facilitate that operation.

Mr Carroll: I thank the Member for asking the question for urgent oral answer. Minister, does the resignation of the entire board of the RQIA, which oversees the handling of care homes, represent a damning indictment of your and previous Ministers' approaches to the handling of care homes?

Mr Swann: Since taking up my post on 11 January, my support for care homes has been expressed and demonstrated through the financial support that I have provided and the repurposing of trust and RQIA staff to go in and support the care homes. Through our interactions on the Committee, the Member will know well how I see and prioritise our care sector and its place in the health and social care family. I value it. During one of the engagements that we had with the Health Committee, I referred to the care sector as the "Cinderella service" of our healthcare profession and one that has long gone unrecognised and unrewarded. That is something that I, as Minister, want to change. I want to bring recommendations to the Executive on how we can further support our care sector and the people who work in it, who are often working at if not below minimum wage with the way that their hours work. I aim to make sure that those who work in that sector are valued and recognised.

Mr Storey: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. His last comment may be a personal comment on how care homes are valued in society. I wonder whether that goes across the higher echelons of the Department, particularly as we look at any reorganised inspection regime. Can the Minister provide assurance that the resumption of statutory and non-statutory inspections will be carried out in a safe, coordinated and care-centred way and in a timely manner? It is extremely sad that, yet again, in the midst of these circumstances, care homes are at the centre of the story. I know your personal concern about that, but we need clarity about what the Department knew and what it did or did not do.

Mr Swann: I thank the Member for raising that point, because, for me, as Minister, it is a personal issue. I feel that every Minister should bring to their portfolio their understanding of and support for those working in their area and those who rely on it.

As regards what the Department knew, when it knew it and how it reacted, I fully intend to empower David Nicholl to bring all that to the fore so that it will be put in the public domain so that Members and those who rely on the services provided by RQIA get the full picture not just from the board members who resigned but from the staff and senior management team in the RQIA, who were on the other side of what is now, I suppose, a public debate. I hope that, today, I can bring some reassurance to those who rely on and those who work for RQIA that the Department and its Minister are doing all that they can to make sure that those who rely on the service get the support that they need.

Mr Nesbitt: I would be grateful if the Minister would correct me if I am wrong in my summary of what I hear in this session, which is that the reduction in inspections was common to all neighbouring jurisdictions, that there was no systemic dismantling of the management of RQIA, that the Minister has full confidence in the staff and executive management of the RQIA and that he anticipates that the new board will be more effective than the old one, pending a departmental review of arm's-length bodies.

Mr Swann: The Member has summarised the full discussion that has taken place in response to the question for urgent oral answer. I do not think that there is anything in what the Member said that anyone in the House could disagree with. We rely on RQIA to provide a service that reassures, reinforces and provides comfort to families who have loved ones residing in care homes.

Mr Frew: I welcome the Minister's presence today to answer the question. Given the repurposing and the restrictions on inspections, what consideration was given to adult safeguarding policies, particularly around the risk assessment of individuals and the retention of information possibly required for criminal investigations? What alternative was activated to ensure that risk assessments were undertaken?

Mr Swann: The repurposing of individuals was necessary at that time. The Member has asked a detailed question, and I will get back to him in writing with as detailed an answer. I could give him a high-level briefing from the notes in my folder today, but I do not think that it would do his question justice. There is, I suppose, a greater need for the detail that he is asking for, and I would rather provide it in a written response than try to answer verbally.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs): That is the end of questions to the Minister on the question for urgent oral answer. I ask Members to take their ease for a few moments, until the Temporary Speaker takes the Chair for the continuation of questions on the Education Minister's statement.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): I call Sinéad Bradley.

Ms S Bradley: Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker, and I hope that that is the correct title.

I thank the Minister for his statement, particularly because it includes the long-awaited announcement on St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel. During our break, I did have a chance to have engagement with the vice-chair of the board of governors, Brendan Cunningham, and to say that he and the principal, Kevin Martin, are ecstatic is beyond anything that I could describe. The staff and the governors are absolutely delighted with today's announcement.

I also welcome from the Minister's statement what he said about ensuring that all future buildings are future-proofed to fit the green agenda. Minister, what consideration or assurance can you give that buildings will be future-proofed to provide a wide curriculum and educational offer? Particularly with the St Louis site, I have in mind the need for the inclusion of a junior school, a vocational school, modern special educational needs provision and upper-sixth capacity.

Mr Weir: I am always glad when I can make somebody ecstatic in this Chamber, albeit remotely. If we were to meet all of the demands that the honourable Member suggests, that may absorb the whole £156 million. I am sure that she would be happy enough if that were all spent in Kilkeel.

All school builds will be entirely fit for purpose, and they will cover the full range of potential with the entitlement framework. It is also the case that there will be work done. To determine precisely what is needed, there will be a process including a feasibility study and a business case. Work will be done between officials and the school to see what precisely is needed with the new build and the capital works. I give her that assurance that that will carry on, and I am glad that at least the people of Kilkeel will be happy tonight with the new build at St Louis.

Mr O'Dowd: A Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach, I congratulate you on your elevation to this post.

First, I thank the Minister for his statement. It is welcome for all of the schools involved, particularly St Mary's in Aghagallon on the shores of Lough Neagh. I am sure that it is good news for that school. The Minister will be aware that it can take several years from announcing the school to getting the school built, despite the best work of people in the Department, of whom I have first-hand experience both in the Department and outside it, driving those processes forward. Will the Minister agree that the Executive collectively need to come forward with a mechanism that delivers public building programmes much quicker than we currently do?

Mr Weir: I think that there is a challenge for all of us on that. It is also about balancing out where we need to ensure that there is also value for public money. Particularly with major capital works, one of the key aspects is ensuring that there is, for instance, a site search to make sure that it is on the most appropriate land and that we get the best value for money for the land.

The Member makes a valid point in that, broadly speaking, in a wider context of public works, we need to try to make sure that they are done in as timely a way as possible. Part of this is to try to ensure that, while there will be regular announcements, there is a pipeline of activity. That will be of significance to, in any individual case, the school itself to see that built as soon as possible and also for the pipeline and ensuring that we do not have undue delays in the system.

It is also critical to the wider economic situation regarding the construction industry. It is undoubtedly the case that, as a body, the industry has suffered, at minimum, a level of disruption because of the COVID crisis. It is critical to ensure that construction jobs are maintained and that the sector becomes a key driver in the economy. I am happy to work with a range of colleagues, particularly, when it comes to procurement issues etc with the Finance Minister, who has overall control of the broader brush of construction, to try to ensure that we move ahead as quickly as possible with any of these projects.

Mr Sheehan: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. I thank the Minister for his statement. I welcome the fact that All Saints College in west Belfast is on the list. It is an amalgamation of three schools in west Belfast: St Rose's Dominican College; Corpus Christi College; and Glen Road Christian Brothers School (CBS). It is currently split across two sites that are quite a distance apart. Land has to be identified for a new build because it is believed that neither site is big enough to facilitate the new college. Will long-term funding be available while such a site is developed and a new school built?

Mr Weir: Any new build that has been announced will happen. As indicated, one of the key roles of any project board for an individual school build is the identification of the best, most suitable land balanced with what is best for the public purse. That will be moved forward.

On a broader level, there is always uncertainty about future budgets, particularly the capital budget, which is likely to roll forward for a number of years. There is always a level of confidence that that will be available. That is why the approach is, to a certain extent, cautious. It is about trying to get the balance right. In theory, I could have come here and announced 20 projects, but the funding may not necessarily be there. The idea is that anything that is being announced, whether through capital works or the school enhancement programme, is on a rolling basis that will enable costs to be met and ensure that finance is available. We can do that with a level of confidence.

Miss Woods: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I welcome the fact that it says that you are conscious of the "Department's wider environmental responsibilities". Minister, will you outline what you mean by the "emerging regulations aimed" at this? What does best practice look like when reflected in the design and delivery of the projects? Are you looking at Passivhaus for energy efficiency, for example?

Further to Ms Bunting's question on Youth Service and summer provision, can you confirm whether face-to-face activities can go ahead while adhering to current health guidelines?

Mr Weir: Ensuring that something is environmentally sound and, in a wider context, of an appropriate design contains a number of elements. Earlier, Mr Butler, for example, asked about ensuring that we have an environment that nurtures good mental health. It is about putting a range of things together.

On summer schemes, there will be different levels and particular actions. We might come back to this on Thursday, when I am due to make a statement to the Ad Hoc Committee. A number of schemes will be organised directly by the EA through its Youth Service. Those will included general schemes and interventions as well as schemes for special schools and at-risk children.

An additional issue is that a key test has been agreed for any community and voluntary organisations, uniformed organisations — indeed, I think that it would also apply to a private organisation — that want to seek to run a summer scheme. Simply, there will be some permissibility provided that the organisation follows the guidelines available at the time. The Education Authority will issue guidance to any organisation wishing to do that. Whatever scheme is compatible with public health and does not in any way endanger public health, the Department and the Executive will not stand in the way of that. A lot of the summer stuff tends, by its nature, to be outdoors. There is also a critical element in the contribution that can be made to our young people, given the very difficult circumstances that a lot of them have faced for the last number of months. They can, in a safe way, have some release during the summer, and a lot of communities will want to embrace that.

Mr Allister: I am sure that the Minister will caution against looking at the allocations in isolation, but it is difficult not to notice that it appears that eight of the nine successful applications are from the maintained sector. Was it a similar proportion of applications within the 68 schools that were considered?

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for the question. I do not have a detailed breakdown of the 68. I should say that 89 were initially put in, but 21 did not make the gateway. Let me make it clear: as we move forward, I will always try and make sure that any criteria used are fair, objective and educationally sound. Sometimes, schools will make a choice between applying for major capital works or for the school enhancement programme. The outworking of that across a range of announcements will show that there will be a fair representation across the different sectors. It will mean, though, that if you isolate it into any individual set of announcements, there may well be a higher proportion in one sector than in another, so I ask the Member to look at this not simply on the basis of what has been announced today but to look at the wider context.

If memory serves me right, from a couple of the most recent announcements on the school enhancement programme, a proportionately higher percentage of those were from the controlled sector. Sometimes, it is about the choice made by the school. Moving forward, I will ensure that fairness and objectivity is always at the heart of any decisions that are made on capital spend by the Department.

Mr Carroll: A few weeks ago in this House, I raised concern that the teacher and union bashing that we witnessed in England would make its way here. It seems that the Minister's party colleagues have taken up that mantle of teacher and union bashing, and they are working very hard on it seemingly. Will the Minister take the opportunity today to disassociate himself from his colleagues' comments and praise and thank our education staff for working hard throughout the coronavirus crisis and for raising serious health and safety concerns?

Mr Weir: I have already made it clear to two previous questioners that not just teaching staff but non-teaching staff, parents and pupils all deserve credit for the action that they have been taking over the last number of months and will continue to take.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): As we have a few minutes remaining, I will give Members the opportunity to ask supplementary questions. Please stand and indicate if you wish to ask a question.

Mr Humphrey: I am grateful to the Minister for his statement and apologise for missing the start of it. In relation to fairness and equity, I will take this opportunity to remind the Minister that he was to visit two primary schools in my constituency — Seaview and Glenwood. Both schools need new builds. In Glenwood, the conditions are appalling. It is the hub school for the Shankill. Seaview is the hub school for the Shore Road area. I implore the Minister that, when it comes to the next tranche of investment for major capital works in education, those schools are considered very seriously. We cannot ask people to value education and we cannot talk about young Protestant males not valuing education and educational attainment in hard-to-reach communities and not invest in a good schools estate.

Mr Weir: I take on board what has been said. I hope to be able to visit a number of schools, and the Member has been assiduous in relation to the two that he has mentioned. All schools will be treated fairly in their applications. One of the slightly frustrating things, particularly as regards capital build, is the restrictions within the wider opportunities for construction and the budget. If we are to meet the needs of all our pupils from a capital point of view, the capital budget could be spent several times over.

When it comes to any future call, everybody will start on an entirely level playing field and will be given the opportunity to apply and be evaluated. I am confident that there will be, in 2021, a new call to which all schools will be able to apply. Hopefully, more schools will be able to get the support that they need for their pupils.

Mrs Barton: Minister, you spoke earlier about a number of schools that are in the process of getting money for various improvements. Can you give me an update on the new build for Enniskillen Royal Grammar School?

Mr Weir: Rather than try to give a short answer at this stage, I will correspond directly with the Member to give her a more detailed response. Having been at a school in Enniskillen, although not the Royal Grammar School, in the past couple of weeks, I was very encouraged to see that construction had started again. That school is getting a new build, and staff were on site continuing with its development.

As regards the specifics of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, I will supply detailed information to the Member.

Ms Armstrong: I will not take too long. Minister, earlier you mentioned zero emissions, and potential new builds would be looking towards that. Apart from zero emissions for environmental benefits, has there been a cost-benefit analysis of the savings that schools could achieve through innovative ways of heating and lighting their buildings?

Mr Weir: We will always try to ensure that any proposals are as efficient as possible, on both the emissions and the energy efficiency sides. It is clear that one of the advantages of new build — using new technology and using space efficiently — is that it can deliver much more cost-effectively. It is undoubtedly the case with schools that that can create a certain level of efficiency. At one level, that should not be overestimated, because well over 90% of the general running costs of pretty much every school, whether the oldest school in the country or the world's most efficient school, will be staff costs. From a purely financial point of view, the amount will be of limited value. However, the more that can be saved in the system through energy efficiency or reduced additional costs, the more that is available for the school budget to be ploughed directly into teaching and provision for the children, and that is something that all of us should support strongly.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): That concludes questions to the Minister.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): As no amendments have been tabled, there is no opportunity to discuss the Housing (Amendment) Bill today. Members will, of course, be able to have a full debate at Final Stage. Further Consideration Stage is, therefore, concluded. The Bill stands referred to the Speaker.

Ms Ní Chuilín (The Minister for Communities): I beg to introduce the Pension Schemes Bill [NIA 07/17-22], which is a Bill to make provision about pension schemes.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): That constitutes the Bill's First Stage. It shall now be published. The House will take its leave for a moment or two until we change over.

Mrs Long (The Minister of Justice): I beg to move

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on this debate.

Mrs Long: Thank you, Mr Speaker, and congratulations on your temporary appointment to your new role.

The Bill was originally introduced to Parliament in autumn 2019 but fell prior to the general election. It was subsequently reintroduced in January 2020. The Bill started its parliamentary passage in the House of Lords and is at Report Stage. It covers three aspects of civil aviation, which, as Members know, is a reserved matter under our devolution settlement. These aspects are the modernisation of civil aviation to deliver quicker, cleaner and quieter flights; the modernisation of the licensing framework for air traffic control; and the conferring of new powers that will allow the police and prison authorities across the UK to tackle the unlawful use of unmanned aircraft.

The provisions relevant to the legislative consent motion (LCM) are contained in the last of those three. The Bill plans to allow the designation of senior officials in the Ministry of Justice, the Scottish Prison Service and my Department, who, in turn, will be able to able to authorise applications from staff in their custodial institutions to interfere with unmanned aircraft over such institutions.

While essentially a reserved matter and one overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority, the fact that the Bill will confer an ancillary new power on the Department of Justice has led the Department for Transport and the Northern Ireland Office legal advisers to conclude that an LCM is required to cover that particular and narrow aspect. I understand that the Department for Transport has taken a similar view in relation to Scotland. The authorisations may only be given if the authorising officer believes that it is to prevent or detect offences, as set out in the various UK prison Acts, including the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953. Those offences are referenced directly in the Bill and include assisting an escape or conveying unauthorised articles into a place of detention.

Currently such applications have to be approved by a Chief Constable. However, the UK Government have taken the view that allowing these authorisation requests to be dealt with by senior departmental officials will allow a custodial institution in the country to take rapid action against real-time drone incidents, rather than making urgent, repetitive and recurring applications to senior police officers, responses to which have sometimes been delayed in England and Wales due to other policing pressures.

The part of the Bill covering the use of unmanned aircraft is considered necessary because of a number of factors, including the shutting of Gatwick Airport in December 2018 due to drone activity, and numerous incidents in and around prisons across England, Wales and Scotland, where unmanned aircraft have been used to convey items such as drugs, weapons and mobile phones. I also note that prisons in the Republic of Ireland have reported a recent rise in similar problems.

The importation of such items place prisoners and staff at risk, impact on the good order and security of establishments and, in turn, undermine the rehabilitation of people in our care. It is also possible that drones many be used in the future to facilitate an escape, posing a direct threat to public safety and prison security.

To date, there have been no reported incidents of drone use in Northern Ireland in the vicinity of our custodial institutions. However, I am keen to take the opportunity that the Bill is presenting to future-proof us against a rise in such activity for criminal purposes, and, in doing so, give my senior managers and their staff the same opportunity and ability as their counterparts in the rest of the UK to act quickly and in real time against drones.

Members will appreciate that we are somewhat out of step with the normal process. Generally, Executive and Justice Committee approval should have been in place prior to the Bill being introduced in Parliament. In this case my Department was unable to follow that convention as the Assembly was not sitting at that time. However, my permanent secretary's agreement in principle was obtained. On the return of the Assembly, officials sought my views. I subsequently wrote to the Chair of the Justice Committee at the earliest opportunity and I also sought approval from the Executive. That was granted on 2 March. At its meeting on 14 May, the Justice Committee considered extending those provisions to Northern Ireland, and gave formal approval on 28 May.

Given the fact that the Bill, in its entirety, relates to reserved matters, it would not have been possible to legislate locally on the matter. Westminster colleagues are keen to have the request considered at the earliest opportunity. I am therefore keen to seek legislative consent today but I am, of course, willing to hear the views of the Assembly.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): I call the Chairperson of the Justice Committee, Mr Paul Givan.

Mr Givan (The Chairperson of the Committee for Justice): Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker. I see that you are in your place, and I see that the other Temporary Speaker is in the Chamber. I am not sure when we are going to get the privilege of Mr Wells admonishing Members for bad behaviour, but I look forward to him getting his opportunity.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): As quickly as possible. [Laughter.]

Mr Givan: When I read the Speaker's letter, I could see that the club of '98 was a very exclusive club. There are not many of them left, but I am sure that Mr Wells will discharge the duties of the office —

Mr Wells: A vintage intake.

Mr Givan: — with great aplomb. I look forward to seeing him in the Chair, but that is no reflection on you, Mr Temporary Speaker.

I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Committee for Justice in today's debate. As the Minister said, the Department of Justice wrote to the Committee in March to advise of a proposed legislative consent motion for the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill. The Bill aims to tackle the fast-growing problems that are associated with unmanned aircraft, which are more commonly known as drones. Members will recall the problems that were caused by drone activity around Gatwick Airport in December 2018. Drones have also been used around prisons in England, Wales and Scotland to convey drugs, mobile phones, weapons and equipment to facilitate the escape of prisoners.

The Bill extends across the United Kingdom, and, as civil aviation is a reserved matter, legislative consent is not required in respect of many of its provisions. However, the LCM that we are discussing is necessary to enable senior Northern Ireland Prison Service and Youth Justice Agency staff to authorise counter-drone measures in relation to the unlawful use of drones near custodial institutions. The Department of Justice advised the Committee that the use of drones that has been seen across other parts of the United Kingdom around places of detention has, to date, been rare in this jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the Bill provides an opportunity to future-proof against a potential rise in that type of drone activity.

Mr Temporary Speaker, the Committee considered the Department of Justice's written briefing, at its meeting on 14 May, and agreed that it was not necessary to have an oral briefing or, indeed, further written information on the proposed LCM. At its meeting on 28 May, the Committee considered the memorandum laid by the Department of Justice on 22 May and agreed that it was content with the proposal to extend provision in the Air Traffic and Unmanned Aircraft Bill relating to the interference with drones over places of detention to Northern Ireland by way of an LCM. While content with the legislative consent motion, the Committee requested clarification from the Department on whether drones, or the institutions to which the LCM will apply, are required to be registered, and the process for that. The Committee agreed that requesting that information should not delay the progress of the LCM, and, on 4 June, it approved the report on its consideration of the LCM.

Subsequently, on 17 June, the Department wrote to the Committee and advised that, from 30 November 2018, all drones operating across the United Kingdom with a mass of 250 grams or more must have a valid certificate of registration, and that the registration number must be displayed on the aircraft. The remote pilot must also have a valid acknowledgement of competency. The certificates of registration and the acknowledgements of competency are issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. The Department also advised that, in Northern Ireland, the provisions of the Bill relating to the interference with unmanned aircraft apply to a prison, a young offenders’ centre, a remand centre and a juvenile justice centre, along with areas adjoining the boundaries of those institutions that are considered necessary and appropriate by the authorising officer.

I can confirm, as set out in the Committee report, that the Committee for Justice supports the Minister of Justice in seeking the Assembly’s endorsement of the legislative consent motion.

I will now speak briefly as a Member and not comment anymore on the substance of the report provided by the Committee. Unmanned aircraft, or drones, as the public more commonly refers to them, are a new and emerging issue. It is an issue, which, I have no doubt, the Assembly will want to consider in the future.

There is, certainly, anecdotal evidence of public concern about the use of drones. On a daily exercise walk with my family around Stoneyford reservoir, a drone flew overhead. I did not know by whom or from where it was being controlled, for what purposes and whether or where any imagery might appear. That personal experience made me consider the issues of privacy, control and monitoring of drones as they become a fashionable toy to buy and use.

Having looked at this issue in terms of custodial institutions, there is a broader public interest when it comes to the use of drones and how that is being regulated and managed. That is not for today but is a novel issue that we are going to have to look at.

Ms Dillon: Mr Temporary Speaker, I join the Committee Chair in congratulating you on your appointment, and wish you the very best.

I am not going to repeat what has been said. There really is a limit to what can be said about this legislative consent motion. Our party supports it, the Committee supports it, and I think that it is non-controversial. However, it may well become controversial. The Chair is right in that there are privacy issues. I would like to think that the rules that apply if someone takes your photograph in the street would apply to where drones can be used. We will, no doubt, have to look at that. The Minister was right to bring this matter before the House to have future-proofed legislation.

Ms S Bradley: I will not add to the Committee report, which has been thorough, or the Minister's statement. It is about future-proofing. The SDLP supports the Minister on this issue. This legislative consent motion is important, and, potentially, is a first step in a much wider debate.

Mr Carroll: There has been little opportunity to scrutinise the LCM or the legislation in the Chamber, especially for opposition MLAs.

In the main, the legislation relates to bestowing extra powers to allow the security services to use air traffic control to combat drug use, particularly by restricting the flying of drones over prisons. Even if the LCM is implemented, it is highly unlikely that it will thwart or combat drug use in society, and, by extension, in prisons. The US has been fighting a so-called war on drugs for many years, with much vigour, through strengthening police powers and increasingly criminalising drug use. It is, clearly, not winning that war. Quite the opposite, in fact: it is losing it. That tells us a lot about how we challenge many of the problems that come with drug use.

No one doubts the problems that do come with drug use, and its damaging impact on society generally and in prisons in particular. A very different approach is needed: an approach that prioritises tackling poverty and the conditions that breed small-scale criminality and drug use and places rehabilitation programmes ahead of strengthening the police and security operations. That may be a conversation for another day.

The Department recognises that drones flying over prisons has not really been an issue in the North. The Department's report for the Justice Committee states:

Therefore, the legislation suggests a potential strengthening of police powers without any real evidence that it is needed. I would like the Minister to address and expand upon that point.

Any strengthening of police powers always runs the risk of intensifying the existing problems of policing. For example, I note that the same report, while vague, states that its intention is to introduce powers of stop-and-search. As an MLA for West Belfast, where stop-and-search powers have been used and abused in the past, I believe that they constitute a harmful and unnecessary impingement on the rights of people, including children and minors.

Mr Storey: Will the Member give way?

Mr Carroll: I will not give way. I am finishing my comments.

Considering the problematic history of stop-and-search as used —

Mr Storey: You are pedalling falsehoods but you will not give way.

Mr Carroll: You have plenty time to speak if you want.

I do not believe that any form of additional or strengthened stop-and-search powers could be justified in the current context, especially as the report suggests, which I want to put on the record, that no perceived threat exists. It is my duty in this discussion to state my concern about how stop-and-search powers have been used in this city in the past. I urge the Minister to consider that and to work to ensure that such a situation does not arise in the future.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): If no other Members wish to speak, I ask the Minister, Mrs Naomi Long, to conclude and wind up on the debate.

Mrs Long: Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker. I thank Members for considering the motion and for all the valuable contributions to the debate. I place on record my thanks to the Justice Committee for the work that it has done in its report and to Executive colleagues for their consideration of the issues presented in the LCM. The Chair of the Committee expressed clearly the work that was done in scrutinising the extent of the Bill and the need for the LCM.

It is drug use and rehabilitation within our prisons that we are addressing today as opposed to the wider issue, which would be a matter for me, the Department of Health and others to work on collaboratively. We do not take a single-pronged approach to the issue within our prison system. It is not simply about preventing drugs entering the prisons, though that is a serious part of the strategy. It is also about ensuring that the right support, rehabilitation and interventions are available in our prisons in order to support those who are seeking to stop and deal with their addictions and learn alternative ways to manage their health issues. It is important to stress that because, for me, it is important that those who come out of the prison system do so equipped to survive and thrive in normal society. A big part of that is dealing with addictions, mental health issues and other issues that had perhaps not been dealt with adequately before they entered the prison system.

With respect to why we are bringing forward this legislation, first, we should not assume that Northern Ireland is in some way immune to the problems that are being reported elsewhere. We have seen a rapid increase in the number of drone incidents across England and Wales. We have also seen an increase in Scotland and this kind of activity now developing in prisons in the South of Ireland. It is sensible for the Assembly and the Government to ensure that the powers are there if this becomes an issue in our prisons. I caveat that by saying that, obviously, if nobody flies drones over prisons, these powers will not be required; they are only for use in those specific circumstances. However, if this becomes an issue, it is important that we can respond in a way that keeps the prisoners safe, keeps our prison officers safe and maintains good order within the prisons.

To be clear, we are not strengthening police powers in the Bill. These powers belong to the Civil Aviation Authority. It is already the power of the police to be able to say that those drones can be intercepted. The issue here is that doing so can take some time and, by then, it may be too late to intercept the drone in question. What we are actually doing is taking powers from the police and devolving them to those institutions where they will make the most impact. I do not think that we need to overly concern ourselves with police powers. This is about local action to protect prisoners, protect prison staff and ensure that people are kept safe when they are in our care. I, therefore, ask the House again to support the passing of this motion.

Mr Storey: On a point of order, Mr Temporary Speaker. I thank the Minister for clarifying the issue in relation to police powers. We will be checking the Hansard report of the Member for West Belfast's inaccurate comments on the issue of stop-and-search. That is not relevant to this debate. I want to place on the record that independent scrutiny of that issue is not consistent with the Member's comments.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): That has been placed on the record.

Mrs Long (The Minister of Justice): I beg to move

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate.

Mrs Long: The majority of provisions in the UK Government's Domestic Abuse Bill apply only to England and Wales. Their aim is to further improve the effectiveness of the justice system, providing protection for victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice, and to strengthen the support for victims of abuse and their children that is provided by other statutory agencies. However, in addition to those objectives, the Bill seeks to make provision to allow the UK Government to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul convention. To do that, Part 6 of the Bill will extend the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of the criminal courts in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to include additional violent and sexual offences committed abroad. ETJ refers to the extension of a country's criminal law to conduct prosecution of an offence that takes place outside that country and is the exception to the general principle that the criminal law usually has effect only with respect to the jurisdiction within which a crime is committed.

The Istanbul convention is focused on preventing violence against women, protecting victims and prosecuting accused offenders. The convention opened for signature in 2011 and the UK became a signatory to the convention in 2012. However, formal ratification has not yet been possible. The convention establishes a series of offences that are characterised as violence against women. Article 44 of the convention requires states that ratify the convention to take extraterritorial jurisdiction over these offences to enable prosecution of their nationals and those habitually resident in the state when they commit one of those offences anywhere in the world.

The measures in the UK Domestic Abuse Bill will allow for formal ratification of the convention by including the necessary extraterritorial jurisdiction provisions for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Giving effect to the requirements of the convention will allow relevant offending behaviour to be prosecuted in our domestic courts when it occurs wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom as long as the offender is either habitually resident in Northern Ireland or is a UK national.

The courts here have extraterritorial jurisdiction with regard to a number of offences, including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, sex offences against children, murder and manslaughter. Provision is also being sought in the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill, which is currently before the Assembly, to include similar provision for the new domestic abuse offence. The Westminster Bill prescribes further offences for Northern Ireland that need to have ETJ provision in order to comply with the convention. The list of violent and non-consensual sexual offences is contained in clause 61, Part 3 of schedule 2 to the Bill.

While the ability to make these changes is within the legislative competence of the Assembly, the Executive have considered it appropriate that the amendments are enacted in the Westminster Bill. The provisions will cover all three jurisdictions of the UK and will enable the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul convention. Although it would be possible to legislate for the provisions through a Bill in the Assembly, that would take more time, and legislating through the UK Bill will ensure that the UK as a whole is in a position to formally ratify the Istanbul convention at the earliest opportunity.

We did consider using the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill in the Assembly, but, like Scotland, we concluded that the most effective option was to approach these UK-wide requirements through a single UK Bill. In addition, the Assembly Bill will not reach completion until after the Westminster Bill, thereby preventing UK ratification of the convention until a later date.

The provisions relating to Northern Ireland set out the offences that, if committed abroad by a UK national or a person resident in Northern Ireland, can be tried in the courts here. These represent the equivalent offences in Northern Ireland to those being added for England, Wales and Scotland, except in relation to domestic abuse and stalking.

ETJ provision for the proposed Northern Ireland domestic abuse offence is contained in the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill that is currently before the Assembly. I intend to introduce a stalking Bill to the Assembly later this year. It, too, will contain provisions for prosecution of offences which occur overseas. However, in the meantime, the UK Government consider that the offence of putting people in fear of violence that is contained in the Protection from Harassment (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and the inclusion of sexual and violent offences are sufficient to meet the requirements of the convention and allow for ratification.

The UK Government, the Scottish Government and the Executive believe that it is preferable to legislate for the UK in that single Bill. I appreciate that the Assembly's preference is to legislate on Northern Ireland matters where possible. Indeed, that is my default position. However, in this case, in the interests of an appropriate and timely process and given the UK-wide requirement for ratification of the Istanbul convention, my view is that it is preferable that those relevant provisions which fall within the legislative competence of the Assembly should be considered by the UK Parliament in order to ensure that the UK is in a position to ratify the convention without delay.

Members will have seen that the Committee for Justice's report on the motion endorsed that view. For those reasons, I ask that the Assembly supports the terms of the legislative consent motion.

Mr Givan (The Chairperson of the Committee for Justice): I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Committee for Justice in the debate.

In April, the Department of Justice wrote to the Committee setting out the details of the proposed LCM for the Domestic Abuse Bill that had been introduced at Westminster. While the majority of the Bill's provisions apply only to England and Wales, it includes provisions to allow the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul convention, as the Minister has outlined. As Members will be aware, that is the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

In order for a state to ratify the convention, it must have extraterritorial jurisdiction in place for a number of specified offences; that is, it must ensure that national laws can be used to prosecute nationals or those who are habitually resident in the state when they commit one of the offences overseas. The specified offences are serious ones, for example psychological violence, stalking, physical violence, sexual violence, including rape, female genital mutilation (FGM); forced abortion and forced marriage.

The courts in Northern Ireland already have ETJ in relation to a number of the specified offences, such as FGM, forced marriage, trafficking, and sexual offences against children. They do not, however, have ETJ for a number of sexual and violent offences. The Bill, therefore, includes ETJ provisions for a range of offences in Northern Ireland for which the LCM is needed.

Not all the required offences are covered by the Westminster Bill. ETJ provision for the proposed Northern Ireland domestic abuse offences is included in the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill, for which the Justice Committee is currently undertaking the Committee Stage scrutiny. In addition, a stalking Bill is scheduled for introduction later in 2020. Again, as the Minister has indicated, it is expected to include ETJ provisions. Until those offences become law, the UK Government consider the inclusion of the offence of putting people in fear of violence and sexual and violent offences to be sufficient to allow for ratification of the convention.

The Committee considered the Department of Justice's written briefing at its meeting on 30 April and agreed that an oral briefing from departmental officials was not required. Although the Committee was content in principle with the proposal to extend the necessary ETJ provisions in the Domestic Abuse Bill to Northern Ireland by way of an LCM, it sought confirmation from the Department of Justice that it would not interfere with the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill or delay in any way the passage of that important Bill through the Assembly.

At its meeting on 4 June, the Committee noted the confirmation that was provided by the Department of Justice that the LCM will have no impact on the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill and will not affect its passage through the Assembly. The memorandum that was laid by the Department of Justice on 26 May was also considered on that date. The Committee agreed that it was content with the proposal to extend to Northern Ireland, by way of an LCM, provisions in the Domestic Abuse Bill that relate to extending the power of courts in Northern Ireland to try, in the home jurisdiction, certain sexual and violent offences which have been committed abroad.

I can, therefore, confirm that, as set out in the Committee report, the Committee for Justice supports the Minister of Justice in seeking the Assembly's endorsement of the legislative consent motion.

I will speak briefly as a Member. The comments on extraterritorial jurisdiction have come up during the Committee Stage of the Domestic Abuse Bill — the Minister referred to that — and the issue will also arise in the stalking Bill. It is an area of law that I am favourable and amenable to in terms of offences that are created overseas, but there is some debate on the competence issue.

I note that the Minister said it was within the legislative competence of the Assembly. The Attorney General, who leaves office next week, is flagging up question marks around the legal competence of the Assembly to deal with this issue. He quite ably articulated the viewpoint that the United Kingdom Parliament, being sovereign in all things, can pass legislation in this respect that would not be challenged in court. However, he does question the legal competence of the Assembly, referring back to relevant legislation from 1920 that set up the Parliament when outlining its confines in legislating in this area.

That is something that we need to explore, so I am alerting the Minister to the fact that I anticipate the Committee, once we have completed our consideration, flagging up the competence issue in respect of extraterritorial jurisdiction. We need to bottom that out to ensure that legislation that we pass in this area will stand up to any test that may arise in the courts system.

I am putting that on the record today, but we will be formally following that up as part of the Committee's consideration. That is without prejudice to whether the Committee supports the extension of such types of offences that are committed overseas. My view is that it is something that we should be doing, but I want to make sure that legally we are within our remit.

Ms Dillon: I echo the sentiments of the Chair: the Committee are supportive. My party and I are very supportive of ETJ, particularly given that we have a land border. Many incidents take place on a night out in Dundalk between people who live in Newry, so it is extremely important that we have this legislation in place.

However, as the Chair outlined, the Attorney General raised some concerns on the competency issue, and it is essential that we negate any possibility of us passing legislation that does not have competence. I plead with the Minister to look at that to see whether there are issues around the legislation and whether it could be the subject of a legal challenge. The Attorney General highlighted what could be done in Westminster to deal with the issue, and we should look at that. If something needs to be done, either in Westminster or in this Chamber, we need to ensure that it is done because it is something that all Committee members spoke in support of. There is no one who would not be keen to ensure that if something happens outside this jurisdiction, whether it is across the border or involves people who are on holidays or honeymoon, we can ensure that the victim has some redress in dealing with the issue and the perpetrator in this jurisdiction. I ask the Minister to respond to that. If she is not able to fully respond today, we understand, but it is important that we get a full response.

Ms S Bradley: I echo the words of the Chair of the Committee. The SDLP has, since 2012, consistently called for the ratification of the Istanbul convention. It is therefore important that we all get behind and support this legislation. I take the point that there appears to be a question mark surrounding the competence of the Assembly, as opposed to Westminster, where there is no dispute on the LCM and the vehicle that can be used today. However, for our own Domestic Abuse Bill, which should be coming to the Floor sooner rather than later, the question has been raised. Now is a good time to get that question aired, because nobody wants to see any delay in bringing either forward.

Mr Beattie: I will be very brief. I welcome the Minister's bringing this forward. It is difficult to see anybody not being in favour of getting this legislation in place to be able to support victims of domestic abuse. However, it is really important that we scrutinise this, because the last thing that we want is to bring in legislation that does not work. I am fearful, as many Members may well be, that, when you raise an issue, people think that you are bringing about a delay, but we would be doing a huge disservice if we did not raise the issues that are concerning.

I absolutely support, as does the party, the LCM, which allows us to take clauses 61 and 62 of the Westminster legislation, covering the ETJ, without a shadow of a doubt. However, it is right and proper, and I know that I am repeating what others have said, that we look at what the Attorney General said to us when he said that he had one concern about legislative competence arising from clause 10. It is really important that we put that to bed and ensure that we get this absolutely right. If we do not, we will end up with legislation that does not work for the victims, and the victims must be important here. I am in no doubt that the Minister will look at this in great detail and will be able to report back to the House and the Justice Committee.

Ms Armstrong: I also thank the Minister for taking a practical and proactive approach to the Domestic Abuse Bill. Many people and families are extremely grateful for the Minister's focused approach on an issue that is far too prevalent in homes across Northern Ireland. The Domestic Abuse Bill, which was reintroduced at Westminster on 3 March, included provision for the whole of the UK. It is right, therefore, that the Minister makes best use of resources in the time available by legislating through the UK Bill, as it means that the whole of the UK is in a position to formally ratify the Istanbul convention. My colleague in the SDLP mentioned that.

It is appropriate that we endorse the extension to Northern Ireland of the relevant provisions of the Domestic Abuse Bill. That will extend the powers of the courts here to try certain sexual and violent offences that have been committed outside the UK. That includes offences such as forced marriage, sex offences, murder and manslaughter.

Having worked with an organisation that some Members may know called Invisible Traffick, I know that it is vital that we are able to prosecute offenders who are from here for the crimes that they do elsewhere. I had the privilege of being in the Long Gallery in this Building when I heard from a lady who had been taken out of this country by her partner and did not realise that, when she was plied with drink and drugs and was convinced to sleep with her partner's friend, that was the start of her being put into prostitution and used and raped, ongoing, for up to five years. She escaped and was able to come back to Northern Ireland, but so did her partner. Nothing has happened about it because it happened outside this country, and the person lives with its scars every day. She is safe now, thanks to organisations that work with people who have managed to get away from their abuser.

I hope that the House can think about that woman and other men and women out there who are going through this and are taken out of this country to be abused. Some have been taken away to be killed. It is right that we send out a clear message to abusers that you cannot hide here.

Miss Woods: The LCM relates to the Domestic Abuse Bill progressing through Westminster, which has been described as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our Government to ensure that all women are offered proper protection and as the vehicle through which the UK Government hope to ratify the Istanbul convention on preventing violence against women. Therefore, I welcome it and the way in which it relates to the work of the Assembly's Justice Committee in considering the development of our own legislation in Northern Ireland.

As other Members said, the Justice Committee was briefed by the outgoing Attorney General (AG) on his concerns that clause 10 of our Bill would fall outside the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He referred to legal opinion that deems that clause 10 purports to change the domestic law of a country outside the UK in which domestic abuse occurs. The Committee, I am sure, will look into the issue of ETJ in more detail, but, today, I ask the Minister for some clarity.

The AG confirmed last week that the legislative method for introducing ETJ would be through a Bill in Westminster. He confirmed that that would give the Assembly competence. Indeed, clause 61 of the Westminster Domestic Abuse Bill appears to make that provision for Northern Ireland.

Can the Minister confirm if the LCM addresses the competence issue in clause 10 of our Bill, or does she intend to engage with those working on the Westminister Bill to ensure that the issue is addressed?

This year, 8 June marked the eighth anniversary of the UK Government signing the Istanbul convention on the protection of women and girls from violence. It is still not ratified, which is extremely disappointing, to say the least. We must make sure that the Government protect survivors of abuse. That includes access to refuge and welfare and the creation of a firewall between support services and immigration control, which is particularly important for those who have insecure immigration status. Not only are they at risk of being reported to immigration authorities, but, if they have no recourse to public funds, they cannot access support from refuges, floating support or housing support and are extremely vulnerable. That is a horrific position for anyone to be in, and failure to provide protection for such victims is a contravention not only of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) but of the Istanbul convention.

I have asked the Minister for Communities what measures are in place and what specific assistance is available for people affected by COVID who have no recourse to public funds. However, I also appeal to the Minister of Justice, the Minister for Communities and the wider Executive to enable those in such difficult circumstances to leave an abusive household or relationship. I welcome the work of the Step Up Migrant Women coalition, Amnesty and a cross-party group of MPs who are lobbying the Westminster Government to do something about this.

I also note that the Westminster Bill includes the creation of a Domestic Abuse Commissioner and a statutory duty on local authorities to provide domestic abuse support. It includes other provisions aimed at supporting and protecting victims and survivors. It begs this question: why does our Bill not include such measures? Is our Bill not as comprehensive in its approach to legislative provisions as that of our counterparts?

I note the Minister's comments that she would like to review how certain measures, such as protection orders and notices, will work in England. I note her assurance that she will bring forward a miscellaneous provisions Bill and stalking legislation to address outstanding issues. However, I also note that the draft Westminster Bill mentions the word "protection" 168 times, whereas our draft Bill mentions it only once. Is the Minister content to broaden the scope of the Bill if the Committee deemed that additional provisions were necessary to strengthen it?

I am fully supportive of the LCM, and I hope we can resolve the ETJ issue. However, it is also clear that there is more work to be done if we are to get this right for Northern Ireland.

Mrs Long: I thank all the Members who have contributed to the debate this afternoon. Understandably, it strayed from the LCM to wider issues around the Domestic Abuse Bill. That was inevitable, given that the two have a degree of overlap on timing and content. I put on record my thanks to the Justice Committee for the report it produced on the LCM and to the Executive for considering the issues.

The Justice Committee has been dealing with a number of LCMs in recent weeks, and they are also dealing with a significant amount of evidence in their scrutiny of the Bill. I look forward to their report on the Bill. Whilst we have scoped this Bill and worked with partners on our domestic abuse offence and how it will be implemented, it is important that we are open to listening to the voices that come through the Committee and to Committee members as well, otherwise the process would be rendered unimportant, which is not right. It is important that members of the Committee can raise their concerns, and I happy to work with them and listen to what, they feel, needs to be done to improve the legislation. We all share a desire to see the best possible Bill come forward.

I am pleased with the support that colleagues have shown for the LCM and the recognition that it is sensible that these provisions are carried in the Westminster Bill. I note the discussion about legislative competence, and I want to address that point, because, in all likelihood, we will return to it as we deal with our Bill. There will be the issue of introducing extraterritorial jurisdiction in our domestic offence. As you know, that issue has been raised by the Attorney General. The same point about the clause in the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill that is almost identical to the clause here has been raised with the Committee.

The Executive and I agreed the Bill for introduction. Along with the Speaker, we are content that it is within the legislative competence of the Assembly. The same will, therefore, apply to these provisions. I am content that the inclusion of the harassment offence without the need for criminality in other countries is also within the legislative competence of the Assembly. The question really turns on whether it is considered that the provisions, which legislate for behaviour that occurs outside the UK, form part of the law of a country other than Northern Ireland. I do not consider that to be the case. For any prosecution to be taken forward, there would have to be a linkage to Northern Ireland, and it would, therefore, be part of our law and not another country's law. In addition, similar provision is made in other legislation that applies locally, namely the Serious Crime Act 2015, which the Assembly approved a legislative consent motion for, and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015. It is something that the Assembly has agreed to on previous occasions.

In response to the discussion that has been ongoing in Committee, however, we have had further discussions with counsel and with the Departmental Solicitor's Office on the matter, and all remain of the view that clause 10 of the Domestic Abuse Bill and, by association, the harassment provisions covered by the LCM are within competence. Agreement to the LCM will further strengthen the arguments on what are devolved matters. In addition, the trafficking and FGM legislation were done on a similar basis. Furthermore, it could be argued that the fact that Westminster is seeking an LCM indicates that they believe it to be within the Assembly's competence to legislate on these matters, otherwise an LCM would not be necessary. Any change in that position would be seen as a challenge to the authority of the Speaker and, by virtue of that, the authority of the Assembly in terms of the matter being within our devolved competence. An LCM was also sought for Scotland, which indicates that it is seen that this lies within the devolved competence. I hope that that reassures Members, at least thus far, that it lies within our jurisdiction and competence to take these matters forward.

I ask colleagues to support the motion in order that these important protections for some of our most vulnerable people can be introduced and the UK as a whole can meet its obligations under the Istanbul convention. I take seriously the issues that Members have raised about those who are taken abroad to be abused or those for whom a period of abuse begins overseas. It is important that we have adequate protection for those people here and that they have the opportunity to pursue this through the law in this country when they live here or when the person who abuses them primarily resides here. That is hugely important. It is not the only support, and Miss Woods is right: it is not the only support or the only protection that we would wish to give people, which is why the wider Bill that will come before the House when the Committee has finished its consultation and scrutiny is so important.

The Bill for Northern Ireland is wider in scope than that in England and Wales, which is much more restricted in its content. However, specifically on commissioners and the other matters that have been raised by the Committee, I know that my officials will brief the Committee in just over a week's time on some of our thoughts on the emerging discussions in Committee. It is my hope that we will be able to work together in order to ensure that the Bill that we bring forward will be the best possible outcome for the people of Northern Ireland and for those who are subject to domestic abuse and violence in this place.

I believe that, on this occasion, it is appropriate that the amendments are made to the Westminster Bill, so I ask again for the support of the House for the LCM.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr G Kelly): I ask Members to take their ease while Ministers change. At Paul Givan's request, we will change the Temporary Speaker as well.

Mrs Cameron: I beg to move:

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for the debate. Two amendments have been selected and are published on the Marshalled List, therefore an additional 15 minutes has been allocated to the total time. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes, and those who make winding-up speeches will also have 10 minutes.

Mrs Cameron: At this stage, I will indicate that we will accept both amendments to the motion. I thank Sinn Féin and the UUP for their thoughtful additions to it.

While much focus in recent months has, rightly, been on the physical well-being of our population as we face the threat of coronavirus, the impact on mental health must not be forgotten. The restrictions placed on personal freedoms and everyday social interaction during lockdown have had a profound effect on the emotional and psychological well-being of people living in Northern Ireland. Worryingly, the cross-cutting nature of the impact of the virus and the subsequent regulations have come into direct conflict with established triggers of mental illness, including social isolation, loss of work and general financial concerns, medical trauma and work-related stress. The steps taken in good faith and on the basis of scientific evidence by the Executive to protect lives were necessary. However, we must ensure that the benefits are not overshadowed by long-term harm from unaddressed mental health issues. As we continue the pathway to normalisation, to reopening our health service, mental health and well-being must be at the forefront of the Department of Health's priorities. That is why we tabled the motion, and I trust that we can unite, as a House, behind it.

Poor mental health is not a new problem faced by our society. It is not one of the many new consequences of COVID-19. Pre-COVID, the issue of mental health and the need for targeted intervention was already clear. One in five of our population identified as having a mental health issue at one time in their life. Over half of the Health and Social Care (HSC) nursing staff reported being injured or unwell as a result of workplace stress in a 2019 survey. On a daily basis, we hear in our news bulletins and through our contacts in the community of lives lost to suicide. Our community was already struggling.

The reality is that COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem. A study by researchers from the Stress, Trauma and Related Conditions (STARC) research lab at Queen's University Belfast surveyed 2,500 people living in the UK during the first month of the COVID-19 lockdown period.

It found that one third of those surveyed met the criteria for anxiety, one third met the criteria for depression and 20% met the criteria for PTSD related to COVID-19. Some 50% of those surveyed reported concerns about the financial impact of the pandemic.

Professor Armour, who led the research, concluded:

A second study by Ulster University and the University of Sheffield reported that, in total, across the week of the study, 25% of women and 18% of men exhibited clinically meaningful symptoms of anxiety and that 23% of women and 21% of men showed signs of depression. Those aged under 35 living in the city, those living alone or with children, those with lower incomes, those with health conditions and those whose income has been hit by the pandemic had higher rates of anxiety and depression. Those who felt that they belonged to their neighbourhood and trusted their neighbours had lower levels of anxiety and depression.

Members, I am sure that, as it was for me, learning of those survey figures is sobering. It is a microcosm of the problem in our wider society, and something that must be tackled. The depth of the problem is stark, and it could well worsen as, for example, unemployment grows as a result of the economic tsunami that COVID-19 has wrought on our local economy. Financial loss and unemployment have strong links with mental ill health, with the risk doubling if people lose their job. That is why the support given to local businesses has been so vital. I commend my colleague Diane Dodds for all her work and, indeed, Her Majesty's Government for the vast levels of support.

Just as we have risen to the challenge of COVID-19, we must rise to the challenge of its mental health legacy. The onus falls on the Minister of Health in that regard. I hasten to add that the Minister and his officials have acted responsibly under unprecedented pressure during this crisis. The publication of the mental health action plan and its COVID-19 response plan annex provide a constructive platform on which to progress the debate. I welcome the plan brought forward by the Minister and know that it is a matter that he identified as a priority before coronavirus struck.

To take one issue from the plan, we are supportive of the proposal to establish a model for specialist perinatal mental health services by September. Northern Ireland is currently the only region of the UK without a dedicated mother and baby unit, and it is vital that we accommodate more compassionate care for bonding and development at this critical time. One major concern with the plan as it stands, however, is that, to most intents and purposes, it is cost-neutral and therefore cannot hope to make the transformative reforms needed to mental health services without there being additional agreement on comprehensive funding to take forward the 38 actions. The total cost of the mental health action plan in the first year is up to £2·8 million. The recurring cost of the much-needed new specialist perinatal mental health service alone is expected to be up to £3·6 million a year. A strong signal from the Executive, including the Department of Health, and generosity of spirit are therefore required in order to move forward with the agenda to reform and refresh the current provision.

We need to look at solutions, and what is key to that is a cross-cutting approach being taken to mental health and well-being, given health inequalities and longer-term changes to how society operates. Health inequalities researched by the Department of Health have indicated strong links among deprivation, age and gender in COVID-19 infection and admission rates. Similar correlations between the virus and higher rates of anxiety and depression have been found among those aged under 35 living in a city, those living alone or with children, those with medical conditions and those in financial hardship. In that sense, when tabling the motion, we were acutely aware that it is not just an issue relevant to the public health response or health and social care but something that has to be tied to and targeted at the social and economic factors that lead to mental illness.

A one-size-fits-all approach cannot be effective. A cross-cutting, cross-departmental, cross-sectoral approach is required. Indeed, in DUP Departments such as Education, our Ministers are actively working on plans to address the legacy of COVID-19 for children who were already identified as being at risk prior to the pandemic and whose physical, mental and educational well-being may have been acutely disadvantaged by loss of contact and/or closure of schools. Although the Minister takes the lead, we want to work with him across the Executive to tackle the issues in a collaborative and effective way. A particular example would be to look towards our arts sector. I appeal to the Executive to recognise the huge contribution that the arts and culture make to mental health outcomes and to understand that the sector has huge challenges ahead and requires support if it is to survive.

That collaborative approach must go further; a vibrant and well-resourced community and voluntary sector is the key to success. The unprecedented demand on health and social care capacity has meant that mental health well-being charities and faith-based organisations have been a lifeline for providing early and skilled responses to those who are at risk of mental illness during the pandemic. Their contacts with vulnerable groups of people, including the elderly and those who have been shielding, have been an invaluable preventative tool against mental ill health.

That contribution has been made in the midst of increasing demand and fewer resources, which has put many organisations at risk of folding. There needs to be a serious look at what we can do to support the sustainable future of the sector moving forward. I wish to put on record my full appreciation for the mental health provision from the community and voluntary sectors such as that provided by Impact Network NI, which is based in Randalstown and is a great example of an invaluable service to the community. Service providers in the community and voluntary sector must be at the heart of the recovery and reform process. The focus must be on co-design and co-production of the new services and regular dialogue. As Departments seek to wade their way through the financial outworkings of COVID-19 expenditure, any tendency to look for community providers as an easy target for more savings must be opposed.

In conclusion, it would be remiss of me not to make special mention of one group of people for whom we must deliver support, which is our front-line healthcare workers. What they have encountered and seen and have had to do on the wards and in care homes, having sacrificed family life, has had a huge impact on so many nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers. I urge the Minister to ensure that all necessary support is in place for our heroes. I am pleased to propose the motion and I urge Members to unite behind it.

Ms Flynn: I beg to move amendment No 1:

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): The Member has 10 minutes to propose amendment No 1 and five minutes to make a winding-up speech.

Ms Flynn: I thank the proposers of the motion. The challenge before all of us is how to improve mental health and well-being as we gradually emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown. That will not be an easy task but it is an essential one. Mental health and well-being are not just the responsibility of the Health Minister; they are the responsibility of all Ministers and their Departments. I believe that our amendment adds to the motion and, importantly, draws attention to the needs of addiction services and the challenges of a dual diagnosis.

I want to begin by paying tribute to all of the organisations and staff that are working in the field of mental health and all those who regularly attend the all-party group on suicide prevention, including many Members in the Chamber whom I know care deeply about the issue. I also want to pay a special tribute to all those across our communities who are struggling with their own mental health problems. I want them to know that, even when they feel most alone and isolated, there are people and services who want to help. Our new reality is that COVID-19 will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future and it will have a lasting impact on communities across the island, even without a second wave. Anxiety is being felt across all communities and across all sectors of our economy and we, as a body, must be well prepared to deal with the challenges that that will pose.

I acknowledge that in the early weeks of the pandemic the Department of Health took on board my recommendation to create a dedicated page for mental health and well-being advice. I also acknowledge that the Health Minister has expressed to me, verbally and in writing, his commitment to progress and develop a new and improved substance misuse strategy, alongside and as part of the wider mental health action plan and the 10-year strategy. The question is now: how will the wider health and social care system respond to the mental health challenges that we face in the time ahead? Will there be a clear and dedicated mental health action plan that has adequate resources attached to it?

I note that the Minister previously announced the appointment of a mental health champion. Again, although that is very welcome, we still need the Minister of Health to be our ultimate champion for improving mental health services, including addiction services. I agree that there needs to be more resources for mental health and well-being. It is also important that we see mental health and well-being in every programme from every Department and not just from the Department of Health. For example, the resilience and well-being framework being developed by the Education Authority for young people in our schools is a step in the right direction. However, it must now also take into account the legacy of COVID-19. How will the Department for the Economy measure the impact of job losses and financial worry, and how will the financial stress being felt across our communities be factored into tangible supports for all our businesses and workers?

Every Department and every arm's-length body must be asked the same pertinent question: how are you promoting the well-being, health and mental health of all your staff and service users? Although there is clearly a need for all Departments to respond and collaborate, I believe that this will be best placed within the Executive working group that was established for mental health.

The Department of Health must also have its own detailed plan to respond to the need for greater mental health and addiction services. A few weeks ago, the Health Committee received an oral briefing from organisations providing these services, and I really urge all Members to go back and listen to some of the stark evidence from those groups, as it is a testimony to the struggle of providing addiction services to those suffering most from those issues, and with mental health challenges on top. It is very clear to see that the sector is deeply concerned about how the lockdown has affected those service users who are already seeking help, and indeed those who will in the future need those services due to COVID-19 and the lockdown.

I want to take a bit of time to explore a bit further the issue of dual diagnosis. A dual diagnosis is when someone has to first choose between addressing their mental health condition or their addiction. It is often the case that they are interlinked, but services are unable to respond or, worse, are not there to respond at all. I recently asked the Minister a question regarding dual diagnosis, and I thank him for his response, which was:

While that sounds positive, what it actually says is that the barrier to putting the person first is not actually because of the legislation but because they maybe do not fit neatly into a predefined box when they are looking for help and support. As services are rebuilt and commissioned in the future, it is vital that they be person-centred and take individual needs fully into account. We need to consider that the individual needs for many may require treatment for those who are battling with both a mental health problem and an addiction.

I will finish my comments by welcoming some more of the positive news coming from the Department of Health recently in and around the innovative programme towards zero suicide. That programme is going to be resuming in July. Again, that was one of the aspects of mental health and suicide prevention that had been impacted by COVID-19 and the pandemic and now must adapt, along with everything else, to meet people's needs post-COVID and the demand on services. However, I also raised concerns at the last Committee meeting that the Department put in a bid for only just over £2 million in additional moneys for mental health and suicide prevention in the June budgeting allocations.

Just to finish, in my view all of this needs to be considered in the context that our mental health services, as we all know, are already under pressure. The suicide prevention strategy, a big piece of work, still has to be fully implemented. On top of all that, we are now expecting a possible surge in demand for services as we exit the lockdown restrictions. I support the motion and, again, thank the Members for tabling it. I am happy to support it and hope that Members will lend their support to my amendment.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): I thank Mrs Cameron and Ms Flynn for the succinct way in which they moved both the motion and amendment No 1. That should, I hope, allow extra Members to take part in this debate.

Mr Butler: I beg to move amendment No 2:

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Thank you, Mr Butler. You will have 10 minutes to propose amendment No 2 and five minutes to wind up. All other Members will have five minutes each.

Mr Butler: Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker, if that is the right terminology. I will not use my full 10 minutes.

As Van Morrison once said, in the final words of his spoken song 'Coney Island':

On a subject as important as mental health and, ultimately, suicide prevention, we could not be talking about anything more important here tonight. It is one of the only subjects where I will not have written notes, because I am so passionate about it.

I want to thank the party that tabled the motion, which was moved by Mrs Cameron, and Sinn Féin for tabling the amendment that was moved by Órlaithí. Another amendment was proposed by the SDLP, which very much mirrored our amendment. I will speak in favour of the motion and both amendments and I urge every Member to support them as well.

There is no doubt that mental health is everyone's business. I had written a few things down, in preparation for speaking, but the two Members who have spoken have blown me out of the water because they have got it in spades. They have accepted that mental health is everyone's business. Whilst the purpose and intent of the motion calls on the Health Minister, it recognises that, actually, this is across the full Executive. This is for the Department for Communities, the Department of Justice, the Department for the Economy and the Department of Education. If we are going to catch the tail of this problem and epidemic, which existed long before COVID, we have to act responsibly and in a collegiate manner.

I will get to the COVID-specific issues in a minute but I am particularly pleased with the contributions so far. Mental health is not new and poor mental health is not new. The problems that people are facing, out of COVID, existed before and are the same problems. Perinatal mental health has already been mentioned by Mrs Cameron. That is so important because if we cannot get off to the right start, with mums who are pregnant and babies in those early years, what are we storing up for ourselves in the future? The Minister has already made a commitment to that. I am sure that if he had the support of the Executive, with regard to the finance, we could do much more. I believe that if we work collegiately — to use the word again — we could achieve much more.

I am now a member of the Education Committee. I assure you that, if you were to sit in on the Committee, you would see that — as happened today in the Chamber with the Minister — every opportunity that I get, and other Committee members get, is used to ask, "What are you doing to tackle mental ill health?" The fabric of the building, the support that teachers can get, the support of our teachers, pupils, families and their children.

I became a Member in 2016, and we talked about the correlation between poverty, social deprivation, criminality, addictions and poor mental health. Those are all things that are in the fabric of our society in Northern Ireland that we really need to tackle and get to grips with. It is worth noting that a number of reports point out that, through the COVID pandemic, addictions — alcohol, gambling and drugs — are being targeted to those who are the most vulnerable. In their downtime, they are being exposed to even greater risk, and we need to do something about that.

It is my absolute privilege to chair the new all-party group (APG) on tackling gambling-related harm. I would like it to be noted that that is a real issue through the COVID pandemic: those people, who are gambling addicts, are coming to real harm. I look forward to the Minister for Communities looking at that with regard to new legislation.

I commend Órlaithí Flynn, the chair of the all-party group on suicide, on her work to target the message of the zero suicide figure, which is something that we support.

There are many reports on poor mental health across many communities and sectors. I urge everyone to not allow us to get to the point of paralysis by analysis. We are reported out. We have enough reports. We know what we should be doing and we need to target our resources, support each other and put our collective shoulders to the wheel, not just the Executive but in the Assembly, to see real progress. It was good to note that the first two Members to speak gave the Health Minister credit because he did not just look at COVID and say that he was going to sit here and look at it. He followed through with the pre-New Decade, New Approach commitments and said that we would have a mental health action plan, and that has started, and we are going to look at the mental health champion, a commitment since 2016, and I hope that that is delivered very soon. There is a further commitment for the mental health strategy, starting by December this year, and looking at a 10-year strategy. These are all very welcome, needed and will help us to save lives.

Now that we have the impact of COVID, and all the related matters that, whilst they do not complicate it, perhaps consolidate our focus on the need to do this together. That is what it does; It does not make it any more complicated, guys. What are the COVID implications? One of them, and the most stark, is the bereavement process. People have died, through COVID, and people have not been able to grieve or have the burial or wake in the normal manner that we are accustomed to. That is something that is going to have an outcome, with a cost to bear, and we need to support those people.

On loneliness and isolation, I commend Sinéad Bradley as the chair of the APG on preventing loneliness, and she has been leading the battle on that, but loneliness existed before COVID-19. It has been magnified and exacerbated, but it is about the society that we live in. It is a societal change that we need. We need to provide the leadership for that. There are the visiting restrictions in hospitals and nursing homes, and the inability to see those people who are probably on a palliative path, who are certainly ill, and could do with a cuddle, a handshake or a kiss. Those are things that should resonate with each and every one of us.

We have refugees and asylum seekers who already, at times, find it difficult to integrate into our communities. Have we forgotten about those people during the COVID-19 crisis? I hope not. I was on a call, I think on Friday, with a group and it was interesting. They were talking about the Northern Irish spirit and how much they enjoy being here, but, throughout COVID-19, did we do enough? We certainly need to try harder.

Like me, I am sure that, throughout the pandemic, your inboxes have been busier than before. There has been no respite for us. I am not asking for anybody to have any sympathy, but you will know that there has been an impact on everybody who has been contacting you. Whether it has been a business that has been struggling to work out the furlough and to work out whether they are entitled to grants, and great work has been done. However, all that stress and angst adds up into a toxic mix, and that is, sometimes, where mental health and ill mental health comes from.

As has been pointed out, we have to give thanks to those who have been standing in the gap and those who have been bridging the gap and meeting the need for those people who, for instance, perhaps already had poor mental health. Those nurses, doctors, care workers and those people who are working in the community — who are still working in the community through very difficult circumstances — who are, in many instances, probably not being paid enough to do the job that they do in providing the link between the outside world and the loneliness of living alone or being in hospital for treatment and enduring sicknesses. Therefore, for those nurses and care workers, we say thank you. For those doctors who stand in the gap, we say thank you.

The biggest purpose of the motion is to talk about the community groups and charities that have shown great innovation over the past weeks, and it has been wonderful to see. They have had to adapt their strategies and their way of working to meet the differing needs of the people who have needed them. In Lisburn, there are a few that I will mention — forgive me, if anybody is listening, if I miss you out — the Atlas Women's Centre, Via Wings in Dromore, the Resurgam Trust and the COVID-19 Ballymacash Response. Those guys, when they went out with food, met a different need. They did not even know, sometimes, the benefit of what they were doing by just smiling at somebody and showing kindness. Kindness. Kindness is a big part of this cure; it is better than a tablet, and I think that it is something that we can lead the way on. As Van Morrison said:

I told you that I was not going to talk for 10 minutes but I probably am. I am probably going to use the last minute and a half, and that is OK. To pull my contribution together, there is only one way that this will work and it is not just the responsibility of Robin Swann, as Minister, or the Department of Health. It is a collective responsibility. I see this as how the Executive might work in the longer-term, if we can prioritise mental health and protecting and saving life, does it matter whether you are a unionist, nationalist, other or neither? Does it really? Can we show the people out there that we have a priority that we share and that we are going to work collectively to achieve it?

I think that out of the legacy of one of our most regrettable circumstances — the level of poor mental health and the high rates of suicide — if we can look at one of our darkest marks and do something transformative, what a light this place could be. We will support the amendments and the motion.

Ms Bradshaw: On behalf of the Alliance Party, I support the motion and both amendments. I thank the Members for bringing these forward for discussion. It is very timely and absolutely crucial that, as we re-establish our health and social care services, time is taken to ensure that we include a firm understanding of the state of our nation's health and well-being as we emerge from the health crisis, and that we make decisions with that information going forward. To do that, we need to look at the needs of those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We should look at the hundreds of families across the country who have lost loved ones to coronavirus, and who have been plunged into immense sadness and have been curtailed in their grieving process due to the health protection regulations. We also have the many others who became infected and ended up in hospital needing urgent treatment. They faced the prospect of death and now have a long road to recovery, physically and mentally.

Our doctors, nurses and the whole health and social care family have been working at the front line and have been dealing with the most critical conditions that have been caused by this new virus, which nobody could have predicted would sweep across our society. Further, we have to recognise that many of those key workers live with underlying health conditions or in households with loved ones who do. Knowing the risk, how incredibly scary and traumatic it must have been for them to just go to work during the pandemic.

We then need to focus on those for whom lockdown has been equally traumatic. We have to recognise that the isolation from mainstream society has had a devastating impact on them. Where, in ordinary circumstances, they could manage or, at least, cope with their pre-existing mental health issues through engagement and activity, suddenly they have been trapped in their homes and their conditions have worsened. That will have been particularly prevalent in homes in which carers look after loved ones with learning or physical disabilities and whose conditions will also have worsened due to a loss of daily routine and external support.

Sadly, we saw a spike in reported cases of domestic and sexual violence during the pandemic. As the motion suggests, the community and voluntary sector had to move quickly and very innovatively to reconfigure its services to respond to that spike, and we should be grateful to it. I am thinking of bodies such as Women's Aid, the Men's Advisory Project, the NSPCC, Barnardo's, Nexus and many more. I do not know whether we will ever know nor be able to estimate the number of unreported cases and the number of men, women and children who had to suffer in silence and live with their abusers during this time and, sadly, will have to continue to do so.

We also have to recognise the other societal and economic issues that will have been exacerbated by the pandemic and that will greatly impact on the nation's well-being. Those include the loss of employment leading to increased poverty and the rise in alcohol use, drug abuse and gambling addictions, all of which will have had a detrimental impact on feelings of self-worth and shame. The motion tabled by Sinn Féin reflects the need for a dual diagnosis and, as Ms Flynn outlined, the need to not compartmentalise issues. One further point that I would make is the need for specialised psychiatric treatment for extreme gambling addictions. That is not available here and the strategy should incorporate that going forward.

It is important that the action plan from the Health Minister, via his Department, for the development of a 10-year strategy reads across all aspects of society and looks at the causes and contributors. To achieve that, the public engagement aspect of developing the plan has to be extensive and creative. We know that, for example, there are high levels of mental health difficulties among young people with learning disabilities, which, as I said, will no doubt have been made worse during the pandemic. How can we ensure that they are properly included in the process and have their voice heard? How can the principles of co-design and co-production be configured to reach the hardest-to-reach sections of our society?

I will end by referencing the amendment that has been tabled by the UUP, which recognises the need for cross-cutting efforts across Departments and all public services and to find ways of measuring through outcomes and not outputs. To seriously tackle mental health issues, we will need serious investment, and I fully support that. However, we need to ensure that the money is spent wisely and effectively. Thought will be required to put in place society-wide mechanisms to measure impact and our collective well-being.

Ms Hunter: The SDLP supports the motion and both amendments. I thank the Members who tabled the important motion and amendments. I also welcome the Minister's ongoing proven commitment to mental health.

COVID-19 has undoubtedly reshaped how we function as a society. It has shifted our coping mechanisms, our family dynamics, work practices, parenting methods and so much more. We agree fundamentally with Members that the period post-COVID-19 is a moment of opportunity to set priorities and define key action points to improve and enhance our mental health provision and address its gaps and implement improvements where necessary. New challenges require new solutions.

After talking with representatives of the voluntary sector in my constituency, I discovered that many were subject to increasing demand throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, especially groups that work with domestic violence victims. The pressures put on those services throughout the pandemic highlight and prove how crucial it is that voluntary groups and charities are well protected and funded correctly.

The conversation about addiction diagnoses and treatment is important. Recent figures announced by Addiction NI show that the number of men dying from drug-related causes has increased by 98% in the past 10 years. The emphasis in amendment No 1 further highlights how addiction and issues with alcohol dependency can be born of a lack of access to mental health support, leaving many to feel even more vulnerable.

We feel, of course, that there is also a rural dynamic to the conversation. Rural isolation causes barriers to accessing services. In Protect Life 2, the primary health and social care need of rural citizens is identified as availability and provision of timely and high-quality suicide prevention and self-harm services. Before COVID-19, many in rural areas were already experiencing mass changes, especially depopulation and migration in some areas, and such issues are having an impact with the sense of loss of community. Rural barriers to mental health support can also include more conservative approaches to help-seeking and heightened stigma around mental illness, and we must consider that, moving forward. Access and support require a collaborative and coordinated response.

Earlier this year, I wrote to the Minister of Health to ask that bereavement support services are well supported throughout and post COVID-19. Given the traumatic nature of recent deaths and the denial of regular burial ceremonies throughout the pandemic, I am deeply concerned about the mental health of those who have lost a loved one during the pandemic. The usual support of friends, family and community has been denied to those who have recently lost a family member. The past few months of restrictions have caused great distress for those who grieve. With the loss of so many lives, it is paramount that bereavement support organisations and charities across the North are well supported.

Lastly, in striving to achieve the aims of the motion and the amendments, it is imperative that collaboration continues between private and public-sector organisations, academics, professional bodies, service users and community agencies. Many of my constituents have voiced their fear of returning to normal because "normal" was not working: now is our opportunity to change that.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): There has been some discussion about the vintage class of 1998. There are very few survivors, of course, but I call the youngest of the class of 1998: the honourable Member for East Antrim, Mr Hilditch.

Mr Hilditch: Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker. I acknowledge your elevation from the Back Benches, even though it may be only temporary. Congratulations.

I support the motion and the positive merits of the amendments. The past few months have created a significant amount of fear, worry and concern among the population at large but particularly among certain groups, such as those with underlying conditions, older folk and care providers. We had already seen a significant psychological impact manifest itself in increasing levels of stress and anxiety pre-pandemic. However, after three months of lockdown, with changes to many people's usual activities, routines and livelihoods, the levels of loneliness, depression, harmful alcohol and drug use and self-harm or suicidal behaviour are also expected to rise.

The restrictions placed on personal freedoms and everyday social interaction during lockdown have had a profound effect on the emotional and psychological well-being of people in our community. We can all experience mental health problems, whatever our background or walk of life, but the risk of experiencing mental ill health is not equally distributed across society. Those who face the greatest disadvantages in life also face the greatest risk to their mental health.

A study by Ulster University and the University of Sheffield reported that those under the age of 35 living in a city, living alone or with children, with lower incomes, with health conditions and whose incomes have been hit by the pandemic have higher rates of anxiety and depression. The distribution of infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, the associated measures and the longer-term socio-economic impact are likely to replicate and deepen the financial inequalities that contribute towards the increased prevalence and unequal distribution of mental ill health. Academic research has indicated that instances of mental illness in Northern Ireland during COVID-19 have continued to reflect the 25% higher prevalence than other parts of the UK.

The mental health risk from economic hardship starts early in life. Socioeconomically disadvantaged children and adolescents are two or three times more likely to develop mental health problems. The World Health Organization has determined that material disadvantage trumps emotional and intellectual advantages; in other words, people from poorer economic circumstances are more likely to have worse mental health, even if they have been supported to develop good personal coping and intellectual skills. People with an existing psychiatric diagnosis are also at greater risk of financial inequality and are less likely to be in employment, fuelling their experience of multiple disadvantage. Furthermore, debt itself is an issue. People in debt are more likely to have a common mental health problem, and the more debt people have, the greater that likelihood is. One in four people experiencing a mental health issue face a problem with debt, and people with mental health problems are three times more likely to be in financial difficulty.

Studies have found that unemployment has a range of negative effects, including levels of poverty or a drop in standards of living for those who had a job, stresses associated with financial insecurity, the shame, sometimes, of being unemployed and in receipt of social welfare and the loss of vital social networks. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has described how loss has a traumatic and immediate negative impact on mental health and has noted that there is further damage where unemployment continues into the long term. A meta-analysis has shown that unemployment is associated with varieties of distress, including mixed symptoms of distress, depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms and drops in subjective well-being and self-esteem. The same study found that 34% of unemployed people experienced mental distress, compared with 16% of those in employment. Importantly, the analysis showed that unemployment causes that distress. Research has constantly shown that unemployment has been associated with lower well-being. Furthermore, job insecurity and restructuring have negative impacts on employee well-being.

Unless action is taken to protect the economic security of vulnerable people and support them in dealing with the resulting stress, mental health inequalities are likely to increase as the pandemic and the economic downturn proceed. Thus, it is a necessity that a collaborative, cross-cutting, cross-departmental and cross-sectoral approach is created. No Department can tackle this alone.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Can the Member bring his comments to a close, please?

Mr Hilditch: There is a need to address the social and economic factors that lead to mental illness. I support the motion, and I am happy to take on both amendments.

Mr Sheehan: Like others who have spoken, I commend the members of the community and voluntary sector who have done so much during the pandemic not just by delivering parcels and things like that but by keeping lines of communication open. One of the organisations in the constituency that I represent — Whiterock Children's Centre — deals all year round with asylum seekers, refugees, immigrants and people like that, who are vulnerable to begin with, and many other families living in dire poverty. It has continued its operation and scaled it up while the pandemic has gone on. In the Ardmonagh Family Centre, there is a project called "Good Morning, West Belfast" that long predates the pandemic, where volunteers and staff phone up elderly and vulnerable people every day, sometimes twice a day, to make sure that they are all right and that they have someone to talk to. It is not just a quick 20-second call; sometimes, it is a yarn. It is a conversation with people who have no one else to speak to. I commend those organisations.

I want to speak about health inequalities. We were all surprised when the Minister said in Committee the other week that affluent areas had been affected disproportionately by COVID-19. Now that there has been more drilling down into the data, it appears that that was not accurate. I am not surprised. Disadvantaged areas are disproportionately affected by conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and dementia, all of which have been flagged up as serious risk factors for COVID-19. Disadvantaged areas also suffer disproportionately from mental ill health, suicide and addiction. There was a serious mental health crisis before the pandemic arrived. I do not think that anyone here would disagree that the mental health crisis will be immeasurably worse as we move through the pandemic and come out the other side.

Whiterock is a ward in the West Belfast constituency. In previous years, it has been at the bottom of all the socio-economic indices. In the past couple of years, it has moved up the table a bit. It has improved, or maybe other wards have "disimproved" — I am not sure how it works. In any event, Whiterock has always remained rooted at the very bottom of the health domain. Mental ill health is a big, big issue, as are suicide and addiction. Often, as Órlaithí Flynn mentioned, the three are interlinked.

I ask every Member who is in the House today to imagine themselves living in grinding poverty. Maybe you are a single parent living in poor housing that is damp and cold. Your kids are getting ill because of the poor conditions in the house. They are missing school frequently and falling behind and will leave school without qualifications. As we know, kids who leave school without qualifications frequently end up in the criminal justice system. Children are taking their own lives. Parents are taking their own lives and leaving their children behind as orphans. That is the grim reality of life for some of our citizens today. That may be the extreme end of it, but that is what happens day and daily in disadvantaged areas.

Members have mentioned the need for a cross-departmental approach to these issues: I accept that. The Health Minister cannot solve the problems on his own. However, he has a responsibility to do his share of the heavy lifting. We need parity of funding between physical and mental health, and the urgency that has been employed in the fight against coronavirus should be employed in tackling the scourge of mental ill health. When Michelle O'Neill was Health Minister, I constantly said that we should work collaboratively on health, because health —.

Mr Swann: Will the Member give way?

Mr Sheehan: Certainly, yes.

Mr Swann (The Minister of Health): Does the Member accept that the spirit of cross-Executive working is still in place between the former Health Minister and me? That will give him an extra minute to finish the point that he was making.

Mr Sheehan: I absolutely agree with that. The point that I was going to finish on was this: irrespective of who is Health Minister or which party they are from, all parties should work collaboratively to ensure that the well-being and health of our society improves.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Thank you, Mr Sheehan. I just want to bring Members up to date. Five Members are left to speak. I think that, if everyone sticks to their time, we can get everybody in. I am conscious that Mr Carroll from People before Profit is a member of the Health Committee, so I will give him priority now. Then, I will call Mr Middleton, Mr McGuigan, Mr Lyttle and, hopefully, the honourable Member for North Down, Miss Woods.

Mr Carroll: Thank you for calling me early. Sometimes, Members from smaller parties are not called to speak in debates, so I am glad that you did that. I thank the Members who tabled the motion and the amendments.

During a debate a few weeks ago, the Health Minister made the point that Stormont had failed to support the NHS properly for years. It is the view of many, including me, that Stormont has failed to properly invest in and support people with mental health issues. Over many years, it has failed to invest adequately in mental health services.

As has been mentioned already, people in the North suffer from higher levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD compared with people in the South or in Britain. Mental health problems are 25% higher here compared directly with England, but we spend less per head on mental health services than those places. As Action Mental Health stated, there is an actual 26% underspend overall in mental health services generally. So, we had a massive underspend in mental health services before the coronavirus crisis.

The Department's own language is that the mental health impact is likely to be severe, and GPs have warned of a tsunami of mental health illness after coronavirus. Unfortunately, I do not see wide-ranging or enough actions from the Department or the Minister to reflect that severity or the reality of that increase that people will face after lockdown ends. If we are to really support people with mental health problems with more than just nice, well-meaning words, we need serious increased investment in those services.

Mr Butler: I thank the Member for giving way. He does not often get a chance to speak, so this will get him an extra minute. Will the Member agree with me that the Minister has, in the very short period that he has been in place, taken exceptional steps to meet the epidemic of mental ill health and suicide, given that we had a three-year hiatus in this place when mental health was not the priority?

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): The Member has an extra minute.

Mr Carroll: Thank you. I thank the Member for his question. I agree that the Minister has taken measures, but I do not think that they are wide-ranging enough, to be frank, and it is not just him; it is previous Ministers and the Executive as a whole. We have to be honest about that.

In our budget briefing in the Health Committee, we were told that there will be £72 million savings across the health service, or cuts as they are most commonly known, despite being told that we must learn the mantra of COVID-19 or learn the lessons from it. I do not believe that that lesson has been learned in terms of protecting public services.

On top of that, we have seen a 50% increase in significant stress for those people working with people who have had COVID-19. The people front and centre of supporting people with COVID-19 have seen an increase in their stress levels as a result of the work that they are doing.

It is important to recognise that the community came out and clapped for our NHS workers and thanked them for the crucial role that they played throughout the crisis. I am sure that most people here did that as well. It is still a disgrace that those workers have not been paid their strike pay — money that they lost out on because they had to go on strike because their work was not appreciated year after year by this House and Westminster. It is urgent that we press the Executive to cough up and pay those workers what they are owed. For my part, you cannot give vague messages of support to healthcare workers whilst not supporting them when push comes to shove.

Last week, the Health Committee heard from the RCN about the fact that we have at least 2,000 nursing vacancies across our health service. Not only does that create extra pressure and potentially exacerbate mental health problems for those nurses who are working harder than ever, but it does not address the fact that we need to increase our support and investment in the health service generally if we are going to seriously tackle the mental health problems in our community. We urgently need to see an increase in counsellors, psychiatric nurses, those working in addiction services and many more workers if we are to support people in need and the increased demand that we are likely to see at the end of this crisis.

Too often, when we talk about mental health, we talk about it in isolated terms and with very little reference to the environment that people live in, which hugely shapes their mental health. All predictions are that, if we continue along the usual economic path, we will be staring into an economic abyss with the worst recession in 300 years.

Historically, we know that suicide rates skyrocket in times of economic instability. In the 1929 stock market crash, suicide rates increased 50% in a year. There is a direct correlation between unemployment, deprivation, recession and, unfortunately, suicide. We want to see mental health not just as an isolated issue, as Members have said, but as something that is multifaceted and, ultimately, connected to economics and politics. How the Executive approach any new economic strategy needs to change rapidly, not only if we want to protect people's jobs, but to protect their mental health. Stormont needs to embark on an emergency jobs protection and creation programme that intervenes in the economy to —.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Will the Member bring his remarks to a close, please?

Mr Carroll: I will bring my remarks to a close and I want to pay tribute to all those people in my constituency and across the North who have worked very hard to highlight mental health concerns and to help people throughout this period.

Mr Middleton: I thank my colleagues for tabling this very important motion and to those who brought amendments, because they add to the motion and put a greater emphasis on it as well.

I also thank the Minister for his attendance. In his short time in office he has already shown a genuine commitment to addressing mental health challenges and has committed to doing his share, as others have put it. It is important that all Ministers take their responsibilities for mental health seriously, along with us as MLAs because, as Mr Butler said, we can show real leadership through our actions in this Chamber by making mental health very much a priority.

COVID-19 has brought many challenges that impact on mental health, such as illness, the loss of life and bereaved families unable to attend funerals and be with their loved ones. Many of us took for granted being able to visit our families, our grandparents and our parents or to attend life-changing moments such as being able to be with our loved ones at baby scans, or visiting loved ones in hospitals and care homes. Those all impact on mental health.

The economic impacts, the job losses, the income reductions and the uncertainty will all go on long beyond the COVID-19 restrictions as and when they are lifted. The health impacts will also go beyond coronavirus itself and its physical health implications.

The mental ill health situation in Northern Ireland prior to the pandemic was already at a higher level than in other parts of the UK, with one in five adults here having a mental health problem at any one time. That is approximately 185,000 people. That is very worrying and something that we should all take very seriously.

Mental health issues can affect any one of us, irrespective of our backgrounds, our age, our religion our race or sexuality None of those things make us immune from poor mental health, however there is a need for a cross-cutting approach to mental well-being, given the health inequalities and the longer-term changes to how society operates.

In terms of coronavirus, health inequalities research by the Department of Health has indicated strong links between deprivation, age and gender on infection and admission rates. Similar correlations between the virus and higher risks of anxiety and depression have been found amongst those aged under 35, living in the city, living alone or with children, health conditions, and those whose incomes have been hit.

The motion highlights that this issue is not only relevant to the public health response and health and social care, but is something that has to be tied to and targeted toward the social and economic factors that lead to mental illness. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot be effective. A cross-cutting departmental and cross-sectoral approach is very much required.

I recently met the chief executive and senior management of the Western Trust in my constituency regarding the trust's reset plan as we come out of COVID-19. The plan is about getting our services working again and allowing people to get back into our hospitals for all routine procedures. It is, however, deeply concerning that they have seen a 52% reduction in mental health referrals. That should absolutely concern us, given the evidence that has been produced that suggests that COVID-19 has had a severe impact on people's mental health.

The restrictions placed on personal freedoms and everyday social interaction during lockdown have had a profound impact on the emotional and psychological well-being of people living in our community. Some of the figures in the Queen's University study that Members have already touched on showed that a third of people have met the clinical criteria for depression. That is a very stark statistic. One in five meet the criteria for COVID-19-related PTSD due to the pandemic. The research also indicated that incidences of mental ill health in Northern Ireland during COVID-19 have continued to reflect the 25% higher prevalence than in other parts of the UK. My colleague Pam Cameron highlighted the conclusion of that report and stated that funding should be provided to ensure that support is available.

Finally, I will mention the crisis intervention service in my constituency. It is a service for which we need to ensure funding is available.

All of these plans are welcome. I appreciate that the onus does not fall on just the Health Minister. I urge all Ministers to come together and, once and for all, to tackle the issue of mental health in such a way that we can try to get a resolution to it.

Mr McGuigan: There is no doubt that the measures that were put in place by the Executive during the pandemic would be considered intolerable by everyone in normal circumstances. That those measures had to be put in place to save lives, stop the spread of coronavirus and protect our health service is also not in doubt and, to that end, they have been successful.

One of the positive aspects of the recent period is that communities have rallied round and people have tried their best to support their friends, families and neighbours. However, the reality is that some have struggled during lockdown, some more than others. Nowhere is that more evident than in the cases of people who suffer from poor mental health. Lockdown measures have placed additional challenges on people who were struggling already, so I welcome today's motion and thank those who tabled it and those who tabled the amendment. It gives us an opportunity to talk about those with poor mental health and about how we can improve their situation as we move out of lockdown.

Mental health covers a wide range of issues. Members have dealt with many aspects of mental health issues and solutions, eloquently and with great knowledge and empathy. I agree with their contributions.

I support fully the call for a detailed plan, including on how to rebuild and provide enhanced mental health and addiction services. It is on the subject of addiction and its services, or, unfortunately, lack of services in some cases, that I want to talk. I will always congratulate the Minister, and my constituency colleague, on his good work, when needs be, but I have to say that I am disappointed to see little or no mention of addiction in his strategic framework for rebuilding services in his mental health action plan or in his post-COVID plans.

Lockdown has had a detrimental impact on the mental health well-being of many individuals who are recovering from addiction. I know that because I have spoken to them. There have, obviously, been difficulties in some sectors engaging with service users, due to restrictions. For many, access to support groups formed a key part of their coping strategy and, for some, it was the ability to see friends regularly or to receive routine encouragement and support from family. Others saw their structured groups and services having to close, or experienced staff being redeployed to COVID-19 duties. What concerns me most about the legacy of lockdown is the fact that it is a lot easier to close a service than it is to reopen it.

Having to stay in the house, boredom, and the added stress or worry, perhaps, in situations where more disposable income is available, or in cases where less disposable income is available, have all contributed to the daily struggles of those who suffer from addiction, particularly those in early recovery. For the same reasons, lockdown will have exacerbated the problems for others who are not in recovery — practising alcoholics, prescription or illegal drug users, compulsive gamblers — and brought more despair to them and their families.

Addiction is an illness. It is, unfortunately, an illness that I have some expertise in, as a recovering alcoholic and compulsive gambler, but I am far from unique — far from it. Few families on this island are untouched by the illness of addiction. Statistics suggest that one in 10 people are dealing with alcoholism. Alcohol has become the third most common reason for why people are admitted to psychiatric wards. It is estimated that, every seven hours, somebody in Ireland — on this island — dies because of alcohol abuse. The statistics for illegal and prescription drug use are no better. It is similar for problem gambling, but problem gambling is not even recognised as a public health issue. That needs to be addressed urgently. Most health trusts do not keep records of those presenting with that illness. Despite that, we know that a problem gambler is 15 times more likely to take his or her own life as a result of their illness. We do not have any dedicated Health Department treatment centres here in the North to help problem gamblers. Some will have to pay for treatment in the South. That is not good enough.

Addiction not only ruins lives but costs lives by overuse or suicide.

The outworkings of addiction on society costs our health service vast sums. It costs the police, judicial and prison services vast sums, never mind the societal damage. We are engaged in a false economy. If we are talking about doing things better, why not try better to treat the illness and not the symptoms? Why not treat the illness in the way that we treat any other illness in the health service, with proper funds and resources?

Most people, thankfully, can take a drink, bet in the bookies or online, take prescription drugs or even illegal drugs without fear or hinder. Good luck to them, but for those who cannot —

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Would the Member bring his remarks to a close, please?

Mr McGuigan: — let us start to recognise addiction as an illness, start helping to treat sufferers and resource the services needed to do so.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): I will now call Chris Lyttle. If he is succinct, we may be able to get Miss Woods in for a brief period.

Mr Lyttle: I will be extremely brief.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the need for the Northern Ireland Executive to prioritise and deliver improved mental health and well-being provision. I will speak briefly on the statutory duty on the Minister of Health to cooperate with Executive colleagues to deliver a joined-up, cross-departmental approach to improved mental health and well-being. I ask the Minister of Health to address the apparent failure to reference the Department of Education and Public Health Agency emotional health and well-being framework for children and young people in the Department of Health mental health action plan and to work closely with the Minister of Education to ensure that the framework is adequately resourced.

I also ask the Health Minister to meet the Northern Ireland Youth Forum and other young people involved in the "Elephant in the Room" campaign and to allocate officials and resources at his disposal to support the delivery of the substantive proposals made by that youth-led campaign. They include the creation of a youth mental health and well-being website to serve as a safe online space that would host relevant signposting information and provide an online support platform that would allow young people to ask questions and receive real-time support to meet their need at an early stage of intervention. "Elephant in the Room" proposals include the explicit inclusion of mental health in addition to physical health in the curriculum. I propose, therefore, that the Minister allocates a Department of Health official and coordinates the allocation of an appropriate official from all other relevant Departments to support the implementation of the youth-led "Elephant in the Room" proposals.

I hope that the Health Minister will take those proposals seriously and act on them. It is vital — indeed, it is a legal duty — that Ministers cooperate to improve mental health and well-being in our community. They will have the support of the Alliance Party to achieve that.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Miss Rachel Woods, you have three minutes.

Miss Woods: Thank you. I was almost saying I was glad to see you up there giving us a wee bit more say, but not.

Despite the need, we do not talk about mental health enough, so I welcome the opportunity to do so in the context of the COVID pandemic, but a word of warning: we must not just talk about this; we need to deliver something.

There is strong evidence that Northern Ireland has very high levels of mental illness, and suicide rates are the highest in the UK, regardless of COVID. Despite that, Northern Ireland is the only region that does not have an overarching mental health strategy, and the delivery of mental health treatments and care is fragmented and not properly resourced. That must change.

There is not one of us in the Chamber who has not been directly affected or impacted by mental health issues personally or through family, friends or constituents during and before COVID. Many aspects of mental health can be discussed. Some have been, and there were issues before 2 March on what we need to do about perinatal mental health, tackling suicide, addiction, the absolute need for harm reduction, gambling, domestic abuse, living conditions, workplace stress, those feeling lonely and anxious, not to mention the fear that is very real at the moment because of the potential mass redundancies being talked about in certain sectors. The COVID crisis will have psychosocial impacts on people for years to come. As we emerge from lockdown, the changes will pose more difficulties for mental health. That is as true for everyone here as it is for children and young people. Like my colleague Mr Lyttle, I wish to use my brief time to focus on them and how they are still waiting.

According to the 'Elephant in the Room' report:

At a follow-up event in October 2016, over 100 young people expressed their frustrations at the lack of mental health education and support services available here and called for the UN's recommendation to be fully implemented. I reiterate that call in the Chamber today.

A number of months ago, some Members took part in a political panel organised by the Northern Ireland Youth Forum to try to answer young people's questions and concerns about COVID. It covered issues such as the economic impact, homelessness, housing, exams and schoolwork. Continually raised in the young people's survey and in the discussion was mental health and well-being, how young people are coping with COVID and what will happen after. Sixty-two per cent of respondents to the COVID survey said that mental health was the main issue that they faced as a young person right now. Some 332 responses said that it was loneliness and isolation, and 361 said fear and uncertainty, all of which we know have impacts on mental health.

This not the first time that we, as Youth Champions, have engaged on young people's mental health. In January, we attended a meeting at its head office on the crisis that was being felt among young people. We heard horror stories about what people were going through and how important support was for them. We heard loud and clear that youth mental health services were unable to meet the demand. The Children's Commissioner has also been clear about the need for a children's rights-compliant mental health system that is responsive to children and young people as their needs arise.

The challenges of the aftermath of COVID-19 are very real in all aspects of our lives, but our health and well-being should be at the forefront of any recovery. As the Minister has said, we have a massive task in front of us. There are competing demands for additional spending across many key areas. The Government need to live up to the commitments that they made, but the Executive need to deliver and refocus the goals to where they need to be and properly resource services for people who need them.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Will the lady bring her remarks to a close?

Miss Woods: I will.

There must be no more cuts to the very organisations that exist to help others and support must be available for people of all ages, especially children and young people. We must not continue to prioritise gross value added (GVA) or GDP as the marker of societal progress but see health and well-being as key to the just and green recovery for our generation and the generations to come.

Mr Wells: Thank you to Miss Woods and everyone who has kept to time. We are extremely grateful that the Minister, in a very busy schedule, has been able to sit through all of the debate. Mr Swann, you have 15 minutes.

Mr Swann: Thank you very much, Mr Temporary Speaker — or should I give you your proper title of "Father of the House"?

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Thank you. Make that 20 minutes [Laughter.]

Mr Swann: I was hoping that you were going to cut me to 10, to be honest. I congratulate you on the way that you have handled the debate. I thank the Members who tabled the motion and the amendments and all the contributors. It shows the commitment of all in the House, no matter where we sit, in what party or at what level, should it be the Executive, the Committee Chair, the Health Committee or non-Executive party representatives. The conversation in the House this evening reflects a dedication and commitment to truly tackle mental health issues in a way that the Executive and Assembly never have before. I thank the Members for tabling the motion and the amendments, which have provided us with the opportunity to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our population's mental health and emotional well-being and to discuss the need to prioritise mental health as a key element of our society's wider recovery.

Since taking up post as Minister of Health, I have been clear that mental health is a priority for me. I am thankful that that has been reciprocated by all my Executive colleagues, as demonstrated by the establishment of the subcommittee on mental health, well-being and suicide prevention. Mr Lyttle asked if I could assign a departmental official to work with other departmental officials to take forward recommendations from "Elephant in the Room". I will go a step further. I will bring "Elephant in the Room" and its recommendations to the attention of the subcommittee the next time that it meets and make sure that that is on the agenda. There are pressures on our young people as we come out of COVID lockdown but also given the changes in society. The mental health pressures and stresses today are something that we never experienced when we were that age. I give you a commitment that we will take that forward at that point. For far too long, people have struggled to access appropriate mental health services when they need them. For far too long, suicide has cast a shadow over our communities and robbed us of too many young lives.

Ms Flynn, I think, made a comment about the legal barriers to dual diagnosis and quoted a response to a written question that she asked me. There are no legal barriers to dual diagnosis services. However, it is accepted that people with dual diagnosis sometimes experience difficulties accessing services. Work has commenced to plan service recovery for addiction services across Northern Ireland as part of the recovery planning process. Mr McGuigan referred to that. HSC trusts will now look at how they can improve the care offered to patients with ongoing and co-occurring mental health and alcohol and drug issues across the full range of existing treatment settings, and the issue of dual diagnosis will be considered in the development of a new substance misuse strategy and in the new mental health strategy. I want to make it clear to the Members who raised that issue today that we are aware of that and are working on it.

I note that Mrs Cameron's contribution at the start of the debate contained an acknowledgement of the officials who, throughout COVID and our responses to it, kept working on mental health and kept working on the action plan and the strategy. They kept it live and kept it in the central place in my Department, and I thank them for the support that they have given me in doing that.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into stark reality how much we value our relationships, our freedom and our health. The pandemic has changed lives around the globe to an extent that we could never have imagined. In Northern Ireland, the situation is no different. It has had a profound effect on our lives, and, for many people, the knock-on effects will be felt for many months, if not years, to come.

The starkest difficulty, as I said at the beginning — other Members referred to it — is for those who have lost loved ones due to the virus or during the pandemic. It changed how we looked at death and how we were able to respect death and support those who needed help at the most trying times. That challenge has affected many families across Northern Ireland. It will take a long time to recover, and they will have to catch up on that grieving process. People have missed wakes and missed visiting somebody's house. Those are big things that we do across these islands, especially on this island, in how we respect families who are mourning and the people who have been lost.

In particular, the impact of the pandemic on our emotional well-being and mental health has the potential to be significant. I know that many of my Assembly colleagues are hugely concerned about that, and I and my Executive colleagues share that concern. I reassure you that I and my Department have already taken steps to mitigate and address the impact on mental health and well-being. This issue will remain high on my agenda, going forward.

Members will be aware that, on 19 May 2020, I published my Department's mental health action plan, which included a dedicated COVID-19 mental health response plan. The response plan provides immediate actions across seven themes to support mental health and emotional well-being in the face of the pandemic. There is the formation of a mental health and resilience working group that is to coordinate the response to the mental health and resilience strategic working group that was established to drive this work at Department level. To support that work, a cell was established by the Health and Social Care Board to join partners across sectors, including the voluntary and community organisations, to take the work forward on the ground. I thank the Members who took the time to mention so many community and voluntary organisations in their communities and in their constituencies. There are so many more that were not mentioned tonight, and they are worth thanking as well.

In regard to the immediate COVID mental health response, much work has been taken forward already and is having a significant impact. I have published a workforce well-being framework that recognises the huge contribution that the Health and Social Care workforce, across sectors, has made to the pandemic response, often at the expense of their own emotional well-being. Ms Bradshaw, I think, referenced the strain and stress on our health workers going to work every day.

What is also apparent, and we must also be cognisant of, is the stress and strains on those who were left in the house when they went out to work. That fear and trepidation about what or who might come home was always in their minds. It is about looking at the entire health family.

The framework that we have produced includes a range of measures to enhance the psychological well-being of staff. Those include access to psychological support helplines that are manned by psychologists. That is also accessible to care home and GP staff. It also includes a broad range of online resources and drop-in services in critical facilities. A staff well-being working group has been established to oversee service delivery and review implementation of the framework. My officials receive regular reports from the group.

We have also provided material to support students who have joined the workforce early in order to ensure consistent public health messaging on mental health. The Public Health Agency continues to provide the 'Take 5' messaging to help people to stay emotionally well during this time of social distancing.

The Minding Your Head website has been revamped to provide a wealth of information, support and advice to the public at this time, all centralised in one simple-to-access website. A range of online and printed resources have also been developed to support children and young people at this immensely difficult time. Psychological first-aid training has been approved and rolled out across Northern Ireland to ensure that help and support can be provided early. Stress Control classes have been provided free of charge online. The six sessions are delivered across three weeks on YouTube. The classes have proven to be very popular, with the uptake for the second class between 6,000 and 8,000 people across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. That is considered to be a very good uptake. Initial indications of outcomes indicate an improvement in the stress resilience of those who attend. The third iteration of Stress Control started on 8 June. Further classes will be available for the whole population across Northern Ireland, and will start every month from July through to December.

As I said earlier, it is recognised that a large number of people have suffered from bereavement during the pandemic. To support those who have lost a loved one and those who provide help and care to the bereaved, we have published new support material and are developing a bereavement care pathway.

Recently, the Department of Health and the Department for Communities jointly launched a well-being hub, developed by Inspire in collaboration with the Public Health Agency and a consortium of community organisations. That will ensure the consistency of messaging and support across sectors and will help to ensure the right information and advice is received by those who need it, especially those hard-to-reach individuals. Again, I commend those who work in the voluntary and community sector for the huge efforts that they have made and continue to make to support their clients and wider society.

I hope that that reassures Members that much help and support has been provided for mental health and emotional well-being during the pandemic. Mental health services during COVID-19 and service recovery have been mentioned. Mental health services have largely continued throughout the pandemic. GPs have continued to see mental health patients. Referrals to special mental health services have continued. There have, however, been changes in how services are delivered. Many face-to-face meetings have been changed in order to accommodate remote working, including phone calls and video communication for those with the most severe mental illness. Mental health inpatient services have continued. All trusts have put in place stringent plans to ensure that patients and staff are safe. That includes monitoring of service usage at local levels.

The health and social care trusts' mental health services — as, I think, Mr Middleton mentioned — are reporting a reduction in mental health referrals, with one trust reporting a drop of over 60% in referrals to mental health services from GPs between the beginning and middle of March. However, since then, the same trust has seen a steady increase in referrals, with levels, now, higher than before COVID-19. Community mental health services have seen a change in usage. Services have been continued where it has been determined clinically suitable. At no point has there been a blanket stopping of mental health community services.

As we move towards the reset and recovery phase, all trusts have developed recovery plans to bring services back to normal. In doing so, they are incorporating the learning from the pandemic to make the services better as we go forward. I am only too aware that we are at the stage of a surge in mental health needs. Early intervention evidence indicates an increase in need, especially for low-level depression and anxiety. Our health and social care trusts are reporting increases in referrals, heightened acuity of patients and, in general, trends towards new and increased pressures across the secondary mental health services. Much is required to ensure that the mental health response to COVID-19 can meet and adapt to the new challenges and to ensure that all who need mental health care will receive it.

I recently announced the creation of a mental health champion who will support and inform our work on the mental health recovery from COVID-19. The champion will be a public advocate for mental health, communicating the collective voices of people with lived experience, their families and carers, and communities impacted by mental health inequalities. My expectation for the mental health champion is that they will work across public, voluntary and independent sectors and wider society to help better integrate mental health into policies and to provide advice to the stakeholders. To ensure that a champion is in post to help with the post COVID-19 mental health response, I hope to be in a position to announce an interim appointment within a matter of days.

As I have said many times, mental health is one of my top priorities. I am honoured and privileged to be in a position where I can drive strategic change and improvement to mental health services and to improve the psychological well-being and mental resilience of the population. I fully recognise the importance of a mental health response, and it is important that it is not forgotten in our recovery planning. The creation of a mental health champion, the implementation of the action plan and Protect Life 2, and the creation of a new mental health strategy will ensure that we have better services for the future.

When we do this, it is impossible not to recognise the immense work done by our dedicated mental health workers, in the health and social care system and in the community and voluntary sector. Without their dedication, we would be in a much worse place.

In the ongoing transformation of our mental health services, I am fully committed to co-production and recognise the importance of listening and including all who can help in transforming our services. That includes people with lived experience who know what works for them and have valuable lessons that we can learn from and the community and voluntary sector that can truly help us to transform services.

I am, therefore, happy to support the motion and the amendments, and I am thankful to the Members who brought them to the House and to all the Members who contributed.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): Thank you, Minister, and thank you for your acknowledgement that I am, indeed, the Father of the House, as the longest server not the oldest Member of the Assembly. There are people in the Chamber who are older than I am. Thank you very much for that acknowledgement. I will identify them later.

I call Mr Mike Nesbitt to sum up on amendment No 2. Mr Nesbitt, you have five minutes.

Mr Nesbitt: Mr Temporary Speaker, at the risk of sounding patronising, may I start by commending you on such a polished performance in the Chair? It makes me wonder whether you have ever considered a career in politics. [Laughter.]

As ever, I look forward to the day when we debate and sign off the Programme for Government, which is still in draft form. I remind colleagues that the purpose is to improve the well-being of all by tackling disadvantage and driving economic growth. I can think of nothing more disadvantageous than poor mental health and well-being. In driving economic growth, what better could we do than to ensure that the tens of thousands who are economically inactive, not because they want to be but because they do not have the capacity to be otherwise, become active? If we could fix that, what a magnificent achievement that would be.

I thank Pam Cameron for bringing the motion because it is absolutely on message. As she made clear, one in five of us, at some time in our life, can expect to have a mental health issue. She gave us some shocking statistics to back that and made it clear that that is the current situation, before we get through this public health crisis. The impact of COVID-19 is certain to get worse when we exit furlough and enter what could be a recession or even a depression. I also thank Pam for making it clear, from the get-go, that she supports both amendments. It is hateful when the House divides on an issue of mental health, particularly when it is a non-binding motion, as this one is.
I thank Órlaithí Flynn for bringing her amendment and for making clear, as many Members have, that this is not just the responsibility of the Minister of Health. This is a cross-cutting issue. In the same way as the Minister of Education is not solely responsible for educational underachievement, healthier children do better in school, well-fed children do better, children in good housing do better. As Mr Carroll said: environment is an important factor in influencing poor mental health and well-being.

We need to look at this not just as a medicalised model. It is not all about pills and tablets. As Mr Butler said when moving the second amendment:

This is the same Mr Butler who said he would not speak for long as Pam Cameron and Órlaithí Flynn had covered it all, and then he spoke for 9 minutes and 41 seconds. However, it was good stuff.

It is not all about pills and tablets; it is about being sociable. These days, we are becoming used to social prescribing. What about the carers? Mrs Bradshaw mentioned the carers. There is a shocking number of young carers and, perhaps, because they are caring and missing out on a normal childhood, the development of mental issues is a slow burn. Cara Hunter mentioned the need for coordination, and we all agree with that. I thank her for, this time, not mentioning her age at the time of the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998.

Talking of contributions from youthful Members: Mr Hilditch — the youngest member of the class of 1998 — talked about debt. Debt is not tackled with a pill or a tablet. Often the best people to tackle that sort of thing are members of the community and voluntary sector. We need to look at them. As Ms Flynn will know from chairing the all-party group on suicide prevention, Protect Life 2 is the new strategy on suicide prevention. However, the big concern in the community is that small voluntary and community sector groups that have been dealing with mental health in the community, not for years but for decades, are fearful that the tendering process will knock them out, with big organisations, possibly from across the water, coming in because they are good at tendering but not necessarily so good at delivering the services.

Mr Sheehan talked about the Whiterock Children's Centre and Good Morning West Belfast. As a victims' commissioner, I discovered befriending is a simple and cost-effective way of engaging with people and making sure that they feel loved and are not alone. These things are important for their mental health and well-being.

Finally, I have known Robin Swann since we were both elected in 2011. We have a Minister who is serious and deeply committed to tackling mental health. I thank him for that and for being here this evening.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): I now call Colm Gildernew to make a winding-up speech on amendment No 1. Mr Gildernew, you have five minutes.

Mr Gildernew: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach, agus comhghairdeas leat. Congratulations on your promotion to Temporary Speaker. I also welcome the motion today. It is a fantastic motion. I acknowledge the work of the proposer and the Members who put down amendments, and their work, individually and together, to bring the motion to the House.

A lot of ground has been covered, and I do not propose to go over it again at this time of the evening. There are a couple of issues that I will pick up on. First, the issue of carers and the additional burden that they have had placed on them throughout this very difficult time. It is an area that is often considered last, and support for that hard-pressed group is often not mobilised quickly enough, which can have a huge impact on their mental health. We should give carers some consideration in the time ahead.

I also acknowledge the Minister's commitment to mental health in his statements and actions to date. He is committed to working with everyone. I acknowledge the importance given by the House to making mental health a cross-cutting measure and something that we need to get right if we want to improve our poor mental health statistics. As has been mentioned, our well-being, prosperity and economic growth all depend on us getting this part of the equation right. It is good that we have a collective will on mental health issues.

One of the issues for one of the all-party groups that I attend is loneliness. It was touched on today, and it is appropriate that it was. Loneliness is recognised more and more as potentially being as damaging for physical health as it is for mental health, and it therefore ends up putting a strain on not only mental health services but physical health services. It is important that we start to look at strategies across a range of sectors for dealing with loneliness in not only older people but younger people, who we have significant concerns about in regard to mental health and loneliness. We also need to look at how we can reach into rural communities to provide ways to support them on an ongoing basis.

I welcome the Minister's mention of early intervention. From my experience of working as a social worker on a crisis response team, I can confirm that early intervention is just as important for mental health as it is for physical health. That is the case not only for the outcomes for the individual concerned but for the complexity of treatment that is required and in how chronic the condition can be. If we could start to move resources into earlier intervention, we will, over a period of time, see significant improvements.

There has, rightly, been a huge acknowledgement in the Chamber for the community groups that have helped in this emergency crisis and that have stepped up and filled some of the statutory service roles or roles that, in the new reality that we face, were absent for a period of time. In my area, the Niamh Louise Foundation and a lot of the GAA and other sporting bodies formed pop-up COVID groups overnight and provided food and support to their local area. That was all very welcome.

I welcome the contribution on the community and voluntary sector, but I must say that I am slightly disappointed that we do not see more of those community and voluntary voices on the management board. I am hopeful that a way will be found to include a wider range of voices in that conversation. In rebuilding or, indeed, building new services, it is vital that we get as broad a range of perspectives as possible.

The other matter that I think we heard about — this is a theme that we have dealt with on the Health Committee — was addictions. I acknowledge the very personal experiences of addiction that were shared in the House today. Dual addictions and dual diagnoses are well recognised as some of the most difficult areas to get help and support into, and, again, that is where we need to put our resources.

I commend the motion and the amendments, and I once again thank everyone for tabling them today.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): I thank Mr Nesbitt and Mr Gildernew, who did, indeed, wind on and summarise what was said. Finally, I call Mr Alex Easton to conclude and wind-up the debate. You have 10 minutes.

Mr Easton: I just want to say a few words before I get onto Members' comments. I thank all the Members who are in the Chamber this evening for supporting the motion and the amendments. That means an awful lot to me, as you will maybe see we as go on. I think that the people of Northern Ireland will be delighted to see that we can all actually agree on a motion. That is the way to go, and I hope that it is something that we all remember.

How many times has the Assembly had debates on mental health over the years? Probably dozens, yet, despite all the debates and all the initiatives by successive Ministers, we never seem to be able to really get to where we want to and to get on top of mental health, but it is such a huge issue. That is why I am so pleased at the response from Members this evening.

This is not an easy thing for me to say, but I suffer from anxiety and depression, and at times it is difficult. At times every day, it can be a battle for me. Some will think that it is a weakness on my part to admit that. You can be the loneliest person in the world yet be the busiest, especially me, being a politician, yet you live your life helping others but are scared to admit your own vulnerabilities because of what others may think.

As we start to come out of lockdown and the world around us starts to crank up, the impact that COVID-19 will have on our mental health and well-being will be staggering. We in the Assembly must all come together to tackle what will be a huge task before us. The impact of COVID-19 on mental health is expected to be severe. International evidence indicates short- and long-term direct effects on mental health and psychological well-being and, in some cases, increased risk of suicide and post-traumatic stress. The causes that have had a direct effect on psychological well-being are clearly identified. These are social distancing, isolation, bereavement, unemployment, financial hardship, the inability to access health and social care services and increased work pressures. People who have had to shield for months may feel anxious and unsure about going outdoors. We need to help them.

Early indications in Northern Ireland showed that, for those with the most severe mental health, there was a drop in demand between February and March. However, since then, demand has increased significantly and the daily bed-occupancy level is around 95%, which is quite staggering. There is also an increase in new presentations of those seeking mental health services.

These are the problems we are experiencing because of COVID-19, but in Northern Ireland before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental illness was the largest cause of ill health and disability in Northern Ireland. Prior to the pandemic, Northern Ireland is estimated to have had higher levels of mental illness than other regions in the UK, with one in five adults affected, or 185,000 people — that is an absolutely immense number — having a mental health problem, all at the same time. Some 21% of women and 16% of men had mental health issues, and across Northern Ireland, 45,000 children had mental health issues and problems. In 2015, there were 318 suicides. Despite the Northern Ireland Suicide Prevention and Protect Life strategies, we continued to have a huge issue.

There are so many processes and initiatives out there that are good and positive, but at times it may be simplicity that will best help our mental health and well-being. In the Assembly, we must support the Health Minister on this issue to do all he can to help our population. Minister, you have my support.

Challenges of how we work, are able to interact and even visit our loved ones, will all change, and have changed due to COVID-19. That is why the Minister's launch of the strategic framework for rebuilding services will be so important. It is vital that mental health and well-being are at the centre of it.

The Minister for Health has announced some good things and good strategies, such as the process for a mental health champion. That role will be vital over this period, and will be needed to support the community and staff in the health and social care sector, who must not be forgotten.

The new Executive working group on mental health and well-being has been established. It is going to be vital, also, and it must prioritise mental health as we work through the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. I warn people that the COVID-19 virus is far from over. We have a long way to go and we cannot forget that.

It is vital that we provide advice through the mental health response plan. Support is important, such as online classes for stress control, apps to access libraries for reading, support for health staff, especially nurses and social care workers, and dealing with our past, which we, as an Assembly, have failed to do.

We must remember the independent sector, and those offering counselling services, to help us address mental health waiting lists. Their input and help is going to be crucial. Funding must be made a priority for them. We need them to be able to open, as a matter of urgency.

We do not have a happy population, and we have to ask ourselves why that is. Have we been part of the reason? What are we going to do to address it? Hopefully, this motion will go a long way to help. That is why I am delighted at the response of Members.

I will now address some of the Members' comments. I hope that I keep to time, as I work my way through them. I thank Pam Cameron for tabling the motion. She mentioned that mental health needs to be at the forefront of health, wanted to work with the Minister, and praised front-line health staff.

Gerry Carroll said that Stormont had failed to protect people's mental health and that there was a 26% underspend in mental health spending. That needs to be addressed.

Paula Bradshaw said that we should focus on those in lockdown and what they had been through. She mentioned the spike in sexual offences and praised the many organisations which had helped deal with it. She mentioned the mental health action plan and said that there needs to be serious investment. I hope that is accurate.

I will deal with the contribution by Colm Gildernew, the Chair of the Health Committee, last. Sorry.

Órlaithí Flynn said that there was a challenge to improve mental health and well-being. She mentioned the substance abuse strategy, and thanked the Minister for supporting her on that. She wants the Minister to be the champion for mental health and is worried about the lack of funding for the mental health action plan.

Pat Sheehan commended the community and voluntary sector. He mentioned how affected disadvantaged areas have been throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that he wanted to highlight the fact that there was a serious mental health crisis before COVID. He also wants to see parity of funding between mental health services and physical health services.

Rachel Woods said that we do not speak about mental health enough — I hope that I did today — and that words are no longer enough. I agree: words are not enough any more. We have been here too many times before, so we need to do something about it.

Robbie Butler, I have to say that I was impressed with you the most tonight. I was impressed with everyone, but you were outstanding. I am never saying that to you again, but you were. [Laughter.]

Mr Butler: It is in Hansard.

Mr Easton: Yes. It is a one-off. You mentioned how important perinatal health is. You said that we need to tackle addictions and poverty. You spoke about tackling gambling. You said that you want us to target a zero suicide rate. That is very commendable, if we could do that.

The Member said that he wants real progress to be made on mental health and the action plan. He mentioned loneliness and isolation and said that we need to try harder. He thanked the health staff and those in the community and stated that we cannot do this without them.

Miss Hunter said that we need to plug the gaps in mental health and mentioned the support that voluntary groups need. She spoke about the rural community, which not many Members did, so well done on mentioning its need for support. She also talked about the help that bereavement support services need.

David Hilditch mentioned the impact of the lockdown on the community's mental health. He mentioned debt and said that one in four people with debt has mental health issues. He also spoke about the stress of financial insecurity and unemployment.

Gary Middleton said, and I agree, that the Minister has shown a commitment to tackling mental ill health. He said that mental ill health was already a serious issue before COVID-19 and that it affects so many different people, right across society.

Philip McGuigan said that the community has rallied round as a result of COVID-19. He said that he is disappointed at the lack of addiction services and by the fact that the issue was not really mentioned. Well done on that.

Finally, I say thank you to everybody for supporting the motion. It has really made me very happy tonight to see that. Let us move forward together and improve the lives of our people.

Some Members: Hear, hear.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): We overran by 38 seconds, which is not too bad. It is the debate that overran, not Mr Easton.

I thank everyone who has made this such an easy debate to chair as Temporary Speaker. I pay tribute to Mr Easton and Mr McGuigan for the honesty and courage that they showed, which added to the debate. I also thank Mr Chambers and Mr O'Dowd, who sat through the debate but did not get a chance to speak. That serves as an example to other MLAs to show an interest in a debate even though they may not get the chance to stand up and contribute.

The Temporary Speaker (Mr Wells): I remind Members that the next plenary sitting will be next Tuesday, 30 June. There will also be a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on the COVID-19 Response this Thursday, at which the Minister of Education will make a statement, commencing at 1.30 pm.