Debate contribution: Programme for Government 2024-27

Debate contribution by Mrs Michelle Guy on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Mrs Michelle Guy

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Programme for Government 2024-27

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4826294

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I support the Programme for Government. Imperfect as it is, it is the first PFG since 2011, and that is worth acknowledging as a positive for Northern Ireland, for the power-sharing institutions and for the Executive. No member of my party will stand up today and gush about the document or oversell it to the people of Northern Ireland. It does not include everything that Alliance wants to see, but we have made our mark in it, and our Ministers, along with every other Minister, will have scope to go further and deliver more than the specific priorities identified in this publication. The influence that Alliance has had on shaping the Executive priorities extends beyond our two Ministries. For example, we are pleased that the DUP has followed Alliance's lead in dropping the failed free hours model of childcare and adopted our policy of a subsidy scheme. That scheme has made a positive impact, but it must now be bolstered; uplifted to meet increased costs; and expanded beyond preschool as part of a wider package that includes placing early years on a statutory footing and a comprehensive early learning and childcare strategy. Investing in affordable childcare is also an important anti-poverty tool. Whilst we acknowledge and are frustrated that tackling poverty has not been given the prominence that it deserves in the final document, we know that expanding investment in childcare and early intervention, along with initiatives that address the cost of participation in formal education, can play a role in easing some of the outworkings of poverty on low-income families. For example, later today, we will debate and welcome the Second Stage of the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill, which was introduced by the Education Minister to address school uniform costs and includes a move towards a cost cap, as per our party policy. That again illustrates how Ministers can go and are going further than the boundaries of these 100-odd pages to introduce legislation and tackle disadvantage. I expect every Member in the House to welcome the inclusion of better support for children and young people with special educational needs, so pressing is the need in that space. Our SEN children are not a burden; they are individuals, just like every one of us in the Chamber. They are individuals with needs and ambitions, but they have been failed, and that has left a huge need to be addressed. Therefore, we should all recognise the importance of the inclusion in our PFG of a dedicated section focused on those inspiring, valued and integral members of our education community. Delivering for them will be a test of our ability to work together across Departments. We have to start using the Children's Services Co-operation Act 2015. Delivering transformation requires the Department of Health and the Department for the Economy to work with the Minister of Education to implement the published SEN reform agenda and a delivery plan. Economy and Education must link to provide post-16 and post-19 learning and career options.

At this point, I pay tribute to our SEN parents, who fight every day for their children. They should not have to fight. They should not have to make a name for themselves in the public eye to get recognition in documents such as this to ensure that their children can access the educational opportunities and outcomes that will enable them to fulfil their potential. However, Alma White, who is mum to Caleb, has done just that. The words "post 19" may seem small, but their inclusion in the document creates the great expectation that we will deliver for those young people. I know that Alma will hold every one of us to account on that. In health, data sharing and embedding allied health professionals in local impact teams, along with protecting nursing provision in our special schools where it is needed, must be a priority. I will use this platform to echo the call of so many Members from across the House to protect and, in fact, reinstate the nursing provision that was removed, without adequate explanation, from two of our special schools. We cannot be comfortable with classroom assistants being responsible for skilled medical interventions on our most vulnerable children. A cross-departmental approach to SEN transformation must deliver an inclusive vision for the future, clearly define the purpose of SEN education and address the workforce crisis. There must also be more emphasis on early intervention to identify and tailor support so that we can start to address problems before they develop and become more complex. As I said at the start of my remarks, this document is not what Alliance would have written. From our perspective, a clear omission is a strategic commitment to integrated education, which two thirds of people believe should be the main model for our education system. The cost of supporting a divided education system is not sustainable. The Education Minister speaks of the need for more money for Education, but it is not reasonable to keep asking for more resource if you are not prepared to tackle systemic duplication and inefficiency in how we spend money. Finally, all the measures that are in the education section of the PFG are under way in some way or another, but what remains to be seen is whether those plans are implemented in full. I sincerely want the Education Minister to succeed with those plans, whether it be delivering quality, affordable childcare or reforming our system so that those with special educational needs get the support that they need. Families need him to succeed. By the end of the mandate, the only thing that will matter, as a measure of success, is the impact of those provisions on the lives of the people who matter: the children and young people and families.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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