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I start by echoing the remarks of others by thanking the Bill team and all those who helped us to get to this position, including the Clerk's team and my Committee colleagues, including the Chair. If I had to explain to someone what the Bill is about, I could not use language any clearer than that used in the Bill. It…
I recognise that the Member is being genuine, as all Members have been as they have laid out their reasoning, and I have some sympathy with that. However, Northern Ireland is being portrayed almost as an outlier. Does she accept that such legislation is not present in England or in the Republic of Ireland and that,…
I thank the Member for giving way. It is a fundamental right to give girls this choice, rather than allowing them it. Does the Member share my frustration with the DUP's position and that of the Minister? They have created a contradiction here. They are even shutting down the debate today by the Minister's not being…
I am happy to be here. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I fear that I will repeat a number of points that have been made this evening. As a relatively young woman — I am 30 now — I am absolutely baffled that we have to debate this issue. It is truly astonishing. If I did not have notes in front of me, I would have no…
I will, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Bill. It is absolutely right that, in this democracy, any girl who wants to wear a pair of trousers to school in Northern Ireland can do so. Many people found out recently that I have a master's degree in human rights law, but I rarely quote the council of this, the declaration…
I am somewhat alarmed: this morning, I was a DUP lackey, and now I have been banded into Sinn Féin's progressive alliance. I am not sure which I prefer, but I will move on to the detail of the Bill.
I welcome the opportunity to outline our party position. While we believe that schools should have autonomy on a range of issues, including uniforms, we will not stand in the way of the Bill progressing. We have been consistent that we trust schools to make decisions in the best interests of our children, and we…
The last point that you made reminded me of one of the witnesses — a young girl — who came to the Committee. During the winter, she wore her own overcoat, but she had to take it off 100 yards from the school gate because she was not allowed to wear it into the school. Come rain, hail, snow or whatever, she had to take…
I thank the Member for that intervention. I could not agree more. On the flip side of that, in warm weather, many girls do not want to wear socks because they fear their skirt blowing up, so they choose to wear tights or shorts underneath their skirts. Therefore, on the flip side, when we experience warm weather,…
I thank the Member for giving way. Her comments remind me of the absolutely ridiculous circumstance that we have in the winter, when girls are walking about absolutely freezing in their skirts. I travelled to my school on a ferry, as many pupils still do today — well, perhaps not today, because they probably finished…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree that the Minister's School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill was poor legislation and a missed opportunity? We have the issue of all pupils being allowed to wear trousers, but there were also issues that the Committee would like to have dealt with to ensure…
I, too, welcome the fact that this important legislation has reached its Second Stage. Like the Chair of the Committee, I thank the Committee for its hard work, and I thank the Committee Clerk, the Bill Office and the legal team for getting us to this point. It is really important, however, that we remember that the…
Does the Member agree that it shows the importance of the Education Committee and what we have done here, given that, clearly, by not even showing up today, the Minister has shown that he was never going to do this? He has sent a very clear message to all those young girls out there that he just does not do equality.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is a real privilege to move the Second Stage of the Bill. As far as I know, this is the first occasion on which the Education Committee has introduced a Bill, so it is gratifying to see it reach Second Stage. The Committee's journey with the Bill began when it undertook Committee Stage…
The Minister makes a valid point, and we have ironed it out in the debate. The offence should therefore really be about posting the footage on an open forum rather than recording the incident.
That is a good point. It is despicable that people do that for entertainment, but there can be some nuances. An incident could be unfolding, and people could be giving first aid or intervening, but the fact that somebody has recorded it and can give the footage to the police can be useful. However, it should never be…