Debate contribution: Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill: Consideration Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Baker on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Baker
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill: Consideration Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5743065
Read the official Assembly record
Text
That is why I introduced legislation: so that it will be set out in law that the Education Minister will be responsible for making it. It almost sounded as though your colleague was having a bit of a go at you when he said that everything was rushed during COVID and not done properly, when you were sitting there as the Education Minister. You may need to have a conversation after with him about that. It is important that we do not get into a ding-dong, because the legislation is for all of us, and I mean that. Another stage needs to happen, and I am really disappointed that the Minister is not here. I know what will happen, because he said it at Second Stage. He did not show up today, but he will get up and say that the amendments are poorly drafted and all that. I would be annoyed if this were an Adjournment debate or a debate on a non-binding motion and the Minister did not show up, but this is legislation. I am seeking to amend the Education and Libraries Order 1986, yet the Minister is not here. When his officials came to the Committee, I was grateful that they provided some feedback on the Bill, but they did not submit any amendments either. The first line that came out of officials' mouths in Committee was that my legislation would be harmful. They quickly backtracked when they were scrutinised, because what they had said did not stand up to the evidence. That is probably why the Minister is not here now: he is ducking. He has probably thrown his toys out of the pram, as he is not getting his own way with all his other legislation. I am here trying to make a difference for children. I am trying to bridge the gap between educational underachievement and poverty. That is what I am trying to do. So far, the Minister has failed to do that. If he were here, we could have a proper debate about the Bill, but he is not. I will say this to his colleagues: I am here to work on the Bill's next stage, but I will not listen to an Education Minister who comes to the House to berate me about the drafting of the Bill or the amendments, when he did not bother to show up today. I will finish by thanking the Committee members for working with me. I will work alongside Nick. He is the only Member who raised another possible concern. It may not even be a concern, but we need to get into the detail of it. That shows a commitment to the legislation, and it is about trying to make it better. That is what we are meant to be doing. We are legislators. Members are criticising the principles of the Bill: get over yourselves. Go and do a bit of work on it. Stop dancing on the head of a pin. The public are out there watching. They are scrutinising us, and we are not delivering for them when you behave like that. We have seen you try to run down the clock with other private Members' Bills over the past two weeks. It is disgraceful.
I will give way, because you gave way to me a lot.
557 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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