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Thank you, Mr Speaker: we will try this again. I support the Committee's motion for an extension of the Committee Stage to 3 December. I emphasise that it is a Committee motion, not an Alliance motion: it was agreed unanimously by the Committee. The Chair offered the Committee two opportunities to divide and no member…
Yes. I will return to my comments on the amendment, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that. The main point that I would draw from what I was talking about is that, with the considerable evidence gathering undertaken and the significant amount of Committee time given to it, I am not sure that many members ended up with a very…
I thank the Member for his intervention. I think that he would recognise that I did give credit to the Chair. We might not all agree on what we would change, but I think that most members would say that there were probably aspects of what we undertook that we would relook at if we were put in the same position.
We did not have a Bill in front of us, but I am sure that all members of the Committee would agree that it was a very effective piece of work on RSE, particularly when you talk to our young people. If you have not watched the hit TV show 'Adolescence' yet, I suggest that you do, because there are key parts in there…
I thank the Member for giving way. I congratulate the Member for Strangford for making me doubt myself about the length of the Integrated Education Bill's Committee Stage. However, I have it in front of me and can confirm that the Committee Stage for the Integrated Education Bill ran from 6 July 2021 to 24 November…
In making the winding-up speech on our amendment, I do not need to rehearse the arguments for the entire Bill. As has been said before, the Bill has been well discussed in this place, and, in fairness, all parties will acknowledge that their general aims and wishes are not that far removed from one another's. There is…
Following the Deputy Chair's unexpected U-turn on the motion, I will be making the winding-up speech on the Committee motion, which is to extend the Committee Stage until 3 December. I emphasise that this is a Committee motion, not an Alliance Party motion.
I thank the Member for her intervention. Yes, that is something that definitely needs to be looked at over time. Every week that we delay is another week that a family goes without support, that another school term begins with financial strain and that another child feels different, singled out or excluded because…
I thank the Member for giving way. I stand not to argue with you but simply to ask a question. I sit on the Committee on Procedures, and we consider the Standing Orders of the House. As we know, Standing Order 33 is about Committee Stage. It is for a Committee or even a Minister to extend Committee Stage. Given the…
The Bill has the potential to make a real and meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people and their families across Northern Ireland. It is designed to address a growing and deeply felt issue in our communities: the escalating cost of school uniforms. The Bill has one clear and simple objective: to…
Families are under huge financial pressure, and we need to act swiftly to make school uniforms more affordable. That being said, scrutiny is essential. There are real issues with the Bill that need to be addressed. In order for it to make tangible changes for families, scrutiny is needed. There are key principles…
I will just ask a question, because that has me confused. The Department, or the Education Authority, has actually already asked governors to submit their proposals for next year's choices. How will that actually come into effect in the timescale for the extension that you have calculated? I am on a board of…
I thank the Member for giving way. He has been very generous in taking interventions. Would he accept, however, that we are not in the same context as when the Integrated Education Bill came forward, when we were at the end of a mandate and time in this place was under huge pressure? I am sure that the Education…
I do not think that the Member is 100% right on that, because the Committee actually extended the period not to include the summer recess. It was actually 1,000 days for the Education Committee, and, believe me, I suffered every one of those days. The 18 weeks did not include the summer recess period.
Does the Member agree that, as he highlighted, I have been very clear that 3 December is not a target and that, when we were factoring in our considerations, the option of sitting over summer recess and, indeed, Easter recess was not set out? Does the Member agree that characterising the Committee Stage by its length…
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the Committee Chair for the considered comments that he made. I will address a couple of those before making other comments. The date that he mentioned was 30 August, and he referenced the date that the Minister had previously suggested. We see the amendment as a compromise…
While the Member is on the subject, does he accept that, whilst we chose not to divide the Committee, we made our concerns known in Committee, on our part at least?