Written question AQW 17835/22-27
Written question by Mr Timothy Gaston on .
- MLA
- Mr Timothy Gaston
- Party at the time
- Traditional Unionist Voice
- Date
- 7 November 2024
- Type
- Written question
- Assembly reference
- AQW 17835/22-27
- Department
- Department for Communities
- Business
- To the Minister for Communities
- Assembly identifier
- Document 416892
Read the official Assembly record Open Data source
Text
To ask the Minister for Communities, in light of Ards and North Down Borough Council not publishing the names of councillors who attempted to call in the decision to fly the Union Flag from war memorials in the borough, to detail any measures he will take to promote transparency in local government.
52 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: 0.37 (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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.64).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.57).
- Subject area: Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials.
- The overall probability was low and the text did not adopt any identity-based framing.
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 | 0.13 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.28 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.11 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.55 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.64 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.37 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.57 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.41 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.97 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 02:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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