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 have had quite a bit of correspondence on the issue, and I know that a number of Members are concerned about it. It is a complex area of law, and we do not have the expertise in my Department currently to properly develop the policy proposals that we would need. I met the Minister for Communities last week about…
Each Minister will make their pitch for what, they think, is the priority in their Department. We are also in the position where a draft Programme for Government is out for consultation. That will also shape the allocation of funding. Climate change and our obligations under the Climate Change Act 2022 have to be a…
I thank the Minister for her response. Does the Minister believe that the Budget will better reflect the funding needed to mitigate climate change, particularly by including more funding for the Lough Neagh action plan?
I do not have the exact timetable in front of me, but I will do it from memory. The British Chancellor will announce her Budget on 30 October. We will then engage in developing the Executive's Budget on the basis of that. Departments have already submitted their projections for the next three years. That exercise was…
As I mentioned in my answer to an earlier question, my intention is to allocate the money as part of the October monitoring round. The timing has been revised to allow departmental allocations to be informed by the outcome of the autumn Budget.
At the meeting of the FISC the week before last, as I said in my earlier answers, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury indicated that we would have substantive clarity about the total amount of Barnett consequentials that we are getting for the rest of the year at the Budget on 30 October. Previous indications from…
The marriage and civil partnership Bill is earmarked as a year-2 Bill, so it will be introduced during the 2025-26 session. I hope that the Bill will be ready for consideration before then and that we might be able to introduce it earlier than currently scheduled. Depending, obviously, on competing drafting resources,…
Members will be aware of my intention to bring forward a Bill to amend the current law on marriage and civil partnership. Those important reforms will bring belief marriage within the statutory framework and increase the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership from 16 to 18. I am pleased that the Executive…
Thank you. A key concern of landowners who live along the A5 that has come up time and again is the purchase of land for developmental versus agricultural reasons. Will that be a consideration of her Department for other road infrastructure projects?
I do not have the information that the Member has sought in front of me, but, if she wants to write to me about that specific issue, I am happy to correspond with her.
I fully agree. The only issue that needs to be discussed with the LCC is ending paramilitarism and the anti-community criminality that criminal gangs engage in. The recent meetings between DUP Ministers and the LCC provide political cover and implicit justification to those groups. That is unacceptable.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an fhreagra sin. Does she agree that the only reason that anyone should meet those groups is to tell them to leave the stage?
No, I do not think that it is appropriate to meet the LCC to discuss issues of public policy. We are 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, so there is no place in this society for paramilitary groups. There is no role for paramilitary groups. There is no excuse for the continued existence of those groups.…
LPS is aware that the ongoing works in Foyle Street affect up to 29 properties and is dealing with applications from two businesses in relation to those works. We encourage businesses to engage with LPS. I am happy for my officials to work with council officials to see what the impact is.
I thank the Minister for her response and welcome her comments. Will the Minister commit to working closely with the council to see what can be done? One business has talked about there being a 40% reduction in footfall at weekends. That is not sustainable in the long term. Will the Minister commit to working closely…
I think that the Member has corresponded with me on the issue. I recognise that public realm works sometimes inconvenience businesses, so I will consider cases for relief on their individual merits. Members should be aware that that will always be done in the context that I outlined to Mr Donnelly: when we award…
I do not think that my officials or I said that. We said that we wanted to give Departments clarity on their funding allocations as quickly as possible so that they could make decisions or not make decisions that would be detrimental to the services that they deliver. That is why there was an urgency around June…
If I am to divine from that, Minister, that, in all likelihood, the monitoring round will not happen in October, two things flow from that: either you and your officials were wrong to say in June that monitoring rounds had to happen in the specified month and cannot be delayed for major things such as Budgets and…
I was going to say, "In October". When I met the Chief Secretary to the Treasury at the Financial Interministerial Standing Committee (FISC) the week before last, there was an indication that, rather than having to wait until January to get clear confirmation of Barnett consequentials for the year, as is usual,…
I have not been invited to go to London next week, but I would be happy to attend with them. As I said to Deborah, I will meet the Mid South West growth deal partners again this week. We all have avenues that we can use for lobbying, and I will use my relationship with Treasury.