Northern Ireland Assembly, 2 November 2021

325 contributions from 54 members. The official report.

Executive Committee Business

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

The next items of business are motions to approve three statutory rules (SRs), all of which relate to health protection regulations. There will be a single debate on all three motions. I will call the Minister to move the first motion. The Minister will then commence the debate on the motions, as listed in the Order Paper. When all who wish to speak have done so, I will put the Question on the first motion. The second motion will then be read into the record, and I will call the Minister to move that motion, and the Question will be put on it. That process will be repeated for the remaining statutory rule. If that is clear, we will proceed.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I beg to move

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 16) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

The following motions stood in the Order Paper:

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 17) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved. — [Mr Swann (The Minister of Health).]

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved. — [Mr Swann (The Minister of Health).]

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

Today, the House is considering three very specific statutory rules that were introduced following decisions taken by the Executive on 27 September 2021 and 7 October 2021. SR 2021/276, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 16) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021, was made on 30 September 2021.

SR 2021/283, the Health Protection Regulations (Amendment No. 17), was made on 11 October, and the third amendment, SR 2021/274, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations, was made on 30 September.

I begin by reminding Members that it is the Executive Office that holds the lead responsibility, and it operationally manages the processes leading to Executive decisions on the ongoing need for restrictions and the requirement to amend the regulations. I am disappointed that, once again, it has been left to me to introduce these amendments.

The past 19 months have been unprecedented, and the Executive have sought to balance individual and societal liberty with public health requirements in the face of a protracted global pandemic. The Executive weigh up the totality of the effect that each restriction can have in combination with other restrictions in reducing the rate of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland. However, any relaxation to the restrictions will be associated with an increased risk of virus transmission, as has been the case through the epidemic.

I return to the amendments in question today, starting with amendment No. 16 to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations, which was made on 30 September. This amendment was made following the Executive's agreement at their meeting of 27 September to remove the legal requirements to socially distance in retail and indoor visitor attractions. Venues are asked to follow public health guidance to continue to utilise all other available mitigations, such as hand sanitising, good ventilation and using one-way systems where possible. The wearing of face coverings remains a legal requirement in these settings. The Executive also decided to remove the requirement to socially distance in indoor seated venues, such as theatres, concert halls and cinemas, during a performance, rehearsal or recording, and they advised that additional alternative mitigation measures should be utilised.

Amendment No. 17 to the Health Protection Regulations, which was made on 11 October, immediately extended the operation of the principal regulations to 24 March 2022. Further changes contained in this amendment came into operation on 14 October. It removed the limit on the number of people who can attend an indoor gathering in a private dwelling, limiting, effectively, indoor gatherings at private dwellings to 30 people from any number of households. It removed the maximum number who can stay overnight at tourist accommodation, and it removed the requirement to be seated at an event in a concert hall, theatre, conference hall or other indoor venue being used for that purpose. Lastly, in response to feedback from the industry, it amended the requirement for visitor and attendee information in the context of large ticketed events. The previous wording was drafted with hospitality in mind, as large venues were not open. The amendment enabled operators of ticketed events with fixed start times to collect the details of a lead booker rather than every ticket holder. That removes the need to record time of arrival and removes the requirement for premises owners to collect this information. This was duplicating the requirement placed on the organisers.

Amendment No. 6 to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) Regulations commenced at 6.00 pm on 30 September. This technical amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) Regulations arose as result of amendment No. 4 to the regulations. It clarifies that a person is exempt from the requirement to wear a face covering in a relevant place while actively consuming food and drink, including intoxicating liquor, and that, at all other times, face coverings should be worn in indoor venues such as theatres, concert halls or cinemas. A person may remove their face covering when seated at a table in hospitality venues such as a bar, cafe or restaurant, and no change was made in this regard. However, in larger venues such as concert halls, theatres, cinemas and conference facilities, face coverings must be worn at all times while seated and can be removed only when actively eating. I commend the regulations to the Assembly.

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I will make some very brief remarks as Chair, and I will then make some equally brief remarks as Sinn Féin spokesperson for health. We are now over 20 months into this pandemic, and, as restrictions continue to be eased, we all hope that we are heading back to some form of normality in our daily lives. We are still faced, however, with the fact that there remain a stubbornly high number of daily cases of COVID. The figure has remained consistent over the past couple of months and continues to place immense pressure on an already overstretched health service and already overworked health workers.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the total number of deaths continue to rise, and our thoughts and sympathies are very much with those who have lost loved ones over the past number of weeks and, indeed, throughout the entire pandemic. That is why it is so important that we continue to follow the current rules and guidelines. I again encourage anyone who is eligible for the vaccine and has not yet had it please to go and get it.

I also welcome the roll-out of the booster jab. I hope that the booster jab campaign will again lessen the impact of the virus and save lives.

The Committee was briefed on the regulations at its meetings on 14 and 21 October. As the Minister outlined, the rules are the outcome of Executive agreements over recent weeks and include the easing of a number of restrictions. I have mentioned in the past number of debates on the coronavirus regulations that Committee members continue to voice their frustration at the lack of evidence being provided to the Committee to enable it to consider how the Department advised the Executive and the probable impact that the easing of restrictions will have on transmission of the virus. The Committee was disappointed that it was unable to see the evidence and modelling for the specific restrictions being eased.

During the briefings, members also highlighted the issue of monitoring of rules and guidelines and how the Department is capturing adherence to them. Above all, the Committee wants to see that learning from the past 20 months has been captured, communicated and understood and that that learning is being used by the Department of Health to inform the Executive on future decisions. The Committee agreed to recommend that the health protection regulations be approved by the Assembly.

If I may, I will make a few brief remarks as an MLA. For the record, I state that Sinn Féin's search for evidence is to provide better information and to learn from what we are doing. It is not to question whether evidence did not exist for some of the very draconian restrictions that had to be put in place. I make that very clear.

These are a complex and interlocking set of restrictions, and the easings are often similarly complex and interlocking. It is therefore difficult for us to get an understanding of which measures are potentially driving increased transmission and which measures are most effective at stopping transmission.

Today, we have to recognise the pressures that are on the health service. That is the imperative. As well as saving lives and protecting people's health, we need to consider how much our health service can take, to be honest. We are seeing severe stress across the system, yet stubbornly high levels of COVID-19 remain.

It is crucial that we get better at collecting data that is specific to here. We have differences in our system here. I do not think that we can rely on data being extrapolated from elsewhere. It is imperative that we put in place monitoring systems so that we can properly track and pick apart measures to determine which are working, which are not working so effectively and what we can do better in the future.

Pam Cameron (DUP, South Antrim)

I welcome the amendment regulations before the House today and commend the Minister and the wider Executive for their endeavours in charting a course back to normality.

Regarding the amendment (No. 16) regulations, Members across the House will know of my love for the arts. I declare an interest as someone who is married to a playwright and as someone who has a role in a production company, as is documented in the Register of Members' Interests.

The arts across its various forms of expression have been so badly impacted on by the pandemic. Many of those in the industry rely on performances, ticket sales and commissions simply to make ends meet. There is no great fortune for many who pursue a career in the arts. Rather, their career is chosen out of a love of performance, art and expression.

We in Northern Ireland have such a rich heritage in the arts, music and various other forms of performance. Ruby Murray from Belfast's Donegall Road, Dungiven's Seamus Heaney and Bangor's Gary Lightbody are only but a few names, but what a legacy we have for world-class literature, music, dramatic performance and all other forms of artistic expression. The artists of 2021, whom we want to see make the same impact as those names, need to be performing to capacity audiences in the various fantastic arenas and venues that we have across the Province.

They need to be able to develop their craft, but also make a living.

Furthermore, for venues such as the SSE Arena, the Theatre at the Mill in my constituency, the MAC, the Lyric Theatre and the Ardhowen Theatre to survive and keep the lights on, they need to be able to fill their auditoriums. This amendment and the decision to remove the social-distancing requirements for persons seated at a performance, recording or rehearsal allows that to happen. Indeed, with amendment No. 16 and the removal of the need to be seated, we are returning to viability and the pre-pandemic experience of the arts. That is most welcome.

The amendment (No. 17) regulations and the removal of the limit on the number of people who can meet indoors in private households will, no doubt, be appreciated by those of us who are planning family get-togethers at Christmas. Yes, of course we need to be sensible and follow the guidance that is provided, with persistent COVID rates being as they are across Northern Ireland, but, for those exceptional moments and circumstances, having that flexibility in the law is most welcome. These are steps towards normality, and that is only a good thing.

The removal of the maximum number of people who can stay overnight in tourist accommodation is a timely boost for the sector. We will all have had representations from businesses that operate across the Province and from providers in that industry. We know that businesses that were operating at maximum occupancy were wiped out overnight. We have seen that industry decimated, just like the arts. For self-catering venues, which, in many cases, are family-owned and essential for family incomes, removing that threshold on numbers will, once more, allow those businesses to derive full economic benefit. It is also essential to the wider economic recovery; the tourism offering is essential to Northern Ireland plc. I note that the regulation also removes the need for visitor and attendee information to be recorded. That, too, is a welcome change.

The amendment (No. 6) regulations on the use of face coverings provide a welcome clarification that a person is exempt from the requirement to wear a face covering in a relevant place while actively consuming food and drink, including intoxicating liquor. One criticism that I have heard when I have been out and about in South Antrim is that there is confusion about the rules. People want to abide by the law, yet some are unsure what the current law is and what is expected. Given how many changes there have been in the past number of months, that confusion is completely understandable. Therefore, it is sensible to provide that clarity on face coverings at this stage.

I will take a moment to commend the Health officials who have been charged with drafting the emergency legislation. I have no doubt that it has been incredibly challenging work in highly unusual circumstances, and I am sure that not many of us have been queuing up to thank them. I take the opportunity to do just that now, and I thank the officials for that very difficult work.

Coming back to the motions, hospitality venues will particularly welcome the amendment (No. 6) regulations. Despite many people's best efforts to inform, there needs to be as much awareness about rules as possible. I pay tribute to Hospitality Ulster for the work that it has done to raise awareness among the public about the rules that pertain to the industry. I am sure that Members across the House will join me in condemning outright the abuse that Colin Neill has received. No one should face threats or abuse for simply obeying the law and following health guidance, whether their role is to lobby for and represent the hospitality sector, like Colin, or to wait on tables in a local pub.

The Executive have now unveiled their winter plan. I welcome the pathway that they have set out for the next number of months. It will be a difficult period for the country and the health service. We are already hearing the scary statistics on waiting times in emergency departments, and it is only November. It is incumbent on us all to do our bit to alleviate the pressures that may come. We all have the power to help by following the regulations and guidance that are in place to keep us safe and for wider public safety.

In summary, I urge everyone to avail themselves of the overwhelmingly safe and successful vaccination, which is still available. If you have reservations, please speak to a healthcare professional. We can now all easily access not just first, second and booster doses of the vaccine from community pharmacies, but lateral flow tests across a range of pharmacies. The news that research shows lateral flow tests to be incredibly accurate is comforting. They are another tool that we can use to protect those around us, along with the common-sense actions of keeping a distance where possible, using a face covering when necessary and remembering guidance on hand hygiene. I hope that everyone plays their small part, if not for themselves, then for others, including our healthcare workforce who continue to work in the most challenging times that we have had.

My thoughts are with those who have lost family and friends to COVID-19. I support the motions.

Justin McNulty (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Some 90% of our people are vaccinated. That creates space for cautious optimism, and we have to say, "Well done" to the healthcare teams and volunteers who ensured that it could happen. Nightlife venues have reopened, and that is an indicator of a return to normality.

Only 52·5% of 16- and 17- year-olds are vaccinated, and uptake needs to be higher among young people. They need to do the right thing to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe. We are behind with the roll-out of the booster jab. The Health Minister will probably enlighten us as to why that is.

Every winter, seasonal pressures are felt across the NHS, and this year will be no different. It is important that everyone who has been invited for a vaccine booster takes up that offer and that those who have not yet been vaccinated come forward to receive their vaccination. That collective action will be vital in allowing our NHS to cope with additional seasonal pressures and ensure that, over the winter months, non-COVID patients get the care that they need and have waited for so desperately.

Amendment of regulations and easing of restrictions gives many people cause for excitement. The public are happy that they can return to nightclubs. Young people have been deprived for too long, and I feel for them because that big part of their life has been taken away from them for so long. I could see, in the weekend press reports, the excitement on the faces of young people who were out having fun and socialising in a way that has been denied them for so long. It was heart-warming to observe.

Mrs Cameron referred to the arts sector opening up again. I, too, am a big fan of the arts sector, and I am excited about the Lislea drama festival being able to run in 2022. So many negatives have been associated with lockdown, but the Lislea community prepared a poetry book, 'Room to Rhyme', based on the poetry recitals given on Facebook during lockdown. That lifted people and gave them a sense of hope. People such as Séan Cunningham, Anne Garvey, former commentator on this place Eamonn Mallie, Liam Hannaway and Úna Walsh created a tremendous sense of optimism, and they have turned that into a book and held a great event in Lislea last weekend. The proceeds of the book will be donated to the Rural Health Partnership, which helps people deal with mental health challenges. It is a positive story from lockdown.

I will move on. Rarely a day goes by without another horror story about the state of our health service. This year's winter pressures have arrived earlier than normal and are affecting services across the board. Our healthcare staff are crying out for help; they know that what is to come will potentially be a "winter of discontent". We are still recording over 1,000 new cases of the virus daily, and people are, literally, dying. We hear about the challenges being faced by our emergency departments and the threat of closure of some of them.

Everyone in the House should recognise the need for vaccine certification while we are in this situation. To me, it is a no-brainer. Anything that can encourage more people to get vaccinated, to lessen the demands on our health service and shorten waiting lists is a no-brainer. Why is there opposition to it? The SDLP has been absolutely clear from the start about the pressing need for vaccine certification. Vaccine certificates are a proven alternative that will allow us to prevent another lockdown. Who could be against that? They are about protecting our health service from being overrun. Who could be against that?

The evidence from other jurisdictions is clear. The introduction of vaccine certification encourages vaccine uptake, particularly in younger age groups. Surely that is not too much to ask in the interests of keeping the public, families and staff safe. Our proposals for vaccine certification were blocked in the Executive by the DUP and Sinn Féin, who have, instead, left the matter in the hands of individual businesses. Some businesses are stepping up and taking responsibility. I believe that, to attend this year's Belfast Christmas Market, you will have to have a vaccine certificate. Why is there opposition in the House to vaccine certification in order to keep our healthcare staff, families and communities safe, lessen the waiting lists and reduce the waiting times for people who are waiting for operations and cancer treatments? Why is there opposition to that? What is the problem?

It is important that everyone is absolutely clear: the decision not to employ vaccine certification abdicates —

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Sorry, Mr McNulty. You make a very valid point as a stand-alone argument, but you are well off the scope of the regulations that are in front of the House. I ask you to return to the motion.

Justin McNulty (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Apologies, Cheann Comhairle. I just feel strongly about it. Others will have a different view, but there should be no opposition to anything that reduces the pressures on our health service and keeps people alive.

I support the implementation of the regulations. I look forward to hearing other people's contributions.

Alan Chambers (UUP, North Down)

The Ulster Unionist Party welcomes and supports any guidance or regulation that is put in place to protect the health of the people of Northern Ireland and ease the intolerable burden that is being experienced by our health and social care system. We have every confidence that the evidence and advice that is being offered to the Executive by our experts enables them to make informed decisions.

The pandemic has not gone away. We are simply in a stage of trying to manage it and provide the public with an opportunity to return to some form of normality. However, that comes with a responsibility for the public: they must assist the process and ensure that the return to normality is allowed to proceed. The public can do that by increasing the number of people who have received the vaccination. It is absolutely imperative that people consider that and make the choice to get vaccinated and, when the opportunity comes along, to receive the booster injection.

It is easy to forget the simple messages that we were all given at the start of the pandemic about wearing a face covering, social distancing and hand hygiene. All those things are still relevant because the virus is out there seeking every opportunity to infect every one of us. We have a responsibility to protect not just ourselves but the people around us. The Ulster Unionist Party welcomes and fully supports what is in front of us.

Paula Bradshaw (Alliance, Belfast South)

I support the motions.

As the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 are technical, I do not intend to take much time on them. However, I will say that our entire guidance on face coverings is now bordering on farce, particularly given the reopening of nightclubs without any real mitigations. It is now common to see people, including staff in shops and elsewhere, simply not wearing face coverings. Of course, not wearing a face covering indoors is permitted in an increasing number of instances. Debate has now moved on as to whether face coverings should be required only while standing on public transport and seated at a wedding dance. No one can say that there is scientific advice on such specific requirements, and that removes people's faith in the whole thing.

Ultimately, we have to make a decision. If we are keeping face coverings in the regulations and thus in law, we need to enforce those regulations or put in place other mitigations where they cannot meaningfully be applied, rather than being seen to constantly pare back the requirements. Alternatively, we need to accept that we are now solely using guidance. After all, so many people are now not wearing face coverings at all.

Amendment No. 16 was made specifically to allow for the resumption of theatre and drama.

I welcome the fact that theatre and drama can resume, particularly for my constituency of South Belfast. Theatres have had a long wait to welcome back their patrons. I very much welcome the responsible attitudes shown by many theatres with which I have been in contact. Most have opted to reopen at full capacity, subject to checking for vaccination or a recent negative test, or, alternatively, they will open at below full capacity on terms similar to the hospitality industry; for example, face coverings will be required while moving about. I find that impressive, and I attended a show recently and felt that mitigations had clearly been put in place to assure those attending that they were at low risk.

Amendment No. 17 is curious. It was designed to stop significant gatherings in private homes. The example that is always given, for whatever reason, is raves. There is a fairly open acceptance here, as I have indicated in previous contributions in the Chamber, that the regulations for private dwellings were not particularly enforceable. We wasted too much time on specifics that were never going to be checked.

In Committee, I raised the issue of communications in response to each of the amendments that we are discussing. It is evident that Scotland is the leader in communications among the jurisdictions of the UK and Ireland. Scotland gives messaging that is clear and succinct. We are still talking about the latest communication plan, which is being updated to reflect the feedback from the attitudinal study. I welcome the fact that the Department of Health conducted that, but we need to see its outworkings soon, particularly in targeting the younger age groups, where we see the majority of cases at present. We also need to ensure that there is awareness, even if people feel that they are not vulnerable, that the chain of infection, particularly via households, can soon see the virus reaching an elderly grandparent or a parent with an underlying condition and so on.

I put on record my party's opposition to the reopening of high-risk indoor venues without any mitigations that are regulated for or enforced, be they spacing requirements, ventilation, vaccination or negative test checks. This morning, I was sent a photograph of a queue outside one of the venues in South Belfast. Scores of people who look like students — they were certainly young people — were queueing to get into a venue. That is dispiriting because students or young people cannot be taught properly in university classes because those establishments worry about their close proximity, yet we see them stand shoulder to shoulder with virtual strangers. Not to have those checks in place is a major error, and it will see infection rates and, ultimately, hospitalisation rates rise. We will see so much more pressure on our Health and Social Care staff. Putting that additional pressure on them when we are warning that we are heading into a very tough winter is particularly concerning.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

The regulations typify the steps being taken to open up society. There is a corresponding concern in respect of those who feel vulnerable to COVID as to whether and why our booster programme has fallen behind. Many of us were amazed at the efficiency and achievements of the original vaccination programme. It truly was a remarkable feat. However, suddenly, when it comes to the booster, which, we are told, is necessary six months after the previous vaccination, we drag far behind. The figure quoted is only 28%, which is less than half of some other devolved regions. As the Minister is present, I would like him to use the opportunity to explain to the House why the booster programme lags behind, what steps are intended to make up that lost ground and what the time frame is in that regard. There is particular concern amongst many about the booster programme.

If I can test your patience a little, Mr Speaker, I also invite the Minister to comment, if he can, on the fact that the medical director in the Northern Trust has said that patients visiting hospital should be entitled to ask the attending staff whether they are vaccinated. There has been some controversy about that, not least today. Is that the Department's policy? What is the compulsion, if any, on the nursing and medical staff to answer such a question? If they do not answer such a question, are there consequences? The medical director's remarks are opening up a whole new controversy.

If the Minister could clearly spell out the Department's stance on those issues, that would be of particular interest and assistance. I would like to hear from the Minister on those two points, within the ambit of the debate.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

That would be stretching it.

[Laughter.]

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

I start by expressing my sympathies to the families of everyone who has passed away from COVID. Unfortunately, thousands of people have died, including my grandmother Claire, who, sadly, died last week. Our nanny, as we knew her, was in hospital awaiting a care package. She was waiting for a long time, and, unfortunately, picked up COVID. She was transferred to the Mater and died later. The fact that our health and care services and systems are overstretched meant that communication broke down or did not happen. I do not for a second blame the health workers; I blame an underfunded system and am concerned that others will be impacted by that, as our grandmother was. My family and I thank the staff in the COVID centre and the Mater who cared for her. I am worried about how the winter will be for many people.

I turn to the regulations. I have raised concerns in Committee about evidence not being forthcoming to guide the lifting of regulations, especially those pertaining to the removal of social-distancing requirements at performance venues. I am concerned that there has been a lack of projected modelling of what the cases will be or what will happen if regulation x or y is lifted. We are met with daily warnings about the health service reaching crisis point this winter, so I am concerned that there is a plan to plough ahead without knowing about or having some baseline as to what the cases will be if those decisions are made and regulations are lifted.

I do not believe that the regulation allowing food ordering has been put through rigorous enough checks. Despite the fact that hospitality workers are integral to the venues operating, I am concerned that, once again, decisions are being made without any consideration about how front-line workers will be impacted by them.

I am worried about the winter. I am also concerned about the spread in cases not just among the elderly and vulnerable but in people across the community, the unvaccinated and those facing the possibility of long COVID.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

No other Member has indicated a wish to speak, so I call the Minister of Health, Robin Swann.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

Before I start my remarks on closing the debate, I pass on the condolences of the House to Mr Carroll on the loss of his grandmother. It is never easy to lose a loved one, but there is often a special relationship with a grandparent that, I am sure, many Members have had. Mr Carroll, will you pass on our condolences to your family?

I welcome today's debate on the two amendments to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations. I thank Members for their contributions. I will address some of the points that were made by Members.

I was deliberate in my opening comments on how the regulations are the culmination of Executive decisions. I still feel the frustration and annoyance from the Health Committee about how it has to review, look at and mitigate the direction of travel of the regulations without the full evidence that goes to the Executive. We can give our input from a health point of view from our papers, our modelling, our TTP projection and our outbreak reports, and that is published on the Department's website, so I understand where the Chair and his members are coming from. The most recent amendment that we are talking about today was made on 9 October. We have not caught up on the debate over the regulations, but there is a shorter gap between when changes are made and when they are enacted.

I thank the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee, Mrs Cameron, for thanking and acknowledging the drafters. A small team of drafters in my Department, which has been supplemented now and again with staff from other Departments, works on how regulations are drafted, changed and challenged. I will put that into perspective: other jurisdictions have large teams that work in multiple shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to do the same thing as we expect a small, dedicated team in the Department of Health to do. I reiterate what Mrs Cameron said and acknowledge the work that the team has done not only in turning the regulations out in time but in dealing with the challenge of converting into legislation the conversations or the will of a five-party Executive. As we heard in the debate, it is not always easy to change those conversations into legislation that can be easily understood and communicated. That was Ms Bradshaw's point.

Mr McNulty is no longer in the Chamber. He spoke about "cautious optimism", but, in that messaging, I encourage people not to lose the benefits and the optimism by falling into a level of complacency, dropping their guard and beginning to act as though the virus has gone away. Mr McNulty started to talk about domestic certification. Yesterday, we launched the domestic COVID certificate app. Having that facility is part of the Executive's autumn and winter planning, should it be needed. I encourage anyone who has been vaccinated and is eligible to download the app, because, if the Executive make a decision at some point to utilise it in Northern Ireland, people already having it would be a big advantage. It would reduce the workload, and the app will be able to be used in the other jurisdictions across the common travel area where proof of vaccination is needed.

Mr Chambers talked about the responsibilities that we still ask the general public to take on in order to support us. The messaging has not changed greatly. It is to get the vaccine when it is offered; wear a face covering in crowded or indoor settings; wash your hands regularly; cover your nose and mouth; self-isolate and take a PCR test if you have symptoms; if you do not have symptoms but are mixing closely with other people, take regular tests to reduce the risk of spreading the virus; meet outside, if you can; open windows when indoors; keep your distance from people who are not in your group; and work from home where practicable or do a mix of home- and office-based working.

There are still challenges. Ms Bradshaw highlighted part of the challenge, which is the communication when we start to ease regulations and move some parts from regulation to guidance. In many places and settings, face coverings, as I said in my opening statement, are still in the regulations. I want to see more enforcement and compliance, but, from the Department of Health's point of view, we have always had the struggle that the enforcement power and ability do not lie with us. We rely on other Departments, local government and the PSNI to make educated enforcement guidance and to have conversations with people, no matter where they may be, about face coverings still being a critical tool to be utilised by those who can use them. I acknowledge that there are people to whom face coverings are not applicable or by whom they are not easily used.

Mr Speaker, you indulged Mr Allister slightly, and, if you grant me the same indulgence, I will answer some of his points. I am slightly disappointed about where we are with the booster programme. The Member is right to highlight strongly the start that we got off to with that. I engaged with our Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and our vaccination team last week. Yesterday, I engaged with a number of actors who are key to the roll-out of our booster programme to see exactly where we are. While we have been able to support our GPs with additional vaccinators in some scenarios where they have been doing large vaccination campaigns, inputting the data into our vaccine management system did not keep up with that.

We have now asked the Public Health Agency (PHA) to look at how we can enhance the administration side of things so that, when people get the vaccine or the booster, that information is put on to the system. That drives the dashboard, which, in turn, drives public knowledge about how many vaccines have been supplied.

The House will be aware that Community Pharmacy stepped in yesterday to provide booster programmes as well. It is now acting in that regard. There is currently a dual-track approach between GPs, who will call people forward, and Community Pharmacy, with which people can make a booking if they are eligible. Those over 50 who had their second vaccine at least six months ago are eligible.

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Will the Minister give way?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

Yes.

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Minister for his remarks. I welcome the fact that Community Pharmacy is now involved. There is further scope to employ the volunteer vaccinator cohort to take the pressure off GPs, who are so stretched in trying to provide appointments. Does the Minister recognise that there is now some confusion about where people can go to get not only the booster vaccine but the first, second and third vaccines? With so many moving parts, it has become confusing for some people.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I get that. Most of the people who came forward to the PHA as volunteer vaccinators or through the payment system were deployed to the SSE Arena. There were a large number of administrators as well. It is now about how we utilise them, through the PHA, to support our GPs. They are coming forward, and they are being used.

The Member is right about what is now available. We are still calling people forward for their first and second vaccines. In the region of 400 to 500 people a day are coming forward for their first vaccine. That is available through Community Pharmacy. From where people get their second vaccine will depend on from where they got their first vaccine. If people got their first vaccine from a GP practice, Community Pharmacy or a trust facility, they will get their second one from the same place.

The third vaccine that the Chair talks about is for people who are immunosuppressed. It is strange terminology, as it is a third vaccine, not a booster. Technically, it is a third vaccine. Just shy of 10,000 people who have come forward for the third vaccine are not included in our booster vaccine statistics. That starts to complicate the messaging.

For anybody who wants a vaccine, be it their first, second, third or a booster, the availability is there. When it comes to those people over 50 who are eligible for the booster, we are back to that twin-track approach, where it is got either from their GP or from Community Pharmacy.

Come forward and get your vaccine. Over 190,000 vaccine doses have been deployed to our GP practices. Those have to be used within three weeks. I think that it was Dr Alan Stout who said yesterday that he hopes to see an increase over the next couple of weeks, and so do I. We are making every effort to ensure that we can get our vaccine programme back on track and fully performing in order to deliver the booster programme as well. It is about working with all partners across the programme.

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Thank you for that clarification and the recognition that there is scope for confusion, given that things are so complex. You stated that you are disappointed at where we are at present, so is consideration being given to reopening some of the walk-in centres to make a start on fast-tracking the programme?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

When we met yesterday, everything was on the table. We looked at where we could go. I want to see Community Pharmacy and GPs start to deliver what they have said they will deliver. Let us not take away from the programme that Community Pharmacy and GPs delivered at the very start, before we moved to the mass vaccination programme.

One of the things that we need to be conscious of is the fact that people cannot get a booster until six months after their second vaccine. There is a time delay involved in determining who is now eligible. It is therefore not just a matter of opening mass vaccination centres for everybody to come forward for their booster. We are providing further communication to make sure that people are clear about who is eligible and where they can go.

I did not hear the comment that Mr Allister referred to, but I see that Tom Black said something similar in 'The Irish News' . That has not been discussed in the Department, nor had it been raised with me before I saw it on the front page of 'The Irish News' this morning. I would not be comfortable with, nor do I intend, following that direction of travel, whereby we challenge our health professionals to prove that they have been vaccinated before they treat patients. It is not something that I was aware of, have had conversations about or have definitely made a decision on.

I hope that I have answered as many Members' queries and questions as possible. In closing the debate, I remind Members that the choices that we make now will be crucial to ensuring that the virus does not begin to spread once more. As we continue to remove the remaining restrictions, our society moves closer to a return to normal life. By making safer choices, following the public health advice and complying with the regulations, we can all do our part to help slow the spread of COVID-19. I commend the regulations to the Assembly.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 16) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I beg to move

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 17) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

The motion has already been debated.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 17) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I beg to move

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

The motion has already been debated.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 be approved.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

I ask Members to take their ease for a moment or two before we move onto the next item of business in the Order Paper.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr McGlone] in the Chair)

Private Members' Business

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

I beg to move

That this Assembly recognises the rising cost of energy; expresses concern at the effect these rising costs are having on those on low incomes; acknowledges that the increased cost of living combined with the financial pressures arising from the end of furlough and the removal of the £20 universal credit (UC) weekly uplift will leave many potentially unable to heat their homes this winter; and calls on the Minister of Finance, the Minister for the Economy and the Minister for Communities to work together to create a means-tested winter energy emergency fund to help those in need.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30 minutes for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes to propose and 10 minutes to wind up the debate. All other Members who wish to speak will have five minutes.

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

We are all mindful of the very real and the palpable fear that many of our most vulnerable, as well as many who, until recently, thought that they were just about managing with the challenges of emerging from COVID, are feeling about the rising costs of energy. Whether it is gas prices, electricity or the escalating cost of heating oil, there is likely to be very little respite from the impact of the global hike in energy. That some local electricity companies have raised their prices four times this year alone gives far too many people the hard choice of whether to heat their home or feed their family.

For those who are at risk, there are also the equally worrying concerns about going in to unsustainable debt, seeking credit from whatever source they can. The impact on health, social well-being, children's welfare and education of a third or more of our population makes this a cross-cutting issue for the whole of the Northern Ireland Executive, but, in particular, it is an issue for the Finance, Communities and Economy Ministers. It is a crisis that was well foretold, coupled with the failure to address the existing challenges of fuel and energy poverty. I thank many of our Ulster Unionist Party council colleagues for raising these issues in council chambers throughout Northern Ireland.

The combination of gas realpolitik from Russia, a prolonged period of diminished wind energy, the restart of the Chinese manufacturing economy, and, more locally, the inadequacies of our energy sector, including its lack of robustness and resilience, has created an energy storm. That is without doubt. It is a storm that stretches across the Western world and Europe in particular, where gas and electricity prices have risen inexorably. Despite the United Kingdom having the lowest gas per therm price, there is a shortage of supply of gas and electricity. The 100% rise in gas prices, with electricity prices escalating by a third this autumn, even before the winter hits, should have caused alarm bells to go off across the Executive. That our Utility Regulator, as early as the summer, highlighted the upwards trend in gas futures shows that the information was available. It just, unfortunately, was not acted on.

That Northern Ireland is the part of these islands most affected by fuel poverty is well recognised. With a fuel poverty rate that is above that of the rest of our nation, a greater reliance on oil for heating, a very limited choice of electricity providers, and, at best, an intemperate climate, we have a real problem. We have to deal with the immediate problem, and, in the longer term, we need to look at how we deal with the situation. We need to take action now. It cannot be put off.

Yesterday, the Finance Minister outlined the October monitoring round. Quite rightly, there was an emphasis on healthcare. We also had what I can term only as an unseemly spat between several parties around universal credit and bringing forward schemes to fill that gap. There is, obviously, a disconnect between what is said in the privacy of the Executive and what is said in public, but there can be no disconnect in dealing with fuel and energy poverty. We know from research that cold kills. Three years ago, it was reported that 1,500 excess winter deaths in Northern Ireland were directly attributable to living in cold, damp homes. Add on the tangential impact of COVID, the greater energy costs, and the social dislocation and disruption caused by the pandemic, and that figure may, regrettably, be much higher this year.

Furthermore, the knock-on effect on our A&Es and heavily pressurised hospitals and on the well-being of many of our elderly and young people means that the impact will be hard felt across all of society. We can and must do better.

We are asking the Assembly to support us in a two-pronged approach that deals with the immediate challenge and, then, sets in place a properly thought-through future fuel poverty action plan. We may have to provide support to 180,000 to 200,000 households this winter. I will say that again: we may have to provide support to 180,000 to 200,000 households this winter. If we accept that a winter fuel allowance of around £200 is needed, that means that our Executive would have to find around £40 million. Looking at our latest monitoring round, we have not identified that yet. We recognise that this is a problem across all our nations. However, we need to make a provision for that funding in Northern Ireland by making clear that we will accept a future pressure into 2022-23, coupled with the rigorous removal of less important programmes. We should have the flex in our budgets to do that. If we are serious about supporting our most vulnerable, we should do it.

The maths are clear: with our baseline Budget of £12 billion, the approximately £40 million that is needed to provide an emergency energy fund represents around 0·4% of our annual spending. Surely, with some joined-up thinking, that could be allocated. The Finance, Economy and Communities Ministers could and should work together to create a means-tested winter energy emergency fund to help those who are in need. We ask all parties in the Executive to critically examine the real pressures and make some grown-up choices. It will cause pain to some Departments, but what is more important? It would help to deal with the immediate challenge and show to a very sceptical population that our Executive are capable of working together cooperatively, doing what is best for our most vulnerable people.

In the longer term, we have to accept that, as we transition away from fossil fuels, Northern Ireland's housing stock is not fit for purpose. We need to closely examine how we can prevent continuing fuel poverty. We need the Finance Minister to change the building regulations to stipulate housing improvements. We also need to look at incentives to promote microgeneration and encourage the change away from the monopolistic stranglehold that the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) and Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) — aka EirGrid and the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) — have on our grid.

The Economy Minister must focus efforts on the future of our energy supplies and on security, continuity, affordability and access. Part of that discussion must be about whether our current set-up can be made fit for purpose. By any objective assessment, it is not. We also need the Communities Minister to properly identify those who are at risk, allocate future funding for continued energy relief and work cooperatively with the other Departments to create a sustainable future programme. We are approaching another election. When we eventually emerge from that, we must ensure that addressing fuel poverty is a key part of any Programme for Government: it must be in the PFG.

We look forward to hearing from contributors to the debate. I commend our motion to the House.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

I support the intent of the motion, and we will vote for it. Listening to Dr Aiken, however, I cannot help but feel that he is either deliberately ignoring the scale of the problem or that he has no realisation of it. I suspect that he does realise the scale of the problem. If he understands it, surely he and his colleagues have to understand that it is beyond the financial capacity of the Executive to deal with the looming energy crisis that is coming down the track and, indeed, that is here. Most observers in the field believe that it will continue right up until spring 2022.

Dr Aiken has given us a figure of £40 million that the Executive need to find. When we are looking to fund something, we have got into the habit of referring to the amount of money that the Executive have, taking the smallest decimal point that we can find and saying, "That is 0·4%". Last week, another party was looking for 0·5%. Next week, another will be looking for 1%. I do not care whether the Finance Minister is from the Ulster Unionist Party, the DUP or the SDLP or is Jim Allister. I do not care who it is. They can no longer subsidise Tory austerity and deal with events on a global scale such as the energy crisis.

While the intent of the motion is honourable and good, it does not recognise the scale of the problem. The scale of the energy cost rises impacts not only on those who have lost universal credit, whether they were working or not, but on families with two incomes. Whether both parents or however many in a home work, they will be hit by energy cost rises that they never thought possible.

It has been estimated that it costs £600 a year to heat an average family home using gas. It is now estimated that, with the increases, it will be over £1,000 a year. That does not take into account rising food costs, the rising cost of putting diesel, petrol or whatever it may be into your car, putting clothes on your children's backs or putting food on the table. All those things are coming down the track at families. I suspect that many families believe that they may be cushioned against that because they are working. You would have to be on a good wage to be able to say, "Right, my energy cost's going up by 100%. I'll be able to absorb that". It is impossible.

When we talk about tackling this, I do not think that £40 million does it. Last year, through COVID funding, the Executive received around £200 million to tackle fuel poverty as a result of COVID and other things. That is the scale that we are talking about. It is not 0·4% of the Budget. It is much, much more.

Today, the Assembly, with the Welsh Parliament and the Scottish Parliament, should send a clear message to Westminster that this is on a scale that none of the devolved institutions can deal with. This is not Tory bashing. I do Tory bash, but this is not Tory bashing. No devolved institution can deal with this issue. This is a central government problem. It is a Westminster issue. It has been caused by rising fuel prices, but there is a serious question as to whether the fuel to heat homes and keep people well should be sold on stock markets in the first place. It should never be a commodity that people invest in and make huge profits out of, and some may lose out. Somebody is making lots money out of this, you can be assured of that.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw his remarks to a close, please.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

While I will support the motion, it is not ambitious enough. The message from the Assembly should be, "Westminster, it's time to open up the purse strings".

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Members who brought the motion. The Member who moved it knows that I am passionate about energy. Some would say — he might say — that I am an anorak when it comes to energy.

Why am I so passionate about energy? It is simply because energy policy is a life or death policy. There are very few policies that we would grapple with in the Assembly that are so fundamentally serious. I agree with John O'Dowd when he says that this will affect every person in this country. I also agree with John O'Dowd on the financial scale of the problem. Where I part from his belief is that the Assembly cannot just shirk its responsibility and say, "This problem has to be solved by our sovereign Government".

There is a short-term issue here, but there is also a long-term policy issue, which we have failed to grapple with for many, many years. We have hundreds of excess winter deaths every single year. That is why it is life and death, and it is incumbent on the Assembly, the Executive and the Communities Minister, whose remit includes fuel poverty, to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society survive this winter. That is how stark the problem is.

It is a global problem, geopolitically driven by Russia and China for various reasons, and the shortage of stock and gas, which has led to a rise in prices, affects us disproportionately because of our mix with regard to generating energy. It is a local problem, and the fact is that our neighbours, whom we live beside every day, may not survive the winter. It is as stark as that. If we cannot do something here in the short term, as we did last year with COVID, we will fail those people and their families.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

Will the Member give way?

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Yes, I will.

John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann)

I just want to clarify my point. The Executive can do something. My point is that they cannot do enough. They need financial support.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Member has an extra minute.

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for clarifying that and for getting me the extra minute. He is 100% right.

Justin McNulty (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Will the Member give way?

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Yes, I will, although I will not get an extra minute.

Justin McNulty (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

The Member talks about the importance of our doing something. Can he clarify his understanding of what happened at the Executive meeting? The Communities Minister put in a bid for an uplift in universal credit, which has obviously been taken away by the Tories. We have to play our part here and care for the people who need that support the most — the most vulnerable people in our society, as the Member mentioned. Can the Member clarify his understanding of what happened at the Executive meeting? Who supported that bid and who was opposed to it?

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I am loath to get into the very ugly debate that has been going on between those two parties around who is to blame for universal credit, but let me tell you this: both parties are playing politics on this. We know from the Committee meeting that, even if the £55 million had been granted, there was no ability to draw that money down. There had to be a further bid in January. Both those parties are playing politics with the most vulnerable people's lives, and it is ugly and wrong. You need to catch a grip of yourselves.

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

Will the Member give way?

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Yes, I will.

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

Does my Committee colleague also recognise that, when officials briefed the Committee, they pointed to the fact that it would take several months to develop the IT system to deliver the UC uplift?

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Yes, that is my point, and I thank the Member for making it. Stop playing politics with the most vulnerable people's lives and let us get to the matter at hand, which is rising energy costs that will affect people's lives and will kill people this winter. This is a very serious issue in the short term because people will die, so we need something to be parachuted in. It could be a very blunt instrument, and I suspect that it will be given the short-termism that we need to effect this change. We need to get people the support and the money — it is a financial necessity — that they will require to pay for fuel to heat their homes this winter.

There is also a long-term aspect. It might not only be rising costs that kill people. It might be blackouts or no electricity at all, and the fault and blame for that lie squarely and fully at the door of EirGrid, which has not planned appropriately, with all its knowledge and capacity, for the generation of electricity this winter, next winter, the winter after that and the winter after that again. People will die because of rising costs. People will potentially die because of blackouts. That is unforgivable.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw his remarks to a close, please.

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Thank you.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I support of the motion. I recognise that rising energy costs is a global issue.

In the context of the COVID pandemic and its economic fallout, those are, indeed, unprecedented challenges that are outside any Administration's control. However, the weakened and significantly disadvantaged position in which we find ourselves is not.

According to the latest data from the living costs and food survey, 11% of all weekly household expenditure in the North is on energy. That equates to an average household energy spend of £58 per week, the highest anywhere on these islands, and, of course, we know that many low-income households spend way more than 11% on energy. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that the North has among the highest levels of fuel poverty in all of Europe.

Those issues pre-existed the current crisis, yet the efforts to address them have not gone far enough. Instead, citizens here have been set at an even further disadvantage compared with their counterparts elsewhere. This is the only region without a warm home discount scheme, which offers a £140 discount on gas or electricity bills for eligible claimants, and that money is paid directly to suppliers. Fuel poverty experts have described that as a lifeline, but it is a lifeline that households here have been left without. For an area with the lowest disposable income, battling high costs is a recipe for disaster. Households here have now been hit with the double whammy of the end of furlough and the cruel cut to universal credit. The inability of the Executive to mitigate that economic reality serves only to deepen rates of poverty.

As the Fuel Poverty Coalition put it, the increases in energy costs, on top of those challenges, will lead to "the 'perfect storm' this winter". I agree with that assessment. People here were already feeling the brunt of Tory austerity, and the removal of the £20 universal credit uplift, which just about allowed families to keep their heads above water in recent months, has left low-income households worse off at their time of greatest need. Those are the same people who will be most adversely impacted by the heavy energy price increases.

Customers are still adjusting to the previous hike in gas prices that was announced in October, so it is beyond me how they are expected to meet the cost of a 50% increase in gas prices by December, never mind the 20% increase in electricity prices that is predicted for January. The price of energy continues to rise, and the situation shows no signs of slowing down. The forecasted rises will leave hundreds of thousands of people struggling to heat their homes, access hot water and keep the lights on. The rises are completely unsustainable, and they will be the breaking point for so many.

I cannot comprehend the fact that, in 2021, MLAs are in the Chamber begging Ministers to take action so that families are not forced to choose between putting food on their table and heating their homes in the run-up to Christmas. Jeekers, Christmas is not even worth thinking about at this stage. We need a long-term strategy from the Economy Minister to address those issues. I ask him to set his sights on incentivising and increasing the use of renewable energies.

The development of any future energy strategy must have —

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for giving way. He is quite right that we have to look at the energy strategy. That is the long-term plan. However, we need more than wind power. When the wind stops blowing, as it did in the summer, it puts our generation mix into very dire straits. Therefore, when we talk about renewable energy, it has to be about more than just wind.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Tá nóiméad breise ag an Chomhalta. The Member has an extra minute.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I thank the Member for his intervention, and I concur with what he said.

The development of any future energy strategy must have net zero emissions targets at its core. While slashing the planet's carbon emissions, we can also slash prices and pass cost savings on to consumers. However, in the here and now, Ministers must work together to establish protections for the most vulnerable this winter.

I appreciate that the focus of the motion is limited to assisting low-income households. As Mr O'Dowd said, many more are affected —

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

Will the Member give way?

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I am sorry, Mr Allen. I have limited time.

I would like the Economy Minister to explore the potential inclusion of small businesses in any emergency energy proposals. They, too, bore the brunt of the pandemic's economic fallout and have been hit hard by the impact of rising energy costs. Although household energy costs here are, believe it or not, capped, businesses are not afforded any safeguards. We cannot afford to see local businesses that have weathered the storm of COVID being forced to shut up shop as a result of soaring energy prices. Businesses going bust means jobs being lost, thus contributing to the ongoing poverty cycle. We can and must do better than that.

I implore the Communities Minister to work alongside her Executive colleagues to establish a winter energy emergency fund for struggling households in order to mitigate the rising cost of living. I understand that a bid has already been made for a fuel support package, and discussions about it have begun with the Utility Regulator, but we need to see the matter progressed urgently, not held out as a carrot to be taken away at the eleventh hour. Too many opportunities have been lost.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw his remarks to a close.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

We cannot afford to deny families much-needed support this winter. An emergency energy scheme is needed now. I implore the Executive to consider implementing a cross-sector fuel poverty task force, as —

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Member's time is up.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

— recommended by the Fuel Poverty Coalition.

Stewart Dickson (Alliance, East Antrim)

The timing of the debate could not be more urgent. Our energy crisis has emphasised the need for real, meaningful and permanent change. As others said, the record high prices will sadly plunge thousands of households into fuel poverty this winter, with costs increasing at incredible rates in many areas.

The crisis has been sparked by a number of factors, but it is ultimately down to rising global demand for unsustainable energy. Prices have skyrocketed after the pandemic, as demand rebounded more quickly than expected. The rise in energy prices that we are seeing now will happen time and time again while we continue to rely on fossil fuels as our dominant energy system. In effect, we are in a perfect storm that has been brewing for some time.

People are desperate. They face rising energy prices, cuts to welfare and a long, cold winter. Even before the pandemic, over 160,000 households in Northern Ireland were living in fuel poverty. With no end to high prices in sight, we need to address the issue now. We must deal with it.

The removal of the universal credit uplift, which others mentioned, could not have come at a more critical time. Reports by citizens' organisations have demonstrated that some of poorest households in Northern Ireland could lose up to £40 a week. Over 300,000 people in Northern Ireland already live on the breadline. The Northern Ireland poverty bulletin reported that one child in four lives in poverty. Taking away the universal credit uplift will only plunge another 11,000 children into poverty and misery.

We cannot just pay lip service to fuel poverty, food poverty, clothing poverty and period poverty. We need to address all those issues on behalf of our constituents who can no longer afford the bare essentials. No one should be forced to choose between eating and heating. That choice represents an absolute failure of government policy, whether at Westminster or here, and it entrenches pre-existing inequalities. Some of our most disadvantaged are suffering in silence. Children from cold homes are twice as likely to suffer from respiratory problems as those living in warm homes.

We need urgent action in order to maintain and support people who are living in vulnerable circumstances, but we also need long-term solutions. We need to fund energy programmes fully, insulate and retrofit homes to make them energy-efficient, and change the energy price framework, which currently charges the highest rates to those who use the least energy.

We have to make progress on tackling fuel poverty. We have not done enough. Unprecedented price rises threaten to wipe out all the good that has been done and put pressure on vulnerable households. Funding has to be put aside to ensure that people can heat their home. We need to invest in greener energy and sustainable, insulated housing. Our most disadvantaged live in poorly insulated homes. People will suffer from the rising costs of energy. Cold homes cost £50 more a month to heat, and many people are at breaking point. That is why my party's green new deal focuses on sustainable energy and ending fuel poverty, while recognising that we have to build a secure and thriving green economy that delivers for everyone.

The decisions that we take now will determine whether this is a crisis in which we support vulnerable households or a catastrophe into which we let them fall. We have an opportunity to reimagine our communities, but that must involve all-encompassing, cross-departmental schemes. An example of that is being showcased in London with the release of the Future Neighbourhoods 2030 plan that puts long-term emphasis on the restructuring of the economy, ending inequalities through a green new deal and focusing on disadvantaged residents who have been disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. Departments here need to grasp practical examples such as that.

The effects of unemployment and the COVID pandemic will be seen hard and long through the winter. An emergency fund would go some way to reducing fuel poverty but would be a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed. It is time to put long-term emphasis on restructuring our economy, ending dependency on unreliable and climate-destroying fossil fuels.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw his remarks to a close.

Stewart Dickson (Alliance, East Antrim)

Finally, Mr Speaker, a question for a Minister who is not here today, our Economy Minister: where is our energy strategy?

Cathal Boylan (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. It is quite interesting, with some Members talking about how we are living in unprecedented times. I know that Mr Frew is passionate about energy and knows the subject inside out. I will not profess to know about that issue, but what I will say is: I agree with my colleague John O'Dowd. When he spoke about where some of the answers for all of this lie, I saw the proposer of the motion nod his head. He talked about the £40 million. That £40 million is not going to wash here, folks. The interventions that we need to address these issues lie outside this place.

The first words that Mr Durkan used were "unprecedented times", and he then proceeded to go after the Executive. I have no doubt that the Executive will do their bit as best they can, but —

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I thank the Member for giving way. I am not sure how closely he was listening. In my introductory remarks, I recognised that rising energy costs are a global issue and an unprecedented challenge that is outside any Administration's control. I am sure that the Member will accept that the Executive can and must do more to tackle this crisis through joint working.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Member has an extra minute.

Cathal Boylan (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

I appreciate what the Member says. We all know that this is a global crisis. The pandemic has not been to the fore of any of the contributions to the motion from the Floor, but it should be. If you read any of the statements, they are always about unforeseen energy rises. Talk to the other industries right across the economic sector or to the building trade: prices are rising no matter, whether it is wood or cement. No matter what it is in the construction industry, those costs are growing. This is a global crisis across the board, but I believe that some of the answers lie, and the onus lies, with Westminster. Other Governments across Europe and the world are tackling the crisis. They are engaging with energy companies and trying their best, so the responsibility lies with Westminster as well.

I will support the motion. A lot of people have been on, and we know that people have suffered and continue to suffer. They face many challenges arising from the pandemic. We all recognise the hardships that COVID has visited on our people. The reality is that we have plodded our way through COVID on the road to some form of normality, but we have to see what that normality may be. We have seen costs rise across the economic sector. We have all seen energy prices skyrocket over the course of the year, but this issue is not specific to the North. Energy costs have risen across the world, and that is due, in part, to our over-reliance on fossil fuels, weather conditions that make it harder to generate renewable energy and, of course, the demand for energy as we recover from the pandemic. Local suppliers have raised their wholesale energy prices as a result of worldwide demand for energy. In the North, wholesale gas prices rose by 150% between August and October. All local suppliers have raised their prices. Budget Energy has hiked electricity costs by 18%. Firmus Energy increased gas prices by 35% in the ten towns network. SSE Airtricity has increased prices by 21·8%.

Click Energy has increased its prices by 16%. Further price rises are expected to continue into the winter, and it is likely to be spring of 2022 when those prices will stabilise.

While this is a global problem that affects people right across the world, the increased costs come at the same time as the Tory Government's decision to cut £20 from universal credit and tax credits and raise National Insurance contributions. The combination of all of these factors will not only increase the number of people experiencing fuel poverty, as highlighted by the motion, but the number of people falling into poverty overall.

Workers and families in the North have the lowest earnings and disposable incomes across these islands and are, therefore, more vulnerable to further rising costs. The Consumer Council says that families in the North are more exposed to fuel poverty than those elsewhere due to our population having these lower wages and disposable incomes. As many have said, the scale of the energy crisis is unprecedented, and an energy fund alone would not be enough to help workers and families on low and middle incomes who will all be affected by these rising costs.

As I said, Governments across the world have taken measures and steps. The scale of the energy crisis cannot be resolved by funding from the block grant alone. I believe that the onus lies with the British Government. There are certainly measures that the Executive can take, and, by supporting the motion, I hope that we can come to —

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw his remarks to a close, please.

Cathal Boylan (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

OK. I am finished, Mr Deputy Speaker, Go raibh míle maith agat.

Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

It is clear that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Ordinary families and workers are struggling to make ends meet, and, as Members across the House have said, energy costs have skyrocketed over the course of this year. When you add that to the rising cost of food, increased costs at the petrol pumps, inflation and the costs of unsubsidised childcare, you see that families right across the board are struggling to get by. Despite this, the British Chancellor delivered a Budget last week that offered no direct support for families facing these Bills.

Last week, the Tory Government demonstrated once again that they are wedded to the rich, with cuts to taxes for the banks. Meanwhile, ordinary workers and families will pay more National Insurance, and families here who are most in need have had their universal credit cut by the British Government. It is unfair, and it will potentially leave many families unable to heat their home this winter.

I am Sinn Féin's spokesperson on children and young people, so I want to look at how this could potentially affect children and young people. The likely consequences and impacts of unaffordable energy costs on children and young people are really concerning. According to research, for those living in insufficiently heated homes, there is a 30% greater risk of hospital admission for infants, and for children there is a significantly greater risk of health problems, particularly respiratory illness. For adolescents, there is an increased risk of mental health problems. Obviously, these risks are hugely concerning and that is why we need the British Government to step up and face up to their responsibilities, just as Governments across Europe have done. We are asking them to introduce significant measures to tackle rising energy prices.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

Will the Member give way?

Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Sure, go ahead.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

I have listened to the Member and obviously she has raised a valid issue about insulation. Maybe she should have a word with her colleagues and ask them why, over the past number of years, her party has persistently resisted any changes to the Housing Executive. We are waiting on this new dawn for the Housing Executive from the current Minister, but that was denied by previous Sinn Féin representatives. That, ultimately, has led to a housing crisis for which she and her colleagues are responsible.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Tá nóiméad breise ag an Chomhalta. The Member will have an extra minute.

Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle.

I thank the Member for his intervention. Today, we are discussing rising energy costs and how that is affecting everyone throughout the North. My point was about children and young people specifically. I will leave it to the Minister to respond to that.

Meaningful solutions to a crisis of this scale require intervention at the highest level. As has been said already, the Assembly has limited powers and a restricted Budget, both of which are determined by Westminster. Westminster has the power and resources to deliver solutions on the scale that is required to meet the crisis. That is why we put forward an amendment that focused on meaningful financial interventions that the British Government should deliver, rather than talking about the already overstretched departmental budgets here.

The motion recognises the role that the British Government, and the adoption of their policies, have played in driving the crisis. As was mentioned, the end of furlough and the removal of the £20-a-week universal credit uplift have impacted on some of our most vulnerable households and struggling businesses. However, the motion does not call upon the British Government to reverse those decisions, which they should. I support the motion, but it could have gone further to call for more support from the British Government.

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

I have listened intently to comments from Members around the House. Some pointed out that it is beyond our capacity within our budget to address the issues: the cost of living issues that have been rightly pointed out; the cost of living issues that are squeezing families right across all our constituencies; and the cost of living issues that, as my Committee colleague pointed out, are a matter of life and death. I am sure that his colleagues in the DUP are the poorer for him not being in the Department for the Economy and bringing forward his passion about the energy crisis that we face. I have listened to the Member intently in our Committee, and it is clear that he has vast knowledge in that area. I am sure that he is feeding that to his current Minister.

Yes, the fund that is proposed in the motion is a short-term solution. It is similar to the short-term solution that the COVID heating fund provided in the context of the COVID pandemic. It is short term, and we need long-term meaningful solutions to address the issue that is facing all our constituents right across Northern Ireland. That is why we, as a party, have called repeatedly for the establishment of a fuel poverty task force.

I am sure that people will listen to that and say, "Not another task force. Not another body. Not another quango", but what would that task force do? I have spoken to and liaised with many of our subject matter experts in the fuel industry and in charities, which, day and daily, have to top up our constituents' gas and electric meters. Charities are having to provide financial and welfare support to those people because they cannot afford to heat their homes and they have to choose between heating and eating. That fuel poverty task force would support the Department for Communities to develop solutions to support those constituents who are facing fuel poverty. However, importantly, it would also help to develop long-term solutions to help to prevent many more individuals and families right across Northern Ireland from falling into fuel poverty.

We have heard remarks about the Housing Executive. We have had various reports, such as the cavity wall report, but where is the long-term meaningful outcome in respect of that? The Minister might be able to update the House today on the long-term action plan to properly insulate our Housing Executive homes.

The Minister might also be able to provide an update on her departmental proposals to utilise the £14 million fund. I know that it is only a drop in the ocean in comparison to what we need, but there is a £14 million fund derived from the UK for vulnerable households. Will the Minister bid to her colleague the Finance Minister for the entirety of that £14 million? What will those proposals look like? Will they be one-off payments? How will those one-off payments be measured against the impact on individuals on the ground? I will leave my remarks there.

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

This is not an unexpected rise in fuel costs. I have to admit that, 30-plus years ago, when I sat in my geography class in Queen's University, Dr Nick Betts predicted that, around this time in this century, we would see an increase in the cost of energy because we would have to move away from fossil fuels. That man should be given an award for predictions.

On behalf of the Alliance Party, I support the motion. I thank the Members for bringing it to the Floor of the House. The rising cost of energy is not going to impact every household; it is impacting every household. The cost of home-heating oil, gas, electric and, let us not forget, car fuel, is rising. Predictions are that those costs will only continue to rise before the end of this calendar year, which is months away. As we know, this is happening at the same time as the wider cost of living costs are increasing. What a way to come out of the pandemic. Because of the Spend Local cards, the impact of the loss of the uplift to universal credit of £20 per week has not yet been fully felt in many households. Many of my constituents have used the £100 on their Spend Local card to pay to heat their home and top up their electricity meter as much as they can in advance of winter. That means that, for many families, the money on the Spend Local cards has masked the impact of the removal of the COVID uplift. For most of them, November will be the month when energy costs hit worst.

What can we do? Of course, the motion calls for joint departmental working by asking the Finance, Economy and Communities Ministers to work together to create a means-tested winter energy emergency fund to help people in need. We should never allow any citizen to sit in a cold home. Older people, children, people with disabilities, and all others should never, in a First World society, sit freezing or foundered in their homes.

The increasing cost of energy also impacts on public services. Schools and hospitals will pay more for energy. We must do something about that. The Minister is here to respond to the motion. I will be honest: we have just had the October monitoring round, and no money has been allocated for a winter emergency fund, so what can we do? People who are cold want solutions, not finger-pointing. What can we do in the short term? Of course, we should write to the UK Government and ask them for financial support. We should also challenge the regulator and energy providers more. However —

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Will the Member give way?

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

I will.

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

Does the Member agree that the regulator is probably underfunded and lacks capacity and should be given more support to regulate the people and organisations that are to blame for some of those issues and could well be the cause of blackouts this winter?

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Member has an extra minute.

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

Thank you. A stronger regulator would certainly do that. I agree with the Member.

Let us address the short-term impact of energy cost increases. Bryson Charitable Group has won the fuel bank research tender. However, I assume that that will not be delivered on for this winter. National Energy Action NI and Advice NI have put in a bid for emergency energy support for people across Northern Ireland who have no resources to pay for home heating, so that, if, for instance, someone approached their MLA for a food bank voucher, they might also be offered a home-heating voucher. I do not know what is happening with that bid. The bid could provide the solution to a means-tested winter energy fund. People are already on the ground and ready to help us. As Mr Allen from the Ulster Unionists said, perhaps the Minister could clarify what is happening with that £14 million. Will there be a fuel poverty funding pot? I would love to hear what will happen with that. I will, of course, support the Minister if she puts forward a bid for that total amount.

In the short term, if we are to deal with fuel poverty that is caused by rising energy costs, the solution is money. We have to be honest about that. We all know that it is in tight supply at the moment. We need money now. In the medium term, we need more consideration to be given in the three-year Budget plan to things like insulation, retrofitting and investment in alternative, sustainable fuels. We need to look at energy options such as solar and wind. We need public education. We know that already in the year 2020-21, 45% of our energy was generated from renewables. Therefore, we have the opportunity to do that. We also need to improve the planning process so that solar and wind farms get through the system quicker.

In the long term — I appreciate what Mr Frew said earlier — it is not all down to wind energy. Where do we live? We live on an island. We could have tidal energy. We are not investing in that at all. In the long term, we need to invest in offshore energy, because that is where the solutions are: they are in wind and tidal offshore energy and energy storage. In the week that we are in, while COP is happening, we must not keep navel-gazing and taking knee-jerk reactions to rising fuel prices and fuel poverty. We need to plan and take actions to deal with poverty and fuel poverty.

How about this: New Decade, New Approach? We had a citizens' assembly. Why do we not give the citizens' assembly the ability to come up with an energy strategy? It could be our task force. They could be the people to bring that forward and say, "This is how we need to pull ourselves out of constantly rising fuel costs and energy crises".

A Member

Will the Member give way?

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Member to draw her remarks to a close.

[Laughter.]

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

I am afraid that I am finished.

Rachel Woods (Green, North Down)

I support the motion. For those in our society who are on the lowest incomes, struggling to make their budget stretch and provide for their family, the coming winter is shaping up to be like no other. Unprecedented gas price hikes announced last month coincided with increases in the cost of home-heating oil that have been incremental but significant. The Utility Regulator has warned that gas bills could jump by another 50% in December, and, with the cost of electricity also set to rise considerably, we face further price rises next year. When is it going to end?

We can talk about a worldwide squeeze on gas and energy supplies and various factors such as the cold winter in Europe last year, increased demand from China and the impact of the pandemic, but that will not bring comfort or solace to those who will have to choose, yet again, between heating and eating or making more sacrifices for the sake of their family.

Our people need action from government, and the Executive can and must introduce measures to ease the pressure on those with very limited incomes, but we should never have reached this point. For over 10 years, the Green Party has called for a green new deal for Northern Ireland that would involve a radical overhaul of our energy system and mass retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of homes. We need to address energy insecurity at international and local levels. We have warned against reliance on fossil fuels, and we identified the recovery period from the pandemic as a once in a lifetime opportunity to change and build back better.

Those calls have not been met with meaningful action by the Executive. I repeat the questions, as others have. Where is the energy strategy that we were promised last year? Where is the fuel poverty strategy that we have been waiting on for nearly a decade? When will we implement passive house standards as a minimum in building regulations, so that all new homes require less energy and retain more heat? Where is the extensive retrofitting programme for older houses, so that we can stop people pumping money into heating their street rather than themselves? When will we see the huge investment in home-heating transition from oil and gas boilers to electricity from ground source and air source heat pumps? It needs to be joined up, however. Putting a heat pump in a poorly insulated home is like using a teapot with cracks in it, as my colleague said a couple of —

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for giving way. She raises valid points about the way forward with heat pumps and other things, but everything that seems to be a solution at this point will increase electricity demand — heat pumps, electric vehicles and everything that goes with them — so we need to get the generation mix correct. Does the Member agree that wind will not cut it on its own, so we are on the island philosophy that a colleague across the way referred to of tidal and hydro probably being the way to go?

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

The Member has an extra minute.

Rachel Woods (Green, North Down)

I thank the Member for his intervention. I completely agree. We also need to look at the contracts for difference (CfD) scheme and at how pricing is set and whether it is set for Northern Ireland or within the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. I would certainly welcome information from the Executive on where they are with that, or, indeed, from the Member's party colleague the Economy Minister on the energy strategy that we await. I completely agree, but there needs to be a coherent approach.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for giving way. She talks about a coherent approach. A colleague and I have four projects on the north coast that are gone because of opposition to wind or tidal from people who believed that the environment was going to be damaged. How do we get a balance? In the debate, one says, "Wind, tidal; great, wonderful", but, when we go to produce them, we find that four companies on the north coast are out of business.

Rachel Woods (Green, North Down)

I thank the Member for his intervention. He is correct that a balance is needed, but we cannot just keep destroying the environment for the sake of projects that could be placed elsewhere. Mr Frew made the point that we need to invest in offshore, tidal and hydro as a mix.

National Energy Action (NEA) NI pointed out that, every winter, thousands of people are faced with living in properties that are dangerous or unfit for colder seasons and that 22% of households in Northern Ireland still live in fuel poverty. They live below the poverty line and have much higher bills owing to a poor level of energy efficiency. An analysis suggests that, during winter months, families in cold, leaky homes face bills that are different by, on average, £50 from those of families in well-insulated homes. The 'UK Fuel Poverty Monitor 2019-20' found that the pandemic had created difficult conditions for fuel-poor households, driven by:

"An increase in energy use, due to more people spending more time at home"

and

"A reduction in income, as many jobs were either lost or placed on furlough".

Therefore, it is time for the Executive to step up and tackle those issues head-on. It is not OK simply to say that we are at the mercy of the market. We leave it to the market only if we choose to do so. If regulation is required, Ministers should instruct their Departments to develop legislative proposals. The Executive must set the standard and the example through implementing the required changes in, for example, our social housing stock; not in ten years' time but now.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Will the Member draw her remarks to a close?

Rachel Woods (Green, North Down)

I will indeed. In the short term, they must provide financial assistance to those who have been hardest hit by the energy crisis. Intervention is an option.

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

I support the motion. First, the increases are an absolute disgrace. I am very concerned about how they will impact on people in my constituency and beyond, such as pensioners; people in work; those who face further pay freezes; people on benefits, including legacy benefits; and people who will be affected by the withdrawal of the universal credit uplift. The increases will have a real, negative impact on those people's lives.

This year, people are paying £1,000 more for energy than last year. The cost of heating a home and being able to wash has shot up dramatically, but pay and benefits have not; they have gone in the opposite direction. I am extremely worried about how people will get by this winter. This is an unprecedented increase and crisis, and fuel poverty already impacts on 42% of households. That figure will shoot up again even further.

As a bare minimum, the Executive need to ensure that people are protected this winter. They need to ensure that a protective financial blanket is put around people to make sure that they are not thrown to the wolves. People may ask, "How should that be paid for?". That is a fair question. However, to be honest, organisations that have made huge profits on the back of people should not be subsidised. The profits of those organisations should be tackled and the money used to introduce a payment scheme. I have already asked what powers Stormont has to do that, and some may say that they are limited. However, Stormont has power over welfare, so protection payments need to be put in place.

If the Executive cannot implement protection to prevent people being cold this winter, most people will quite rightly ask, "What are their priorities? What are they at?". A rapid and widespread winter fuel poverty scheme needs to be implemented urgently. Where is the emergency meeting of the Executive on that issue? Where is the fuel poverty strategy? There has been some talk about global causes, but there are some measures that the Executive can implement to protect people, such as a price cap.

The Utility Regulator and the Department for the Economy need to enforce a stop on unregulated energy companies profiting on the back of these price hikes, especially during such an unprecedented period. We simply cannot expect rising energy costs to be passed on to the public at a time of widespread hardship while energy companies are set to make millions in profits. Those with the deepest pockets should pay.

An emergency fuel poverty fund should be implemented. Unregulated energy companies need to commit to donating profits to an emergency fuel poverty fund, as suggested by some here, the Fuel Poverty Coalition and the Utility Regulator. Emergency financial support needs to be implemented, and additional funding needs to be directed towards increasing the winter fuel payment, the cold weather payment, the warm homes scheme and so on, as suggested by NEA and the Nevin Economic Research Institute.

A windfall tax needs to be implemented. Stormont needs to call on Westminster to implement a windfall tax on the profits made by energy companies this year and put that towards developing a green economy and a just transition.

Global causes can be used as an excuse, but the latest increase shows, once again, how unreliable the market is. In recent years, there has been an idea that more competition needs to be injected into the market. However, in the present crisis, the UK Government's preferred option is to let smaller energy companies fail and to persuade larger energy companies to take on the customers of their former rivals with the help of state-backed loans. In practice, that proves that competition is built on fantasy. Therefore, in the short term, we need to see those companies taken into public ownership to ensure that profiteering does not occur and that people are not subject to the whims and decisions of shareholders, chief executives and profiteers.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

Will the Member give way?

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

Sure.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

Does the Member agree that countries such as Russia also need to be looked at? I believe that Russia is a communist state that rides on the back of the benefits of capitalism. Maybe it is time that Russia decided to look at its economics and at how it can help the rest of the world.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Tá bomaite breise ag an Chomhalta. An extra minute for the Member.

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

The Member wants a Russian history lesson. Russia is certainly not communist or socialist. It is a capitalist country, just like Britain and all those others. The DUP has a weird obsession with Russia and China, but I do not have time to dissect that today. Russia is very much a capitalist country. Capitalism is still your party's philosophy, which is strange, given that it cannot even protect people during a pandemic, never mind when prices shoot up.

Mervyn Storey (DUP, North Antrim)

[Inaudible.]

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

I do not know what the Member is shouting, but let me finish.

We need to have a just transition away from those types of energy resources. Fossil fuels burn the planet, and we know that they also burn a hole in people's pockets.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Glaoim ar Aire na Roinne Pobal le freagra a thabhairt ar an rún. Tá suas le cúig bhomaite déag agat, a Aire. I call the Minister for Communities, who has up to 15 minutes in which to respond.

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

I thank all the contributors to the debate and am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the motion. The longer-term strategy for the wider crisis rests not just with me. It is an issue that the Executive as a whole have to address. All the issues were discussed at the most recent Executive meeting, and we will have to have an urgent, dedicated discussion going forward.

I am acutely aware of the impact that recent and ongoing announcements on energy price rises will have on low-income households. The price rises will impact on every family and every household across the North, coinciding as they do with the end of the furlough scheme and the cut to universal credit by the British Government. As some say, it really is a perfect storm, but the situation is imperfect for those on whom all those factors will have an impact.

This is correctly described as a fuel crisis, and it is a crisis that requires an urgent response. I recognise the urgency of the situation and the need for us, as an Executive, to act quickly to support vulnerable households, many of which had concerns about how to pay their bills long before the current situation came about.

My Department offers a range of supports to assist households that are in fuel poverty. Supports include schemes to help improve the energy efficiency of homes. We work with the Housing Executive and councils to offer the affordable warmth scheme to low-income owner-occupiers and households in the private rented sector with an income of under £23,000. Until a few months ago, that was the lower income threshold. We have increased the threshold to allow more families into the scheme. The scheme also includes multiple measures: cavity wall insulation; the installation of gas or oil; boiler replacement; and the replacement of windows. There is also the boiler replacement scheme, which provides a grant of up to £1,000 towards the cost of replacing an inefficient boiler that is over 15 years old. That scheme is open to owner-occupiers with a household income of less than £40,000.

As well as seeking to reduce fuel consumption through having energy-efficient homes, my Department offers vital financial support to vulnerable households through the social security system. The winter fuel payment scheme was introduced in January 1998 to help alleviate fuel poverty by providing financial help towards winter fuel bills, specifically for older people. Most winter fuel payments will be paid automatically to qualifying claimants during November and December, with all payments being made by 14 January 2022. The winter fuel payment ranges from £100 to £300, depending on the claimant's individual circumstances. Last year, 283,537 winter fuel payments were made here, to a total value of £50·6 million. The additional winter fuel payment was made last year, totalling £44·6 million, to an additional 223,000 households. The social fund cold weather payment provides a one-off payment of £25 in periods of severe weather to the elderly, the disabled and those with children under the age of five. The payment is automatically triggered once the relevant temperature criteria are met.

People who find themselves in crisis situations such as being unable to pay fuel bills due to increasing costs may be able to apply for short-term help through my Department's discretionary support scheme. A person does not have to be claiming benefits to qualify for help, and, if they meet the eligibility criteria, they can apply for an interest-free loan or non-repayable grant. Anyone who thinks that they might qualify can refer to the nidirect website for information. Many Members will know that I recently appointed an independent group to look at the discretionary support scheme and how we can enhance it. It will make recommendations to me soon. Any changes will need legislation, and I hope that I can progress that as soon as possible.

Since 2017, my Department has been running the social supermarket pilot programme at five sites across the North — Derry, Strabane, Coleraine, Lisburn and west Belfast. They operate on a membership basis and provide members who experience food poverty with access to food, alongside tailored wrap-around support to address the causes of poverty. The wrap-around support includes fuel poverty support where it is needed. Work is under way to design the roll-out of social supermarket models in all council areas through a co-design process. We are engaging with local government on that initiative.

With regard to the current crisis, my Department is developing a fuel poverty strategy, as many Members mentioned. Obviously, it has to be in line with the energy strategy and the green growth strategy. It will also form part of the anti-poverty strategy to address the long-term issues around fuel poverty and around poverty and inequality more broadly. It will sit alongside the other inclusion strategies around disability, LGBTQI and young people that will be included in the anti-poverty strategy and, of course, the gender strategy. Members will know that I will bring forward those strategies for implementation before the end of the mandate.

I acknowledge that an immediate response is needed to support those in need now, but that will not solve the issue in the medium to long term. Many Members have reflected that today. The Executive must find a sustainable solution to increasingly high energy prices that aligns with our fuel poverty, energy and climate change strategies and balances it with the potential impact on the efforts to reduce carbon and switch from fossil fuels to renewables. With regard to the current crisis, I have asked my officials to consider what my Department can do to contribute to the Executive's response to those in immediate and serious need. They have had early engagement with the Utility Regulator, along with officials from the Department for the Economy and the Consumer Council, to understand and consider what can be done in the current climate.

There were some questions asked about the Barnett consequentials. We got confirmation of that only last week in the spending review. It will be £13·7 million. I have already said publicly that I am in the process of making a formal bid to the Department of Finance for that full amount of £13·7 million. Of course, more money will be needed, because, when you look at the additional winter fuel payment that we gave last year, you see that it was over £44 million. The £13·7 million will do some things, but it will do very little. There are therefore serious questions around where that finance can come from.

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

Will the Minister give way?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

Yes, of course.

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Minister for her remarks so far. Is there any way in which the Minister can look through her Department and look at quantifying — I heard what her colleague from Upper Bann stated — the level that we should be looking at? There is an indication that there are additional moneys there, and we will be aware of some of the extra moneys that are likely to come over the next three years that we are going to get an indication of. Can she look at what the quantum is likely to be and put in a combined bid for that?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

The combined bid will be determined by whether the money is there. Are Departments willing to give over money? As was stated, it is OK to say that it is only 0·4% of the Budget, but that could mean millions of pounds. The Department of Finance does not have a money tree. The money that it reallocates comes from other Departments that maybe cannot spend it in this financial year. Therefore I have to rely on other Ministers, if the money is available. Obviously, I will have to look within my Department as well.

Depending on the money, the support could be scalable. It could be £13·7 million, or we could scale it up to around £44 million, as we did with a similar scheme last year. Over £50 million will go out in the next month or two for the winter fuel payment. The support is in addition to those payments. My officials are working at pace to scope out the options that are available to provide support to citizens who may struggle to heat their home or pay their energy bills over the coming months. As I said, any intervention will be subject to the necessary budget requirements, and I am looking to bring forward a scheme as soon as possible. I will make a bid for the full £13·7 million, and, again, whether I can scale up a scheme will depend on the money that comes forward and what other Departments can potentially surrender.

Recently, I have also given out an additional £3 million payment to councils through the community support programme. We are engaging with local government. I know that many councils are looking at fuel support schemes and using that vital money to support people with their energy costs, as they did during the pandemic. The winter fuel payment will soon start to be paid out to 283,000 people. Over £50 million is being invested in that.

I acknowledge the contributions to the debate. It is an issue that is clearly recognised across the House. I fully support the need for collective action on the part of central and local government and all our partners in the community and voluntary sector in the hope that energy companies respond to the crisis. We can make an intervention, and it is right that we do so. I will continue to push the Executive to do that. I am developing a scheme, and I will bring it forward as quickly as I can. Fundamentally, however, we need to challenge the economic system that creates inequality and injustice and enables the fuel crisis, the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis. All those crises are not happening by chance: the global economic system is weighted to create crises and injustice. We can try to shield our citizens from the worst effects, but we cannot eradicate it on our own. That is why we need to stand up, articulate that and demand a different type of economic system that does not work for the minority. As many Members have said, somebody is making a profit out of it. A minority of people are making a profit. We need to turn that around and ensure that the majority of people feel the benefits and that those profits do not go into the pockets of a minority at the top of our global system.

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Minister for giving way. I hear what she says about systems. Does she recognise that, in the Republic of Ireland, householders and domestic customers supplement, if you like, the bills of large energy users, whereas, in the UK, it is the other way round, and, in Northern Ireland, the arrangements are unbiased?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

The reality is that the global economic system is not working. It works for a few at the top and not for the many. That needs to change. It is not by chance that we are in a global climate crisis, a global cost of living crisis and a fuel crisis, but people are making billions of pounds in profit. That is abhorrent, and it needs to change. On issues like that, we need to stand collectively with all Governments to say, "Enough is enough".

We can do things locally. I completely agree with the motion's intent and that we should do something. I am trying to work at pace to bring something forward. Over the next period, the House and all parties can prioritise the anti-poverty and social inclusion strategies that I am bringing forward. They are being designed by the sectors involved, such as our community and voluntary sector, our LGBT community, our women's movement, our disability community, our charities and others. I ask that those strategies are endorsed when they come to the Executive and the Chamber.

I ask the House and all parties to agree to a stand-alone outcome on housing in the Programme for Government. We need to deal with the housing crisis, and all housing campaigners and those working in the field have called for that. Again, will all the parties in the Chamber endorse my proposal at the Executive to have a stand-alone outcome in the Programme for Government?

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

Will the Minister give way?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

Yes. Of course.

Andy Allen (UUP, Belfast East)

Does the Minister agree that, given that we are discussing the impact of the cost of living on many people across Northern Ireland, it is incredible that her Department had to return £2 million in the October monitoring round in respect of the closure of loopholes under the welfare mitigations? Will she call on the parties to remove the blockade on that and, in order to do so, consider an initial 10-year period for the mitigations, with the ability to extend where necessary?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

In my closing remarks, I will cover the things that can be done now, Andy. I thank you for your intervention.

We can legislate now to improve workers' terms and conditions: the right to unionise —

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I ask the Minister to draw her remarks to a close, please.

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

— the right to a real living wage and an end to zero-hours contracts. We also need to implement the welfare mitigations and get those across the line. One party is blocking the mitigations from being put on the Executive table. This Thursday, I will again call for a decision, not discussion, on that.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Minister, the time is up.

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

We can do stuff, so let us get down to doing it.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I begin by thanking the Minister for making herself available to listen to the contributions and for responding with a highly factual set of remarks. As for her call to support a specific housing outcome in a Programme for Government, I will not do policy on the hoof. We have heard calls for specific outcomes for young people and older people. Given the way in which the draft Programme for Government for this mandate was drafted, to go down that route would be a reasonably radical change, so it needs some thought.

I also thank all the contributors to the debate. Before I touch on the themes, I would like to step back 10 years to when I first got elected here to "Château Despair". I was asked to serve on the Economy Committee, and one of the first things that surprised me was the fact that there was no energy strategy. How could you have a devolved Administration without an energy strategy? That point, of course, has been made by many Members, including Mr Dickson and, perhaps most significantly, Mr Frew, who said that it is a "life and death" strategy. I have to say to Mr Frew that I got very excited, in a platonic way, when he became the Minister for the Economy, because I thought, "Here's a man who really understands. Here is a Member who's going to do great things in terms of our economy strategy", which we still await.

I acknowledge Kellie Armstrong saying that that is the sort of thing that you might put to a citizens' assembly. In principle, I agree, because we, naturally enough, work in the here and now of a five-year mandate, whereas energy and transport are issues that we need to look at over a 20-, 25- or even 50-year period. A citizens' assembly would not necessarily be second-guessing what we do in here; it would be doing something different and potentially very helpful.

We need an energy policy, and I know that we are promised one before the end of the calendar year. That is one leg of the three-legged stool approach. You need policy; appropriate, effective planning; and a good grid for transmission and distribution. In fact, it is more than a grid, is it not? If we go for the likes of hydrogen energy, we need storage, and we need battery storage for wind and tidal power. Those things go together. You need battery storage and a grid for transmission and distribution, as well as planning and policy.

Before I arrived up here, something else surprised me on my first canvass to get elected. I was in Newtownards. I will not say where, but let us say that there was a small group of detached homes with two cars in each drive. As I walked into that area, I did not think that I would encounter vulnerable people as such. However, a woman who opened her door was highly distressed. She had just given up work to look after her husband, who had gone through a serious operation for cancer. What she had to do that really worried her was to heat the home two or three degrees more than normal, because he needed that additional heat to recover from the operation.

That had never crossed my mind, and she was desperately worried that she could not afford it. We would describe her as being middle class and not vulnerable, but, because of her husband's medical condition, she was incredibly vulnerable. That happened in normal times for energy prices when an increase might have been 2% or 3%.

A few weeks ago, the Utility Regulator came to the Economy Committee and said that things were dire. At the beginning of October, Firmus Energy, which does the ten towns, got a 35% increase in its tariff. It wants another 40% on top of that before the end of the calendar year. Since then, the Utility Regulator has revised that predicted increase to 50% and the one for Power NI customers from 16% to 20%.

Paul Frew (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for giving way. I only want to illustrate that that will not be a price blip; it will be part of a sustained and seismic change in the way that we look at energy and the cost of energy for the foreseeable future, probably going into years.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I thank the Member for his intervention. I agree with him, I think that the Utility Regulator agrees with him, and it is also a point made by other Members, including Rachel Woods. The Utility Regulator is looking to us but is also suggesting to those in fuel poverty that there are other agencies, including Advice NI, Christians Against Poverty, the Money and Pensions Service, to turn to, no doubt in desperation, when looking for help.

When I look at some of the main themes, the biggest one was probably that horrible dilemma of whether you heat or eat. Mr Aiken mentioned that in opening the debate, as did Mr Durkan, who backed it up with some decent statistics on fuel poverty. Mr Durkan also referenced the lack here of the £140 warm home discount scheme that applies in England, Scotland and Wales. Stewart Dickson said that no one should be forced to choose between heating and eating, and Cathal Boylan mentioned low-income families.

Nicola Brogan talked about childcare and the increase in National Insurance as being part of a perfect — or, as the Minister described it, imperfect — storm in which energy costs, the loss of the £20 a week uplift in universal credit, the end of furlough and the prospect of a particularly cold winter are impacting on people. A perfect — or, as Ms Hargey said, imperfect — storm is coming our way.

Other impacts were referenced by Members. Nicola Brogan, speaking as her party's spokesperson on children and young people, said that under-heated homes impact negatively on the physical health of young people to the point at which they have to engage with the National Health Service. The National Health Service, which we acknowledge daily in the Chamber, is strained to near breaking point. Nicola Brogan and Andy Allen mentioned insulation, and the Minister has confirmed that she will bid for the £14 million fund that Andy Allen mentioned. Rachel Woods also talked about the need to bring forward a passive homes scheme.

The impact is not just on homes; there will an impact on our public services, as Kellie Armstrong mentioned. Schools need to be heated and hospitals need energy, and the costs will go up for them as much as they will for everybody else. We talked about renewable energy and wind power, and Mr Frew was one of the Members who made the point that the wind did not blow as hard as we wanted it to blow this calendar year. We do not have tidal energy, but Kellie Armstrong will agree with me, as a Member for Strangford, that SeaGen was a global first in generating tidal energy, and it generated a lot more than predicted with none of the downsides. Why does it seem that we have come to a full stop on tidal energy? Mr Storey made the point that sometimes environmentalists object when we bring forward green energy schemes.

We have called for the Minister for the Economy, the Minister for Communities and the Minister of Finance to work together. I acknowledge that the Minister, without saying that she would work toward the means-tested winter energy emergency fund that we are calling for, has said that she wants to work with colleagues in the Executive and beyond, including councils and community and voluntary sector groups, and I very much welcome that.

Mr Carroll said that the figure of 42% of households in fuel poverty will rise, and he launched the expected attack on the profits of the energy companies, but here is a question that we have not addressed in the debate: what if one of those energy companies goes bust? What happens to people who rely on an energy company to heat their home? That has happened in GB. Do we have the resilience to look after them if it happens here?

We also had a very short debate about whether Russia is communist or capitalist. In my last 30 seconds, I could start a debate about whether Sinn Féin is Ourselves Alone any more, given that it wants Westminster to intervene. Mr Boylan and Mr O'Dowd said that Westminster has to intervene and that it is down to Westminster. Whatever you do, Mr O'Dowd, do not take your seat and make that point in the House of Commons.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That this Assembly recognises the rising cost of energy; expresses concern at the effect these rising costs are having on those on low incomes; acknowledges that the increased cost of living combined with the financial pressures arising from the end of furlough and the removal of the £20 universal credit (UC) weekly uplift will leave many potentially unable to heat their homes this winter; and calls on the Minister of Finance, the Minister for the Economy and the Minister for Communities to work together to create a means-tested winter energy emergency fund to help those in need.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

As the Business Committee has arranged to meet at 1.00 pm today, I propose, by leave of the Assembly, to suspend the sitting until 2.00 pm. The first item of business when we return will be questions to the Minister of Justice.

The sitting was suspended at 12.51 pm.

On resuming (Mr Speaker in the Chair) —

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Question 13 has been withdrawn.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

1. Mr Nesbitt asked the Minister of Justice what discussions she has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding staff numbers and resources within the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). (AQO 2650/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I meet the Director of Public Prosecutions regularly, and I most recently met him at the end of September 2021. Although I fully recognise the operational independence of the Public Prosecution Service, our discussions include consideration of the resources that are available to the PPS in the context of our shared efforts to recover the justice system from the impact of COVID-19. As a non-ministerial department, however, PPS funding does not fall to my Department. The Public Prosecution Service receives its funding from the Department of Finance. The Director of Public Prosecutions is also a member of the Criminal Justice Board (CJB), which is the main strategic oversight group for the criminal justice system. The board meets regularly, and, where appropriate, its meetings include discussion on the availability of resources.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I thank the Minister for that answer. Has she given any consideration to the implications for the Public Prosecution Service should the Stormont House legacy proposals go ahead, particularly the proposal for a Historical Investigations Unit (HIU)?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I thank the Member for his question. It is an issue that causes all of us considerable concern. I am on record as saying that the justice system, as currently constituted, is not the right mechanism through which to deal with all the issues in the Stormont House Agreement. When it comes to the issue of dealing with legacy, I believe that we need to have a properly managed approach. The Stormont House Agreement would allow us to do that over a fixed time period and in a progressive way, and that would lead to good outcomes. The Public Prosecution Service has, of course, engaged with us in those legacy discussions, as it has with the NIO, as one would expect when it comes to resourcing. It will be challenging for all parts of the justice system, which is why it is important that any comprehensive arrangement for dealing with legacy issues also be properly funded.

Justin McNulty (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Minister, I have just attended a gut-wrenching event at the front of the Building, at which the families of the disappeared walked in silence to the steps of Stormont and laid a wreath in memory of those who have disappeared. I was speaking to Oliver McVeigh, whose brother has been lost for so many years. I was speaking to Anne Morgan, whose brother Seamus Ruddy was found four years ago and then buried. She still pinches herself every day that he was found.

The families are so strong, and their dignity is extraordinary. Although there are pressures on the Justice Department's resources, can you tell me whether the resources are there to help those families locate their loved ones? Moreover, are the resources there to ensure that those who were responsible for the disappeared will be brought to justice?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

On the issue that the Member has raised, all of us will want to extend not just our sympathy but our solidarity to those who find themselves in what is a completely unacceptable situation. Not only have they lost a relative but they have found themselves with no place to grieve, no place to mark that passing and no way to give their loved one a dignified burial, and that compounds their grief and hurt. That is the first thing that I want to say.

On the recovery of remains, the Member will be aware that responsibility for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) lies with the Northern Ireland Office rather than with my Department. In holding to account those who took lives and disposed of the bodies in such a barbaric fashion, however, as I said in my answer to the original question, I believe that, at this time, the justice system is the only show in town when it comes to dealing with those who have conducted themselves in such a way. The proposals that the Government have brought forward would deny that option, however, even were further evidence to be made available. That would be the wrong thing to do for the very reason that you have spoken about today, which is the grief of the families and the fact that that grief has already been compounded by their long wait for justice, and that is potentially now to be denied. It is important, and incumbent on all of us, to find a solution that offers a viable and funded alternative to what the Government are currently proposing. I do not think that any of us in the House wants to be a party to the pain that the victims have suffered over many years.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

2. Mr Durkan asked the Minister of Justice whether she has had discussions with the Minister of Education since 14 June 2021 to discuss collaborative plans to improve the provision of relationships and sexuality education in schools as recommended by the Gillen review report into the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in Northern Ireland. (AQO 2651/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

The provision of effective and consistent relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in all schools is vital in providing children and young people with the information and tools that they need in life to understand healthy relationships, make informed decisions and protect themselves. Changes to how RSE is provided in schools do not fall within my Department's responsibilities and can only be delivered by the Department of Education. However, I am keen that my officials should support such work insofar as is possible. That is why I wrote to the then newly appointed Education Minister, Michelle McIlveen, in early July seeking a meeting to discuss what steps were being taken by her Department to improve RSE. I wrote to her again on 11 October but still await a response. I believe that there is real momentum in the community for progress in this area, so I have asked the Education Minister to give the matter her urgent attention so that we can arrange a mutually convenient time and date to discuss these important issues.

Members will be aware that I met the former Education Minister, Peter Weir, in March to discuss the same issues around improving RSE provision. During that meeting, Mr Weir gave a commitment that his Department would lead cross-sectoral work to look at improving the provision of RSE, including a review of the Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 in relation to RSE. My Department subsequently arranged three workshops in June to allow stakeholders to put their views directly to Department of Education officials about how they believe RSE provision can be improved. I understand that participants in those workshops also identified gaps in the current minimum content order and made suggestions about those elements of RSE that they felt should be made mandatory as part of the curriculum in all schools.

While I understand that any changes to the minimum content order will require legislation, and that that will not be progressed in this mandate, Department of Education officials have advised that they believe that there is other work that can be taken forward in the interim, and they will report back to the Gillen education and awareness group, which is chaired by my Department, with their proposals.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I thank the Minister for her answer, and, indeed, for her endeavours in cross-departmental working on this issue, which is not solely, if at all, under her remit. It is disappointing that her efforts have not been reciprocated. That is something that we should all bear in mind and try to get enacted. Will the Minister outline the importance to society of getting this done?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

If we look, even in recent days and weeks, at a number of issues, including, not least, the spiking of drinks, where we have seen a rise in the statistics, it is hugely concerning that we do not provide young people with the kind of relationships and sexuality education that would allow them, for example, to fully understand and explore issues around consent and domestic violence and abuse, and to equip them with not just the tools but the knowledge to be able to protect themselves and those around them from abuse and exploitation.

It is also important, in young people moving forward and having healthy relationships, emotionally and sexually, that they are equipped with the full spectrum of information that they need to be able to do that safely at a time of their own choosing and free from coercion or control. It is clear that Sir John Gillen felt that, without changing RSE, we would not be able to have the cultural shift in attitudes in society that would lead to a change in the kind of entitlement that we see displayed when people spike people's drinks, assault people in the street, harass women going about their daily business or, indeed, engage in sexual assault, and not only of women but of many people who are out socialising and getting on with their lives and who find themselves subject to sexual harassment and abuse. If we are going to change the culture, we need to start with the next generation. It is for our generation to ensure that we provide the best possible education for them.

Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Minister, relationships and sexuality education is important in tackling domestic and sexual violence and violence against women and girls. It is quite timely, given, as you said, the recent reports on drinks being spiked. Does the Minister share my concern at the lack of progress being made by the Education Minister on relationships and sexuality education in schools?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I very much welcome the previous Education Minister's commitment to look at the minimum content order. That is the place to start. At the moment, the minimum content order is about as minimal as a content order can be and, therefore, leaves schools with a wide latitude to decide whether to give people full relationships and sexuality education or to take a very minimalist approach.

It is hugely important that all young people, in the same way that they are taught numeracy, literacy and all the other subjects that equip us for life, are taught the right skills when it comes to being able to enjoy relationships in a healthy way and in a way that is not subject to coercive control or abusive patterns. School is a good place to do that. It is also a safe place for young people to, in the course of that conversation, speak to their teachers and others in authority whom they trust about abuse that they may have witnessed or experienced, either in the home or in their peer group. They will be able to share that with people who may then be able to direct them to services. By providing the opportunity for people to speak, we give them that extra support.

It is, of course, disappointing that we have not made more progress than we have, but, in fairness, the Department's officials are working very closely with my officials to try to build up the evidence base. I hope that I will get the opportunity to sit down with the Education Minister in the future, because I have no doubt that she, like me, is concerned about this issue.

Rosemary Barton (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Minister, can you provide an update on the work carried out by the Gillen education and awareness group?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

My Department chairs the Gillen education and awareness group, but it also includes members from a number of other organisations, including the Education Department. We have set up a group within that to look at RSE and particularly the minimum content order. Again, that group is cross-departmental and multi-agency. A number of organisations are helping to take forward the Gillen review recommendations. The group is chaired by my Department. Health, Communities and Education are all represented, along with 30 other organisations, including Nexus, Victim Support, the Rainbow Project, Cara-Friend, the PSNI, the NSPCC, the Education Authority, the Interfaith Forum, Raise Your Voice and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.

As well as doing work on RSE, the group is conducting scoping work to inform the development of strategic communications to challenge the myths around serious sexual offences, and I hope that that will be able to launch next year. A huge amount of work is ongoing. I ask Members, when they are on Twitter, to take the opportunity to share the pinned tweet on my Department's Twitter page at the moment. We are doing some work on rape myths and how we bust those myths in wider society so that, when people go to court, we have a well-informed cohort in the jury.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

3. Mr Allister asked the Minister of Justice what steps she has taken to promote confidence in the PSNI within unionist and loyalist communities. (AQO 2652/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

It is incumbent on us all to cooperate with policing, to support the police in their work and to respect due process and independent oversight mechanisms, which are specifically designed to ensure public confidence. I will continue to work with the Chief Constable and his senior management team to help build and maintain public confidence in policing. I once again ask political and civic leaders to play their part as well. Public confidence in the police should be based on how they perform for the whole of our community. The recent narrative around a lack of confidence in policing seems to me to be based on perception rather than fact and to be far from universal, so it may be helpful for the Member to focus on some of the facts as they stand today.

Last year saw a further increase in drug seizures, with drugs with a street value of over £1·2 million taken out of circulation. Crime rates for violent crime, burglary, robberies, vehicle theft and criminal damage have continued to show a sustained downward trend. During August, the PSNI received 64,491 requests for service, processed 2,067 arrests, prepared 3,108 case files for the Public Prosecution Service and travelled over 1 million miles to respond to calls from the public. In reality, there has been a consistent increase in victim satisfaction with the police over the past four years, with 86% of victims reporting that the PSNI treated them with fairness and respect in 2021-22.

Therefore, we should all work together to support the PSNI to progress its proactive focus on those who are doing harm in communities. That is what builds confidence and, in my view, is what communities really care about.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

If the Minister thinks that there is not a lack of confidence among the unionist and loyalist community and that it is only a matter of perception and not reality, I am very disappointed by her complacency. Does she think that she maybe contributed to that lack of confidence by her action in the House a few weeks ago, when she voted against the removal of convicted prisoners from the Policing Board? Does she not think that that gives cause to the lack of confidence in the police by many in our community and feeds that view? How can she justify saying to the community that it is right to have convicted terrorists controlling the police through the Policing Board?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I am rather amazed that the Member would pursue that line of enquiry given his recent run-in with — or should I say "run over" of — a police officer who was doing his duty, as he ought to do. I am surprised that the Member continues to come to the House to denigrate the good work of police officers. Disrespect from Members towards police officers who are doing their duty, with no regard for how difficult their jobs are, and the constant narrative about two-tier policing and criticism of the police undermines confidence in communities far more than any vote that I may cast in this place.

I say that with a degree of confidence. I have been to loyalist areas in my constituency and have spoken to people who live there. They have no lack of confidence in their local neighbourhood policing team or in its ability to respond to the concerns that they raised. Though strained, relationships are good. I heard the same story when I travelled to the north-west on Friday and spoke with those in loyalist communities there. However, because of the political narrative, people are afraid to be seen to engage with policing in their community. If people have a lack of confidence in policing, it is incumbent on people such as the questioner to take some responsibility and focus on supporting the police rather than undermining them at every cut and turn.

Trevor Clarke (DUP, South Antrim)

My question follows on nicely from the Minister's response. I note that the Minister did not touch on the comments from one of the Policing Board members — one of the people whom she appointed — who referred to the RUC as a sectarian force. That Member talks about 50:50 recruitment at every opportunity; however, none of the individuals from the nationalist side seems to go out and openly encourage nationalists to join the police. Does the Minister think that that Member's comments about the RUC, which is now obviously the PSNI, were helpful or built confidence in the unionist community?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

It would build confidence across the community if we did what was envisaged in the Patten report and took politics out of policing. We need to focus on the stuff that I talked about in my answer to the Member for North Antrim on delivering for communities and tackling crime.

Frankly, it is not acceptable for anyone in the House, from any perspective, to undermine respect for policing. It is incumbent on every one of us to do everything in our power to encourage more people to join the Police Service so that it becomes even more representative. There is an opportunity for people to do that and to encourage people to step forward and join the PSNI. On different occasions, every party in the Chamber supported police recruitment campaigns, physically turning up to their launches and issuing statements that encouraged people to apply.

We need to get beyond the tit for tat on policing and to focus on the job that they do and hold them to account. I know that, as a member of the Policing Board, the Member obviously wants that as well.

John Blair (Alliance, South Antrim)

In the week in which we mark the twentieth anniversary of the PSNI and the bravery and community spirit of those who serve in it, does the Minister agree that building confidence in policing is also about building confidence in the oversight structures, such as the Policing Board and the Office of the Police Ombudsman, and avoiding party politicking around those structures, their clearly defined independent roles and the personalities of those who serve in them?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

It is important that, at the new start that we had for policing, we did not trash the reputation of what went before. Many honourable people served in the RUC, and many of them gave their lives in the service of this community. Their families have suffered a great deal. It was clear from the Patten report that there was no intention to undermine that record of service. The report provided a fresh start for policing that would allow the entire community to buy into policing, engage in support for policing and encourage people to come forward from their communities and get involved in policing. Twenty years on, that should still be our ambition. There are, of course, under-represented groups in the PSNI, and we should seek to address that issue at every opportunity. Today is one such opportunity.

The Member for South Antrim is correct, however: it is about support not just for policing but for the overarching structures that exist to ensure that policing is not politically motivated and that no Member has overarching control of it. That is how it should be. If we invest our time and energy in the structures at the Policing Board and in support of the work of the Office of the Police Ombudsman, we will have, through those tripartite arrangements, the best and most robust arrangements possible to provide the confidence that is needed in communities.

Ultimately, however, people will listen to the voices of their elected representatives. Amplifying grievance is not the way to build confidence. Addressing issues constructively is the way to build confidence. Members need to focus on that.

Sinéad Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

I appreciate the Minister's taking the opportunity to set the record straight about the fact that nationalists encourage people to join the PSNI and have done so consistently for 20 years. Does the Minister believe that reckless, inaccurate questioning is divisive? As we embrace a recruitment process in which we try to build a police service that truly reflects our entire society, the type of questioning that we have heard in the House today is unhelpful and does not reflect society

[Interruption.]

In this case, society, as it is very often, is ahead of the people who claim and purport to represent it.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Order. Ms Bradley, take a seat for a second, please. I call for order. Everybody who is called is entitled to ask a question and to be heard. Everybody else has the same opportunity to raise their hand and stand to ask a question.

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

Sadly, this entire line of questioning today has been unhelpful towards encouraging support and confidence in policing.

As Members, we have an opportunity not just to reflect what happens in our communities but to lead change in them. It is incumbent on every one of us to show that leadership in what we say and do, particularly on sensitive issues around policing. All parties in the House that have had an opportunity to do so have nominated representatives to the Policing Board. They have engaged with policing in a constructive way in that forum. It is important that, when we come to the House, we continue to engage in a constructive way when discussing policing issues, because we want to encourage more people to come forward, create as reflective a police service as we can of our wider community and enhance acceptance of the police right across our community. It is in the interests of those whom we serve — their safety, security, health and well-being — that they have positive relationships with the PSNI.

Doug Beattie (UUP, Upper Bann)

I will go back to the original question about the promotion of confidence. Given the high-profile murder of Sarah Everard, has the Minister had many discussions with the police about how they can raise confidence for females who meet police officers when they are out on their own?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

We have had discussions about that issue. As you are aware, the PSNI is bringing forward its own strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, which will take forward the work that it already does in that space. As a result of the work that we are doing around the new domestic abuse offence, there is enhanced training throughout the PSNI. The Member will be aware, through his membership of the Justice Committee, that similar training is being rolled out in relation to the new stalking offence.

It is, of course, concerning when somebody in a position of authority and power abuses that power. Therefore, I have said, on the record, that it is important that those in the Police Service and in other positions of authority and power are held to the highest possible standards when it comes to their interactions with members of the public. That includes interactions with vulnerable women and girls, who are vulnerable only because there are predators in our community.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

4. Mr O'Toole asked the Minister of Justice what measures are being considered to raise public awareness of the signs that people are being trafficked by organised criminals. (AQO 2653/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I know that every Assembly Member finds it abhorrent that slavery is happening in any form in Northern Ireland, but, sadly, it is. Raising public awareness to identify and help to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking is therefore a key priority for my Department and the wider Executive.

My clear commitment to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking crimes is set out in the Northern Ireland 'Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Strategy 2021-22', which was published earlier this year. A key part of its "prevent" strand is about ensuring that there is collaborative working and sharing of knowledge across strategic partners to identify best practice and to facilitate greater public awareness of modern slavery. My officials work with key statutory and non-statutory partners to maximise every opportunity to raise awareness through social media and information on nidirect. This year, we have also been able to support a number of projects that are working on these issues through the assets recovery community scheme. The organised crime task force (OCTF) annual report and threat assessment also sets out the actions taken to target and disrupt organised criminality and has a specific section on modern slavery.

As all Members know, Anti-Slavery Day was on 18 October 2021. My Department worked alongside partners to mark that day and to raise the profile of that important event by sharing and promoting social media content, through public engagement events and by illuminating council and civic buildings. For example, Belfast City Hall was lit up red this year. I also attended events organised by Flourish NI and Invisible Traffick, which raised awareness through creative and innovative projects. Those events were ultimately hopeful and inspiring despite the nature of these crimes and the impact on victims.

I am committed to taking every opportunity to raise awareness, sending the message that violations of human rights will not be tolerated, that criminals will be pursued and prevented from causing further harm, and that victims will be protected.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

First, Minister, I should acknowledge that Dame Sara Thornton, the UK's Anti-Slavery Commissioner, is in the Building today.

The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking (GRETA), which is part of the Council of Europe, said:

"Brexit has heightened the risk of exploitation for EU workers".

Given our geography, we in Northern Ireland are at particular risk of that happening. What specific actions is your Department taking to raise awareness and to take action to address the specific risks that we face? The strategy that you mentioned does not, I am afraid, say very much about the risks of EU exit. What is the Department doing in that regard?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I am aware that Dame Sara Thornton is here today. I had a very constructive meeting with her yesterday, during which we looked at some of the emerging risk factors.

The Department takes seriously all organised crime and threats of organised crime and has assessed those threats in relation to Brexit. From a criminal's perspective, it is irrelevant whether the commodity that they are trafficking is illegal goods or human beings; the monetary value is all that matters. The work that we have been engaged in around disrupting those involved in organised crime who are trafficking any sort of goods across our borders or trying to exploit any loopholes resulting from Brexit is hugely important. It has to be said, however, that the policing arrangements, cooperation and future security partnerships that are currently in place have given us a much greater degree of continuity of service across the EU. Indeed, I met the Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) last week and will meet the Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) this week to keep them updated on and abreast of the challenges that we face and to keep abreast of the work that they are doing, alongside us, to tackle issues such as modern slavery, human trafficking and other organised crime. It is incredibly important that we do not lose that future security partnership, which forms part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), so I hope that those who are negotiating at the moment and who are considering how the protocol can be changed and implemented differently will give due consideration to the impact that that will have on crime.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

That ends the period for listed questions. We now move on to 15 minutes of topical questions. Questions 3, 5 and 7 have been withdrawn.

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

T1. Ms Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Justice whether she believes that the laws that cover drink spiking are adequate and, if not, to encourage a review of those laws, given that several Members have raised concerns about the increasing number of incidents of drink spiking, with recent reports of a young woman needing to be hospitalised in Derry. (AQT 1731/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I thank the Member for her question. I have been extremely concerned by the recent reports of drink spiking and drug injecting, both locally, in the Foyle area in particular, and nationally. It is an extremely serious issue, with very damaging consequences for the individual. I want to reassure not just Members but the public that there are laws in place to deal with that type of behaviour in Northern Ireland. The Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 makes it an offence to cause a person to engage in any type of sexual activity without consent. Where it is proven that drugs or alcohol were administered, there is an evidential presumption that the person did not consent. Depending on the circumstances of the case and the nature of the sexual assault, offenders can be liable to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. There are also a number of offences under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 that could apply where drinks were spiked or drugs injected where the intention was not sexual assault but to cause harm in some other way.

I urge those affected to come forward at the earliest opportunity so that the matter can be properly investigated. The drugs that are often used in drink spiking metabolise very quickly in people's systems. If people feel themselves becoming dizzy, disorientated and woozy when they have not had much to drink, or if their reaction is out of proportion to their usual reaction to alcohol, it is important that they secure their glass, with whatever liquid is left in it, and report what has happened immediately to the bar and the PSNI. That is the best way in which to ensure, first, that people get the hospital treatment that they need to ensure that they are safe, given that those drugs can have long-term side effects, and, secondly, that the evidential chain is maintained in order to test for the drugs in their system and, indeed, in what they have been drinking.

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

I thank the Minister for her response. She outlined some of the physical and, indeed, psychological impacts that drink spiking can have. Again, it is carried out with the overwhelming intention in mind of sexual assault or rape, the majority of which offences are committed against women and girls.

Will the Minister agree that the issue could be examined as part of the strategy to prevent violence against women and girls? I am sure that she will also agree that it is terrible that, in the 21st century, we are having to educate, overwhelmingly, women and girls on how to protect themselves. The penalties for those offences should be the deterrent rather than the focus being on trying to teach women and girls how to be safe when they go out for a drink, a walk or something else. It is ridiculous.

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I completely agree with what the Member has said and with her sentiments. We will listen very carefully to victims, as well as to the police and other partners in the justice system. If there is a need for us to review the law if it is deemed to be inadequate in any shape or form in dealing with emerging patterns of behaviour, of course we are open to doing that, as we would always be.

The Member is right to say that it is not fair for society to transfer the responsibility for the safety of women and girls to women and girls. Women and girls are not raped because of women and girls. They are not raped because they have been drinking. They are not raped because of what they wear. They are raped because of rapists, so we need to tackle those who are the perpetrators of those crimes and not transfer responsibility for that kind of behaviour to the victims of those crimes. It is so important that women and girls, and everyone in our community, be alert to the risk but also that they be free to socialise without constantly having to be aware of predatory individuals who may take advantage of them.

I encourage people who are socialising in groups of friends in bars or wherever they go to watch out for the people around them, not just themselves. Watch out for people interfering with other people's drinks. Watch out for suspicious behaviour, and, more than just watching, do something about it. Report it, because you could be the difference between somebody being assaulted and not being assaulted. In a number of recent cases, the reason why those young women were not assaulted was that their friends got them to hospital, got them help as quickly as possible and protected them.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

T2. Mr Newton asked the Minister of Justice to confirm the planned number of full-time PSNI officers, the number of part-time officers and the shortfall. (AQT 1732/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I will write to the Member with the details of all those. The Member will know that the target for PSNI officers set out in the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement is 7,500. There is funding to raise the current complement from 7,000 to 7,100, which is why a recruitment campaign is starting today. It is my Department's role to try to secure funding for the remaining number of officers. The Member will also be aware of the Budget settlement and the announcements in England and Wales with respect to the number of additional police officers there. I am sure that he will be encouraged to know that I have written to the Finance Minister to ensure that, when it comes to Northern Ireland, we do not overlook the responsibility that we have to meet those NDNA targets as we move forward.

Robin Newton (DUP, Belfast East)

I welcome the fact that the Minister will write to me on the PSNI full-time officers. Perhaps the Minister is able to answer the question on the shortfall in part-time officers at this moment in time.

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

The Member asked both questions at once, and I said that I would return to him with the numbers. I do not have the complement of part-time officers, but I am happy to write to the Member to give him those figures. However, I remind him that he is at liberty to write to the Chief Constable, who is responsible for staffing. Whilst we provide the Chief Constable with funding, it is the Chief Constable who determines how many officers he has, in cooperation and collaboration with members of the Policing Board. It is not my job to dictate to the Chief Constable how many officers he employs.

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

T4. Ms Armstrong asked the Minister of Justice whether she agrees that it has never been so important for all of us to do what we can to end violence against women in Northern Ireland because, to return to the issue of drinks being spiked and young people being jabbed in the arm with some sort of drug, as the mother of a teenage girl, she is extremely concerned that this is happening a time when nightclubs and so on are reopening. (AQT 1734/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I completely agree with the Member. I know that she will have listened carefully to my answer to the first topical question. The very specific experience of direct and indirect violence that women and girls face in society is an issue that is extremely important to me and one that I have prioritised. It is for that reason that I recommended a cross-departmental violence against women and girls strategy to the Executive. The Executive Office will then take that cross-cutting issue forward, along with cross-departmental cooperation, to ensure that we support effective delivery. I will do all that I can to support the strategy.

I have raised the issue of drug spiking at the Executive. I have also asked for an update at the next Executive meeting on progress with respect to the women and girls strategy. I have also listened to victims and have been working with partners such as the PSNI on the issue of drinks being spiked and will be discussing it further with the Chief Constable when I meet him this afternoon. Again, I urge anyone who believes that their drink may have been spiked or that they may have been injected to report it to the police. The Chief Constable will update me on his work to address violence against women and girls, and, as I said, I have asked the Executive for an update later this week.

During this mandate, I have brought forward an ambitious agenda of activity to protect those most at risk of violence, including the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, the Protection from Stalking Bill and changes to implement recommendations in the Gillen review. That has included discussions with a wide range of stakeholders. While many of the measures will affect everyone in society, they will disproportionately benefit women and girls due to the gendered nature of many of the offences.

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

I thank the Minister for her answer and the work that she is doing. As I mentioned, I am the mother of a teenage girl. One issue that has come to light for me is that, when she walks home, she faces indirect violence through street harassment. Street harassment seems to come up more and more often for young women. The Minister will be aware of the ongoing harassment of women outside the John Mitchel Place clinic in Newry, amongst other locations. Does she agree that buffer zones or safe-access zones are necessary to protect young women who are accessing healthcare, as well the staff who provide those services?

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

I thank the Member for her question. There are two distinct elements to it. There is the broader issue of street harassment, which is incredibly difficult to tackle through a criminal-justice lens, but is one on which I am working with others who are campaigning in this space to see whether more can be done to protect women from unwarranted abuse in the street. It is an incredibly frightening experience for young women to be approached by, often, quite bawdy individuals who shout abuse or make lewd comments as the women go about their daily lives. It is completely disrespectful. We need to target that.

I am also fully aware of the ongoing protests that are being held outside healthcare facilities across Northern Ireland, and the disruptive impact that they are causing, not only to vulnerable pregnant people who seek to access abortion services, but to those who seek general medical care and healthcare staff who are trying to carry out their duties. No one should have to face that kind of harassment. Everyone has a right to protest, but, equally, everyone should have the right to access healthcare free from harassment and intimidation. Healthcare workers should be able to go to their work free from that type of violence.

I am conscious that all trusts are reporting significant challenges in dealing with that issue, which appears to be growing. I am also concerned that some trusts are saying that they are having difficulty resolving the issue in the location where abortion services are delivered, and that that creates real disruption to their patients. I had hoped that we would be in a position to table an amendment to what was the justice (miscellaneous provisions) Bill in order to provide for exclusion zones. Disappointingly, we could not get Executive agreement on its introduction. However, I support Clare Bailey's private Member's Bill on safe-access zones, and will continue to assist its progress in whatever way I can.

Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

T6. Mr Durkan asked the Minister of Justice to state whether the experience of a prisoner from his constituency is common practice or COVID-related and whether she agrees that it does not sound very compassionate, given that although the man was very grateful to have been granted temporary compassionate release at the weekend that enabled him to spend precious hours with his father as he passed away, on his return to prison, he was handcuffed, strip-searched, isolated in a dirty cell, with meals being pushed under a door to him and he may not have been able to shower, and bearing in mind that this man suffers from poor mental health, getting his medication has been a handling. (AQT 1736/17-22)

Naomi Long (Alliance, Belfast East)

That does not reflect my experience nor, indeed, reports that I have had of the self-isolation units in the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS). I must say that it does not tie in with what I have seen and witnessed of the service that is provided by the Prison Service. It has a responsibility to, as far as possible, mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for the whole prison population. Having safeguards in place in prison establishments is important, given that prisons are dynamic residential and communal settings. As such, they are highly prone to outbreaks of COVID-19 as the result of the importation of even one single case.

The Prison Service has a number of processes in place to mitigate the ongoing risk that is presented by COVID-19 in the prison environment. That includes placing prisoners in isolation when they are newly committed or temporarily released from custody, and they are advised of that before they leave custody. The measures that NIPS has introduced have been largely successful in preventing any widespread infection amongst staff or prisoners. Using isolation is consistent with guidance from the World Health Organization and the Public Health Agency, and has been a very effective safeguard in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 into the prison environment.

Since 25 October, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has reduced the period of isolation from 14 days to 10 days for individuals who are double vaccinated, depending on their receiving a negative PCR test at day 2 and day 8. That change has been supported by the Public Health Agency. During their time in isolation, people in custody have access to healthcare, legal representation and showers, and can maintain family contact. The Prison Service takes very seriously the safety of staff and all those people who are placed in its care. It is committed to doing everything possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.

Obviously, I cannot discuss individual cases. As with the restrictions that apply to the rest of society, in common with the Northern Ireland Executive's approach, we want to relax those that apply to prisons and people in our care in a way that is timely, safe and sustainable. If the Member has particular concerns, I encourage him to speak in the first instance to the Director General of the Prison Service.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Time is up. I ask Members to take their ease.

Question for Urgent Oral Answer — Health

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Mrs Pam Cameron has given notice of a question for urgent oral answer to the Minister of Health. I remind Members that, if they wish to ask a supplementary question, they should rise continually in their place. The Member who tabled the question will automatically be called to ask a supplementary.

Pam Cameron (DUP, South Antrim)

Mrs Cameron asked the Minister of Health, in light of the unprecedented demand and waiting times for patients and the risk to life, to outline the actions he is taking to mitigate pressures on emergency departments and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for tabling the question. Our emergency departments are operating significantly above capacity. The pressures on our trusts during the summer and into the autumn were unprecedented, often having been akin to the most difficult winter pressures previously witnessed. That is what makes the situation so serious.

As Members will recall, I stated on 22 September that a hospital emergency department could be forced to close as a result of the pressures.

Obviously, I do not want that to happen, and nor does anyone working in the trusts. However, we must realise that we are facing levels of pressure as never before.

For several years before the pandemic, too many people were being forced to wait for over four hours and 12 hours in emergency departments. The current pressures have been exacerbated by the pandemic, but they were not caused by the pandemic alone. On 22 October, I made a statement to the Assembly that set out my approach to winter preparedness. I have also published individual trust winter and surge delivery plans. All that has provided information on what actions have been taken to support our emergency departments through this autumn and winter.

The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) continually works with the Public Health Agency (PHA), the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the five trusts to address waiting times at our emergency departments with enhanced flow through the system and the facilitation of timely discharge. The Health and Social Care Board is also coordinating smoothing to manage our Ambulance Service flows better.

Following a further allocation in the recent October monitoring round, which was confirmed and announced on Friday past, I am investing a total of £21·2 million in the No More Silos action plan this year. The key initiatives that will be supported will manage the unscheduled pressures. That includes Phone First in urgent care centres, the timely discharge initiative, ambulance handover bays and Hospital at Home.

Phone First is currently available in the Northern, Southern and Western Trusts, with an interim service in the Downe Hospital in the South Eastern Trust. The service was also recently introduced in Lagan Valley Hospital. From 1 December 2020, more than 134,000 patients have utilised the service. Of those, 29,500 — 22% — were discharged with advice to refer to their GP. Around 60,400 — roughly 45% — were scheduled for an appointment at an emergency department or the urgent care centre alternative pathway. Some 40,300 patients — 30% — were referred directly to an emergency department.

I recently announced a package of £5·5 million to support service delivery in primary care throughout the winter. That includes £3·8 million to support additional patient care, covering general practice and out-of-hours services, and up to £1·7 million to improve telephone infrastructure. Again, those measures will help to alleviate pressures on our emergency departments. However, I must stress that we all have a role to play to support our emergency departments and our wider health system. I encourage everyone to take up the COVID-19 vaccine, the booster and the flu vaccine when offered. There is a real tangible step that we can all take to support our emergency departments now and into the winter.

Finally, it is important to recognise that the issues that we are seeing in our emergency departments cannot be resolved with one-off non-recurrent funding. What is needed is recurrent investment over a number of years to improve capacity and bring forward meaningful change.

Pam Cameron (DUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Speaker for accepting this question for urgent oral answer and the Minister for coming to the Chamber today.

This is not about party politics; this is about people. On all sides of the House, we need to be in this together. We need to work together to fix this. Through the media, we have heard an ED consultant from Altnagelvin Hospital apologise for the appalling service over the Halloween weekend due to the huge pressure and lack of capacity. Yesterday, the Northern Trust stated:

"We are on the cusp of an emergency department in Northern Ireland having to close its doors."

What action is the Minister taking to ensure that EDs remain open for life-saving emergency services? For example, has he asked for any further assistance from the military for EDs or other areas of the health service to free up vital resource? Is there any further update on the most recent workforce appeal?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for her comments. The two consultants to whom you referred, from Altnagelvin and the Northern Trust, were reiterating and reinforcing the statement that I made on 22 September. We have seen this coming; we knew where this winter was going to take us. That is why I made a bid in the October monitoring round for over £20 million to support the No More Silos structure, which predates the COVID-19 pandemic. It is about the work that needs to be done to direct and rectify the challenges that we have already seen in our EDs. Unfortunately, the pressures that we are seeing now are not new. They are a direct result of underinvestment in the health service, both financially and in the workforce over the past 10 years.

That money will bring forward specific functions, but I stress that the money became available to me only on Friday when the monitoring round was agreed. The money will be spent on increasing Phone First in urgent care centres, the timely discharge initiative, ambulance handover bays and Hospital at Home.

Those are the steps that we have taken directly.

We have not made an additional request for Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) support, because, as the Member knows, that serving unit returned only a week ago and is not currently available for redeployment. We monitor continuously whether and when MACA is available and how we can use it. I spoke with some of the serving medics before they returned home. Hearing phrases like, "I was glad to be here to be able to support my own in their time of need" was testament to the additional service and support that they provided to our health service.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Before I call the next Member to speak, I remind Members to go directly to their question. A dozen Members still want to contribute, and they cannot all do so within the limited time available to us.

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Minister, in June, I asked about the publication of the report of the review of urgent and emergency care. I have not received an answer. Will you advise when the report will be published?

Also, has the time not arrived to convene a health summit, as requested by the royal colleges and unions, to get into one room everyone who, through their awareness of the problems here, can be part of the solution?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member. The royal colleges and trade unions have requested a summit. Since that request was made, I have met most of them, individually as royal colleges or through the trade union workforce structure. I indicated to them, and to some Executive colleagues, that I am minded to do that once I see an ongoing Budget settlement for Health. It would be premature to bring everybody into the room at this stage when, in two to three weeks' time, we will find out what our long-term funding will be. That is the wider discussion that needs to be had at that health summit.

I expect to see the updated report of the urgent and emergency care review shortly. It blends into the No More Silos work that was instigated a number of years ago but has been reliant on piecemeal, hand-to-mouth funding. As I have said many times in the Chamber, that is no way to resolve the structural challenges that our health service faces after over 10 years of underinvestment.

Daniel McCrossan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, West Tyrone)

Minister, you are well aware of the pressures that exist in GP surgeries. Phone lines have been jammed, and, as a result, more people have been presenting at A&E and creating a crisis there. We saw at the weekend how that unfolded. Has the Minister given any thought to putting in place a system, similar to that in England, of "walk-in clinics", where you walk in, be triaged there and then, and it is determined whether you go to a hospital, see a GP, a nurse or a mental health consultant? It takes away that pressure, and it worked quite well in England. Has the Minister given any consideration to that system?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

We consider all systems as they are developed elsewhere. However, our challenge is always that of workforce and who is able to deliver the service in a timely fashion. There is no point in displacing a patient from one section to another. That is why we introduced the Phone First system. In my original answer, I told the Member how many people utilise that system, which allows them to be directed to the correct place at the correct time.

In the week ending 15 October, our total practice teams — multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and GPs — had consultations with 233,412 people, which is 116 per thousand of our population, and over 50% of those were face to face. I have often said in the Chamber that the narrative of our GPs not being open is incorrect.

Yesterday, the Member stated in the House that I had no plan to tackle elective care. I refer him to the elective care strategy that was published at the start of June. It might inform him of the work that is being undertaken, but it needs funded, and that requires cross-community, cross-Executive support.

Alan Chambers (UUP, North Down)

I especially welcome the recent announcement of additional funding for No More Silos. Primary care has a huge role to play before people make the decision to present at an emergency department. A well-resourced primary care network is therefore essential.

Will the Minister provide an update on the number of GPs coming through the training pipeline currently? I once again place on record my continued appreciation for the efforts of all our health and social care staff.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for his question. On the GP workforce pipeline, I reiterate that, a few weeks ago, I announced £5·5 million of additional funding to support primary care through the winter.

It has often been said in the House, and this is supported by all parties, that the crisis in the workforce that we are currently experiencing is not solely because of COVID. It is due to the underinvestment that there has been in our health service in the past 10 years, not just in bricks and mortar but in the people working in it.

My Department has continued to invest in our GP workforce, and, in recognition of the increase in demand for primary care services, there has been a steady expansion in the number of GP training programme places over recent years. That has culminated in an intake of 111 students for the 2021 programme. That represents a 71% increase on the 2015 intake, when there were only 65 trainees. Although that investment in the workforce has seen the overall number of GPs working in Northern Ireland increase, more GPs are choosing to work less than full-time hours, with the result being that the overall GP workforce, as measured in whole-time equivalence, has decreased by 8% since 2014. That having been recognised, I have asked for a review of GP trainee places to make sure that there are enough GPs to meet our primary care needs into the future. I reiterate, however, that it will take time to get those medical professionals in place.

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

Minister, given the pressure on emergency departments and the predictions of a winter crisis in our hospitals, will you explain why you were content to support the reopening of nightclubs? I understand that nightclubs are under a lot of pressure and that they need to open at some stage, but, without any mandatory mitigations in place, and having witnessed the queues at the weekend at our hospitals, does you still believe that it was the right decision?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for her question, although it is slightly off the subject of the original question. I will refer back to the autumn and winter contingency plan, which all Ministers supported. It refers to the fact that the development of appropriate enabling infrastructure to underpin a system of COVID status certificates is under way. As the Member will be aware, and as I said earlier, we launched that yesterday. The Department of Health has committed to bringing forward the domestic COVID certificate. Where and when it will be deployed is a policy directive for the entire Executive to make.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Is part of the problem not the lack of coordination on the handover of patients from the ambulance to the hospital? We have cases in which ambulances sit for hours with patients on a trolley, but if they were to be transferred to a hospital trolley, the ambulance could get back on duty. Do we not need proper coordination?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for his question. It is a valid point, and one that I have seen in operation where we have the hospital ambulance liaison officer (HALO) system in place, through which a member of the NIAS is in the emergency department in order to coordinate the handover. Although patients may be transferred to what the Member calls a hospital trolley, they remain patients of the Ambulance Service until they are fully integrated into the trust and all the necessary checks are able to be undertaken. That handover is therefore being done.

I referred to this in my original answer, but one of the changes that we have seen recently in the Ambulance Service is "smoothing", which is a clunky term. A patient is taken to an ED that has a shorter waiting time rather than to the closest ED. Doing that smoothes out the pressures that our EDs are witnessing and releases the ambulances quicker than they would have been released had they simply gone to the closest ED. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service covers the entirety of Northern Ireland and, as a result, is not constricted by the make-up of the five geographical trusts.

Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance, Belfast West)

The situation faced by those who work in and rely on EDs is stark and concerning. I am concerned that we will keep on doing what has been done and get the same results again.

What proportion of the new money that the Minister announced is being spent on the private sector, private organisations and private healthcare?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

The £21·2 million that was announced to support No More Silos is solely for the health service.

It is to support the work that needs to be done, as indicated by No More Silos, with regard to how patients are transferred through the entirety of our system. It is all about investing in the Northern Ireland health service. That includes Phone First, urgent care centres, the timely discharge initiatives, ambulance handover bays and Hospital at Home.

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. With respect, I do not think that anybody who has been waiting on a hospital trolley for 30 hours is going to understand what No More Silos means. I think that we all accept that, and I am not being pernickety but, if the £21·2 million is for emergency care, say so, because families are sitting in cars outside hospitals in which their elderly parents are waiting on a trolley for 30 hours to get a bed. We need to be clear.

I ask the Minister to be mindful of another thing. At the weekend, I spoke to a nurse at the children's hospital in the Royal who had worked in Africa. She said to me that both the emergency department and the children's hospital in the Royal were akin to the scenes that she saw in Zambia. Our health and social care staff are under massive pressure. If they are getting additional support through that £21·2 million —

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Time is up.

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

— I want the Minister to clear that up.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Member for her question. To be clear, the £21·2 million is for investment in No More Silos, which was the Department's strategy before I became Minister to address pressures in our emergency departments. I will make it clear to the Member: that investment is going towards those steps —

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

Is it for nurses? Is it for doctors? Is it for beds?

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Order.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

It is for all those services that are actually there.

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

[Inaudible.]

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Order.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

It is for early discharge, first and urgent care centres, ambulance handover bays and Hospital at Home. It will support the entirety of the system as it works through. However, that is only part of the monitoring round moneys that I got on Friday. That bit specifically addresses the problem that was raised in the initial question for urgent oral answer. I got £70 million that will go to giving our health service workers the 3% pay rise that was indicated by the independent monitoring body that looks at that matter. It allows me to take that to the next step as well.

Additional investment is needed. I have said that many times from this place, but monitoring round money does not solve anything when it comes at this time of the year to be spent in March to address a systemic problem that has been getting worse over the past 10 years, rather than doing the structural reform that we all know needs to be done now. We need that recurrent budget, should it be for three years or five years, to give us the surety to make the transformations that we need to make.

Trevor Clarke (DUP, South Antrim)

Minister, in one of your comments, you said that you saw this coming. I think that we all saw it coming. I know of an infant who a GP refused to see on three occasions over six weeks. The parents took that child to A&E, and the A&E doctor was appalled that the GP had refused to see the child. How many examples are there where GPs refused to see children or tried to diagnose them over the phone, and parents decided to take their children to A&E, where A&E doctors told them that the GP should have seen them in the first instance?

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

If that is a specific case, I encourage the Member to either contact the Patient and Client Council or refer it directly to the trust on an individual basis so that that case can be looked into. In relation to the narrative about GPs not being open, I reiterate to the Member that £5·5 million will be invested in our GP primary care structures over the winter. I also refer the Member to a comment that I made earlier about the number of people who are being seen by GPs. In the week commencing 15 October, 233,000 people came forward for a GP consultation with regard to how they could be best directed.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Minister, the strongest reason for vaccination certification, which my party has called for, specifically in hospitality settings, is the fact that our health service is close to buckling. As we have discussed today, it is buckling. One reason that was given by some, including you, for not recommending vaccine certification was that the app was not ready. As you have said today, the app is ready. Will you now advise the Executive to move speedily to require vaccine certification in specific settings in order to protect our health service?