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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 qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I welcome the opportunity to respond to today's motion. First, let me begin by paying tribute to integrated schools right across Northern Ireland. They play an important role in the wider mix of schools and sectors in Northern Ireland. I am sure that colleagues will join me in extending that tribute to all our…
I understand the point that the Member is making. I suspect that, if that were the case, a number of schools would say, "Give us the budget for us to be able to provide". I know that this is an issue that he, as a member of the Education Committee, will want to explore with me. I want to work with the Committee to…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is apt to have some young people come in at this stage, when we are debating school uniform policies. My daughter was playing hockey against Ballyclare High School yesterday. They managed to get a draw out of us this time. The last time we played them, we were successful, but they…
I thank the Members who tabled the motion — the Chairman of the Education Committee supported by his colleagues — who are all here and have been present throughout. It is a hugely important motion, and I am pleased that it has been brought to the Floor of the Assembly so early in the mandate. I thank all Members for…
I thank the Member for her question. I am more than happy to visit some of the centres that she mentioned. There is an inadequacy in some of our estate, and it requires capital investment. I have already witnessed that first-hand in some of the schools that I have visited. We have excellent schools, and we have…
The Member raises the important issue of the capital requirements that are needed, whether that be for an EOTAS centre or for other aspects of the education system. My bid is a very ambitious one because of the capital needs that exist.
Yes. I will meet the Minister for the Economy. We have already discussed the need for that collaboration. We will set about having that meeting and see what more we can do in that area.
Yes. I do not know how much advice and guidance young people will get to become politicians. I did not need advice or guidance on that when I was at school, because I always wanted to do it. The Member makes an important point, however, about getting the right careers advice. It is not always about pursuing academic…
The Member will have heard the response that I provided to Mr Baker in respect of the report that I await on that matter. Obviously, where budget is available, the Department will be able to do much more. That scheme ended last year. The annual contribution towards it was approximately £20 million a year. In…
Collaboration with Executive colleagues takes place in a number of areas. I can think of the skills agenda. There is a framework in place with the Department for the Economy, for example, because of the overlap between the age of 16 and moving into the ages of 17, 18 and 19, which requires collaboration. Importantly,…
That may be for the Department of Education or the Department for Communities, so we can follow up that invitation and make sure that an appropriate meeting can be set up for the Member.
The point that the Member raises about the most effective use of public resources is worthy of consideration. The voluntary sector provides excellent support to our children and young people, and I want to see it supported. It faced significant reductions in its budget when Stormont was not up and running. Subject,…
The bid that I will put forward will certainly challenge Executive colleagues to match that ambition. It also puts into stark focus why my party leader, at the time of the discussions with the Government, said that the financial package was not enough. Other parties said, "Get the Executive back up and running". Our…
I thank the Member for that question. My Department's budgetary position, prior to the allocation of additional funding from the financial package that the Treasury announced, was that the resource DEL budget bottom line was £2·582 billion. There were further allocations as part of the financial package. They came to…
Yes. I will host a joint education meeting of my counterparts from the devolved Parliaments. Arrangements are being made for that to take place in, I think, April so that we can share best practice. Certainly, I will do that through my engagement with colleagues in other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom.
I will engage with and speak to the UK Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, later this week and will have an opportunity not only to highlight some of the issues that we have talked about today but to raise the issues contained in the Safeguarding the Union agreement that my party secured with the UK…
I am happy to meet schools. There is an extensive list of schools that have asked to meet me, and colleagues in the House have asked me to engage on different projects. It is my intention to be as accessible as possible to Members and across the Department of Education's responsibilities, including by engaging with…
I cannot give that commitment, but I can give a commitment to my determination to make every representation possible with the United Kingdom Government that they should honour what they announced in 2018 in relation to the increased cost associated with those projects. I will also make an ambitious capital bid, which…
Following public consultation on the draft new SEN regulations and code of practice in 2021, several changes have been made to both documents to take on board the views of those who responded. The new regulations are in the final stages of drafting and, once all the necessary approvals are in place, they will be…
I thank the Member for raising that point. In October 2023, following what happened in the previous academic year, a strategic placement group was established in the Department. That group meets every week and has deputy permanent secretary-level engagement. The new post of director of special educational needs…
The Department of Education and the Education Authority embarked on an end-to-end review of special educational needs in early 2023 to examine the entire special educational needs system from a policy perspective and ensure that delivery and outcomes are in line with objectives and policy intent. Phase 1 of the…
That will be dependent on Executive approval and the availability of funding. Options will be set out in the scoping study. Decisions taken on those options will impact on the speed of transition to a standardised session length. Some preschool settings will be in a position to transition to the standardised session…
The Member raises a point that has already been highlighted to me by childcare providers, which is that the ability to attract and retain people in the workforce is a challenge. That needs to be taken into account in what we are trying to achieve. There is a childcare strategy stakeholder engagement forum, and I will…