Draft Programme for Government

Part of the debate – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:00 pm on 13 November 2001.

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Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP 3:00, 13 November 2001

I welcome today’s democratic debate, and I hope that our Ministers will continue to listen to constructive criticism from Members.

Section 4.7, sub-priority 5, of the draft Programme for Government recognises that there are financial, cultural and geographical barriers that discourage many people from taking up education and training opportunities. Those are fine words, but my constituents and I will judge them on outcomes. Once again, I remind Members that my constituency has no further education campus. The technical college in Larne was closed and demolished, and the sale of the excess land has not been completed. The people of Larne do not have a permanent focus for further education. If educational opportunities are to be improved, that difficulty must be overcome. Consultants for the CORE group of district councils have highlighted the unacceptably high proportion of the population in Larne and Carrickfergus who have NVQ level 4 qualifications or lower. I have no doubt that that is a result of the lack of further education opportunities in my constituency.

There has been little expenditure by the Educational Guidance Service for Adults in East Antrim, despite the absence of a further education college. If we are to improve education and training opportunities, the Programme for Government must provide practical outcomes. The Programme for Government acknowledges that 24% of adults fail to reach the basic international standards for numeracy and literacy. That happens in East Antrim, as it does in other constituencies. At present, the system fails to provide educational opportunities in my constituency. I would like to see clear action to follow the fine words and improvements in opportunities for basic and intermediate level education in East Antrim. Such action would target social need and would be an important factor in improving the economic competitiveness of Northern Ireland plc. Many people included in the 24% figure may be in work, and others may be seeking employment in a diminishing pool. I hope that the number of people with poor numeracy and literacy levels will decrease. We must improve the quality of our workforce to remain competitive internationally.

I welcome the Programme for Government’s commitment to revising the school support programme, improving performance in low-achieving schools and revising the literacy and numeracy strategies and the Northern Ireland curriculum. Parts of the educational system that fail our children must be addressed. Education must motivate children; it must be appropriate. Children must be switched on to it. Many children pass through our schools and do not get as much as they should from the system.

Section 4.3, sub-priority 1, outlines the commitment to provide, by March 2003, one year of pre-school education for every child whose parents wish it. Again, I am pleased with the commitment to increase provision from 85%, but that must not be simply a grand statement from Government; it must be realised practically. I have highlighted the difficulties that small pre-school playgroups face because of the Department of Education’s current policy. If a plan such as that highlighted in the Programme for Government is to work, creating opportunities for everyone in Northern Ireland, the current criteria must be reassessed. Geographical distances must be practical for the childminders, grannies and granddads who look after children, but who may not have a car.

It is inappropriate to require that there must be eight children in the immediate pre-school year for playgroups to qualify for funding, irrespective of the recent report by the Education and Training Inspectorate and irrespective of the long-term sustainability of a particular group. I know of playgroups with high quality assessments and numbers that are sustainable in the long-term that were about to be dropped because they did not have eight children. Fortunately, because of the closure of another group, the playgroup that I was involved with was able to continue. However, the questions about the process affect the rural community in particular. Why should the criteria cut people in such areas off from that opportunity? It is not always possible for children to travel from outlying villages into towns to get to pre-school playgroups. If we are to offer the service to everyone, we must follow the Scottish example — that system offers flexibility in areas where parents have little choice.

Paragraph 3.6 addresses the modernisation and improvement of hospitals and primary care services. Why have Health Service quangos and bureaucracy not been tackled before? There are no public representatives on the health boards and trusts as of right. The members are all appointees — it is a quangoland. I do not understand why a review must be delayed until an overall review of public administration begins. I see the benefit to be gained from removing a layer of bureaucracy as soon as possible, and I see even more benefit in shortening lines of communication and increasing transparency.

When money is put into the system, we should be able to see what the output is, who is delivering the service and how effectively they do it. At present, no one has a clue about what happens to the money that goes into the system. I have limited experience in the world of private business — I do not claim to be a business guru — but I know that basic business principles require short chains of command and clear lines of responsibility. People should know what happens to the money, who is making mistakes, how to correct them, and whether value for money is being achieved. None of those questions can be answered by the current system. We will not save huge amounts of money only by reforming the boards. The benefits to the citizens of Northern Ireland of transparency, accountability and an understanding of how effectively the system works will be huge. I hope that that will proceed as soon as possible.

Other areas of the Health Service, such as occupational therapy, are failing badly. We are talking about providing effective care and treatment of patients, but I have been shocked to learn from recent constituency enquiries that priority-assessment occupational therapy cases were referred in May. What sort of priority is that? The idea of a two-week priority system, which is in the detail of the Programme for Government, is a million miles from what is happening. We are not delivering what should be delivered. From my knowledge of the current structure of the board, I can see that we are witnessing an outworking of the inequality in the funding of the community care sector in different parts of Northern Ireland. That board structure must be reformed. Irrespective of how many hospitals there are in an area, people should be entitled to the same level of community care as people elsewhere. My constituents did not decide what form of hospital service would exist in their area; central Government determined that. Likewise, the community care service in my area should be equal to the service in other areas. I was recently informed of a shortage of basic wheelchairs, even though statements are made about the availability of electrically operated wheelchairs. Those who need a basic wheelchair ought to get it without delay.

Has there been any assessment of the value for money of each part of the system? The current convoluted system does not allow such assessment. There are too many chains of command and bureaucracy, little power bases and empires. We are not getting the value for money that allows us to do more for patients. There must be reform.

There is a poor standard of community care in my area. I have been advised that services could be cut next year because there is less money than before, despite the fact that my area has the lowest level of per capita funding. There is something badly wrong with that. We must deliver timely and effective care and treatment for all patients and not just talk about it.

Those are the challenges that face Ministers, Committees, and Members. I assure the House that I will continue to harass and embarrass when necessary to get value for money. In my work with the Committee for Employment and Learning and the Public Accounts Committee, I will do my bit to improve the quality of life for all our citizens, and I hope that we will be successful.