All of Mr Jon Burrows’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
To ask the Minister of Finance to detail (i) the number of (a) protected disclosures; and (b) whistleblowing concerns, relating to arm's-length bodies have been raised directly with sponsoring Departments, in each of the last five years; and (ii) the number of these that were subsequently referred back to the relevant…
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline why their Department did not ensure that a vetting process was initiated after the former Police Ombudsman became subject to a criminal investigation.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils in North Antrim who have experienced delays in obtaining a special educational needs placement for September 2026.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) whether any assessment has been made of the impact of emotional and anxiety-based school avoidance on attendance levels; and (ii) any additional support is available for affected pupils.
To ask the Minister of Education whether he plans to review the operation of the School Uniform Guidelines after one academic year, including consideration of requests from pupils to wear trousers as part of their school uniform.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of pupils resident in North Antrim who are currently travelling outside their local area to access specialist educational provision; and (ii) any plans that exist to increase local provision.
To ask the Minister of Education to outline any plans to undertake a system-wide review of staff roles within Specialist Provision in Mainstream Schools to ensure roles are appropriately graded.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) any progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload Report; and (ii) any recommendations that remain outstanding.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail the amount of funding specifically earmarked for special educational needs coordinator release time, in each of the last three financial years.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the amount of the £27.5 million Transformation Fund allocation for special educational needs reform has been spent to date; and (ii) all expenditure broken down by project.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) an update on the number of children awaiting a special educational needs placement for the 2026-2027 school year, broken down by Education Authority area; and (ii) any steps being taken to ensure all children are placed before the start of the new academic year.
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) to detail any guidance issued by his Department, or on its behalf, in relation to the award of Continuing Professional Development points for completion of Soil Nutrient Health Scheme training courses; and (ii) whether any clarification or…
This is on a slight tangent, and I might get told off. You talked about the police having powers. All of the powers that we are talking about could be scuppered if we change the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14. If, for example, someone under 14 on an e-scooter kills someone as a result of dangerous…
I thank the Minister for that. It has been a worthy exchange that has really fleshed the issue out. We have heard it now: it will be recorded in Hansard, and we know the case of Pepper v Hart and all those things. The Minister has indicated that we are talking about 2012 or 2016, so we certainly are not talking about…
Yes. I will clarify. For any criminal case, the standard of proof is that it must be beyond reasonable doubt — the standard is way up high — whereas, for a misconduct case, it is beyond the balance of probabilities, which could be 50% plus one or even 50·1%. There is a different standard. In England, most cases in…
We are not in a situation like that in England and Wales. My word, legacy has become an industry in itself here, and, by the way, it is only a small group of solicitors and barristers who really seem to profit from it. It is a fair point that what is designed to deal with police misconduct and the ability to bring…
It is important because we are talking about legislation, so let us separate a couple of issues. Where there is sufficient evidence to bring a criminal case against a police officer, that is unaffected by the amendment, because it is a completely separate matter. Police officers should be treated the same as anyone…
I thank Miss McAllister for that insightful piece of evidence. First, let me say this: the Police Service of Northern Ireland has made a mess of misconduct down the years. I declare an interest in that I was in the PSNI and was the appropriate authority and decision-maker to determine whether a case was taken against…
The Minister of Justice mentioned victims. Can she confirm — I would appreciate a yes or no answer — whether a 13-and-a-half-year-old boy who upskirted, downbloused or inflicted grievous bodily harm on a female teacher would, should Ms Mulholland's amendment go through, be subject to criminal prosecution if the victim…
Let me just finish. — brought to account for it. My point is this: we have a society in which an ombudsman, as in the office, has chased police officers and accused them of collusive behaviour and not brought one to book.