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Thank you. As I say, Committee members worked around the clock, because the Minister took the line that we had to work harder. He has mocked our Committee quite a number of times in the Chamber, particularly about its relationships and sexuality education (RSE) inquiry, on which he did not seem to place any value.
We were misled by officials. I do not believe that they had skin in the game, but I believe that they were acting under instruction from those higher up the food chain. There is therefore no contradiction in what my colleague has just said.
It all boils down to the fact that we were promised the guidelines but never got them. We were told, "You will have them next week or the week after", but we never saw them.
The Member says that he does not believe that officials acted in good faith. His party colleague said that he thinks that they did. Is there therefore a difference of opinion?
Minister, let me be clear from the outset that, because of how everything has played out, this is your Bill. It is not the Executive's Bill, the Committee's Bill or even the Assembly's Bill. Rather, it is yours and yours alone. From the beginning, you and your officials have not acted in good faith. The Education…
I wonder, because I did not hear this articulated in any of the debates, either in Committee or in the Chamber, where the Ulster Unionist Party stands on the issue of girls having the right to wear trousers to school.
I was not present for the evidence sessions or the scrutiny as the Bill went through Committee Stage, but, I know, from what I have heard since, that all the members of the Committee are sincere and passionate about doing what they believe is right for children and parents. That common purpose is refreshing. Not…
The only way to ensure that that situation is rectified is by ensuring that, by right, girls are allowed to wear trousers. They do not have to wear them. They could still choose to wear a skirt. However, if you want to ensure that that young girl whom you are talking about is able to do sport — I mentioned a young…
I do not intend to draw my remarks out for too long, because it would be repetition of a lot of what has been said at previous stages. Nevertheless, I am pleased to support and welcome the School Uniforms Bill at Final Stage. This is a positive moment for the Executive, the Minister and the House but, most…
Does the Member accept that the vast majority of schools are already doing the right thing on uniforms and that it is a minority of schools that are abusing the system, and, therefore, for the vast majority of families, the schools that serve them are already trying their best to keep the cost of uniforms down?
From the very beginning, Sinn Féin approached the Bill in good faith, and, on that basis, we accepted a shorter Committee Stage. We engaged constructively, tabled amendments to make the legislation stronger, and took Department of Education officials at their word when they told us that the draft guidelines would be…
I thank the Member for his point and wholeheartedly agree. That speaks to the issue of equality and the things that the Bill could have done. I understand the Minister's position that this is ultimately about affordability, but it could have been so much more. As Pat mentioned, it should be about equality and access…
The Member may recall the evidence that we heard from a very articulate primary-school child who attends a rural school. Sometimes the class is taken into the field beside the school, and that child said that she has to wear a skirt, whereas the boys can wear trousers, and there are nettles and thistles and so on in…
I thank the Minister, and I take his point and understand his position. For me, however, this is about equality in all schools. It is about the rights of every young woman or girl at a particularly vulnerable time in their life, when they are starting puberty and managing periods for the first time. It does not go far…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does she accept that it is entirely within the gift of a school, even today, to make provision for the very issues that she has just articulated, and that that, indeed, will continue to be the case? Through the guidance, schools can consider all those matters and can engage and…
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am not changing my name just yet. I am still a Hunter, which is very good. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the School Uniforms Bill. I have to be honest: I am disappointed that the Bill, in its current form, does not engage with issues specific to women and girls. Today, I am wearing a…