Assembly Business

Defective Premises (Landlord’s Liability) Bill

Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Bill: Final Stage

Social Security (Incapacity Benefit)
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2001

Jobseeker’s Allowance (Joint Claims: Consequential Amendments)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Soccer Strategy

Oral Answers to Questions

Department for Education

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Department of Finance and Personnel

Assembly Business

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Member is fast out of the blocks, but there is another matter which requires attention before I come to his point of order. Mr Cedric Wilson has asked to make a personal statement to the House.

During the course of business on 1 May I left the Chamber at a time when the Deputy Speaker was dealing with a point of order. I wish to apologise to the Chair. It was not my intention to show any disrespect to the Deputy Speaker or the Chair.

Mr Wilson has taken the proper course of action in making this statement, and it is noted by the Chair.

You had a point of order to raise, Mr Paisley.

You will be aware, Mr Speaker, that on 2 February, and again on 12 March, the Director of Finance and Personnel for the Assembly wrote to all Members expressly forbidding the use of any room for election campaigning. It has been brought to my attention that the Deputy First Minister made part of his election video in this Building, in a room overlooking the Prince of Wales entrance. Will you conduct an investigation into what I believe is a breach of the rules and, indeed, the conduct to which Members — especially a Deputy First Minister — should adhere?

I am aware that a fellow Speaker in one of the other devolved Assemblies took the opportunity to advise members of the regulations and requirements in the Chamber. As far we are concerned, as the Member says, regulations and advice have been furnished by the Director of Finance and Personnel for the Assembly. If Members are concerned about their own observation of the regulations, or of any other Member’s, they should, in the first instance, draw that concern to the attention of the Director of Finance and Personnel for the Assembly. I ask the Member to do that if he has particular concerns of the kind he describes. If some problems remain after that, if they are drawn to my attention outside the Chamber, I will certainly give advice as to how they might be properly followed up.

I trust that is clear for Members.

Defective Premises (Landlord’s Liability) Bill

I beg to move

This Bill has now passed through the various stages of scrutiny, and I would like to take this further opportunity to place on record my thanks to the members of the Committee for Finance and Personnel who have given this Bill detailed investigation and consideration.

I reiterate the comments I made at Consideration Stage. This is a limited but, I think, useful law reform measure, designed to clarify and materially widen the ambit of a landlord’s liability for failure to repair defective premises. A legal anomaly has been dealt with, and when the legislation comes into force this time next year, we will have a regime of liability which has existed for nearly all landlords in England and Wales since 1974.

The reasons why landlords of restricted and regulated tenancies do not fall within the scope of this reform at this time have been thoroughly debated, particularly at Committee Stage, and I believe that all those associated with this Bill have reached a consensus that to exempt such landlords is just about the right thing to do at this stage. Obviously it is not an ideal situation, but with the current state of the private rented sector, particularly in relation to grants and enforcement issues, it would be unfair to impose this burden on landlords who cannot achieve normal market rents. However, this situation would be revisited if the proposed review by the Department for Social Development leads to a material change in that sector.

I commend this short Bill to the Assembly.

Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Bill: Final Stage

Molaim Céim Dheiridh an Bhille (Gnéithe Idirthíortha) Uchtaithe.

A Cheann Comhairle, is é príomhchuspóir an Bhille ná Coinbhinsiún na Háige a chur i bhfeidhm anseo.

Sna blianta deireannacha mhéadaigh ar an tsuim i bpáistí ón choigrích a uchtú. Ní suarach iad na buntáistí a thig le páiste ón choigrích a fháil ó bheith á uchtú ag teaghlach anseo. Ní féidir áibhéil a dhéanamh ach oiread ar áthas pearsanta agus sásamh lánúineacha gan chlann a fhéadann baile maith a thairiscint do pháiste ón choigrích.

Is léir go bhféadann mórbhuntáistí a theacht as an uchtú idirthíortha, ach tá sé riachtanach a chinntiú go gcosnaíonn na socruithe atá idir tíortha leas páistí agus go ndaingnítear cearta tuismitheoirí breithe nó cúramóirí eile i dtír dhúchais an pháiste.

I beg to move

The primary purpose of this Bill is to give effect to the 1993 Hague Convention on the protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption.

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the adoption of children from abroad. The benefits that such a child can obtain through adoption by a family here can be substantial. Equally, the personal happiness and fulfilment of childless couples who are able to provide a good home for a child from abroad cannot be overestimated. Intercountry adoption can clearly yield enormous benefits, but it is necessary to ensure that the arrangements between countries protect the welfare of children and secure the rights of birth parents or other carers in the child’s country of orgin.

We come to a series of four Statutory Rules subject to confirmatory resolution. I propose, by leave, to take the first two motions separately, with debates on them if the House so chooses. The second two will be taken together, with one debate if the House so chooses, since they refer to the same substance.

Social Security (Incapacity Benefit)
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

I beg to move

The Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 made various changes to incapacity benefit. Those included more stringent contribution conditions, the payment of incapacity benefit rather than severe disablement allowance to help people disabled at birth or before the age of 20, and the abatement of the amount of incapacity benefit when an occupational or personal pension was being paid.

These regulations will relax the conditions for receiving the benefit for some disabled people and carers. The contribution conditions will be relaxed for people who were receiving invalidity care allowance immediately before they claimed incapacity benefit. They will also be relaxed for those who receive disabled person’s tax credit and earn less than the lower earnings level — currently £72 a week — and for people who received incapacity benefit in the tax year before the one in which they claimed.

The regulations will also make it easier for those incapacitated in youth to qualify for incapacity benefit, particularly a young person who registered for and attended a course of full-time advanced or secondary education or vocational or work-based training for at least three months before the age of 20. That person may be entitled to benefit up to the age of 25. A young person who takes up employment and has earnings below the lower earnings limit for a lengthy period before again becoming incapable of work will be able to requalify and do so for periods beyond the normal linking rules. The normal linking rules are modified for people incapacitated in youth who stopped claiming incapacity benefit and went to work.

The regulations also protect people who return from abroad and were in receipt of benefit in the last tax year prior to the new claim. The regulations provide that the normal abatement of the amount of incapacity benefit when an occupational or personal pension in excess of £85 a week is in payment will not apply to severely disabled people in receipt of the highest rate care component of disability living allowance.

All the changes to incapacity benefit apply only to new claims made after 6 April 2001. Existent beneficiaries at the point of change will not be affected by the new measures. These regulations are entirely beneficial and will enable a wide range of deserving groups to continue to receive incapacity benefit.

What will be the real benefit of those changes to those who are incapacitated in youth?

Young people incapacitated early in life will gain as much as £27·60 a week, that is £69·75 long-term incapacity benefit less £42·15 severe disablement allowance under provisions allowing them access to incapacity benefit without their having paid the normal national insurance contribution.

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2001

I beg to move

This is an annual Order which increases rates of contributory and non-contributory benefits, together with the various premiums which form part of the income-related benefits. As usual, the increases are based on changes to the relevant price indicators over the 12 months ending in September. Most social security benefits rise in the usual way, in line with the retail price index, which this year is 3·3%, while most income-related benefits, for instance, income support, housing benefit and income-based jobseeker’s allowance, are increased by the Rossi index, which is 1·6%. Pensions and some of the premiums which are part of the income-related benefits are increased by more than these percentages.

More is being done to help people with disabilities and carers. The disabled child premium is increased by £7·40 a week above inflation, from £22·25 to £30 a week. This is a real increase for some of the most needy families in the country. From April the new disability income guarantee was introduced at the rate of £142 a week for a single person and £186·80 for couples. In addition, young adults disabled early in life will benefit from an extra £27·60 a week.

More is also being done to recognise the enormous contribution that carers make. The carers premium is increased by £10 a week on top of the normal up-rating, raising the premium from £14·15 to £24·40. This measure will help many carers on low incomes.

More is being done too for pensioners. The minimum income guarantee was introduced to give more help to the poorest pensioners. This Order raises the guarantee to £92·15 a week. The basic state pension is increased by £5 for single pensioners and by £8 for married couples. Widows and bereavement benefits rise by the same amount. The Order increases rates of benefit in line with inflation and provides additional help for those who need it most.

I thank the Minister for this information. What about those whose partners are not able to meet all the requirements of the jobseeker’s allowance?

Provision has been made for people in that situation. I will write to the Member with full details to answer his question.

Jobseeker’s Allowance (Joint Claims: Consequential Amendments)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

I will ask the Minister to address the next two motions on the Order Paper. Anyone who wishes to speak should refer to either or both motions. After any debate we will vote on the first motion, and then the second will be formally proposed and voted on.

I beg to move

I wish to seek the Assembly’s approval for two sets of Regulations. Both arise out of the changes introduced by the Welfare Reforms and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 and are required to ensure that parity in social security provision between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is maintained.

The first set of Regulations amends the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 as a consequence of the introduction of a joint claims regime for certain couples from 19 March 2001. I should first explain that the Welfare Reforms and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 contains provisions which require couples to make a joint claim for jobseeker’s allowance where neither partner has responsibility for a child.

The Jobseeker’s Allowance Joint Claims Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 introduced these provisions on 19 March 2001 and apply when one or both partners were aged between 18 and 24 at the time the requirements came into effect. Under those Regulations, both members of the couple are now required to meet jobseeker’s allowance conditions and to be available for, and actively seek, work. They will both receive help to obtain work and will be directed to training programmes or New Deal assistance as appropriate. Joint claims for jobseeker’s allowance will ensure that both partners are involved in the labour market, preventing them from adjusting to benefit dependency at an early age. These are young people without children, in a position to find and take work.

These Regulations ensure that couples who are required to make a joint claim for jobseeker’s allowance are treated in the same way as single claimants. This is done through amendment of the principal Regulations: the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.

The principal Regulations provide for a claimant to be treated as meeting the "availability" and "actively seeking employment" conditions of entitlement for jobseeker’s allowance in certain circumstances where, in practice, the claimant is unable to meet the conditions for good reasons.

Regulation 14 of the principal Regulations includes provision that a claimant of jobseeker’s allowance can be treated as available for employment if he and his partner are absent from Northern Ireland for up to four weeks, and if his partner qualifies for specified pensioner and disability premiums.

Regulation 50 of the principal Regulations provides that a claimant will be treated as being in Northern Ireland during a period of temporary absence if he is in Great Britain for up to four weeks, or is abroad as agreed for the purposes of attending an interview for up to seven days.

The amending Regulations under discussion today extend these favourable conditions to cover a member of a joint-claim couple who is temporarily absent on the date of the joint claim for jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulation 19 of the principal Regulations includes provision that a claimant of jobseeker’s allowance shall be treated as actively seeking employment if he and his partner are absent from Northern Ireland for up to four weeks, and if his partner qualifies for specified pensioner and disability premiums.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Regulation 2 before us today simply extend these arrangements to joint claimants, so that they are treated as available for and actively seeking employment in the circumstances I have described.

Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Regulation 2 of today’s amending Regulations make technical amendments to existing jobseeker’s allowance regulations 64 and 65. These amendments ensure that the requirements for a 16-or-17 year-old claimant to be available for and actively seek employment are the same whether he is a single claimant or a member of a joint-claim couple.

We aim to ensure that joint claimants seeking jobseeker’s allowance are treated in the same way as single claimants. The changes introduced by the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Joint Claims: Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 will put joint claimants on an equal footing with single claimants as regards labour market conditions for receiving jobseeker’s allowance.

Soccer Strategy

I beg to move

I am delighted to have this opportunity to introduce the future of soccer in Northern Ireland for debate in the Assembly. The debate is very timely given the progress to date on the initiative I launched last October to create a soccer strategy for Northern Ireland. Issues surrounding soccer have been raised and discussed in the Assembly on a number of previous occasions. It would be useful for me to rehearse the background to the soccer initiative and to clarify progress to date.

For some time I have been deeply concerned about the future of football in Northern Ireland. Under devolution, taking up ministerial responsibility for sport has provided me with the opportunity to act on my concerns.

Soccer is in serious difficulties due to a whole raft of problems. Grounds risk closure as they fall seriously short of acceptable health and safety standards. Matches are poorly attended. Clubs are in financial difficulties. There is hooliganism and sectarian behaviour by spectators, and the public has a poor perception of the game. I was convinced that we could and should find ways of overcoming the difficulties. We need to restore to full health the sport that has served all sections of our community for so long and so well.

Northern Ireland can be proud of its rich history of involvement in the evolution of world football. The local game’s governing authority, the Irish Football Association (IFA), is the fourth oldest association in the world. The Irish Football League (IFL) is the third oldest league. Therefore it is important to reflect that we are part of a game that was at the very beginning of international football. There was a football association here before there was one in Italy, Germany, Brazil, or Argentina. It is part of our heritage and culture, and that is also something that needs to be borne in mind.

Northern Ireland has produced some wonderful players, but we are now suffering from a shortage of quality players coming through the system. Sadly, the Northern Ireland international team has not participated in the final stages of the World Cup since Mexico in 1986. Football is part of our culture. It has kept going over the past 30 difficult years, serving society well, and we cannot allow it to go to the wall, which is where it is heading if nothing is done to help it.

I believe firmly that there is a potential audience for live football here. The number of spectators who travel across the water to follow the big clubs such as Manchester United, Rangers, Celtic and Liverpool shows that the potential is there. I do not see our clubs ever competing with the big clubs at that level — or with live matches — nor do I see local football attracting the big crowds that it did in the 1950s and 1960s. Those days are probably over. However, football here can be developed in a complementary way to generate widespread interest and a following for a good-quality and thriving local game.

We have obligations to the younger generation of Northern Ireland, and I would like to maximise the opportunities for boys and girls alike to participate in and enjoy the game. We need to provide the potential for them to progress to the highest levels if that is what they want to do.

When I considered the issues I realised that the way forward was not to deal with them in isolation. The Assembly should look towards a vision for football and see where the game should be in five, 10 or 20 years. What are the issues, and how should we tackle them? What are the problems, and how do we solve them? How can we improve the image of the game and increase spectator numbers? Can we broaden the spectator base to make the game attractive to women and families? What steps can be taken to create a welcoming and family-friendly environment? Can we increase access and participation? How should we go about developing youth football and women’s football? What does it take to improve the infrastructure, grounds, facilities, administration, coaching and funding?

Those are some of the questions that arose during the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s early discussions about the game. There are no easy fixes. Change will require a great deal of effort, support and resources. However, if the Assembly wants to make football a thriving and successful sport once again, we need to plan now for the future. There is a huge opportunity to develop football, and that would create benefits for the self-esteem and image of our community at home and further afield. I concluded early on that progress could be achieved only by having a strategy for the development of the game. Last October I introduced the "Creating a Soccer Strategy for Northern Ireland — views of the stakeholders" initiative.

Notwithstanding the need for a long-term strategy for soccer, it was clear that some urgent measures were necessary to tackle the most serious health and safety problems at our top sports venues. There is no doubt about the seriousness of the problems. Substantial measures are required to make our sports grounds safe and comfortable for spectators and players. Safety at the grounds and the need to bring those grounds up to the standard recommended in the Taylor report in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 are matters which could and should have been tackled more actively under direct rule. However, they were not.

Northern Ireland did not share in the Football Trust’s substantial funding for major schemes for grounds improvements that were carried out elsewhere in the United Kingdom in the 1990s following the Taylor report — for which some £600 million was made available.

It was assessed then that Northern Ireland needed over £20 million to comply with the new safety legislation that was introduced in the rest of the United Kingdom as a result of Taylor. Under direct rule we got nothing. The potential for funding has been dramatically reduced, because the Football Foundation that administered those large sums of money and which did so well for the game in England, Wales and Scotland, but not in Northern Ireland, has been replaced by the Football Trust. The football trust is envisaged as an England-only organisation.

Northern Ireland inherited its situation as a result of direct rule. However, Members will recall that last year I introduced an interim measure, the safe sports ground scheme, that was designed to implement urgent health and safety recommendations at football, gaelic and rugby grounds. That work proceeded due to some £5·3 million being made available over three years. I am glad to acknowledge the Assembly’s decision to support the allocation of £2 million last year to enable the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to speed up progress on those improvements.

I am pleased with progress on that front, but I recognise that this is just the beginning and that more needs to be done. Nevertheless, we have a scheme running, and the decision to provide financial support is in our hands. That demonstrates the scope to achieve real progress at local level, progress that could not have been achieved without that local input.

When I announced my plans for a strategy for soccer at the end of last year I intended that the process should be open and inclusive and involve a wide spectrum of interest. The initiative was not just about Irish league football, which undoubtedly has its problems. I wanted the process to look at all levels of the game from the grass roots up.

There have been three important stages to the process. First, I established an advisory panel with a broad range of interests and experience to guide and advise on the development of the strategy. Second, the panel carried out an extensive consultation exercise with interested individuals and groups and the public on the issues facing football and how the game needs to be improved.

On 5 February we published the findings of this exercise in a report called ‘Creating a Soccer Strategy for Northern Ireland — views of the stakeholders, which provided the basis for a conference workshop in Newcastle during the weekend of 10 February and 11 February.

I want to place on record my sincere thanks and appreciation to the members of the advisory panel, under the chairmanship of Billy Hamilton, for the substantial amount of work and effort they have devoted, and are continuing to devote, to this process. The level of time and commitment they have given has been much more than was anticipated.

It is not my role, nor the panel’s, to lay down how things should be. Therefore it is imperative that there is a broad consensus from the football family on ideas about how the game should be developed. The panel’s role is to provide advice as we move along and to facilitate and guide the process that will translate the ideas into a strategy for action for the future.

I commissioned the ‘views of the stakeholders’ report to help identify difficulties in the game. I understand that copies have been made available to Members. I wanted the initiative to be open and inclusive, hence the commissioning of widespread consultation and the publication of the findings. Unsurprisingly, the exercise has generated, in the words of the consultants, "an extraordinarily high level of interest and passion." It is a valuable record of what people think about the game. Issues such as the standard of facilities, structure of the game, standard of play, youth development, media, hooliganism and sectarianism have come forward as a result.

We invited delegates to take part in a conference workshop in Newcastle. This provided an opportunity to bring together 68 representatives of the key stakeholder groups, including representatives of the Assembly Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, to debate the issues and begin to develop ideas.

I would again like to place on record my appreciation to everyone involved for participating in that weekend. Having taken the ideas that emerged at the conference we are currently at the crucial stage of working on recommendations for the future. The advisory panel and my officials are actively engaged in discussions with representatives of football interests at various levels, including the Irish Football Association (IFA), the Irish Football League (IFL), the players and the media to formulate proposals across a range of issues. These discussions are an important part of the process and will contribute to the report that I expect to receive from the advisory panel by the end of the summer. My intention is to use that report as the basis for publishing a draft strategy document in September for widespread consultation.

It would be improper and unwise of me to anticipate the advisory panel’s recommendations, but I can give an indication of progress on some of the issues the report is likely to address.

Members of the panel have led several working sessions involving different interest groups. I am aware that proposals have been produced for consideration by the panel for a youth development policy setting out agreed objectives and structures for the future of youth football in Northern Ireland. The proposals have been produced through representatives of the Irish League clubs, all of the football associations and the Sports Council, working together towards a common purpose.

The media, the IFA and the IFL have worked together to come up with practical solutions for improving media relations. I am told it is intended to re-establish the Professional Players’ Association (PPA) from the start of next season. That recommendation is coming from the players as a direct consequence of the soccer strategy process.

Other ongoing work includes looking at ground facilities and health and safety requirements. I expect to receive recommendations on the need for health and safety legislation for Northern Ireland, taking into account the legislation produced in Great Britain. I anticipate that such recommendations will also look at the need for any new legislation to strengthen existing public order provisions to combat unacceptable behaviour at sports grounds, including sectarianism, which has been highlighted as a major issue for soccer.

As I have pointed out in the Assembly on previous occasions, sectarianism is not unique to sport or, indeed, to football. Sport alone cannot solve society’s problems. We are, however, addressing this problem within the strategy on a number of fronts. A working group that includes the Irish Football Association (IFA), the Sports Council for Northern Ireland and the Community Relations Council has been set up to identify the issues and to produce recommendations on what future action can be taken to rid football of the scourge of disruptive behaviour. When I launch the soccer strategy for consultation later this year, I expect there to be a range of options for dealing with this problem.

I hope I have given a flavour of what the soccer strategy will address. There are, of course, other issues which I have not yet touched upon and which I expect will also be addressed within the strategy. There is the matter of how football is governed and how senior league football is structured and managed in Northern Ireland. These are big issues, not only for those who support football but also for the organisations at the centre. Individual clubs face problems as to how they might be helped in terms of future management and development in the community.

The subject of a national stadium has also been raised in the context of the soccer strategy. That has implications for sports other than football. The debate is ongoing as to the viability and sustainability of such a project for Northern Ireland. I will be interested to see what emerges from the soccer strategy on the needs of football, and especially international football.

Inevitably some problems will be easier to sort out than others. There will be substantial resource implications for some issues, and it will be up to the football sector to resolve them. I am confident that the strategy document will provide a direction for the future which we can all encourage and support.

I look forward to receiving the advisory panel’s report and to launching the strategy document in due course. Discussions with the Assembly and the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure on the way forward will be an important part of the process. One of the most important aspects of today’s debate is that, as local politicians, we are looking at an issue together, and that has implications for our community. The progress we have made so far on the safe sports ground scheme and on the soccer strategy would not have been possible without devolution. There has been a lack of funding over the past 15 years under the football foundation. Local people, local politicians and local soccer interests are talking to each other for the betterment of football and sport in general and our society as a whole.

I rise to support the motion. Our Committee welcomes the PricewaterhouseCoopers report and will support the Minister's emphasis on ensuring an inclusive and transparent process of consultation. As you may recall, we raised the matter of consultation earlier in the year, particularly with regard to a series of meetings held at five separate venues. The Committee was concerned that people who had important contributions to make on the subject may have been excluded from the meetings. The report does not provide details as to where those five public meetings were held.

The report does, however, appear to generate a significant response from those involved in the game and from the public. The interrelated issues that emerged came as no surprise. Lack of finance was perceived as a major problem, and the report indicates that Irish League clubs are facing financial difficulties, deteriorating grounds, lack of sponsorship, poor marketing and image problems. I understand that the Minister intends to address these issues in his strategy for sport.

Will the strategy place emphasis on additional funding and funding sources to support the game? That is required, but adequate financial management and sound business techniques are needed most in the long term. Although finance is important, management techniques are also important to ensure that maximum use is made of the available funds.

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