Debate contribution: Programme for Government

Debate contribution by Ms Kate Nicholl on 13 May 2024.

MLA

Ms Kate Nicholl

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

13 May 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Programme for Government

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4488658

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Opposition for tabling this important motion. A Programme for Government is not just desirable but vital. It allows the Executive to set out their future vision, to establish a set of key priorities and to give the public and MLAs a basis on which to judge the success or otherwise of the Executive. In a shortened mandate, it must be acknowledged that there have been a wide range of immediate pressures and challenges for all Executive Ministers in the first 100 days since restoration. However, it is deeply regrettable that we are only into the first 100 days of this place being up and running. Had we been able to form a Government in the days following the 2022 Assembly election, when this mandate should have begun, we would have been two years into a functioning Government — two years further into making the transformative change that our public services require and that our constituents deserve, and two years further into delivery on a wide range of very important issues. On that, the amendment lists a range of issues that urgently need to be progressed, but there are also a huge range of other issues that must be prioritised, including adequate funding for DAERA to deliver on the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 and the significant underfunding of Justice relative to other Departments for many years.

For Alliance, the fact that we are only 100 days into the mandate further underlines the need for reform of our institutions, as my colleague outlined. We must never again find ourselves in the position of having been without a Government for five of the past seven years. That was totally unacceptable and has created a challenging environment for all Ministers, given that decision-making was put on hold for the past two years. Nobody in this place is under any illusions. We cannot do everything that we would like to do, especially in a shortened mandate, with two years of wasted time already behind us. There is hope, however, if we can take the serious steps that are required to transform services and deliver real impact for the people whom we serve. Our Programme for Government cannot be simply about putting more money into every Department. While it is essential that we see services funded according to need and that the UK Government live up to their analysis of the lack of funding received by Northern Ireland, we need to see serious plans for the long-term transformation of services across government. Connected to that, we must become much more serious about ending silo working. Government by silo has failed us all and must be brought to an end. We must be bolder and more ambitious about the cross-departmental working and collaboration that is possible. To be truly outcomes-driven and genuinely focused on delivering the best results for Northern Ireland, we must be able to step outside the narrow confines of our Departments and see the bigger picture. I see that most clearly in my work every day on education and on delivery for our children and young people. That is particularly clear when we look at early years education, childcare and the ongoing crisis for children with SEND. The independent review of education states:

"The life of a child from 0 to 4 years old (and beyond ...) does not operate within public service boundaries or silos. It is essential that health and education services (and others) work hand in hand for these vital years."

That means collaborative working on policy development, service delivery and funding. The Children's Services Co-operation Act 2015 can be activated and utilised to pool resources and funding for the purpose of delivering children's services. The legislation is there, but its potential has never been realised, and that is shameful. The Act includes a requirement for the Programme for Government to consider the issues raised in the report on the operation of the Act. That must be part of the incoming Programme for Government. The independent review of education states:

"Early years services are an investment by society in its future."

It further states that we have a duty to see investment in early years as:

"an investment for the long term."

If we are serious about improving outcomes and delivering for a better Northern Ireland, we need to get serious about investing in our children. That includes delivering ambitious programmes for high-quality, accessible and affordable childcare. I firmly believe that, if we are to make a success of the time remaining in the mandate, we need to place a renewed focus on areas in which we can have the most significant impact. Investment in genuine collaborative working for the sake of our children and young people will not only deliver better value for money but, the research suggests, improve outcomes for the next generation. If our Programme for Government is to be ambitious about anything, it should be about creating a better society in which our children and young people can grow, learn and thrive. Our Programme for Government must come forward at pace and set out a clear and comprehensive vision for the future transformation of public services in Northern Ireland.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification