Debate contribution: Children’s Social Care Services
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Donnelly
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 8 October 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Committee Business
- Heading
- Children’s Social Care Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4581660
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you for that confirmation, Minister. I hope that "the coming weeks" means a short period. One thing that was very clear in all the contributions was the need for us to go upstream and have important early interventions. Many Members noted that again and again. There is no denying the fact that the group of people about whom we are talking is one of the most vulnerable. We, as an Assembly and an Executive, should be judged on how we look after the most vulnerable. We can go over all the reasons and the context as outlined in the Ray Jones report and we can talk about the impact of COVID, the increasing numbers and complexity of cases and the decreasing budgets, but we have to be honest and say that we must do better. We need to stop looking for all the reasons why we cannot move forward and start to identify ways to do better and support those families and their children. We need to make use of the experts in the area, and those are the children, young people and families who are going through the process. They are the people who know what support they need and where the gaps in services are. That is why Professor Jones's report hits the mark. Children, young people and families helped to shape that report and its recommendations. They are the experts. That is why we call on the Minister to work collaboratively with statutory partners and relevant stakeholders, including the community and voluntary sector and children and young people with lived experience, to deliver improved and sustainable care for vulnerable children and families and to prioritise the welfare and protection of children. Implementation of the report's recommendations must be co-designed and co-delivered with the community and voluntary sector and those with lived experience. Children's social care services will remain a key priority over the coming period, and we look forward to engaging directly with young people and families over the coming months to hear at first hand their experiences and suggestions on how support could be better provided. The Committee has a programme of regular briefings over the coming session, and the Assembly can be assured that the Committee will hold the Minister and the Department to account on the implementation and delivery of the report's recommendations. As the Chair said in her contribution:
"Now is the time for action".
403 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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- 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
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.45 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.40 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.10 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.04 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:12 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.