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Last week's violence showed us just how quickly our Police Service can be strained to breaking point. We know that the Chief Constable was pretty critical of the budget, and I welcome the fact that you are meeting the Minister of Justice tomorrow on the issue, but will you also commit to meeting the Chief Constable to…
The history to the ring-fencing of funding for waiting lists is that it was as a direct result of a commitment in the Programme for Government by the Health Minister. I can confirm that the Minister of Justice has brought forward a bid for ring-fenced funding for the PSNI. That may well happen as part of the…
I thank the Minister for his update. The Minister of Health made a bid for ring-fenced funding to tackle waiting lists. Can the Minister confirm whether the Department of Justice, through the Justice Minister, has put forward a business case requesting ring-fenced funding for the PSNI?
I thank the Member for his question. As I said, that is, first and foremost, a matter for the Justice Minister. I am hoping to meet the Justice Minister tomorrow to discuss the recent business case that the PSNI submitted to her Department and then on to my Department. That business case has been approved, but there…
Thank you, Minister, for your answer. We know that Health was in a desperate position, so you ring-fenced money for waiting lists. The PSNI is in a desperate position, and I welcome the £5 million that you have given to it for the riots, but will you take proactive steps to fund the PSNI properly in the absence of the…
The final Budget provided earmarked funding to the Department of Health for reducing waiting lists, reflecting the Programme for Government commitment. Funding for the PSNI is primarily a matter for the Minister of Justice. Including the indicative June monitoring allocations, Budget 2025-26 provided the Department of…
The intercultural education service is one area with which we have been engaging, but there are also emotional well-being services to consider. We will engage with the principals of some of the schools that have been impacted on, and if support is needed in those two areas or, indeed, in others, we will make sure that…
Thank you, Minister. Are you minded to provide any additional resources to the Education Authority's intercultural education service (IES) so that it can better support pupils and their families?
There is a recording of absenteeism that occurred as a result of what happened last week. I have the precise figures for the schools in the Ballymena area. For example, 84 newcomer children in Harryville Primary School have not been at school. The figures for St Patrick’s College show that attendance levels are…
The impact is already being felt. I have heard that directly from parents who have expressed their appreciation at the fact that the scheme is available, but we have much more work to take forward on it. People had called for a comprehensive early learning and childcare strategy. We are rightly taking one forward. I…
I thank the Minister for his response. He said that 24,000 children will be eligible for the scheme in the incoming year. Will he give some detail on the impact that that will have on families?
We have been able to take forward the childcare subsidy scheme. The 15% subsidy, which links with the UK tax-free allowance, has drawn in around £18 million since we started the scheme. It has reached 16,000 children. That is how many have been registered. We have been able to expand the scheme because of the funding…
I agree with the Chair of the Committee, Mr Mathison, on the issue. We have provided hundreds of additional places, but that does not diminish the fact that, as we stand here, there are still several hundred children without a place who need to be provided with one. We were able to do this last year: the system…
I thank the Minister for his response. We are in a marginally better position than last year, but 300 pupils without a placement is 300 too many. Can the Minister confirm what support will be provided to those pupils and their families, who may face a scenario in which no placement is available for them in September?…
Where we have identified a particular need, I have personally engaged with schools. About 300 children, we believe — the figure changes as we bring more settings online — need provision in September. When I spoke in the Assembly on the issue this time last year, about 450 children needed placements. We set about a…
When Mr McNulty raised the issue with me, my officials engaged with the Education Authority, and, absolutely, I am sympathetic to the position of Tiny Tots. However, the Department of Education does not provide financial support in that situation. The Education Authority is there to provide assistance, and I encourage…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Tiny Tots has requested to be relocated to St Michael's Primary School. Can his Department do anything about that?
When Mr McNulty addressed the issue at Question Time, I said that the Department of Education did not have statutory responsibility for provision in that kind of situation. Where there are financial difficulties in preschool settings, the Education Authority can avail itself of emergency funds. I very much encourage…
As I have gone round schools — controlled schools, Catholic maintained schools, integrated schools — I have been hugely impressed to see the many newcomers in school settings and the work that the school leaders and teachers do to ensure that there is an inclusive environment in which diversity is respected and,…
I acknowledge and welcome the fact that the Minister offered no equivocation or context for the trauma that has been visited on children. In that context and given that his Department has been engaged in a review of the curriculum, will he look at the curriculum to ensure that children in Northern Ireland at both…
I absolutely share the sentiments expressed by the Member. It is outrageous that, over the past week, we have been dealing with children who have come into school traumatised, showing all the signs of trauma as a result of what has happened on our streets. Alarmingly, we have also been dealing with children who…
The time that it takes for assessments to be carried out is unacceptably long. That is why we have invested in getting more people into the workforce through the doctorate scheme for which we have provided support. That is also why I made an application to the transformation programme around SEN reform and a delivery…
Thanks very much, Minister. That is welcome news. Do you have any idea of what the waiting lists are and when those new appointees will make a meaningful impact on them?
My Department has invested in the educational psychology work force and is currently funding 40 places on the doctorate in educational child and adolescent psychology course at Queen's University Belfast. Fourteen of those students will graduate this year and join the staffing complement in the Education Authority's…
I share the frustration that the Member has highlighted. A setting in my constituency — the former Ravarnette Primary School site — is one of the 10 schools that are listed for disposal in the 2026-27 year. It has taken many years to get to the point at which it will be available for disposal. In the meantime, it has…