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.
Will the Minister commit to allocating all of the required funding to ensure that the city deal project can be pursued in full, rather than being scaled down because of inflationary pressures and the delay in bringing forward the cases?
I ask the Minister for an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Northern Ireland Audit Office report on public procurement in Northern Ireland, with particular reference to the reforms that were made to the Procurement Board in 2020.
I understand that work is under way by the Economy and Health Departments, in conjunction with Ulster University, to develop the business case for phase 2, which will see the expansion of the medical school. I know that the Member is supportive of that and has been working on it. I am sure that he will also engage…
As the Member will know, city and growth deals are long-term capital investment programmes. The process requires detailed business case development and approval for each constituent project to ensure the proper use of funds. My officials and those in other Departments have been regularly engaging with deal partners,…
I thank the Minister for her response. One of the frustrations that the council has highlighted with me is the speed with which the business cases have been approved. There is frustration that heads of terms could not be signed at an earlier opportunity to draw down funding and allow the projects to make the necessary…
The Derry City and Strabane District Council city deal is nearing the end of its business case process and should be signed in the spring or summer of this year. The deal's signing will, obviously, mark the stage at which the funding can be released.
The Fiscal Commission made recommendations on potential powers to devolve. Officials are analysing the subsequent consultation. I will look at the full range of powers, consider the recommendations that come back through the consultation and present them to the Executive for their consideration.
I think that I have already addressed that in response to Mr Tennyson. We are very much up for the conversation about the reform of the institutions. As Michelle O'Neill has made clear when responding to such questions, we are in the Executive to deliver for people. That is our intention for the rest of the mandate.
The SDLP would absolutely welcome more fiscal powers for the Assembly, which surely would alleviate some of the pressures that we face. Does the Minister agree that a key plank in ensuring the stability of the Assembly and attracting further powers is to ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister not to resign…
The Audit Office report highlighted a number of things, including the point that increased costs are not unique to here. Inflationary price rises and the issues across the world that have impacted on supply chains and logistics have had a global effect. There are clearly issues that need to be addressed on the…
The Minister will not exercise the revenue-raising powers that she has at present, yet she demands more fiscal powers. In that rush to spend other people's money, should she not reflect today on the Audit Office's report and its damning indictment of the local incapacity to control expenditure, particularly the…
The Member will know that we are very much up for being here. We want to be here to do the jobs that we have been elected to do and to represent collectively the people whom we have been elected to represent. We have been very clear that we are very much up for having that conversation about reform. We have the…
Does the Minister agree that stop-go government is not conducive to the effective fiscal devolution to which many in the Chamber aspire? Will she therefore agree with my party's view that reform of the institutions is necessary in order to deliver the political stability that is required to underpin financial…
As the Member will know, we have been underfunded for a number of years, and the British Government recognised that when they recognised that we had a level of need and thus put in place the financial package. We are the only devolved Administration that are asked to deliver public services while funded below the…
The immediate priority for Budget sustainability must be to get the British Government to put in place a fair and appropriately baselined needs-based fiscal floor. That must recognise our underfunding for the start of the next spending review. Increased fiscal devolution would allow an Executive increased control over…
As I said to Mr McGlone, we have limited powers to direct what the banks do. The decisions that they take are largely made for commercial reasons. Access to cash hubs, and I believe that there is one in Bangor, is a good model when there is a lack of banking services. That is important, and when banks close in my…
In the constituency that I represent, Barclays has recently announced that it will be vacating its premises on Main Street in Bangor. That follows the loss of several other bank branches. What will you do to ensure that my constituents who do not feel confident using online banking can access services in person?
The Member will know that my Department and the Assembly have very limited legislative authority in relation to banking and finance. There is a limited role that my Department can play in directly influencing the decisions that are made by local banks, which are, for the most part, commercial. I will be pressing local…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as na freagraí go nuige seo. I just noticed that the Bank of Ireland profits this year are up by 92%. That is absolutely incredible. Given that the UK Treasury currently owns over a third of NatWest, will the Minister appeal to the Treasury to intervene to prevent Ulster Bank closures of…
The Member may be aware that my predecessor, Conor Murphy, convened a banking round table in February 2022. He raised some issues coming out of that around ensuring access to cash and services and stakeholder engagement on managing the change in services. They set those out in a report that was formally presented to…
I thank the Minister for her remarks so far. Will the Minister have a conversation with the chief executives of the banks around whether there should be some public service obligation on them to make sure that banking services are retained in our rural and hard-to-reach communities, rather than what seems to be their…
Similar to what I have just set out for Mr Harvey, I very much want to understand the process so that, when towns and villages are left without a bank, they know how to benefit from these hubs. I am very keen to explore what can be done to drive this forward with the banks and their representatives when I have the…