Debate contribution: Valuing the Arts
Debate contribution by Mr Phillip Brett on .
- MLA
- Mr Phillip Brett
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 17 June 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Valuing the Arts
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5014002
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. First, I will focus on my constituency of North Belfast, where the arts sector thrives. I want to pay tribute to some of the organisations that do fantastic work daily. The Newtownabbey Arts and Cultural Network, which the Minister visited on a number of occasions, brings disadvantaged young people together to produce their own music and make their own games. We now have young people at the forefront of developing gaming technology that is used in all parts of the globe. I pay tribute to New Lodge Arts and Arts for All, which receive funding from the Department for Communities for the important work that they do in supporting the arts sector. North Belfast is home to some key cultural attractions. The Oh Yeah Music Centre, which will be well known to the Member for North Antrim, recently received vital funding from the Levelling Up Fund, which will ensure that artists have somewhere in the city centre where they can thrive and grow. The Department for Communities continues to support the MAC theatre in the heart of North Belfast through the Arts Council. The Arts Council, however, needs to be more reflective of the society that it serves. It needs to support the arts in all forms and ensure that its board and membership are made up of people from all parts of Northern Ireland and all backgrounds and traditions because it is meant to be a force for public good and should reflect the community that it serves.
I hope that, when the Opposition sum up their motion and rightly call for more funding for the arts, they can articulate to the House where they want the funding to come from and which programme or project they would like to see cut. I forcefully but politely disagree with Mr McHugh's remark that Northern Ireland wants to celebrate the work of Kneecap. An artist who is before the courts for chants of "Kill your MP" is not something that we want to celebrate on the world stage.
This is an important debate. The Minister has articulated once again, in his budget allocations two weeks ago, that there will be £750,000 for instruments for bands and organisations across Northern Ireland. Of course, that may not be the cultural aspiration of some in the House, but it is vital for Northern Ireland. We look forward to receiving details of this financial year's £500,000 scheme to support small venues across Northern Ireland so that we can ensure that our arts sector continues to thrive.
430 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: 0.19 (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 (0.69).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.59).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- 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 | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.05 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.12 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.30 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.35 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.69 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.19 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.33 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.59 |
| Adopts it | 0.07 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.49 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.36 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.04 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:48 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.