Debate contribution: SEN Placements 2024-25

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 25 June 2024.

MLA: Mr Paul Givan
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 25 June 2024
Type: Debate contribution (made as a minister)
Business: Oral Answers to Questions
Heading: SEN Placements 2024-25
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4498552

Text

I thank the Member for his comments. He recognises the efforts that are being made to try to meet the need. That work continues, because we have to make sure that, by September, every child has a place. My Department is supporting the Education Authority in doing that. We have taken steps, including seeking schools to identify their willingness to provide spaces. We are mapping all of that out. We have surveyed a lot of schools on what the need would be in order to provide any change or to put in specialist provision. All of that work has been taken forward by my Department along with the EA. That work will continue, because I am determined that, by September, every child will have a place. I met the chief executive of the EA, and he told me that the target was to make sure that every child has a place by September. I do not want to be here next year in the same position, because the anxiety and stress for families who still do not know where their child is going to be placed is unacceptable, for them and for me. We need to make sure that, when we get through this year, we are not faced with the same scenario next year.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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: 0.03 (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 (0.72).
No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
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

Probability that each statement is true of this text (0 = no, 1 = yes). A criterion counts as met at 0.60 or above.
Question	Probability	Met?
Identity framing	0.02	No
Sectarian or communal antagonism	0.01	No
Cultural grievance politics	0.01	No
Dog-whistle messaging	0.02	No
Controversy escalation	0.02	No
Legitimate policy scrutiny	0.72	Yes
Overall judgement	0.03	At or below not-flagging threshold

Context and attribution (stance)
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 area (top five)
Subject	Probability
No identity-related subject	0.52
Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits	0.29
Education structures, integration and community division	0.19
Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials	0.00
Parades, bonfires and commemorations	0.00

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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