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.
As of 31 January 2025, the HIA Redress Board had received 4,904 compliant applications and made determinations totalling over £100 million. A total of 56 applications are still to be determined by a panel. The turnaround time for validated applications is 7·5 weeks, with a success rate of over 88% for applications…
I thank the Member for his question. The Department remains committed to investment in the Londonderry area, with some £72 million invested in the area since 2016-17. That includes over £37 million to transform and regenerate Ebrington, which is now a hub of creative industries, cafes, restaurants, a hotel, a…
Absolutely. From the outset and over the past year, we have made clear how important it is that the entirety of Northern Ireland is a place that can thrive. That does not mean just the greater Belfast area. We will ensure that it means every part of Northern Ireland, from Fermanagh to the north-west and throughout.…
I thank the Member for his question. We have received correspondence from a number of Members, including his colleagues and mine, on the issue. When this was put in place, we did not have the same infrastructure. I am really pleased that £37 million has been invested in the Ebrington site. Anybody who goes up there…
Guard security and CCTV were put in place at Ebrington when the site was largely vacant and under development. Today, Ebrington is a thriving hub of activity, much like the city centre, with a wide range of daytime and night-time businesses. In the coming months, we will see the arrival of a number of different…
I thank the Member for his question. It is an important one. When we look back over the decades of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, we see that there was violence towards and the targeting and harassment of women. We also have to remember the young people and children who were indiscriminately targeted by bombings…
I thank the Member for her question. I have not heard that proposal before. We will certainly look at it. I will perhaps liaise with the Member about the detail of her proposal.
I thank the Member for that kind acknowledgement of the work that we have been carrying out. As I indicated in the earlier answer, a significant amount of work has been done. I pay tribute to the co-production team, which sits within the Executive Office but, of course, works across a number of Departments, for the…
I thank the Member for her supplementary question. From the outset, when, this time last year, Michelle and I took up these positions, we made it clear that the issue was a key priority for us. The level of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland is appalling, and we need to tackle it and, indeed,…
As part of the wider £3·2 million investment, £1·2 million has been allocated to the regional change fund to support organisations with the expertise to lead on driving society-wide action. The eight community and voluntary sector organisations funded will bring years of experience and expertise that will ensure that…
Certainly, if they have been, it has not been drawn to my attention. As the Member knows, the Department has been looking at all of the issues that gave rise to and impacted on the race disorder and violence of last summer. We are absolutely determined that we do not see a repeat of that. That means working in…
I thank the Member for her question. Absolutely: over the last 20-odd years that I have worked in politics, I have seen a big change when it comes to this type of policy development and, indeed, even project and initiative development. It is now much more towards that collaborative design and co-production approach,…
I thank the Member for her supplementary question. Let us be very clear: there is absolutely no place for paramilitarism in 2025; indeed, in my view, there was never any place for paramilitarism or paramilitary activity. Of course, the PSNI takes the lead on the criminal aspects of that and must do everything in its…
I thank the Member for her question. Communities in Transition is part of the Executive programme on paramilitarism and organised crime, and, since 2019, it has delivered over £26 million of support across eight areas where there has been a significant history of activity and coercive control. The CIT areas were…
I wish to make a statement on the 42nd summit of the British-Irish Council (BIC), which took place on 6 December 2024. Hosted by the Scottish Government at the Dalmahoy Hotel in Edinburgh, the summit marked the 25th anniversary of the Council's first meeting, which took place in London in December 1999. Heads of…
I thank the Member for his question. It is an important one, because many of those people will have waited for some considerable time — too long. We know that it is too long, and we have tackling waiting lists as a priority in the draft Programme for Government. You can only imagine how disappointing it is for…
I thank the Member for her important question. As I indicated earlier, there is a vulnerable persons' cell, which is coordinating work as part of the civil contingencies approach. That is carried out by way of a number of different measures. In particular, NIE has been dealing with what it calls its "vulnerable list".…
I thank the Member for his question. Some of the detail of that question might best be directed at the Infrastructure Minister. There was an unprecedented level of, I believe, some 2,800 reported obstructions across the network. Some of those involved multiple trees and other things that had been felled. I understand…
I thank the Member for his question. The Education Minister has put out a number of statements about the ongoing situation. Two categories of schools are impacted. Well in excess of, I think, 150 schools were damaged in some way by the storm. However, only a small number of those were at risk of not opening. The…
I thank the Member for her important question. I will, absolutely. The easiest electricity connections to restore are those in urban areas. Those are prioritised due to the number of affected "customers", as NIE would describe them, or households that they serve. There will be a number of homes, particularly in rural…
I thank the Member for his question. Over the past number of years, we have faced a significant number of events and crises. As a result, our civil contingency structures were examined in detail, and a number of recommendations were made and actioned. The First Minister and I feel that the structures that are in place…
I thank the Member for her question. Councils have played a critical role in supporting the roll-out of support to communities. That has included the opening of centres, and the Minister for Communities has been working with councils on funding support for that. I am also aware that others — sporting clubs, churches,…
I thank the Member for his question. There were a significant number of obstructions. Well in excess of 2,000 were reported across Northern Ireland, with, according to the latest figures, 100 roads still closed. Trying to clear all of that has required significant work. As with the vulnerable persons cell, an…
I thank the Member for his important question. Coordination is key to many of the issues, because we are dealing with a number of Departments and agencies, all with different responsibilities. The key thing in all of that is to ensure that the communication and coordination are working, and that is why we have set up…