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Third Standing Committee
on Delegated Legislation
Thursday 9 September 2004
[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair]
Draft Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2004
2.30 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Ian Pearson): I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2004.
May I say how pleased I am, Mr. Olner, to be serving under your chairmanship this afternoon?
A draft of the order was laid before the House on 8 July. As the Committee will know, on 15 October 2002 the Assembly was suspended. Under the schedule to the Northern Ireland Act 2000, Her Majesty may legislate by Order in Council during suspension on any matter on which the Assembly has the competence to legislate. Under paragraph 1(3) of the schedule, that power lasts for only six months, but it can be renewed by the Secretary of State by order under paragraph 1(4) of the schedule.
There have been three previous such orders, and the third order provided for the renewal of the power for a period of six months to 14 October 2004. This fourth order provides for a further six-month renewal of these powers to 14 April 2005.
Lady Hermon (North Down) (UUP): I, too, welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Olner.
I am grateful to the Minister for taking such an early intervention. He has referred to the fact that the Assembly has been suspended since October 2002. Can he enlighten the Committee as to the total cost of the suspended Assembly in that time?
Mr. Pearson: I do not have the figures directly to hand, but if they can be made available during the debate, I shall reply directly to the hon. Lady. If not, I undertake to write to her.
We are no happier with continuing suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland than anyone else. Our principal preoccupation for the past two years has been to end it. As the Committee will be aware, intensive negotiations are planned for 16 to 18 September at Leeds castle in Kent, to be chaired by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach. As the Prime Minister has underlined, there are two key objectives to achieve: a complete and definitive end to paramilitary activity and the restoration of the institutions on a stable and inclusive basis.
Since suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Government have remained committed to providing good governance to the people of Northern Ireland and continue to take forward a wide range of important business in line with the broad direction of the programme initiated by the Northern Ireland Executive. Some of the most prominent examples are the review of public
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administration, which is the most far-reaching examination ever of how public services in Northern Ireland are organised and delivered.
Lady Hermon: I am grateful to the Minister for taking a second intervention so quickly.
Before the Minister moves on to talk about the review of public administration, will he tell us whether the talks at Leeds castle are make-or-break talks? What did the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland mean yesterday in Northern Ireland questions when he said:
''the talks next week are a crucial part of the process, a crucial phase and a point of decision, not a staging post in any further discussions''?—[Official Report, 8 September 2004; Vol. 424, c. 703.]
Will the plug be pulled on the Assembly if the talks break down at Leeds castle?
The Chairman: Order. I am happy for the Committee to have a reasonably wide-ranging debate, but I remind the hon. Lady that she can raise that matter in her speech. I think it would be best if the Minister responded to her after she has made her contribution.
Mr. Pearson: We are clear that we want a positive outcome from the talks. We want them to be definitive. It is crunch time. Decisions need to be taken, and we want to see the restoration of the institutions, which requires a complete end to paramilitary activity. That is what the Secretary of State was referring to. We do not want to anticipate not reaching agreement. As the political parties themselves have said, the ingredients for success are there. It is important that we wait until we get to Leeds castle, and that we try to achieve an outcome that is in the best interests of the people in Northern Ireland, which is what everybody wants to see.
I was speaking about some of the examples of the legislation and reform programmes that the Government are discussing and implementing. These include a major programme of rating reform to establish a modern and fairer rating system, and a review of current funding arrangements for Northern Ireland's water and sewerage services. In the health services, a number of important developments are ongoing, including the implementation of the remaining recommendations of the human organ inquiry with the provision of the Human Tissue Act 2004, and the new Human Tissue Authority extending to Northern Ireland.
Other initiatives include developments in health and social care records management and patient safety. A wide range of standards are also being developed to improve the quality of health and social care provided to the community, which will be used by a new independent authority to review and report on the performance of service providers.
In 2003–04, the Department's capital programme has reached an unprecedented level of £120 million, which has enabled the service to take forward major changes across a wide range—[Interruption.]
The Chairman: Order.
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Mr. Pearson: I apologise, Mr. Olner. I was absolutely confident that I had put my phone on to silent.
Moving swiftly on to education, the Government are seeking to build on this summer's good set of examination results, which saw 69.4 per cent. of pupils achieving grades A* to C at GCSE, with 7.1 per cent. achieving the top A* grade.
Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West) (Con): Is the Minister confident that those exemplary results will continue if the powers being granted under this order allow his colleagues to snuff out the excellent education system in Northern Ireland against the wishes of its people?
Mr. Pearson: I do not accept what the hon. Gentleman says. In education, Northern Ireland has traditionally done very well in terms of its top performers. However, there has always been a significant number of people who have not achieved as good results. Raising standards for all pupils is very close to the heart of this Administration. That philosophy will drive forward future policy. I hope that local politicians in a restored Assembly will very soon be taking future decisions on education matters.
I should also like to mention the Department for Employment and Learning, which has completed its consultation on a wide-ranging review of the further education sector in Northern Ireland. Its proposals will be published in the autumn. In regional development, investment has been accelerated to upgrade the water and sewerage infrastructure, and continues on new buses, railway rolling stock and road infrastructure to enable delivery of the regional transportation strategy. That will ensure that transport links are sustained and strengthened.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development continues to work towards the implementation of the 2003 common agricultural policy reform agreement. Building on decisions announced in February, the Department has engaged in further extensive consultation and discussions with stakeholders on other important implementation issues, including cross-compliance, modulation and the operation of the national reserve.
The Government are absolutely committed to tackling the scourge of sectarianism and racism. Following a major consultation on the document ''A Shared Future'' and its consideration by the Northern Ireland Grand Committee on 17 June, a draft overarching good relations policy and strategic framework will be brought forward for focused discussion over the next few months.
One of the most regrettable aspects of life in Northern Ireland in recent months has been the upsurge in racist attacks and incidents, in terms of both numbers and geographical spread. Attacks on those who have come to Northern Ireland to serve its people are shameful and cowardly. People from minority ethnic communities who come to live and work in Northern Ireland make and will continue to make a much more significant contribution to society than those who seek to persecute them.
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I want again to take the opportunity to make clear the Government's abhorrence of racist behaviour and reiterate our determination to tackle it. New hate crime legislation that comes into force this month will provide the courts with powers to impose heavier sentences when an offence is aggravated by hostility on the basis of the victim's actual or presumed race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. The Government have also acted to ensure that the justice system responds appropriately to antisocial behaviour. We now have in place legislation providing for antisocial behaviour orders. It came into force on 25 August and forms part of a wider range of tools to deal with such behaviour, which can cause fear, alarm and distress. It is essential that the Government send the clear message that antisocial behaviour is not acceptable and that there are effective sanctions if people choose to act in such a way.
The Government have also taken action to protect vulnerable communities through the community safety strategy, supported by action on education, housing, health and social policy issues, in particular through the race equality strategy that we are developing and which will be published this year. It will put in place a strategic framework to tackle racial inequalities and combat racism.
The Government continue to introduce legislation for Northern Ireland on a wide range of other issues. Since the last modification order was enacted in April this year, 12 orders have been made on subjects such as criminal justice, licensing, mental health and dangerous wild animals. In the period leading up to Christmas, we intend to lay before Parliament further orders relating to such matters as special educational needs and disability, roads, agriculture and law reform.
As I said, it is our profound hope that it will be possible to restore stable and inclusive partnership government in Northern Ireland in the context of exclusively peaceful and democratic means at the earliest possible date. That is the widespread hope of the parties too, and we face the talks at Leeds castle with that clear objective in mind. If we succeed, this will be the last such order that we ask the Committee to consider. Indeed, we must succeed, because as the Prime Minister has made clear, we cannot continue to drift. We must ensure, however, that we have the full machinery of administration in place while direct rule lasts. That is why we have to bring the order before the Committee this afternoon. I believe that hon. Members will share my hopes that the requirement for it will be short lived, but will also see why it is, if only for the short term, a regrettable necessity.
2.43 pm
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