Debate contribution: Executive Progress

Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on 19 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

19 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Executive Progress

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5322438

Read the official Assembly record

Text

We thank Members for their contributions, and we welcome the opportunity to debate Executive progress. The people whom we serve expect and demand delivery; it is what we are here to do. Almost two years ago, when the institutions were restored, we came together as an Executive and committed ourselves to working collectively to deliver what matters most to our communities. We committed to ensuring that we build a better future for all our people and deliver the key priorities for people here. We do not take that responsibility lightly. We know that the people whom we serve expect us to deliver. In February 2025, the Executive agreed a Programme for Government to deliver on what matters most. As the first new PFG agreed in 13 years, that was a positive milestone for both government and the people of Northern Ireland. Significant progress has been made towards achieving the Programme for Government priorities, and, as we head towards the one-year anniversary, we will publish the update report on that. I know that people across Northern Ireland can be frustrated by what they see as a lack of delivery on key issues that matter to them. If you are on a health waiting list, you want that health waiting list to move more quickly. If you are in a school where you can see buckets in the corridors or see work that needs to happen, of course you want that to happen sooner rather than later. We understand people's frustrations, and that is why there is a commitment across the Executive to deliver for people. I will touch briefly on some of the key deliverables, because, frankly, listening to some of the debate in this place —. The leader of the Opposition said that he would be accused of being negative: he is accused of being negative because he is being negative.

He said at the outset two years ago that he hoped to lead a constructive Opposition, but we do not see much of that constructiveness, because of course he failed to recognise any — any — of the achievements of the Executive. That includes agreeing a Programme for Government, agreeing a Budget last year and this year and delivering £55 million of childcare support for hard-working families. That is real money in real people's pockets. We delivered over 164,000 more outpatient, diagnostic and inpatient procedures by the end of October 2025. When that reports again, that number will have increased significantly. We have committed more than £5 million to community-led and other initiatives to tackle violence against women and girls.

The strategy is out; the delivery plan is out; and money is on the ground making a difference on the key issues that matter to people. The Northern Ireland Executive stepped in and delivered a £100 winter fuel payment, when Scotland and other jurisdictions could not deliver that because the Labour Party in London decided to cut it at the last moment. The school uniform legislation passed by the DUP Education Minister protects working families and tries to drive down the costs that hit them hard. The Women's World Cup was agreed on by the Executive, and we will work to make that happen. The year-round, late-night transport for Belfast has finally been delivered.

The cultural commissioners have been appointed. We moved quickly to deal with the long-standing, long-running irritation of the issue of rates on condemned buildings. The housing supply strategy is out. We have delivered a delivery unit and the office of AI and digital. For the first time in Northern Ireland, we appointed a Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser. We are driving forward a data strategy and the AI strategy to make Northern Ireland fit for purpose for the future.

We opened Studio Ulster after working incredibly hard. Frankly, if there had not been a Northern Ireland Executive to push and ensure that the pause on the much-needed region and city deals was lifted, we would not have that game changer for our creative industries. There were numerous meetings to push the UK Government to make sure that Post Office postmasters across Northern Ireland were included in the UK-wide legislation to remedy that injustice, and we succeeded.

We hosted an extremely successful golf Open Championship and Irish Open last year, building on the successes of the Northern Ireland Executive's past commitments and pushing forward to achieve them for the future.

Thank you. Not only that, we have been able to step in when challenges have faced not just the Northern Ireland Executive but the entirety of Northern Ireland. After storm Éowyn, it was the First Minister, me and others who got on the phone to the Prime Minister, sat at the COBRA meeting and asked for the additional supports that were so necessary, such as the extra water and people to help to get the electricity fixed and the lights back on throughout Northern Ireland. Indeed, when we faced the terrible race disorder over the past number of summers, we took a strong, united and firm stand against it. All those things matter, and there are so many more. We moved immediately to address the public-sector pay issues that had lingered for years and to resolve those issues, difficult as that may have been. We have also driven an ambitious agenda of transformation across government, and that is critical. I am not naive. Do I want to deliver faster for the people of Northern Ireland? Yes. Do I want to deliver more for the people of Northern Ireland? Absolutely. However, the challenge that we face is the same as that faced by Governments throughout these isles and democracies across the globe, and that is making sure that we can deliver for the people whom we serve. Just this week, I heard something that was relevant to the frustrations that many people feel and that I can feel in this role, and it was about the challenge between process and progress. We face the frustration that people feel about delays and the time that it takes to get delivery when we meet the head of the Civil Service, officials and the arm's-length bodies. When we look at some of the big things that are often criticised in this place for not being delivered, we see that the issue was not a lack of political agreement. Those issues were agreed; they made their way into the investment strategy for Northern Ireland (ISNI), flagship projects and Executive papers and announcements of the past, and yet some of them have not been delivered five years, 10 years or 15 years later because the process often bogs down the big issues and is a hindrance to progress. We must tackle that, and we absolutely hear that from people. We must deliver for the people whom we serve; otherwise what value will they see in this place? The Chamber is not a place for simply shouting at one another. The leader of the Opposition often comes in here with his big, angry head on and shouts at all of us about this, that and the other. He does not want to reflect, and he does not like it when the lack of delivery from SDLP Ministers is pointed out to him. Look at the portfolios that the SDLP held: on Casement, no progress; on the A5, no progress; and on the environmental issues that sat in those portfolios, no progress. When the SDLP has not held the FM or DFM position in an Executive, it has not voted in support of a single draft Budget or substantive Budget. It is important to highlight that the draft Budget is out for consultation. We have to get it right. There is an opportunity to get it right, to build the foundations that we need to tackle inefficiency in our system and to get the right people with the right skills in the places where they need to be to push forward that delivery, particularly in respect of capital infrastructure. People feel frustrated that many of the projects around them are not delivered on time or on budget, but what does that mean? It means that, in future years, we are spending, against the same projects, hundreds of millions of pounds more than the original cost because of delays and lack of delivery and because the process is a hindrance to progress. That is a challenge that we are up to meeting. That is why we are trying to drive a focus on specialist skills in the Civil Service. That is why, through the Strategic Investment Board, we are looking at the planning system and trying to ensure that the key barriers to progress are removed. That is why we are looking at the accountability mechanisms in the key targets and priorities in the Programme for Government.

1,472 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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