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 beg to move I thank the Minister for being here. The motion has a straightforward ask, which is that our Communities Minister supports the campaign that Marie Curie has led to ask the British Government to legislate to allow those with terminal diagnoses to have early access to their state pension. The motion speaks…
No direction has been given, but it will have to meet value-for-money conditions as well. I have every confidence that the Housing Executive will ensure that that is the case. I am sorry; the Member had another question at the start. No? Hopefully, I have answered the Member's question, but, if I have missed anything,…
Thank you for your answer. Will the money that is saved be reinvested in housing? Does the Housing Executive have a threshold for the cost of the houses? Was any direction given on that?
They will primarily be identified on the basis of need, because we spend far too much money on non-standard temporary accommodation: £12 million in the last financial year compared with just £600,000 a few years before that. This will save money overall. It is a good use of resources; it is an investment; and it will…
Nothing has been on my desk that makes me think that the changes to which the Member refers are a matter of concern. I want to make sure that the outstanding issues are dealt with as soon as possible so that we can start construction. As I said, the good people of Bangor have been waiting for too long.
Is the Minister concerned that the reported changes in the make-up of the construction consortium that is delivering the project will impact on the commencement date, which was previously reported as being the end of April?
The Member will be aware that there are still a few issues with that project that need to be ironed out. It has been delayed, which is a source of frustration to many of those involved. We have waited decades for the project to progress. I am determined to make sure that it will progress, and the Member will be aware…
Because there is additional work to do on that strategy, including taking it through a cross-departmental working group that will be established. I have limited resources and a small team. I have prioritised the anti-poverty strategy — rightly, I believe — because it has taken so long, and I look forward to that work…
The expert panel reported on the sexual orientation strategy in March 2021. Why has the Minister not taken that strategy forward for consideration by his Executive colleagues?
The Member will be aware that I am taking forward the anti-poverty strategy first because that has been a requirement on us since 1998, and there has not been the required level of work or publication. That is being taken forward. Work on the disability strategy is progressing, and further work will be carried out in…
Yes, they have. The work carried out by the group has been essential to the framing of the strategy and some of its policies. I am asking for a little more patience so that I can get the strategy to the Executive and, hopefully, get their agreement. I will speak to the group before the strategy goes out for public…
Members of the anti-poverty co-design group have publicly stated that, in their view, their time has been wasted and their participation in the co-design process has counted for nothing. Will you confirm whether any of the policies proposed by the co-design group have made it into the final draft of the anti-poverty…
I can speak only for myself. I certainly do not feel that those relationships are damaged. They were given a task; they have carried out that task; and they have done it well. As was communicated to those groups by the previous Minister, that portion of their work has been completed. We now need to take the…
We want to hear all perspectives, and I have no doubt that the America250 Commission will ensure that all stories are told. My focus, however, is on making sure that the story of people from here is told. That is a good-news story. The spirit of those who left here and all that they took with them contributed to what…
I remind the Minister that it was slave revolts that ended slavery in the primary sense. Former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who toured this island and whose statute is in Belfast, stated: "The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours,…
My focus is on promoting Northern Ireland and doing everything that we can to tell the stories of those who came from here, but I am happy to make sure that we tell the story of slavery, in particular how slavery ended in the British Empire and how the UK Parliament was one of the first to take action to make sure…
I stick by my commitment, which was the funding envelope of £62·5 million. I have asked for a meeting with Jarlath Burns, the president of the GAA, to update him and to find out the GAA's latest position. I believe that that meeting will take place in the next couple of weeks.
I met the Secretary of State recently, and I asked him about the contribution that the UK Government might make. He said that any contribution, if there is to be any at all, is not known at this time and that it will be June before he will be in a position to confirm whether any additional funding is available.
I thank the Minister for his answer and for the references that he made to the type of activity to which I referred in my question. I suggest to the Minister that any review of existing community arts programmes or forward planning that may be put in place also include looking at the better utilisation of public…
It is something that is of concern to me. On Saturday evening a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster arts gala, which was a fantastic example of what local arts organisations that operate outside Belfast, outside the other big cities and outside areas where there is…
It is something that I am happy to look at. The Member is not the first to raise the issue with me, and there are places in my constituency that fall into that category as well. The Member has been consistent and persistent on the issue, and I will keep it in mind.
The Minister will understand that, apart from the fact that we do not have regeneration schemes at the moment, the criterion to have a population of fewer than 5,000 people is having a detrimental impact on rural towns and villages. Is the Minister minded to take a look at that threshold?
I think that that is the third topical question that the Member has asked and the third time that he has raised the issue, so I should have been prepared for that one. I do not have an update at this time, but I will furnish him with one as soon as I have it.