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 appreciate what the Minister has said about value for money. Given that she has overall responsibility for the Budget in the Assembly, does her Department scrutinise those schemes to find out the net benefit for Northern Ireland as a whole, or are they just seen as some sort of environmental scheme that that…
First and foremost, it is for the Agriculture Minister to develop business cases for those programmes. Obviously, they would also have to go through the normal processes of ensuring value for money in departmental spend.
Again, to reflect, it was simply a case that it is money that is being accrued this year, and that is why it was included. In relation to the broader issues that the Member has raised about rates and fiscal powers, the fiscal powers piece, in particular, is part of the discussions around our future fiscal framework.…
I appreciate the technical response from the Minister but, given her reputation for seriousness and detail, she would have to accept that it is a fairly surreal situation for a Finance Minister to rely on suspending the provisions of her ministerial colleague's private Member's Bill to secure savings. She has not got…
I am not sure that I would characterise it as "surreal". The Member will understand that the annex to the Budget suitability plan — we discussed it at length in Committee last week — was a requirement under the financial package for raising the £113 million of revenue over two years. Any revenue that has been raised…
I raised the issue with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in person, as well as in writing. Off the top of my head, I cannot recall the response, but I am happy to correspond with the Member.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The Minister mentioned that she had written to Ministers. What response did you receive, or has a response been received yet?
I met the AERA Minister in advance of the Budget announcement to discuss the importance of ensuring that adequate agriculture support funding is made available to farmers and land managers in the North. I also discussed the issue with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and wrote to him to request clarity on the…
I thank the Member for her question. In short, yes. I appreciate the uncertainty that the Chancellor's decision to remove the ring-fenced element of that important funding has created. It is also disappointing that the amount included in the Executive's baseline did not include an inflationary uplift. I am keen to see…
The British Chancellor announced the Executive's funding envelope for 2025-26 in the autumn Budget on 30 October. The settlement for future years will be announced in spring 2025. I am engaging with Executive colleagues on our approach to the 2025-26 Budget and have been working at pace to develop proposals. It is my…
I know that the Member will be aware that we have very limited banking powers and that the majority of such powers are reserved. That is one of the reasons that we hosted the round table: to get an understanding of the issues. I have received lots of correspondence and representations from Members about access to…
If the Minister would like to visit a banking hub, one is shortly due to open in Comber in my constituency, where she would be made very welcome. Can the Minister provide any more detail on the sorts of policy interventions at Executive level that would be useful for supporting the retention of high street banking…
I thank the Member for her question; I was not aware that a banking hub was opening in Newcastle this week. The issue of 24-hour access to cash was raised as part of the discussion and was put forward very strongly by some of the representatives in attendance, including those from the community and voluntary sector.…
I welcome the Minister's comment that she will visit a banking hub in the new year. In Kilkeel in my constituency, we had the first banking hub in Northern Ireland, and another one is opening this week in Newcastle, which is great news. One thing that has often come from the feedback on banking hubs is that they do…
A range of issues will be raised in the summary report to which we will ask the Treasury to formally respond. That includes the need to ensure that local issues are reflected in its new national financial inclusion strategy, given our relatively higher levels of vulnerability here. As the new access-to-cash rules do…
I thank the Member. I hosted a banking round table on 20 November with a wide range of representatives from the banking industry, the Financial Services Union, credit unions, the Post Office, business bodies and the community and voluntary sector. That provided an important platform to discuss key concerns and issues…
Yes. I thank the Member for his important question. I have discussed with officials at the highest level the issue of HR and recruitment and support for our existing staff. It is really important that the Civil Service, as one of the biggest employers in the North, leads the way and sets an example on issues including…
The Minister will no doubt be aware that today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and, as we speak, in City Hall, the Equality Commission is holding a conference called Breaking Barriers, Building Futures. To that end, will the Minister advise what steps her Department is taking in the Civil Service to…
I thank the Member for his question. I will push back a little bit on his characterisation of how the posts are filled. Proper process is followed. The Civil Service continues to work to reduce the number of temporary promotions by filling vacancies, just as he said, where possible, on a permanent basis through…
The Minister says that the Civil Service is trying to manage this. Well, it is failing. We have 10% of our Civil Service on temporary promotion, and that number is increasing year-on-year. I worry about the practices that are being followed for filling a lot of those positions. There is still a lot of nudge nudge wink…