All of Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I thank the Member for his question. I am not aware that it was discussed. If I am incorrect, I will certainly write to the Member. I understand that the financial issues pertaining to that body are to do with some pension contributions or other aspects. Those issues are entirely separate from the funding that we…
I thank the Member for her question, but I do not agree at all that there has been a total failure. In fact, there has been significant investment in the Irish language and, indeed, in Ulster Scots over not just the past number of years but the past 18 years, from restoration back in 2007. That has led to a…
I thank the Member for his question. I understand that the appointments will be based on the legislation on which the Committee was already consulted. Indeed, that legislation is now in place, so the appointments will be fully in line with the statutory responsibilities in that legislation and will not require…
I thank the Member for his question. He will be aware that these are new appointment processes and that there are a number of posts: not just the two commissioners but the staff in the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, which will go out to public appointment. Departmental officials have therefore carried out…
The appointments of the language commissioners and the director and members of the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression are essential to the implementation of the provisions of the Identity and Language Act, for which TEO is responsible. We are committed to establishing the three bodies, and preparations are now…
I thank the Member for her question. We are all aware that the way in which we communicate has changed. It is no longer through just radio, TV programmes and news channels; a huge number of people now get their information from social media. People choose more and more to get their news and information from those…
I thank the Member for her question. The Member is aware that the Department is under the equality duty set out in section 75, as all Departments and public bodies are. We take that duty seriously. It is important to us that we are able to communicate our strategies and other information, including on the things that…
Indeed. That is why the Department has led the way in doing that and has done so for a considerable time. We try to focus on the accessibility aspect of all our social media posts. As I indicated, that includes that, where we use videos, we try to subtitle them. We also make things as clear as possible and use the…
The Executive Office is committed to ensuring that the information and services that it provides are fully accessible to all parts of the community. That includes its communication on social media. The Executive information service (EIS) has provided accessibility training for its communications staff to enable them…
I thank the Member for her question. It is really important in all our consultations, particularly as we move towards a co-production, co-design process, that we include the maximum number of people and groups. It is important that, at the early policy development stage, we feed in the needs and perspectives of groups…
I thank the Member for her important question. She will be aware that ending violence against women and girls is a priority issue for us. We have met a number of agencies with our team, and we met the PSNI recently. I am pleased to say that that statistic is not accurate. It was based on flawed data. Our levels of…
As the Member may be aware, we held an emergency Executive meeting on the Friday evening to get a good sense of what the impact might be across the Departments. There were impacts on all Departments from the damage to buildings and the interruption of service due to the lack of electricity. That was a useful…
The Member is absolutely right. The communication among our blue-light services and between people in their homes, without water or electricity, and the likes of the Ambulance Service and the police is critical when we are hit with that type of storm event or crisis. We need to look at that urgently. A number of the…
There will certainly be learning from this. The civil contingencies frameworks that we stood up immediately worked very well. In a red alert, the PSNI takes the lead, and that then moves to the relevant departmental leads depending on the issue. There was good communication internally, and we tried to be at the…
I thank the Member for his question. It has been an incredibly busy week, not least for those who were out in all weathers working hard to restore power, reconnecting water systems, and clearing trees and obstructions from roads. I pay tribute to all the workers who worked tirelessly to perform such a mammoth task.…
I can speak only for myself, but, to be absolutely clear, if I was not clear in my initial answer: if the only alternative funding model on the table is one that breaks the balance between the contributions of the Republic of Ireland Government and the Northern Ireland Government to North/South bodies, that is not…
I do not know the specific details of what she is talking about, but I understand that she may be referring to a proposal from the former Minister of Finance about alternative funding mechanisms for North/South bodies. I assure the Member that those things have all been previously discussed and agreed. There is a…
As I outlined, waiting lists have already begun to fall across a number of areas. More must be done, however, and it must be done more quickly. We will do everything that we can to support the Minister of Health. He is bringing forward further plans and proposals, some of which are being discussed in what they can do.…
I thank the Member for his question. We are one year in, and we have a determination to deliver against those key priorities. That must mean a reduction in health service waiting lists. We understand that there has been a small reduction across a number of those health waiting lists, but it is not enough. We know that…
I thank the Member for the opportunity to make it clear that the absence of a strategy does not mean that there is not a significant amount of work occurring throughout every Department to tackle poverty. I know that from speaking to my colleague Gordon Lyons, who supports everything from Sure Start to neighbourhood…
The Programme for Government (PFG) will represent the shared vision of the Executive. It is important, therefore, that all members of the Executive are given the opportunity to consider and agree any new commitments to be included in the PFG before they are announced to the Assembly. That having been said, the draft…
I thank the Member for her question. In her role as Chair of the Executive Office Committee, she will know that we are aware of the issue and of the communication on it. We are advised that the submission of applications to the scheme has slowed down significantly and that there is no indication as this stage that…
I thank the Member for his question. The Executive Office deals with many areas that are incredibly sensitive. We have adopted what is often referred to as a trauma-informed response and approach to the issues. I am disappointed to hear that that has been the experience of some victims. Of course, the recounting of…
I thank the Member for his question. It is on an issue that not only have we been working on for some time but, indeed, you, Mr Speaker, have been engaged in this important matter. It was a recommendation in Judge Hart's report and one that we are very keen to see implemented as quickly as we can. We know that there…