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Mr Paul Givan: Assembly records
All of Mr Paul Givan’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
Due to affordability considerations, the pay and grading agreement will be implemented in two stages. Stage 1 will move eligible staff on to their new pay scales with effect from 1 April 2024, while stage 2 will entail a non-consolidated payment of £2,550, pro rata, to eligible staff in lieu of back pay. The Education…
Thank you. In any other forum at any other time, I would have thought it uncontentious to say that the best way to tackle educational underachievement is to tackle educational underachievement. Not so in this House, it seems. Instead, there is much focus on hyperbole and unfounded assertions. When we have objective…
I appreciate the Member's giving way. Normally, I respond at the end of a debate, but a lot of points are being raised, and I wanted to pick up on one of them. The Member mentioned social deprivation. He is absolutely right, as was the proposer of the motion and those who seek to amend it, about the importance of…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Members who tabled the motion and everyone who took part in the debate. Information has been given that I want to take away and have my officials look into, because we need to tackle vaping collectively. I visit many schools and engage with many school leaders and teachers. It…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank Members for bringing attention to this important issue. In particular, I thank Mr Robbie Butler for tabling the motion. I express my appreciation to him for not just that but his time on the Education Committee. The value and expertise that he brought to that role were very much…
I welcome Mr O'Toole's support for some of the recommendations that have been highlighted in the statement. That is important. The independent review touches on the Education Authority in comments and proposals in relation to that issue. It also reported its findings that the controlled sector is not getting the…
Today, I wish to set out my Department's response to the independent review of education in Northern Ireland. Education is the cornerstone of our society. It shapes the future of our children and, in turn, our communities, our economy and our society. Like all systems, it requires regular reflection, evaluation and…
Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. It is a delight to represent my colleague and good friend Gordon Lyons. He is engaged in important business in America this week on behalf of the Department. I am coming home when it comes to the Department for Communities: it is one of the Departments that is hugely important,…
One of the key outworkings of the review is to identify how you can move those interventions to a much earlier stage. I assure the Member that I very much believe in early intervention. The challenge has always been about meeting the current need whilst investing further upstream in earlier intervention. We need to be…
Last week, I met the independent autism reviewer, and we discussed those very issues, including support for families and young people in particular, especially in early intervention. All the evidence shows that the sooner that you can intervene and provide that support, the better your outcome. Part of the special…
Once we have analysed the consultation responses, I would be keen to bring forward legislation in the coming months so that the Committee can carry out its scrutiny role and the Assembly can give due consideration to it. I hope to bring legislation to my Executive colleagues for their consideration in the next number…
The consultation was launched in June to gather stakeholders' views on matters such as the need for statutory guidance on school uniforms, particularly on the cost and affordability of uniforms, the use of branded items and sole-supplier arrangements. The consultation closed on 27 September, and there was a large…
I am happy to look at any proposals. I have visited a number of Irish-medium schools, and I have been particularly impressed by the cognitive impact of learning another language. It has a clear educational benefit for those who immerse themselves in the Irish-medium system and those who learn other languages. There is…
Any funding is subject to the allocation that I receive in the Department. Education is not funded to the level that we all want it to be. That has implications for resources, but I am happy to write to the Member on the case that she has raised in order to provide specific details for that organisation.
Treasury has advised that a change to the definition of a private school that is set out in the draft legislation is not required for grammar schools that charge a capital fee of up to £140. Nine voluntary grammar schools charge that capital fee, and they will not be within the scope of the legislation. A further 12…
A number of months ago, the Treasury Minister James Murray MP asked to engage with me as a result of the Labour Party's election manifesto commitment to apply VAT to private schools. We had that engagement, I outlined my opposition to what was proposed, and we have continued, with our officials, to engage. I met James…
The Member rightly highlights the collaborative way in which Departments need to operate in order to meet the needs of the children and young people in our special schools. We will not be able to provide an education for those children and young people if we do not have the appropriate professional support from the…
I had a very helpful meeting, organised by Michelle Guy and Nick Mathison, with a number of principals. We talked through all the issues that are impacting on our special schools, particularly the concern about the potential withdrawal of nurses but also changes that have resulted from allied health professionals…
As of 7 October, 12,966 children and 1,524 providers had registered for the scheme, and the first payments were made just last month. In September, the scheme alone saved parents almost £1 million on their childcare bills, along with the additional £1·1 million of savings through the tax-free childcare allowance from…
The Executive agreed that £25 million be allocated towards that, and we have been drawing that down since September and October of this year. If you applied that to the full financial year, you would need in the ballpark of £50 million to do what we currently do. We need to build on that, which is why, as we develop…
It will take a number of years to get the final comprehensive childcare strategy in place. My engagement with the stakeholders has indicated that they want it to be comprehensive and detailed. That has not prevented us, as an Executive, from taking forward measures around the childcare subsidy scheme, including the…
I assure the Member that there has been no pause in the development of the childcare strategy. We prioritised the establishment of the Northern Ireland childcare subsidy scheme. It was important that we set that up, and it has been rolled out across Northern Ireland incredibly well. Early Years is the organisation…
A review of the home to school transport policy commenced in 2018, However it was paused by the then Minister due to the pandemic and further suspended pending the outcome of the independent review of education. It is important to note that the transport policy supports other policies in the Department, such as…
The policy is underpinned by legislation in many respects. A full review, which some Members have advocated, may require legislative change. I am keen to look at transport in its totality. The Department spends approximately £120 million a year on transport, which is a significant amount of funding. Some colleagues…
I like to facilitate everybody in asking their questions and engaging with me. The Member is right about the sharing of information. That is why the digital scheme will be helpful. It will help to capture that data and make it more readily available to those who are involved in taking the decisions. Part of the…