Debate contribution: Summer Schemes in Special Schools: Cancellation

Debate contribution by Mr Timothy Gaston on 31 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Timothy Gaston

Party at the time

Traditional Unionist Voice

Date

31 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Summer Schemes in Special Schools: Cancellation

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5471256

Read the official Assembly record

Text

In my 21 months as an MLA, I have witnessed some shameless hand-wringing in the Chamber, but what we have seen since we last sat in the Chamber, one week ago, has taken that to another level. Cancelling the SEN summer schemes was not simply an administrative misstep but a failure of the most vulnerable children in our society — a failure created in the Department of Health and the Department of Education.

Summer schemes for children with special educational needs are not an optional extra; they are, for many families, a lifeline. They are not something for which families should have to take to the airwaves and plead; they are not something on which an announcement should be made just before the Assembly goes into recess; and they are not something about which those families should have to embarrass MLAs into coming back to the Chamber to discuss. My goodness, the Education and Health Ministers are both keen enough to appear before the House when they think that they have something to take credit for. The announcement was made even worse by the crass procession of each Minister's party faithful, and others who prop up the Departments, wringing their hands and declaring their unconditional support for the very schemes that their Ministers should never have allowed to be cancelled in the first place. As one parent put it, "It won't be forgotten". Let us recap what we have witnessed over the past week. The Ulster Unionists said that they could not wait to meet the EA. The DUP said that it wanted to meet Health officials. Instead of lifting the phone to each other, the two Ministers would rather play to the gallery. Their parties wanted the social media hits, rather than the Ministers lifting the phone to each other to sort this mess out before an announcement was made —

— that led to —

— the anxiety of many families who are represented today by those in the Public Gallery. I am happy to give way.

Thank you very much for the intervention, Mr Butler.

I wonder whether, here today, either Department will actually take responsibility for cancelling the summer schemes for the most vulnerable children in our society. The EA tried to drop the announcement when the Assembly was going on holiday, so do not try to tell me that the whole thing does not stink. The whole sorry episode boils down to nothing more than a political game, with the most vulnerable children in our society and their families being used, shamelessly, as pawns. Political calculations were made. The Department of Health does not believe that there is a need for nursing provision in SEN schools. The EA believes otherwise. A year out from the election, with the uproar and distress that this was always going to cause, the generals in the shadows decided to draw their battle lines. It has been a shameful episode, and each one of us in the House must ensure that vulnerable children will never again be used to sort out a political disagreement. Yes, I welcome the U-turn and the relief that it has brought to many families, but that must not obscure the question that hangs over the entire episode. How did we get to this point in the first place? How did the proposal emerge? My goodness, it removed such a vital service when, as we are now told, the resources could be found, and they were found when the political pressure was put on. That points to something deeper than one single decision; it points to a failure to prioritise. Earlier, Mr Martin referred to the decision as being "a piece of history". No, no, no, that will not save the blushes of the Education Minister or the Minister of Health. The Ministers responsible must set out clearly, here today, how the situation arose, what options were considered and why it took public pressure to secure a reversal. Did the Ministers not know? If they did not, well, what else is going on in their Departments, under their noses, that they have not noticed? Alternatively, did they simply not care? If it is the latter, all the platitudes that we have heard today are hollow. The blunt truth of the matter for Mr Nesbitt and Mr Givan is that the answer to why we are here today is contained in the affirmative response to one of those two questions.

We have heard many warm words from each side of the Chamber, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. When the £380 million comes to the Executive, what will it be spent on? The £380 million is coming here over three years because of special educational needs provision funding in England. Will the Executive prioritise that funding for SEN provision in Northern Ireland? I certainly hope that they will. Let us put the words into actions. We have heard the warm words today.

Let us see what you do with the £380 million when it comes here from Whitehall.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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