All of Mr Nick Mathison’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 giving way. There is no argument from me at all: we have heard in Committee repeatedly about some of the challenges in recruiting teachers, particularly at post-primary specialist subject level. Does the Member agree that, if that specialist subject teacher is also required to be fluent in…
I thank the Minister for his intervention. I risked it potentially being longer than my speech. I will try to pick up on the issues that he raised. I am happy to record that the Department has made interventions in this space. I am not trying to suggest that it has not, and I do not think that my comments suggested…
I thank the Member for giving way. I do not disagree with anything that you have said. How could anyone possibly argue against wanting to ensure that children who are hungry are fed? Do you also agree that we need to be sure that the money to address the issue goes to the children who are most at risk of experiencing…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I felt that the Bill sponsor should be given the opportunity to speak to those points. I cannot guarantee that I will give way for as long for any other interventions. I have covered a fair bit on evidence and on being sure that we have evidence that the output from the Bill…
I will finish my point, and then I will give way to the Bill sponsor. I would not frame the other issue in the way that the Minister did, because we need to be careful that we do not get into the space of characterising parents as being irresponsible and saying that they will not spend the money on what it is intended…
As it was the Minister of Education, I felt that I should give him the opportunity to have a say on the points that I raised. I agree that there is a need to understand, at the outset, the evidence base for the nature of the problem and those who are most impact by it to ensure that we can target an intervention…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker: no apology required. I will make some very brief opening remarks as Chair of the Committee for Education. The Committee has not considered issues around holiday hunger in particular detail. The subject has come up at various junctures during deliberations on other matters,…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. That is duly noted. Members across the House will be aware of the work of the charity TinyLife, which supports children who are born prematurely and their families across Northern Ireland. Since 2022, as an outworking of the 'A Fair Start' report, the Department of Education…
To ask the Minister of Health whether (i) any assessment has been made of the single Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT) wig specification that has been developed; and (ii) he will use this specification to take forward a regional specification across all HSCTs.
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any Health and Social Care Trusts that went to market with an Expression of Interest exercise for wig provision.
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 40865/22-27, for an update on the report on the Education Authority Primary Children Looked After Advisory Service.
I thank the Minister for giving way. Given that there seems to be acceptance across the board that the summer schemes are vital and need to be delivered, and that the EA, rightly, highlighted safety concerns, did something go wrong with the engagement with Health that meant that we could not get it over the line?
Absolutely. I concur with the Member. School principals across Northern Ireland have consistently raised with me their concern that we should not be operating a postcode lottery whereby some trusts provide nurses and others do not. That is an unacceptable state of affairs. By extension, if there are concerns around…
The original call in the motion was for the reinstatement of the summer schemes, but the motivation behind the motion and the recall was to ensure accountability for the decisions taken. Therefore, it is right that we still have the opportunity today to debate the issues and to try to understand the extraordinary…
To ask the Minister of Education whether his Department has carried out any assessment of the impact on (i) schools; (ii) families; and (iii) children, when his Department's funding for Tiny Life ends on 31st March 2026.
To ask the Minister of Education to detail when the £3000 funding payments will be delivered to mainstream nursery schools who currently have Specialist Provisions but to date have not received it due to Common Funding Formula restrictions.
Cancellation of Summer Schemes in Special Schools That this Assembly expresses grave concern that the Education Authority has announced the cancellation of summer schemes in special schools in 2026 due to concerns about healthcare provision for participating children; recognises that these schemes provide a lifeline…