Debate contribution: Parliament Buildings: Public Programmes and Facilities
Debate contribution by Mr Trevor Clarke on .
- MLA
- Mr Trevor Clarke
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 23 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Parliament Buildings: Public Programmes and Facilities
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5637060
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I may need an extra minute to answer the question, and I thank the Member for it. The Assembly Commission's public engagement strategy 2025-27 aims to increase awareness, improve understanding and enable participation in the work of the Assembly. A wide range of programmes and activities support that aim. Our visitor experience team plays a central role in welcoming visitors to Parliament Buildings, providing guided tours, sharing information and signposting facilities. Their visible presence and approachable manner offer a warm welcome for all visitors, and the team takes pride in highlighting the facilities available for everyone who comes to Parliament Buildings. In 2025, 770 tours were delivered and the number of events hosted in Parliament Buildings almost doubled to 583. Our Education Service promotes its programmes to schools and colleges through an annual September mail-out, outlining provision for the relevant Key Stages, including a focus on inclusive engagement for children with special educational needs. The Education Service website also offers detailed programme information and classroom resources. The participation and outreach team promotes its work through community events such as the Balmoral show, outreach sessions, newsletters and social media content that is developed with the communications team. It delivers to all 18 constituencies and welcomes groups to Parliament Buildings regularly. The Youth Assembly regularly uses social media to promote its work, and, when preparing for a new mandate, targeted multimedia recruitment campaigns are used to engage young people and encourage participation. The visit and learning section of the Assembly’s website offers a full suite of information on Parliament Buildings, including how to arrange a visit and book a tour, the facilities available, including dining, and accessibility information. The Assembly Commission aims to engage with broad and diverse audiences through a range of social media channels. Staff create videos and visual content to illustrate the work of the Assembly, while also covering key events such as Committee proceedings, public engagement activities and Speaker engagements. They produce a regular "This Week at the Northern Ireland Assembly" update, which outlines the business diary and explains an Assembly term. In addition, a monthly "Did You Know?" series shares insights into the history of the Assembly and Parliament Buildings whilst encouraging the public to visit and take part.
378 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.23 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.87 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.11 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.01 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:10 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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