The importance of the trans-European network rail route to Larne should be better appreciated in the development plan for our rail service. By encouraging more commuters from east Antrim and Larne to use the railway, we might minimise - or remove - the major daily road blockage at Mallusk.

Several Members talked about the need for investment in hospitals and education in the west of the Province. Parts of the east of the Province have also suffered from underprovision. The hospitals in Larne and Carrickfergus have been closed, as have the further education colleges. Transportation routes in the east of the Province must be improved to ensure that those important towns are better connected to hospital services and to provide access to further education.

I too encourage the provision of green space and play facilities in new development. This should be concentrated in areas that have suffered from underprovision. We must learn from past failures. There are huge areas of towns in which planners and developers have been allowed to make money simply by building as many houses as they wished. It is essential that development should be properly planned and that the needs of coming generations are recognised by developers through the provision of play areas. We should not beat about the bush; such areas should be provided at the start. There is no point in leaving them until later, when people who live close to an earmarked play area might object. They should be there from the start, and planning must provide for them.

The plan is not perfect, but it is better than what preceded it. On that basis, I am content to see it proceed.

I thank Members for their contributions and for the many positive comments on the strategy. I acknowledge some of the concerns raised. There were 16 contributions, ranging from the price of milk to hospital provision, so Members will appreciate the size of my task in dealing with all the issues raised.

There was some concern for balanced development. I heard over and over again that the implementation of the strategy would be the most important and relevant consideration for the community. I understand that. There were queries relating to specific areas, particularly rural ones. Concerns about rural proofing, overdevelopment in some areas and about the lack of infrastructural development in others were also voiced.

The document emphasises the need for balanced development. This is not an urban versus rural matter. We have a regional strategy for the long-term development of Northern Ireland. It provides a framework that goes beyond the land-use plans of the past, and it supports the drive towards the creation of a dynamic, prosperous and outward-looking Northern Ireland.

Some Members commented on the lack of forward-looking initiative in the document. However, I looked briefly over the debate of 2 July and my senior civil servants, to whom I pay tribute again, and I have endeavoured to respond as positively as we can. It is important that both Members and the public are aware that the document is not static. It lays down guidelines and a framework and, and like Northern Ireland, will evolve in the coming years. It is a spatial plan concerned with the patterns of development and the scale and nature of activities and services to create and sustain communities.

Several Members referred to specific circumstances, and if I do not respond individually to each one now, I will write to those individuals. However, the document is a framework for balanced development within which area planning and increased local council-led community planning will play critical roles. Public policy alone will not deliver the strategy, and I take on board Mr Beggs's comment that, particularly due to private-sector investment and individual choices, the market will play a key role. Policy can influence decisions and choices.

In my opening address, I focused on the implementation phase. I did not intend to pre-empt the debate but to signal that if we are broadly content with the key principles of the strategy - and I believe that we are - the real task is to get on with that implementation.

I looked at the range of consultations undertaken since the initial documentation entered the public domain. On over 20 occasions, successful efforts were made to deal comprehensively with the views, concerns and issues that people raised.

The task ahead of implementation is challenging, but it is doable. It will require a partnership made up of key stakeholders, some of whom are Assembly Members just as some are district councillors. They will have an important role to play in helping to deliver the strategy. Over the next few months, my Department will initiate discussions with local council staff to see how we might work on key aspects of the regional development strategy with the emerging local strategy partnerships.

Several Members referred to the brownfield target. I thought that they would; in fact, I would have been disappointed had they not referred to it. I must be honest. My Department will not be able to deliver that target on its own. That is why I have signalled clearly that we will work with the development industry in whatever forum is appropriate to meet the challenge of achieving that target.

I also made the point that through the strategy we are attempting to bring coherence and synergy to policies that will have an impact on the long-term development of the region. The creation of an agreed transportation strategy will be critical to our long-term development. Members referred to transportation, and I heard references to the A2, the circle line, the Knockmore line and Carrick. Obviously, the conference at the end of the month will bring us a step forward in addressing transportation matters.

In the autumn, after that conference, the draft regional transportation strategy will be published. That will be a key, tangible, first piece of the implementation jigsaw of the regional development strategy.

To assure Members of the importance that I attach to their contributions I give a commitment that I will keep the Assembly updated on progress, as we implement the strategy. If Members believe that some issues are not being addressed quickly enough, we will see how we can improve that. If Members believe that some issues are not being dealt with at all, we can look into the reasons for that and endeavour to deal with them.

I want to thank Members for the debate today. If, after checking Hansard, I see that there are issues that I have not dealt with, I will respond in writing. The Magherafelt issue that was raised by Rev William McCrea and others springs to mind as does the Loughbrickland-Newry Road problem raised by Mr Bradley. I will check and write to Members as appropriate.

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Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Before I ask the Clerk to read the motion, I wish to remind Members that a Statutory Rule that is subject to confirmatory procedure becomes law once it has been laid before the Assembly. It ceases to have effect, however, unless approved by the Assembly within a specified period. This Statutory Rule was made on 18 May 2001 and will expire on 2 February 2002 unless approved by the Assembly.

I beg to move

I wish to seek the Assembly's approval for a set of regulations that introduces new procedures for decisions by the Housing Executive and the Rate Collection Agency on claims for housing benefit. These regulations are subject to the confirmatory procedure and must be approved by the Assembly within six months of their operative date, 2 July 2001. These regulations were made under powers contained in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000, which provided for a new decision-making and appeals system for housing benefit claims.

The regulations also provide the detailed framework for a new decision-making and appeals system with the right of appeal to a tribunal, constituted under the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. There is a further right of appeal, on a point of law, to a social security commissioner.

I will now explain why reform of the system was required. Under the previous system, if a person wished to dispute a decision on a housing benefit claim, this was done by an initial internal review by the Housing Executive or Rate Collection Agency, with the right to a further review by a review board. The decision of the review board could only be challenged by way of a judicial review. Housing benefit claimants did not have the same rights of appeal to the social security commissioner or higher courts as social security benefit claimants.

Therefore, these regulations bring arrangements for decision-making in housing benefit claims into line with those applying for all other social security benefits; they also bring the arrangements into the mainstream appeal system.

I now turn to the substance of these regulations, which provide for the implementation of the new procedures. The regulations closely mirror decision-making provisions for other social security benefits administered by my Department. They set out the procedures for revising or superseding decisions and the procedures to be followed in making an appeal. They also provide that the general provisions relating to powers and procedures of appeal tribunals, and the procedures for making appeals to the commissioners, apply to housing benefit appeals. I do not propose to explain the detail of each individual regulation, but I am happy to respond to Members' questions.

The regulations are beneficial in that the same rules for decision-making and appeals will now apply across all social security benefits. That will make matters easier for claimants to understand, as many claim other social security benefits. The regulations will allow the authorities to correct mistakes quickly and encourage claimants to make early contact to resolve queries and discuss any areas of disagreement. People will know how much time they have to ask for a decision to be changed, and they will still be able to appeal. These more transparent rules are designed to improve the service to claimants.

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Game Preservation (Amendment) Bill:
Committee Stage (Period Extension)

I beg to move

The Committee for the Environment formally started consideration of the Bill on 19 June 2001. However, this work was delayed because of the large number of issues that the Committee had to deal with before the summer recess. For example, we dealt with the Committee's report on its inquiry into the transport used by children travelling to and from school, as well as finalising our input to the Department's consultation document on a new road safety strategy for Northern Ireland.

The primary purpose of the Game Preservation (Amendment) Bill is to extend the period during which partridges may be shot. However, several other clauses have been included and they will require due and proper deliberations by my Committee, especially in light of representations that we have already received. The Committee has therefore considered it prudent to apply to the Assembly for this time extension, but it hopes to be able to complete its work by a much earlier date. I therefore ask Members to support the motion.

In the normal course of events, I would move to the next item of business - in this case, the motion on Titanic Quarter leases. However, as there are now less than ten minutes to Question Time, I suggest that the House take its ease for 10 minutes.

Oral Answers to Questions

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Education

1.

asked the Minister of Education to outline the steps he is taking to educate children on anti-drug taking practices.

(AQO 7/01)

8.

asked the Minister of Education to indicate what changes have been made to the drugs education programme for the new school year.

(AQO 77/01)

17.

asked the Minister of Education to explain the various initiatives which he has put forward to promote awareness of drug misuse within schools.

(AQO 46/01)

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 1, 8 and 17 together.

Schools have a statutory duty to provide drug awareness education to all pupils, throughout their compulsory schooling. The topic is included in the curriculum, under the cross-curricular theme of health education. In 1996 my Department produced a drug education guidance pack for teachers, 'Misuse of Drugs: Guidance for Schools', in conjunction with the education and library boards and the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Under the Northern Ireland drugs strategy, approximately £800,000 was allocated to six projects in the education sector in March 2000 to strengthen provision in schools and the youth service. Funding will be available until March 2002. No further initiatives or changes to the existing drug education programme in schools are proposed for the new school year.

Will the Minister take the opportunity to publicly condemn the FARC organisation for its spreading of illegal drugs? What example does he believe that he, as Minister of Education, sets given that his party is clearly identified with, and linked to, people who are involved with an organisation that spreads illegal drugs across the world? Does he not regard that to be a condemnation of himself? Will he take the opportunity to condemn, without prevarication, that organisation and all its associates?

Neither I nor my party would support any group, movement or Government involved in narco- terrorism, nor do we approve of interference in the affairs of other sovereign countries. I am opposed to drugs, and my party and I have campaigned against them. People should be conscious that Sinn Féin has been to the forefront of the battle against drugs, not just in the North of Ireland but in Dublin and throughout the island.

The attempt that has been made to link Sinn Féin to any drug organisation in South America must be seen as an attempt at cheap political point scoring that bears no relation to the truth. We need to recognise that nobody has been charged or convicted of a crime. We share a responsibility to do everything in our power to defeat the drug barons - in Ireland and elsewhere - and everyone involved in this trade, which is detrimental to our children.

Does the Minister recognise that the taking of soft drugs often leads to hard drugs consumption? One of those hard drugs, cocaine, is supplied in Colombia. Will he, as Minister of Education, condemn those members and associates of his party who have been connected with the drug suppliers from Colombia?

Nobody in my party is associated with anyone who is involved in drugs transactions. The Sinn Féin leadership has made abundantly clear its position in this regard. If anyone in my party were associated with someone in the drugs trade, in Ireland or internationally, I would not be a member of Sinn Féin.

Obviously the Minister, during his many years of interrogation at centres across Northern Ireland, has honed his ability to deny facts. Will he accept - and this is the third time that he is being asked to do so - that people who have been identified on Sinn Féin platforms, and who are described as Sinn Féin representatives in Cuba, have been associated with drug dealing terrorists in South America?

Will he condemn that activity and tell the House that his party will have nothing to do with the drug dealing that is perpetuated on behalf of the terrorist organisation here in Northern Ireland also?

I have made my position abundantly clear. I condemn without reservation anyone involved with any group involved in the drugs trade. I do that without any reservation whatsoever. As a Minister, I work very hard in a group with the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to combat the drugs situation in the North of Ireland. The work that we participate in with that group would be much enhanced if the Minister for Social Development, who presently boycotts those meetings, would attend them and contribute to the enhancement of the fight against the drugs trade in the North. That would be a very important step and a very clear indication of the Minister for Social Development's commitment to the fight against drugs.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Aside from all the political point scoring and the false interest in this issue from some of the DUP Members - some of whom represent the constituency that includes the drugs capital of the North - can the Minister tell us what steps are being taken to ensure that schools carry out their statutory responsibilities with regard to drug awareness?

My Department's Education and Training Inspectorate carried out a survey of the drug education provision of post-primary schools and colleges of further education from 1996 to 1998. A report of its findings was issued to schools in 1999. The Department continues to monitor the quality and extent of drug education, and a detailed follow-up survey has been carried out in all post-primary and special schools. Follow-up letters have been issued to schools identified by the survey as not meeting all the statutory and non-statutory requirements.

2.

asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils on rolls on 1 September 2000 who left school on 30 June 2001 without GCSE or equivalent qualifications and to indicate what steps have been taken to identify their special needs where relevant so that they can be addressed.

(AQO 110/01)

Statistics on 2000-01 school leavers will not be available until later in the year. Support and guidance are available to such young people on a continuing basis through their teachers while they are at school and through careers teachers and the local careers advisers of the Training and Employment Agency when they leave school.

The Minister will be aware that a recent report, prepared by an eminent member of staff at the University of Ulster, claims that levels of literacy and numeracy are now worse than in 1912. Does the Minister reject that claim, and can he assure the House that human and financial resources are being directed at children in the best way possible so that when they leave school their disadvantage is not up to five times greater than that of industrial competitors such as Sweden, Denmark and Germany?

My Department and I took note of that report, and we are very conscious of the need to ensure that we are raising standards in all schools. That is one of the key objectives. I am advancing a range of initiatives with this aim firmly in sight. They include massive capital investment in schools, and the school improvement programme, which is designed to raise standards in all schools by addressing literacy and numeracy, discipline, target-setting, school development planning and low achievement.

There is a pilot initiative to provide flexibility for an increased focus on work-related learning at Key Stage 4, and investment in information and communication technology as well as ongoing work to maintain and enhance the quality of teaching. Action is being taken to address the educational needs of pupils who are at risk of exclusion from school, and a range of programmes offer alternative education for pupils who have become disaffected from mainstream education.

The expansion of pre-school education is another very important dimension, as is the reduction of class sizes for four-year-olds to eight-year-olds. Other measures include the abolition of school performance tables and the three major reviews of key aspects of our education system - the post-primary review, the curriculum review and the consultation on the local management of schools commonality.

I take the point that has been made. Efforts are being made in the Department to tackle what is undoubtedly a big problem. However, as politicians, we need to recognise our responsibility to get this right and to provide the proper backdrop to ending social deprivation and increasing employment prospects. All Members can contribute to the improvement in education standards by continuing to contribute to the success of the peace process, the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the provision of essential political stability. These gains are required to give hope to everyone in our society in their dealings with their children, so that they can impress on children the need to have a good education in a secure and caring environment.

I am glad to hear the Santa Claus list that the Minister has been reading out to us. However, does he agree that his Department is not achieving satisfactory progress towards improving literacy and numeracy skills, despite funding being provided? What action does he intend to take to improve the situation immediately?

It is my objective that all young people should achieve their full potential, irrespective of background and circumstances. No young person should leave school without qualifications. A wide range of initiatives through the school improvement programme - the strategies for the promotion of literacy and numeracy in particular - are contributing to improving standards, especially in primary schools. The Member is absolutely correct. More needs to be done, particularly in post- primary schools. My officials, in consultation with the education and library boards and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), are reviewing how these strategies can be strengthened and developed.

3.

asked the Minister of Education to detail (a) how many A-level papers were re-marked in 2001; and (b) how long did it take to get these papers re-marked.

(AQO 79/01)

The latest figures available from the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) reveal that 1,167 A-level papers have been re-marked in 2001. The CCEA's target is to complete re-marks within 20 days, and that was achieved in 100% of cases. The CCEA also offers an accelerated re-mark service for students whose marks fall slightly short of the required grade for a university place. The target for this service is 15 days, and that was met in 99·6% of cases.

Will the Minister accept that we are now facing a serious problem as regards the examinations council and marking authorities? A situation has arisen at one school in Newry in which an entire year group - 38 pupils - have had to have their papers re-marked. That has implications for applications for university places, which are now in jeopardy. Can the Minister ensure that the wholesale re-marking of examinations will not be required in future?

In surveys carried out by the regulatory authorities, the CCEA is the only awarding body offering A levels here to have successfully reached a 100% response rate by the target date on every single occasion. For an accelerated re-marking service, the target for other awarding bodies is about 30 days. The CCEA alone sets a much tighter target of 15 days for this service, and regularly meets that target. I am aware of the complaints that have come from the Newry area in relation to a London-based examining body. I have asked departmental officials to investigate the complaints that have been made by parents and pupils.

How is the Minister tackling the problem of restoring pupil confidence in the marking procedure?

Pupils are confident in the marking procedure. A small number of complaints have been made, principally against examination boards that are outside our authority. However, I am concerned about that. I have asked my departmental officials to look at the problem urgently and to investigate the complaints. When that investigation is completed, we will decide how we should proceed to make it clear to all examination authorities that we have to get this system right. It is absolutely wrong that young people who are already under enough work pressure in the lead-up to examinations should then be subjected to further pressure in the aftermath.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Members of the Education Committee have tried to address the problem of marking. Mistakes can be made in any situation, but these mistakes were particularly bad because they affected children. How does the performance of the CCEA compare with that of other awarding bodies?

The CCEA compares very favourably. It is the only awarding body offering A levels here to have succeeded in reaching a 100% response rate by the target date. That is a first-class position for us to be in regarding the re-marking of papers. I do not have a problem with how the CCEA handled this situation. The problem centres on the longer period of time being taken by other examination boards outside the North. The current criticisms seem to be directed against awarding bodies in London.

4.

asked the Minister of Education to detail (a) the number of applications to enrol in Form 1 in Regent House Grammar School for the academic year beginning September 2001; and (b) how many were successful.

(AQO 9/01)

Regent House Grammar School received 240 applications for admission to Form 1 for the school year beginning September 2001, of which 212 were successful.

Does the Minister recognise that Regent House Grammar School, with 1,610 pupils, is the largest controlled grammar school in Northern Ireland? A scheme costing £6 million is currently under way, but it will replace only 17 of the 32 mobile classrooms. If the Minister remains in office, will he give sympathetic consideration to the next phase of building 20 classrooms to replace the remaining 15 mobiles? A proper academic environment is needed for the pupils at the school. Will he also take into account the fact that, in population terms, Ards borough is one of the most rapidly growing areas in Northern Ireland, and that the demand for places will increase in that school? I am shocked to hear that 12·5% of new applicants have been rejected this year.

I appreciate the fact that Regent House Grammar School is one of the largest grammar schools in the North. The Member will appreciate that there has been a legacy of underfunding and neglect of the schools estate over many decades, a fact widely appreciated by most Members. There are undoubtedly competing demands from schools in different sectors all over the North.

That imposes a tremendous burden on the Department and on its desire to increase, as best as it can, the provision of a proper environment for pupils' education. The Department of Education will look at the case made by the Member and by other Members about schools in their area, and it will do the best that it can with the limited resources available.

The need for places in grammar and other schools is kept constantly under review. Unsuccessful applicants have their applications passed on to other schools. The Department understands the difficulties, pressures and problems faced, but, considering the limited resources available, the Department is doing its best to provide a proper education for all children.

5.

asked the Minister of Education to outline the role envisaged by his Department in relation to the continued safety of pupils travelling to school on, or close to, the Belfast interface areas, for example the Model, Wheatfield and Ballygoland schools.

(AQO 90/01)

The Department of Education will continue to provide home-to-school transport in accordance with the approved transport arrangements. All children have a basic right to travel to school unhindered and without fear. It is the responsibility of everyone in the community, particularly the elected representatives, to ensure that that is achieved.

Will the Minister confirm that all necessary financial assistance will be made available to schools in north Belfast currently affected by the ongoing troubles?

I am concerned about the situation in north Belfast. The Department of Education is keeping the situation under review and working with the school authorities - the Belfast Education and Library Board, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), the principals and the boards of governors - to deal with the difficulties that exist. However, it is vital that everybody, particularly Members, appreciate that the responsibility to relieve the burden on the school authorities, parents and children rests with the area's elected representatives and community leaders.

Everyone must recognise that if a problem is created or exists outside of the school yard or the school buildings - whether it be in north Belfast or elsewhere - there is a duty and a responsibility on everybody in society to pull together to address that as a matter of urgency.

The situation affects everybody. It affects Nationalist, Republican, Unionist, Catholic and Protestant children. The latest débâcle on the Ardoyne Road concerning Holy Cross Girls' Primary School has shown that it is not only the children in that school who are affected, but the children at Wheatfield Primary School. The House must take account of that when fulfilling its responsibilites to resolve those difficulties.

The story that went around the world during that very bad week on the Ardoyne Road was shameful. It did no one any good, and it was an embarassment to us all. Members - as elected representatives - must understand and appreciate that they have a duty and a responsibility to do everything in their power to ensure that society moves in a co-operative fashion and that children can get to school without fear of threat, intimidation or abuse.

Does the Minister agree that the right to attend school in safety should be afforded to all children, particularly those from Holy Cross Girls' Primary School in Ardoyne?

The right to get to school safely is a right that all children have; it does not matter where they come from. However, a particular situation exists at Holy Cross Girls' Primary School.

As I stated previously, all children should be able to travel to school unhindered and be educated in an environment where they feel secure.

The protest at Holy Cross Primary School should stop; that is the sensible way forward. The issues need to be addressed by the local community and the elected representatives not by targeting innocent school children. We know and understand that this is a bad-news story for everyone. It is particularly difficult for parents of children who live in that part of north Belfast. It does not matter what side of the community they are from.

Everyone was shocked and horrified by reports from a GP in the area about young children who were on medication and about some who were bedwetting. If that does not bring home to us the great responsibility we have to ensure that every child, no matter what section of the community they come from, has the right to travel to school without fear, then I do not know what will.

I appreciate the problems and the difficulties. We are hopeful that the point of contact established between the Executive and the people in the local community, alongside ongoing work on the ground, can bring about a successful resolution of the problems that affect the people of that area.

Will the Minister take this opportunity to pay tribute to all teaching staff in schools in north Belfast, in particular Mrs Tanney and the team of the Holy Cross Primary School, for maintaining education throughout these difficult weeks?

Will he assure staff who normally work under difficult circumstances, not just in the present circumstances, that they will receive sufficient support if they need to turn to the Department for additional resources?

I wholeheartedly pay tribute to all teachers in the north Belfast area, and in particular to the principals of Holy Cross Primary School and Wheatfield Primary School, and the teaching staff in both schools. We know and understand that both schools have been under pressure.

The teaching staff at Holy Cross Primary School led by Anne Tanney, who has proven to be a first-class principal, and supported by Fr Aidan Troy, have had a huge amount of work to do in providing education for children over this difficult period.

Within the schools authorities, the boards of governors and our schools, we can see many people - who I have often described at prize-givings and meetings I have attended - who are the heroes and heroines of our education system, no matter what section of our community they come from. This has been a particularly difficult period for all of them.

At departmental level, we have worked with the schools authorities, the Belfast Education and Library Board and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS). We have met with the principals and assured them that the resources required to take us through this period will be provided.

6.

asked the Minister of Education to detail the opportunities that exist for students to take examinations in their mother tongue.

(AQO 13/01)

The current policy is that pupils living here take their examinations in English unless they are being taught in Irish, in which case a range of examinations are available in that medium.

I thank the Minister for his response, which did not reveal anything in particular. This is a clear case of the difficulty we have with the invisible ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland.

We have substantial numbers of people here for whom Cantonese and various other south Asian languages are their mother tongue. We have an increasing number of people who are legitimate refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland. Is it therefore not incumbent upon the Department to make better arrangements for people who come from those ethnic minorities so that they can take languages other than English as their choice in examination?

There are no plans to change the current policy.

No representations have been made to me about this issue during my period as Minister of Education. I am very interested in the subject, which has been brought to the Floor of the House, and if the influx of large numbers of people from other countries continues - and there is no indication that we are oversubscribed at the moment - my Department will look at the situation. However, there is no demand for such a service at present.

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