Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
I thank the Minister for her response. I am sure that the Minister will accept that the agri-food sector is the backbone of the Northern Ireland economy, yet farm families are staring down the barrel of a double hit of inheritance tax, which threatens our young people's succession, and an increase in National…
I thank the Member for his question. Farming and agri-food is a key sector for our economy, and agri-food and agri-tech are priority sectors for my Department. There is a sectoral action plan to support those sectors. The issues that he mentioned are captured in the information that has been made available via the…
The economic engagement forum comprises a cross-sectoral representation of organisations, as I outlined. The selection is done by me and the Department. The Member might also be referring to the Labour Relations Agency engagement forum. The membership of that is the responsibility of the Labour Relations Agency.
On the 'good jobs' Bill, we are undertaking specific engagement with organisations, business representatives, trade union representatives and third-sector representatives. Officials have begun that process and have been out engaging already. We will be keen to promote that as much as possible over the coming weeks and…
As the Member will recognise, a project of the scale of the expansion of the Magee campus requires everybody to work together towards the same objective. That cannot be done if anyone is excluded. The task force includes people from the local business community, the community and voluntary sector, Invest NI, the…
I thank the Minister for highlighting the importance of promoting regional balance. The Minister referred to the expansion of the Magee campus, which is a key economic catalyst for the region. Will she explain the benefits of a partnership approach to that critical project?
Yes, I certainly do. There is a belief — one that, perhaps, was prevalent at one point in the Civil Service — that regional balance is not an achievable economic goal, and, therefore, public investment in places like Derry is not value for money and is politically motivated. That is not a view that I share, but it…
There has been significant engagement with a range of organisations, but I do not have the full list in front of me. However, I can certainly commit to ensuring that there will be consultation and engagement with disability organisations to ensure that those views are captured in what we are trying to progress.
I thank the Minister for her detailed answer. The Minister will know the phrase, "Nothing about us without us". Will she detail what consultation there has been with the disabled community in getting the Bill to where it is now?
I thank the Member for that question. Ensuring that we have an inclusive workforce is a direct outworking of what we are trying to do with the 'good jobs' Bill. There are a number of proposals in it that support that ambition, including the right to flexible working and the right to disconnect for a greater work-life…
I am familiar with the proposals that were made at the time. The COVID pandemic then hit, however, and plans for many things changed. I am happy to engage with the Member on that issue, and I will furnish him with information on it from the Department.
I thank the Minister for her response. Has her Department done an assessment of the potential economic benefits or spin-off opportunities for Northern Ireland, particularly for the former Shackleton Barracks site in Ballykelly? She will recall that, back in 2019, there were plans for the site to be a logistics hub.
Since I came into this post, I have not had any engagement with colleagues in Westminster on the Heathrow expansion. We previously engaged at a constituency level, however. If the Member wants to write to me about that specific issue, I will be happy to pick up on it.
The Member has articulated the challenge that we face with partition, which is damaging for everybody across this island. The reality is that I take the exact same position as my colleagues in the South, and I articulated at the beginning of my answer that, from my perspective, I would like to see no student fees. We…
Minister, with the greatest respect, that is neither a yes nor a no. As an all-island party, Sinn Féin's position on student fees should be consistent. In the South, your party wants to reduce and abolish tuition fees, yet, in the North, you are not ruling out raising them. That is totally inconsistent, and, for an…
I thank the Member for her question. First, let me say that my perspective is that student fees would ideally be zero, but we have to work within the financial reality and under the system that we have, which is imposed on us by the British Government, and follow that Government's policy on fees. Years of austerity…
I thank the Member for her question. The issue is raised at almost every meeting that I have with businesses. The overall impact of AI on the labour market will depend on a range of factors, including the speed of AI adoption, the extent of productivity benefits, whether businesses reduce headcount or redeploy their…
That is a significant list. What assessment has the Department made of the impact of AI on the workforce in Northern Ireland, since it is fundamentally changing the way in which we do business and the way we work?
My Department and Invest NI are committed to helping businesses harness artificial intelligence (AI) as a key enabler of economic development. Invest NI provides funding for AI-related research and development projects and essential skills development programmes to equip the workforce for AI adoption. The Artificial…
I thank the Member for her question. I understand that, alongside the pay offer that has been made, work is necessary to address parity issues that remain between teachers and further education lecturers. That is an essential condition of the pay offer that is currently available. I have made it clear that I want to…
Minister, do you agree that the current pay offer, while matching the schoolteachers' percentage increase, does not advance pay parity? The unions therefore regard it as a standstill.
Non-teaching staff have already been given a pay award for 2024-25 that was approved in December 2024. I am aware that the National Joint Council (NJC) has made a full and final pay offer for 2025-26 that, if agreed, will apply to non-teaching staff in our further education colleges. Mr Speaker, it was remiss of me…