All of Dr Caoimhe Archibald’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue. We all want to see our town centres and shopping areas thrive. The difference that a bustling business, new homes or a vibrant community can make to once empty properties is striking. Regeneration, however, must be carried out in consultation with communities and done…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Thank you for the opportunity to make a statement on the outcome of the 2024-25 October monitoring exercise. As Members will be aware, the October monitoring round was postponed following confirmation that the British Chancellor would announce her autumn Budget on 30…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity presented by the debate to update Members on the action taken following the RHI inquiry report and to set out some of the significant progress made to date. At the same time, I recognise that more work needs to be done. I am committed to…
All of us want to see our town centres and shopping areas thriving. The difference that a bustling business can make to a once-empty property on the main thoroughfare of a town is very clear. The enhanced Back in Business scheme, which was reinstated in May, aims to bring vibrancy, footfall and investment back to our…
Members will be aware that, when I was last in the Chamber for Question Time on 14 October, I highlighted that my short-, medium- and long-term proposals for the rating system were with the Executive for consideration. That remains the case. I had hoped that, by now, I would have secured Executive agreement on my…
It is not fair to say that we have ignored unpaid rates. The Department has in place a range of measures to tackle and reduce rating debt. It is something that we have set targets against, and the Department is committed to addressing it. However, it can be quite difficult to recover rating debt. There are a number of…
We have in place robust billing, collection and recovery processes to maximise rate collection and reduce rating debt. Those include issuing annual bills; issuing final demands for payments; recovery procedures, including formal written correspondence, emails and direct telephone contact with ratepayers; and legal…
The development and publication of the inclusive language guide was a commitment in the 2024-25 Civil Service diversity action plan. It is part of our wide-ranging work on equality, diversity and inclusion. It was developed to promote understanding of the important role that language plays in creating an inclusive…
I do not agree with the Member's assessment that it is nonsensical. The Civil Service is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the society that we serve. I can confirm that there was no cost involved in developing the guide, which was developed by staff in-house in consultation with…
As I said in my previous answer, no decisions have been taken on specific measures. It would be for the Executive to take those decisions because something like that particular rate relief measure would be considered cross-cutting. Obviously, every single rate relief measure will have an impact on the organisations,…
I do not want to get into all the specific measures, but no decisions have been made on removing any particular rate relief. I want to ensure that the rate relief measures that we have in place continue to meet the policy objectives for which they were put in place. Obviously, there are proposals with the Executive,…
The Member and I have discussed rate relief for the childcare sector on a number of occasions. I am open to considering that if the Education Minister wants to bring forward proposals on that as part of the childcare strategy. That remains my position.
Obviously, it was good that the Executive were able to agree that £25 million to support the childcare sector. A number of measures underneath that, as you mentioned, were supported by that funding. I would be happy to engage with the Member and other Ministers to ensure that that funding is utilised. Perhaps, if you…
That is not the only thing that I talk about in the Chamber; I talk about quite a lot of things other than bad decisions made at Westminster, including how I negotiated an interim fiscal framework that has provided hundreds of millions of pounds, additional, for the Executive and Assembly to spend. I have recognised…
Since my statement to the Assembly yesterday, my officials have carried out further engagement with Treasury. They checked the figures for business rates, and, unfortunately, £80 million has been taken out of our funding for business rates next year. That means that, if there were a move to provide more support, that…
As I mentioned, I met industry bodies recently to express my concerns about the increases in insurance costs, which are adding further financial pressures to households, businesses and communities here, and to challenge them on what the sector is doing to contain costs. Industry bodies argue that the increases are…
The issues of how need is assessed and the criteria that are used were raised at my previous round table, which included representatives from LINK and Cash Access UK, as well as other senior representatives of high street banks and building societies. I tested with the industry whether the assessment process to…
Following my invitation, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority will be travelling to Belfast to meet me and to attend the banking round table that I will host later this month. I will use that meeting to call on the chief executive to use all the powers at his disposal to ensure proper access to cash…
I agree with the Member. It is important not only to attract and recruit more young people into the Civil Service but to support them through continuing professional development (CPD). There is a significant programme in place throughout the Civil Service. If the Member would like to write to me, I can provide her…
The Civil Service undertakes a programme of outreach with the education sector to promote the careers opportunities that are available. Over the past 12 months, the Civil Service has participated in careers fairs and events with schools and has regularly engaged with local universities, including participating in…
To encourage young people to join the Civil Service, a range of measures has been introduced, including the increased use of external recruitment and expansion of entry routes into the Civil Service: for example, developing new apprenticeships schemes; launching a new Civil Service skills academy and graduate…
The allocation to the Executive for next year in relation to the Shared Prosperity Fund is, as yet, unknown, but the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government advises that it will provide that information soon to give certainty to groups and projects that may be facing funding cliff edges at the end of…
No. As I said yesterday, when I made my statement on the Budget, I was disappointed that neither of those things was addressed in the British Chancellor's Budget, last Wednesday. That indicates the impact of bad decisions that are taken in Westminster on people here. Obviously, with the continuing challenges to the…
As I indicated yesterday, the changes to rate relief in England for retail, hospitality and leisure have led to a reduction in our Barnett consequential for this year, along with some other rate reliefs of about £80 million that were removed or changed. As the Member is aware, we still face significant issues in…
With the funding envelope for 2025-26 announced, it is my intention, subject to agreement, to publish a draft Budget by early December to allow for the full 12-week consultation before a final Budget is agreed by the Executive prior to the start of the new financial year.