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.
Thank you very much, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I begin by thanking Sian Mulholland, the Member for North Antrim, for using the opportunity, through the motion, to highlight the importance of the issue. It is a shame on our society that so many people are being forced to use food parcels. I say clearly that I am…
I thought that it was an intervention. No problem. Poverty is not just the unfair and cruel end result of capitalism but a public health emergency that hits children hardest. Locally, the rate of children growing up in relative poverty grew from 18% in 2021 to 24% in 2023, so it is clearly going in the wrong…
The highest rate of child poverty in the North is in my constituency of West Belfast, where, disgracefully, almost one in three children is living in poverty. Child poverty exists because poverty exists, and poverty exists because capitalism exists. Capitalism will never provide the jobs or resources that all of us…
Having been blessed with three young boys, I know all too well the increasing costs of rearing a family in this day and age. Not only are nappies expensive but the cost of buying fresh food to ensure that children have the best start is steadily on the rise. Like all other Members, I agree that it would be better if…
I thank the Members for tabling this important motion. Many families, children and young people are being impacted on by the increasing cost of living. Rising food, energy and transport costs are having a profoundly negative impact on many. As a result of those pressures, families with children and young people have…
I thank the Member for giving way. To add to her comment about the organisations that go beyond the basics of providing food through the Trussell Trust and others, I commend to the Member and the House other organisations such as the Carrickfergus BabyBank in my East Antrim constituency. It provides for families'…
I thank my colleague Sian Mulholland for proposing the motion and for the humanity with which she delivered her speech. I pay tribute to the sector, which has done so much to educate us on how we talk about such issues as politicians. The work that it does to support people and inform policy cannot be overestimated. I…
Poverty does not take away just material things; it forces people to make impossible choices between paying housing costs, paying heating and other utility bills and putting food on the table. Poverty chips away at the belief that tomorrow could be better than today. It steals opportunities, potential and dreams. One…
I am very supportive of the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill. I thank the Member for his question. As he will know, smoking is the number-one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health in the UK. In Northern Ireland, it kills 2,000 people every year. The Assembly agreed to Northern Ireland's inclusion in the…
I agree that it is a public health issue. As a constituency MLA, I have visited houses that have damp and mould and are home to very young children. However, in legislating, I do not think that it falls primarily to the Department of Health. Certainly, on a personal and party level, we are supportive of the sort of…
I thank the Minister for that. I will write to him about that. Does he accept that damp and mould is a public health issue and something that requires urgent action from his Department, including through legislation to deal with landlords and other housing issues that are often not tackled?
I thank the Member for the question. I believe that the trusts are giving active consideration to that and, obviously, they are working with the PSNI. Another issue that I think will lend itself to the use of body-worn video is the introduction, which is forthcoming, as the Member will know, of the Right Care, Right…
I thank the Minister for that answer and recognise, of course, the seriousness of the issues and that the safety of staff must be a priority. Is the Minister aware of any work being done currently, or even before the consultation commenced, to minimise risk for staff? Perhaps he could bring into his reply work being…
The Member will agree with me that, in recent weeks and months, we have heard some very disturbing stories about activities within the curtilage of emergency departments. Threats to staff are high on that list. Drug abuse and drug use is another issue. Nurses and doctors in EDs are well used to people coming in with…
I have written to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in London. I have also engaged with our Finance Minister, Caoimhe Archibald, to make her aware of the issues, and she is making representations to Treasury. The Member may agree with me that the relatively new Government in London have…
I thank the Minister for his answer. I certainly agree with that. Given that community pharmacies were a key pillar of his winter preparedness plan of last year and likely to be so again this year, what engagements has the Minister had with the UK Health Secretary on this topic and what he is doing to support this key…
I thank the Member for his question. It is certainly an issue that exercises me, as, I am sure, it does community pharmacists. I am not sure that I have any confidence that the Government in London are going to step up to the mark and provide help. I think that, for direct employees of Health and Social Care, we will…
I thank the Member. I will take the second part of the question first. Yes. My view is that we must shift left into primary and community care. We must talk about prevention and early intervention rather than waiting for people to become acutely ill and end up in our major hospitals. Of all the reforms that have…
I thank the Minister for his quite reassuring update. Minister, how transformative will the roll-out be in areas such as East Antrim, which are experiencing high levels of ongoing health needs? Do you hope that placing more staff in primary care settings will ultimately lessen the pressures on secondary care?
I thank the Member. I very much enjoyed my visit to the practice in East Antrim with the Member. Sometimes, you walk into a health or social care facility and are immediately hit with the positive energy and a good feeling, and that was certainly the case on that day. Multidisciplinary teams are currently in seven of…
With respect, the Member's comment is entirely inconsistent. On the one hand he says, "This is a long-term problem that needs a long-term solution", and, on the other he thumps the desk and says, "Do something now". Does the Member really think that, if I could pull a lever that would help, even in a minor way, today…
Politely, Minister, that is not good enough. The majority of your answer was a regurgitation of the problem. You identify flow as being the issue, which will take considerable time to resolve. We need to sort out the problem with ambulance handovers now. Otherwise, we will deprive people in our communities of a 999…
I thank the Member for his point. It is entirely regrettable that that is one of the symptoms of the blockage in the flow through our acute hospitals, and I am determined to address it. The answer is not simply in more staff or more ambulances. The answer is not just in bigger EDs with more staff, and it is not about…
For a number of years, the Department has been working collaboratively with the trusts and other stakeholders in an effort to stabilise the social work workforce. It has been a key focus for my predecessor and for me. In early 2023, over 200 social workers were employed by recruitment agencies. They were delivering…