All of Mr John O'Dowd’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
The Budget sets out what will be financed in this financial year. As the Member will be aware, it is aligned with the Programme for Government. I look forward to being able to present the Executive with a three-year resource Budget and a four-year capital Budget in the autumn, which will further allow the Executive to…
As the Member said, I literally received the report in my inbox today. I will study it closely. Obviously, we want to carry out whatever measures we can to support businesses moving forward. We already provide considerable support for businesses through our various rate relief schemes. We talked earlier about the Back…
I have received today a copy of the report on the cost of doing business from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC), which I will consider. The study was commissioned following concerns raised in the aftermath of the British Chancellor's autumn Budget. The research has looked at the impact of labour,…
The baby loss certificate scheme is intended to recognise the grief and pain that many families feel in the event of the loss of a baby in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Although a certificate cannot undo that suffering, the scheme will recognise and validate their loss, which is often a very private matter, in the…
The Member will be aware that the baby loss certificate scheme has been taken forward as quickly as possible to give bereaved families the opportunity to have formal recognition of their loss. I want all parents and families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby to feel that their grief is recognised. The…
I cannot give the Member a time frame at this stage. The work is at an early stage. It is important, for the very reason that the Member gave when she spoke about Tell Us Once, to assist grieving families at that most awful of times immediately after a death. I will update the Member with more information, but I agree…
The General Register Office has data-sharing arrangements in place with several agencies that enable death registration data to be provided to it. Those data-sharing arrangements enable the transfer of information weekly or monthly and contain only the data items permitted by data-sharing legal powers and agreed with…
The £1·3 billion investment in the four city and growth deals will support significant shifts in many of our indicators, such as improving regional balance, creating employment opportunities and increasing productivity. Across the four deals, there are 50 projects at full business case stage. Each project will specify…
There has been significant progress across the four city and growth deals, with many positive milestones achieved over the past year. The Belfast region city deal is in delivery phase, with legally binding contracts for funding, planning permission and construction commencing across many of the projects. Derry City…
That sounds like a Department for the Economy programme, but I am more than happy to work with any Minister to see how we can support businesses, bring our high streets back and create innovative businesses and employment. I await the final draft of the cost of doing business report, which will be beneficial in the…
Since the relaunch of the Back in Business scheme in May 2024, 36 businesses have benefited from the 50% rates discount, providing more than £93,000 in rate support. The Back in Business scheme aims to bring vibrancy, footfall and investment back to high streets while providing businesses with a boost at the start of…
No. It will be largely a desk-top review of data and provisions. It will not be that type of review. The time frame would not allow for that. It will really be about accessing papers and data to bring forward the report.
Yes, it is. The time frame is set not by us but by the terms of the spending review. The work that has been carried out across various reports, including the work of the Fiscal Council, provides a good platform for Professor Holtham to work on. He will have access to all the data and will come to independent…
It is the general view of Executive colleagues that, while it is welcome that we now receive funding at 124%, the level of need here is greater than that and that Professor Holtham's review is timely, given the spending review. It is clear that we have been underfunded for many years. I am old enough to remember that,…
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 7 and 12 together. I am pleased that Professor Holtham is conducting an independent review of our level of need. That work is essential if we are to make the case to the British Government for a higher relative need factor to be included in our funding…
The digital inclusion unit has the aims of getting citizens online, promoting access to high-level digital skills and supporting the digital economy. It achieves that by coordinating activities and projects, creating partnerships, including with Ofcom and, as I said, libraries, and supporting communities, other…
The digital inclusion team's Go ON NI programme provides free digital training sessions in libraries, community centres and hubs. Those digital skills sessions introduce digital technology to people who are not familiar with going online and support people who want to improve their online skills. In the last financial…
I am firmly of the view that there are enough rockets, missiles, bombs and guns in the world — we do not need any more. We need more teachers, more nurses, more healthcare workers, more special needs assistants, more domiciliary care workers and more front-line staff in a range of areas. There are enough guns and…
It is expected that phase 2 of the spending review will be announced in June. While it is a very welcome development, in the sense that it will enable me to deliver a three-year Budget to the Executive for resource and a four-year Budget for capital, we will be facing a significantly challenging three years as a…
I have not had a meeting with the Minister for Communities in relation to the current round of proposed cuts to welfare by Westminster. In fairness to the Communities Minister, he is awaiting further detail from Whitehall Departments on how exactly the cuts will be implemented, over what timescales they will be…
I have made it clear to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that we need investment in front-line services that support families, workers and communities. What we needed to see was funding for education, health and housing. It is disappointing that, instead of that, the Chancellor's spring statement provided the…
I do agree. As I said to Mr Durkan, arm's-length bodies are responsible for spending huge amounts of public funds. They also have a responsibility to live within budget, as do their chief executives or accounting officers. Their accounting officers have a responsibility to live within budget, so when an accounting…
I will answer those in reverse order. There is a role for the Assembly in monitoring arm's-length bodies, and there is definitely a role for the Committees. It should not be the case that arm's-length bodies come into Committees and make statements and, if the statement suits the political agenda of members of the…
I have had no specific engagement with the Minister for Infrastructure regarding a potential overspend by NI Water. My officials monitor each Department's spend against budget on an ongoing basis through the regular forecast out-turn processes. It is for each individual Minister to manage their budget, including that…