Debate contribution: Education Inspections Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Claire Sugden on 1 June 2026.

MLA

Ms Claire Sugden

Party at the time

Independent

Date

1 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Education Inspections Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5582168

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I take that point. Equally, although it may be a copy-and-paste email, everybody who puts their name and address to such an email feels strongly enough to want to send it. I would not undermine that. Indeed, I respond to every such email that I receive, because I respect the fact that those people have taken the time to engage with it. I appreciate the fact that that may be led by someone who exists to lead it, but I would not seek to undermine those emails just because they all say the same thing, because the people who send them feel strongly that what it says represents how they feel. I cannot reiterate that point strongly enough. The Minister and his party may disagree with that, but we need to recognise that that is how people feel and that that is how they interpret the Bill. I will quickly make progress. I have a few questions. The Member has talked about what the Bill says and does not say, but is it clear? Is what it says enough? What exactly constitutes a failure to cooperate? What protections exist for those who participate in lawful industrial action? How will disciplinary powers be exercised in practice? What safeguards will prevent disproportionate sanctions? How do we ensure that legitimate professional disagreement is not conflated with misconduct? There are important and necessary elements in the legislation, and those warrant progression. I want to be clear, however, that my support for the Bill at this stage — believe it or not, David, I will support it at this stage — should not be interpreted as support for every clause as it is currently drafted, nor should it be interpreted as support for the Bill at Final Stage. I recognise the value of the legislative process. It is disappointing that some would seek to not allow it to progress, but I hope that the majority in the House will, because it is at the next stage that it can be heard. If we all support about two thirds of the Bill, my concern is about what will happen to that two thirds if the Bill is voted down tonight. What will happen to the obligations from the Supreme Court judgement? Will they just lie on a shelf until the next election or until we get a further court ruling? It would be bit irresponsible to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I am confused by parties taking that position. Everyone seems to support the other two clauses but not that one particular clause, and we can address that in the other stages of the Bill process. I agree that, if we cannot shape the clause in the way we need to, we should just vote it down and take forward the Bill that was probably intended from the outset. The concerns that have been raised by teachers deserve to be taken seriously. The Minister needs to demonstrate not only what problem he is seeking to solve but why this particular approach is necessary and proportionate and that it will be accompanied by the appropriate safeguards. Equally, can the Minister achieve his objective in a way that teachers understand and support? Ultimately, that is why we are here and spending so long on the Bill's Second Stage. I am not a teacher. I have sympathy for them, because I have a partner who works in that area, but I am not raising these concerns out of my own interests; I am raising them because a number of people whom I represent have raised them with me. One message that I hear consistently is that teachers need support, not more challenge. In some ways, that is why teaching is different from other professions. Other professions have this process in place, but we are bringing it in for teachers at a point when it feels like just another thing that they have to deal with. That context is really important, particularly if we want to implement the Bill effectively for the reasons that we say we do and with the intentions that we say we have. We need to bring people along with us. I am not entirely sure that we are doing that with the approach that we are taking. Hopefully, the legislative steps will allow us to do that.

The debate, at its heart, is about the balance between accountability and trust, between effective inspection and professional autonomy and between protecting educational standards and maintaining positive industrial relations with a profession that is already under considerable strain. I am content to support the Bill at Second Stage, but, if the concerns raised by teachers are not addressed through scrutiny and amendment, Members should not assume that I will support it at Final Stage. We will see whether we get that far. The Minister still has time to build confidence in the provisions. I look forward to seeing how he will do that as the Bill progresses through its stages. If he does that, the Bill will become stronger. Would it not be wonderful if everybody got what they wanted out of the Bill and everybody supported it so that it could achieve its intended aims? However, if he does not do that, I suspect that Members will reach a different conclusion when the Bill returns to the Chamber. The wonderful thing is that, if the Minister does not do what needs to be done, the House hopefully will.

913 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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