I must first apologise for giving these answers so late, there is no excuse and while the next session is quickly coming up I firmly believe these questions need answering to leave the peoples representatives room to ask different questions in the upcoming session. Thank you.

------------------------------------------------

What has the executive been doing so far with regards to the bill of rights?

The Executive has made massive progress on the Bill of Rights especially in the last few days, a draft bill is nearly completed and negotiations on contentious parts of the bill are well under way. I am so excited for a completed bill to be presented by the end of the term and I am confident it will be something everyone can be proud of.

What communication with the government in Westminster has the Executive Office had?

We have had communications regarding the Bill of Rights and in a personal capacity I have met with the Secretary of State several times however nothing of substance outside the Bill of Rights has been discussed.

What communications has this Executive had with the Welsh or Scottish Governments?

Specifically in regards to the Welsh government a line of communication has been established however there has been no actual meetings between ourselves and the Welsh or Scottish Governments thus far however I would hope to see something occur over the coming weeks.

Could the Executive provide an expected timeline for a completed Bill of Rights to be presented to the Assembly?

I concur with my colleague, the First Minister here when I say I am confident it will be done by the end of term, I am personally hoping in the next 2-3 weeks.

What is this Executive doing to reduce sectarian violence?

We are working on reforms to PSNI, ensuring the establishment of a north-south policing executive and a number of other measures. I am hopeful we can call sectarian violence a thing of the past in the near future.

What is this Executive doing to handle and address the recent heat wave?

I would agree with the First Minister here.

What actions are the executive taking to improve the quality of schools in Northern Ireland?

The points the First Minister made are brilliant example so I shall add in addition to those, I am hoping in collaboration with the Minister for Education to amend the act concerning democracy in schools, release a white paper on the topic and reach out to SUNI regarding what support we can give to ensure the quality of student participation in making their schools better places is realised.

What actions are the executive taking to ensure proper community oversight of PSNI?

Outside of current well established processes there is currently no plans to expand the amount of community oversight however I am always willing to hear new proposals.

What actions are the executive taking to make the North of Ireland more accessible for people with disabilities?

I would echo the First Minister here

What actions are the executive taking to fight climate change?

I would echo the First Minister and encourage MLA's to explore this issue in more depth by participating in AERA EQ's taking place this week.

Will the First Minister and Deputy First Ministers join me in celebrating the decision of a Judge in West Virginia, who blocked the state's law to ban abortion?

Absolutely, we need to work to our utmost best to support the right of people to access abortions and I applaud anyone working to protect this right including this West Virginian Judge.

Does the executive agree that religion has no place in our schools, apart from RE lessons, and that the assembly should seriously consider the existence of religious schools in the north of Ireland

I absolute agree with this, while the issue needs to be approached carefully I firmly believe we do need to seriously consider their existence and expand the requirement for ensuring children have a hugely varied religious education, etc. It is vital that children have an unbiased education and forcing them into religious schools where one point of view is forced on them when they cannot consent is completely counter intuitive to protecting the freedoms we always strive to protect.

Leas-Cheann Comhairle,

I thank the Speakership for the opportunity for me to inform this Assembly on the state of the budget. Luckily, it is rather much more positive news than the last time I had to do a statement regarding the budget to our MLAs. That is because the problem is very much the opposite - Northern Ireland has an immense surplus, rather than a budget deficit.

This Executive has decided to set the budget surplus over 2021/2022 aside in a fund specifically meant for usage by future Executives and Assemblies for the purposes of improving and expanding the infrastructure of Northern Ireland or to make investments related to fighting climate change, be that expanding renewable energy capacity, improving energy efficiency or implementing new technology that reduces carbon emissions. Whilst this Assembly can vote on any other use than this, I think setting out this fund and this goal is a helpful step towards this money being used for long-term projects rather than short-term ones.

To expand on this, I wish to further inform the members of this Assembly on the state of the budget, changes made by legislation this term and changes we are expecting to be made. These changes generally increase rather than decrease the surplus, which means that the fund above will likely be a quite significant one in terms of size, especially for this country.

I shall go through the changes chronologically, and that means we will have to start with the budget itself. As some may have noticed, there was a mistake regarding the spending from 2022/2023 onwards - the one-off spending from 2021/2022 hadn’t been removed from the following years. This meant that all those years had £591,000,000 more in spending implied than was the case, with inflation added automatically for every year.

The Free Tutoring Act as passed will mean that the spending for the 2021/2022 year will be £5,675,000, rather than £22,700,000. This is because only 3 months of the 2021/2022 year will have the programme in effect, thus cutting the cost for this very first budget. The Apprenticeship (Wages) Act has a similar effect. As it only goes into effect on the 1st of January, spending for the 2021/2022 year is estimated at £29,170,000 rather than £116,680,000. In the case of these two Acts, the full spending will go into effect in the 2022/2023 financial year.

The Free Tuition Bill, which currently sits on a majority for Aye in the division lobby, will also have significant effects on the budget. The original £580,000,000 post for the 2021/2022 financial year is abolished, with the bill taking effect in July next year and spending not reaching full effect until the 2023/2024 financial year. As such, spending on this programme is £0 for 2021/2022, £441,830,000 for 2022/2023 and £546,445,000 for 2023/2024.

Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I know these are a lot of numbers and a lot of financial years, but with what I’ve said up until now we should be up to date in terms of legislation. But, just because I know the members of this house love the details of finances, I am going to continue by taking into account the effects of bills that are likely to pass this house.

The Free Museum Access bill is expected to cost £4,770,000 for the 2021/2022 financial year, with costs increasing to £19,085,000 financial year. The deviation, again, is due to spending only applying for a part of the 2021/2022 financial year. Secondly, the Transport (Northern Ireland) bill, which is yet to be read in this Assembly, is expected to cost £0 for the 2021/2022 financial year and £291,300,000 for the 2022/2023 financial year, with revenues of £1,750,000 on an annual basis from 2022/2023 onwards. With that, the total costs for 2021/2022 have dropped £291,300,000, equivalent to the initial cost for free public transport, as that programme will be implemented in the next financial year.

The surplus for the 2021/2022 financial year is estimated to be £1,339,805,000

The surplus for the 2022/2023 financial year is estimated to be £890,790,000

The surplus for the 2023/2024 financial year is estimated to be £822,578,000

The surplus for the 2024/2025 financial year is estimated to be £859,045,000

The surplus for the 2025/2026 financial year is estimated to be £897,710,000

I shall now give this Assembly time for debate and questions regarding this statement.

Statement from /u/KalvinLokan

In my capacity as deputy First Minister and Leader of the Ulster Workers' Party, I am announcing a cabinet reshuffle of the Communities Minister /u/JubileeAyr, to be replaced by /u/Model-Eddy on account of personal matters currently ongoing. I thank them for their time and service in the Assembly and welcome Eddy back into the role they held previously as I look forward to seeing them work with the Executive to deliver on the promise of this term.

/u/Model-Eddy replaces /u/JublieeAyr as the Minister for Communities effective immediately.

Ceann Comhairle,

I would like to thank the members of the Assembly for taking their time to listen to my statement regarding the 2021/2022 budget and our plans to tackle the deficit left to us by the former Finance Minister. The Executive has agreed to a plan that consists of two steps and that should negatively affect the least amount of people in Northern Ireland.

First of all, the 2021/2022 budget laid out a commitment to repay the remainder of the debts taken out to finance the RRI programme, with £280 million being paid back this year. The Executive has agreed to cancel this debt repayment for this year and instead decided to delay this until the 2022/2023 budget, where we have more room to do such a thing.

Secondly, the Executive has agreed to spread out the £670 million fund for rail infrastructure over the next six years. This means that the total extra spending on rail infrastructure this year is £111.7 million, saving us £558.3 million in this budget year. This will have no effect on total spending, as the budget has not been allocated to projects as of today.

This leaves us with a budget surplus of £142,200,000. However, we do have to subtract £110,000,000 to account for the implementation of the public sector minimum wage on the 1st of January, 2022, accounting for 3 months of the increased pay. Furthermore, we have accounted for the £25 million allocated to the electric charging station programme. Accounting for this spending, a budget surplus of £7.2 million is projected over the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

Updated Budget Tables

Written Statement - To respond to queries from the Communities EQs

Mr Speaker,

I on behalf of the Executive and the Minister for Communities do wish to make the following statement on the subject of the lack of responses to the Communities Executive Questions which occurred a few days ago. We apologize on behalf of the Minister for their lack of attendance during the said Executive Questions session.

From the Leader of the Ulster Workers Party –

Ceann Comhairle, What does the minister consider their Department greatest success for this term?

We in the Executive, believe that providing higher local government grants, and our Budget hikes in Welfare allowances amongst others, can be considered some of the best successes within the current term.

Ceann Comhairle, How will the minister work with the executive in order to combat paramilitary influence that still remains in several of our communities, especially around certain neighbourhoods in both Belfast and Londonderry?

The Executive understands that this is a cross-ministry effort and is primarily under the Northern Irish Police. However from the Communities end, I do believe that the Parades Commission NI would work to reduce their influence through marches. The Education Department can work towards reducing the influence through proper systematic reform.

Ceann Comhairle, Does the minister support the motion on recent hate crime and specifically provisions calling for community policing to tackle the growing problem of racist violence in Northern Ireland?

Yes, and most of us intend on voting in favour of the motion as well.

Ceann Comhairle, How is the minister going to work with the one for health care in order to tackle Northern Ireland's drug problems and ensure that addicts are off our streets and into safe clinics?

Let me read through the list of competencies under our Department right for you, housing, social security and welfare, employment services, culture, sports and leisure and historic and cultural affairs. This issue does not come under these criteria and therefore I cannot respond.

From the Deputy Leader of the Ulster Workers Party –

Ceann Comhairle, How will the minister tackle homelessness in Northern Ireland, specifically the providing of social housing to those who need it in order to ensure that they are able to be off the streets and in a safer environment?

I thank the Member from the Ulster Workers' for their query,to start with during the last Executive, my friend, the now Minister for Health wrote up a Plan and a Bill to resolve the impeding Housing Crisis, and it has been adequately funded this Budget as well. We believe those steps will definitely, along with new constructions from the Housing Executive, would help tackle homelessness.

Ceann Comhairle, Does the minister agree with me that the promotion of sporting activities is one community-based project we can implement with a dual goal of both reducing childhood obesity and also young person crime?

Yes definitely, and the increased funding to Sports NI would assist greatly in this cause as well.

Ceann Comhairle, How is the minister working to ensure those who are found themselves outside of work are able to more easily hunt for and find a new job?

The Executive definitely has explored several schemes to tackle unemployment and we have also created a lot of jobs by virtue of funding several commitments within the Budget, furthermore we have allocated more funds towards exploring more methods to ensure we can have a easy to use job hunting software.

Ceann Comhairle, If the minister had any reforms for the welfare system in Northern Ireland, what reforms would he make if political capital would not be a concern?

The Executive runs on a system of consensus building, and I strongly believe in it as well. I further believe that the Budget adequately funds a lot of our commitments, definitively, we hope to have achieved all of our PfG commitments in that end, vis a vis the winter fuel payment scheme and other issues. We would certainly work better to provide for larger welfare reform.

From the Member of Public of the Ulster Workers Party –

Ceann Comhairle, As the minister for communities being contact with the nature APG in order to work towards the establishment of new national parks in Northern Ireland?

This is a move that requires not only the Communities Minister but largely the Infrastructure Minister to respond and I'll defer this to them.

Ceann Comhairle, How is the ministers Department working to promote Northern Ireland historical and cultural legacy in order to bring together people so the use of community projects at home and abroad?

The Executive is cautious and considerate about our delicate histories and communities, however we have invested heavily into PRONI and other agencies to archive historic records and to ensure we can have a more clearer picture of our history by the Cenetary. In addition, we have funded several museums and schemes which would promote our history and culture.

Ceann Comhairle, If the minister has any culture based departmental changes he could make, what would they be?

The Executive has had elaborate time to consider several proposals for the benefit of our culture, and I think we have achieved quite a lot in that respect.

Ceann Comhairle, How is the minister working to improve access to sports and leisure activities for those in rural communities around Northern Ireland?

The Executive has provided a huge boost to Sports NI which will ensure increased access to sports and leisure activities in rural communities across Northern Ireland. We are also working on investing in related infrastructure as well.

From the Member of Public of Ulster Unionists Party –

Deputy Speaker, Culture is engrained in the fabric of Northern Ireland no matter where you come from and what you believe in. How is the Minister ensuring that all cultures are treated fairly and equally by the executive?

The Executive has already proposed through the Justice Department a scheme on police recruitment, and we're investing more within our Education system and Parades Commission amongst other bodies to ensure all cultures and communities are treated fairly within Northern Ireland.

Deputy Speaker, This term we have at times seen a disappointing display of grand partisanship especially in regards to culture and communities from the UWP in the form of certain motions. What is the Minister’s feeling on these and are they productive?

I do understand where the Member of the Public is coming from in this respect, and we do certainly agree that some of their motions have hurt the nationalist community, and we do hope they take cognizance of the same in the future.

Deputy Speaker, Northern Ireland is a sporting nation from football to rugby, there is a host of dedicated grass root communities all over the place, in every town and village. These make up backbone of our sporting infrastructure and yet are often overlooked by the governing bodies. How will the Minister ensure that their department doesn’t fall into this trap?

First is funding. I have emphasised repeatedly on the extra funding provided to the Sports NI and other bodies. Second, as a former Communities Minister, I do get the concern and we're certainly working in all directions to prevent any possible defunding.

Deputy Speaker, Literacy and poetry have always held a special place in Northern Ireland from creation to reading, greats such as Ciaran Carson spring to mind. My question is who can preserve these talents and make their great works accessible to all in Northern Ireland?

I do agree with the right hon. Member on this point and most certainly, it is the job of the Executive and the Public Records of Northern Ireland and Libraries NI to undertake these moves, and all of these bodies have been funded adequately to handle these matters.

From the Minister for Finance and deputy First Minister –

Ceann Comhairle, A few months ago, when I was Communities Minister, I brought in a proposal to develop the Casement Park and create the North Foreshore Stadium. As the Minister might know, work there is in full speed. Might I ask them if any other preparation is undertaken to retain Belfast as a city eligible for World Cup Bids?

The Executive has consistently been exploring all available options in this regard and has undertaken adequate steps to retain Belfast eligible for World Cup Bids of the future.

Ceann Comhairle, Communities. If I just look at the word repeatedly, my instant resemblance would be towards our history, which hasn't been really beautiful. Might I ask if the Communities Minister has made any attempt with their Westminster counterparts discussing matters regarding the legacy of the Troubles?

Whilst I am not the Communities Minister answering, I do understand the relevance of the question and certainly hope that the Minister might have made an attempt in their short tenure as Communities Minister.

Ceann Comhairle, The Programme for Government, for the Communities Department, mentions several high scale commitments. Now, as we approach the end of the term, my question to the Minister is, how much of it have they achieved, and how much they haven't been able to achieve?

We have been able to achieve almost all objectives excluding the one on Welfare Reform, due to the Budget from Westminster not being in and appropriate negotiations would be conducted in the next term hopefully to fulfill it.

Ceann Comhairle, I think both of us, can agree that Charities play an important role in our society, and we must do all we can in our capacity to promote them. Therefore, to the Minister I ask, what measures have they done, will be doing, or planning to do in order to promote increase of charities and more people signing up to donate for noble causes?

First, funding as usual. Seems more relevant when I'm in Finance as a Minister. The Executive has funded Charity Commission NI and the charities sponsored by the Executive more than before. We will hopefully get a chance next term to explore more on this subject.

I therefore look forward to hearing more queries as a follow up to this statement and commend this Statement to the Assembly.

This Statement was delivered by the Rt Hon. Sir NeatSaucer MLA, deputy First Minister on behalf of the Northern Irish Executive.

As per the Official Announcement from myself on my appointment as the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, and as the Leader of the largest Unionist Party in the Northern Irish Assembly, I make the following appointments.

• /u/NeatSaucer to the positions of deputy First Minister and Minister for Finance
• /u/Skullduggery12 to the position of the Minister for the Economy.

At the beginning of the term, the Executive outlined a goal to revitalise the health service we all depend on within the Programme for Government. For the past few decades, the problems facing the service have only increased and compounded. Take waiting lists. In England, Scotland, and Wales, one might reasonably expect to be admitted to a hospital much faster than here. The latest data from the Department of Health show that over 80% of patients on the waiting list have waited for over 13 weeks. Unacceptably, over half have been waiting for well over a year. In Great Britain, no matter the health service, the percentage of such patients lies within the single-digits. This is the latest data point on a trend which health experts have observed and predicted would worsen for decades, and other aspects of the health service have been suffering likewise. This, of course, has the greatest health impact on the most vulnerable and those who cannot easily turn to private health cover; it worsens the deep injustice we see with health inequalities. Given the under-allocation of key health services, surgeries being the plurality, the status quo has an unacceptable cost in human life and well-being.

With this context in place, I am proud to announce measures to tackle multiple problems facing the HSC and to deliver a better quality service for future generations.

Rationalisation

Some fundamental problems in the health service are not necessarily those of funding. Historically, patients in the HSC have had similar per-head funding compared to their counterparts in the English, Welsh, or Scottish health services, yet the disparities have only widened massively over the past two decades. This variation is fundamentally too large for the issues to be solely grounded in funding differences, though, to be clear, an appropriately funded health service is a key priority for the Executive. Instead, the issue lies with the organisation of service provision within the HSC. In 2001, the Hayes report called for rationalisation of inpatient services to avoid substantial harm to health and further assessments in 2011, 2014, and, most recently with Bengoa, 2016 have outlined similar recommendations. As time has gone on we also see the added acknowledgement that, as society is ageing, the way care is delivered will need to evolve.

HSC services are currently poorly organised and allocated throughout the North. One of the most durable claims over the years across reviews has been the over-abundance of acute hospitals and the under-delivery of home care and smaller-scale community care facilities. E-health and the delivery of certain simple services within pharmacies have also become newer areas which have the potential to massively improve the level and standard of care to fit the circumstances of more people. With so much attention on acute hospitals rather than better-suited structures and facilities, the HSC can only deliver healthcare services through these less flexible, more easily-crowded spaces. This is a huge source of the present waitlist crisis in our health system, and it is necessary to change this orientation by scaling down the number of acute hospitals and consolidating specialist services at these sites.

As such, the HSC Board will be directed to reduce the number of acute hospital facilities by half by 2026, consolidating the number of services at the remaining sites. The figure derives from recommendations of earlier reviews on the health service and is seen to be appropriate for our population and service needs. I will also establish a new non-statutory task force within the Department of Health to provide oversight over this sensitive, but crucial goal as it needs to be handled carefully and with the patient in mind.

Re-investment

The long-term savings from the rationalisation measures will be substantial, but it has to be accompanied with substantive re-investment into community and home-based service provision if we are to genuinely improve the patient’s quality and standard of care. Savings from the aforementioned measures will be dedicated towards the provision of home care, mobile rural health needs, new e-health capability, and smaller clinics interspersed throughout the community, including those in partnership with our registered community pharmacists and chemists. This will be a vital decentralisation which will cut waitlists at our acute hospitals and better meet the needs of those seeking care with our ageing, more rural population. The HSC Board will be directed to achieve this aim in tandem with its rationalisation measures. Making the change to establish these services in the transitional period will require additional funding in the realm of £200 million over each of the next five years, which the Executive’s budget will deliver. If this funding is not secured, the services will not be in place for patients to use. This is an outcome we will take all steps to avoid.

The need for a wider range of services must be underpinned by local intelligence and professional knowledge. The Accountable Care Systems approach outlined in the Bengoa Review is one to be followed, and in order to make it a full reality within our health system the local and professional networks we already have must be enhanced further. We will, in this transitional process, direct the HSC Board to enhance support for the GP Federations and Integrated Care Partnerships to ensure that local population needs can be better planned and addressed in matters relating to budgeting and service provision.

Alongside these measures, the workforce of the health service needs to be equipped and prepared for the future of the service. The HSC Board will be directed to continue its important work in facilitating the appropriate integration and recognition of qualifications between the health and social care sectors. With an ageing society and the extension of home and residential care, it becomes more important to have greater capacity to move qualified professionals between roles and meet the needs of patients. The Department will work with its counterparts in the Irish Government to aim to facilitate the retention of mutually-recognised qualifications in our post-Brexit landscape given the mutual need to facilitate effective cross-border labour mobility within the health systems in both jurisdictions on this island. Finally, to ensure that talent is retained within our health service, we will be making the requisite investments in the health service to ensure that our health professionals retain pay parity with England. New incentives will be established to support those who seek to provide health services in rural, underserved areas coming to a total cost of £120 million.

Conclusion

These changes will not be easy, but they remain necessary. The health service is at a point where it must evolve to meet our collective future needs. As put starkly in the Bengoa Review itself, the choice is not between ‘change’ or ‘no change’, but instead ‘change on our terms’ and ‘change in the face of crisis’. I believe firmly in managing this transition effectively to secure the best outcomes for our community. This work will, of course, need to be underpinned by a genuine commitment to see the goals achieved as well as broader attention paid to promoting better health outside of the health service’s own remit; future work in improving public health trends more generally remains an important goal that is far greater than what I have outlined here.

Minister of Health - u/SoSaturnistic CT MLA

Following the resignation of u/HKNorman as Minister of Health, I shall be appointing long time member and former First Minister u/SoSaturnistic as Minister of Health. Given their wide experience I am sure they'll excel.

In addition, u/model-elleeit will be taking Minister of Education and u/later_slater1407_ will be taking Minister of Agricultural, Environmental, and Rural Affairs, swapping their original positions.

Thank you

u/Abrokenhero

Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021

The Department of Education, in exercise of the powers conferred by article 1(6)(a) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, makes the following Order.

Article 1: Citation

This Order may be cited as the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021.

Article 2: Appointed day

The day appointed for article 28(2) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 coming into force is the 1st of July 2021.

This Order was written by later_slater1407_ MLA, Minister of Education, with advice from the Rt Hon. SoSaturnistic MLA on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Appendix:

• The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

The First Minister, /u/abrokenhero, the Unionist Deputy First Minister, /u/CheckMyBrain11, and the Other First Minister, u/realonewithsergio, stand in front of Stormont Castle.

First, the First Minister spoke.

Today, u/ohprkl, and u/soccerfun101 have resigned from their positions as Deputy First Minister. I am happy to announce their replacements u/CheckMyBrain11 and u/realonewithsergio. These two are both fine public servants and I am happy to be given the opportunity to work ever closer with them towards our common goal of a Northern Ireland that is great for all. This past term so far may have had a rough patch, but we have worked it out, and now with a new fresh leadership to lead this Executive, I know we'll achieve great things. I hope to continue the work that we've been doing so far, and finally get many big goals we've made for ourselves finally achieved. I hope to assure Northern Ireland that this executive is ready to govern, and that together, we will go far.

The Unionist First Minister, CheckMyBrain11, walked up to the podium.

“The Brain says, it’s a good day to join the Northern Irish Executive! I’m pleased to be joining such capable public servants as Alexa and Sergio in this Executive. With two collapses in the last two terms, I am sure that our reputation among the people of Northern Ireland has been better. However, my goal as Deputy First Minister will be to restore faith in representative government. I will work closely with my colleagues to ensure that post-Brexit Northern Ireland is strong and continues to grow as a great place to live, work, and to raise a family. I want to create a Northern Ireland where sectarian violence is part of the past, not of the future. Where we lead the United Kingdom in fighting climate change. This will be a Northern Ireland where we find consensus on a number of cross-community issues and work to deliver for the poorest in our society, the most downtrodden. Together, we can do this.

Since I first was elected to Stormont a few terms ago for East Antrim, I’ve fought for the same things: a sustainable future, responsible finances, and no-nonsense politics. This nation may be divided on the question of staying in the United Kingdom, but we have much more in common than we think, and we will use that shared belief in creating a Northern Ireland that is much better for our children than it was for our parents. Thank you.”

The deputy First Minister representing Other communities or denominations, realonewithsergio steps up.

"Six or so terms ago, I stood at this very same podium, in this very same position, as Leader of the Green Party of Northern Ireland and the new deputy First Minister in the leafy_emerald Executive. I suppose you could say I've done a fair bit since then! 

"It's all come full circle for me a bit, you see. In my first Executive, I was flanked by a unionist First Minister I counted as a friend, who I trusted to get the job done with provision, care and the utmost professionalism, and a nationalist deputy First Minister, the artist formerly known as LCMW_Spud, who was passionate, loyal to the core and well educated on matters of this Assembly and what its constituents need. 

"In the Executive I stand as part of today, I see an equal embodiment of those same values, that same mantra, that same compassion, that same friendship. I have never ever felt so confident in our Assembly, in our Executive and in the relationship between our community. It is 25 years next year since the last ceasefire of The Troubles began, and as we approach that milestone, we see the consequence of peace. People stood aside upon another who do not agree on everything, but on the boundaries of division, they can come together, form the strongest of relationships and they can do phenomenal things.

"I firmly believe that this Executive can go on to make history, and above all, make its people proud. We may stand here as Ulster Unionists, Social Democratic and Labour Partyites or Labourites, but we above all stand here as the representatives of the Northern Irish Executive as envisaged by Trimble, Hume, Alderdice, Mitchell, Mowlam, Reynolds, Ahern and Blair, all those years ago. We have a job to do, to show compassion, to legislate effectively, to be accountable to all communities, but above all, to show what a good Executive looks like and what great governance looks like. Let's get on with it, eh?"

Mr. Speaker,

I’d like to apologize to this House for missing my Executive Questions; I, unfortunately, was incredibly ill (M: got my COVID vaccine, and was so sluggish I didn’t even turn on my computer for a couple days). However, in the interests of a transparent Executive, I am before this body to answer each of the asked EQ’s. Accountability is important, and had I advanced notice of my own illness, I would’ve arranged to send another minister to answer in real time.

From the MLA from North Down: How many pounds are there in a euro?

Each Euro coin weighs about 7.5 grams, which means there are .01 pounds in a Euro.

From the UWP member: Does the Minister agree with me that nigh on every region and her people on this planet celebrate the foundation of their nation and that indeed for Northern Ireland to hold no celebration whatsoever would be insulting to the people who have built this nation, and indeed a step back from the cooperative and cross community legacy laid out by prior leaders of parties in this assembly?

I think the UWP member has an answer to their question in seeing that a centenary celebration of the founding of the nation of Northern Ireland does not currently hold cross-community support. As a fellow unionist, our job is to convince more and more people that Northern Ireland is best under the crown. Having arguments over a monument instead of fighting poverty is hardly the way to make this argument well.

Does the minister commit that we will see an increase in social housing this term for the Northern Irish people and if so, how much and where will this social housing be focused?

Indirectly, we aim to build more social housing. We will be ensuring that NIHE will be fully funded, which enables them to turn their collected rents into building new housing developments. Exactly where remains to be seen, and will be under the portfolio of the Communities Minister.

Does the Finance minister believe that any budget laid out by the executive should maintain a either a net neutral or surplus as in order to pay down or keep the debt remaining at the same level whilst delivering fully funded services to our people?

I am generally supportive of very small surpluses or balanced budgets. There are cases where borrowing is warranted, but given our limited ability to raise revenue, borrowing could be very risky. We should not aim to keep a large surplus, but instead the money we have to level up services.

What does the Finance Minister intend to spend towards ensuring Northern Ireland meet their climate targets and what spending can we expect to see that will go into projects aimed to the preservation and restoration of our environment?

Previous Executives have committed a great deal of spending for electrifying rail, setting climate change targets, and expanding renewable energy. I will uphold precedent in this regard, these projects are important to meeting our climate goals.

From the UWP Leader: When can the Northern Irish Assembly expect to see a budget for this executive for the term and what will be key aspects of the budget?

This House will see a budget by the end of term, ideally by the end of this month. The key aspects of this budget will be properly funding our NHS and the NIHE to help build housing, as well as remaining committed to ongoing infrastructure projects.

Does the Finance Minister agree with me that the best way to stimulate the Northern Irish economy is with investment into infrastructural and social projects?

Yes, which is why I’ve voted for both of the last two Executive budgets, which included massive infrastructure investments.

What does the finance minister believes would be a sensible rate go set the Corporation tax at? Does he see doing so at a lower rate than the as being beneficial for a budget and the economy?

I think a rate of 12.5% will keep us competitive with Ireland while still raising crucial revenue for services.

What does the Finance Minister believe is his most important objective for this term and how does he expect to undertake and deal with it?

The budget, by far. I am dealing with it by writing one, gathering support from the parties of the Executive, and ensuring our services are well-funded.

From LPNI Leader: I noted that the UUP had hailed the reformation of this Executive in their Unionist newspaper, which of course I herald duly as a triumph for the peace process. They also in that very same newspaper promised the people of Northern Ireland there would be a budget this term, to which again I say I have zero doubts against that word. The question I have is simple: why was that statement addressed to the membership of the Ulster Unionist Party rather than in a statement to this Assembly by the Finance Minister?

This seems like a non-useful question, and I hope to see a better spirit of good faith from the dFM-elect in the coming weeks. The Executive has never given any indication that a budget will not happen this term (as is customary in this House). A comment of support for the press is harmless.

How does the Finance Minister intend to utilise the changes in tax devolution within the upcoming budget, and can he guarantee that savings for the working man or woman will be prioritised in such a budget?

We plan to lower the corporate tax rate to 12.5%, such that we remain competitive with the Republic of Ireland. Ultimately, customers pay for every tax so this will bring savings to working people, even if it seems like a corporate tax break.

Would the Finance Minister agree with me that any public commemoration of the centenary since the partition of Ireland and the creation of Northern Ireland would be a waste to public expenditure and an undue inflaming of sectarian tensions, and as such, will he nix any such plans here and now?

Yes. The centenary celebration has obviously not gathered cross-community support. I won’t support it unless it does.

Does the Department for Finance have any plans to set aside funding to allow for the construction of social housing this term? As an aside, would the Finance Minister aim to utilise brownfield sites in any such planned construction?

As per my answer to the member of the UWP: Indirectly, we aim to build more social housing. We will be ensuring that NIHE will be fully funded, which enables them to turn their collected rents into building new housing developments. Exactly where remains to be seen, and will be under the portfolio of the Communities Minister.

From the Economy Minister:

What are the ministers priorities and what key areas of the budget will they be giving particular attention to?

The Health Department. Our NHS has faced less funding than it should have for some time, meaning we need to give it the care it deserves through proper funding.

We have seen turmoil break out in Westminster over the incumbent government's sleight of hand tactics with their budget - can the minister assure me and this house they won't be doing that?

Of course. I vow, here and now, not to conjure money out of thin air.

What is the ministers view on making corporation tax competitive - especially in relation to Northern Ireland?

I am supportive of such a measure.

Does the minister have any plans to fund infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland or do they see a large infrastructure fund where communities can bid for monies as a way forward?

We, as we have for every Executive I’ve served in, continue to aim for rail electrification and infrastructure updates across Northern Ireland.

From the former First Minister:

Does the Finance Minister intend to take on low-interest debt under the RRI scheme so that capital spending for key public services like transport, health, or schools can be lifted up?

At this time, it’s looking like we can make the requisite capital investments without needing to borrow, though I am not dogmatically opposed to borrowing small amounts, especially in a time where debt is so cheap. My only concern is repayment, given our limited capacity to raise revenue of our own. Before signing onto any debt, I’d want to make sure the debt payments were sustainable.

Does the Finance Minister share my view that, ideally, corporate income tax changes should be done in a way which facilitates productivity-enhancing investments over shareholder profits?

Enhancing productivity is absolutely a consideration in the decision-making process, and I prefer it to protecting shareholder profits. However, there are times where setting a competitive rate may inadvertently protect shareholder profits, and in that case, it’s a worthy trade-off in exchange for growth.

It might be a bit of an odd one but given that the Minister's brief includes property law, would the Minister be willing to consider legislation to phase out the creation of new leasehold properties to ensure that people eventually no longer need to pay ground rents?

I thank the former First Minister for their recognition of my entire brief, but I have no strong opinion either way and am open to hearing arguments for what they are subtly proposing.

As another civil law question, does the Minister share my view that defamation law here is out of date, overly restrictive to free expression, and should be reformed?

I cannot speak for the Executive as a whole, but I personally do support laws that expand free expression.

From the C!NI member: Does the finance minister know that you can make a shield shape if you put the british coins in a certain arrangement? Its pretty cool.

I did know that, and agree it’s very cool.

What is the finance ministers stance on whether or not 'monies' sounds a bit weird?

Nah, it sounds fine. The English language has far weirder-sounding things, like “couch.”

This statement was delivered by the Finance Minister, CheckMyBrain11.

Following their appointment as Deputy Leader of the SDLP, u/ABrokenHero will be assuming the position of Education Minister, effective immediately. I have every confidence they will excel in the role.

On another note, u/BoredNerdyGamer will be temporarily assuming the office of Health Minister.

Thank you,

The Rt.Hon Sir u/BoredNerdyGamer KP CB MS MLA PC

First Minister

About one week ago, I tendered my resignation as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and set the motions in place for a fresh leadership election and successor. Today that successor has been duly elected and his name is u/BoredNerdyGamer. I have no doubt that the Executive will be left in competent and compassionate hands. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be able to work towards realising the goals and values that the SDLP were elected to represent in the last Assembly election.

At this moment, though, I wish to take some time to reflect on the past and the achievements I have had in my time in frontline politics. I entered Stormont's scene during a time when nationalism was at a low ebb within the Assembly. I never abandoned making the case for a united Ireland during that time, but it would be remiss of me to simply neglect the role we had in bringing forward several important issues then, be it accountability in government, public finance matters, or social inequality. When my party entered the Assembly following our first Assembly elections, we carried that same approach into the Executive that followed.

That Executive did have its issues at start, but once it found its footing we got on with the job and did it well. While I will likely not be remembered for a particularly eventful or lengthy term as First Minister, I am proud of the achievements we were able to deliver in my role within the previous Executive as the deputy First Minister. We embarked on a programme of comprehensive reform addressing nearly all areas of policy, from tax to criminal justice to housing. We had successful intergovernmental talks on a number of occasions and yielded positive change. While I do not claim sole responsibility for all of these happenings, nor can anyone in a coalition where we work together, my impact has been firmly felt on dozens of pieces of legislation and more.

My resignation does not mean that I am leaving without regret. There have been mistakes I've made in my time and I do wish that I could have presided over the completion of various longstanding goals, the enactment of the Bill of Rights in particular. Yet despite all this I am entirely confident that I will be able to witness these worthy ambitions realised in due course. Personal circumstances demand that I leave, and it is vital that the people have leaders who have the full time and energy to tackle the big challenges facing our society, and they are sizable.

I offer my gratitude to all those who have accompanied me on my journey so far, though there are too many to strictly name. The first SDLP MLAs, u/Sylviagony, u/Lady_Aya, and u/Abrokenhero are surely deserving of thanks in particular for staying true to our cause during what was often a lonely period of time. u/CountBrandenburg and u/ka4bi deserve real recognition for working with me earnestly from the very start, even before the SDLP gained Assembly representation as does u/LeChevalierMal-Fait who I often conversed with on Westminster matters. I also would like to extend my thanks to u/model-ceasar and u/BoredNerdyGamer who, while being political rivals at one point or another, ultimately became good friends and colleagues throughout my time as a leader. It's funny how politics can work out that way. Finally I have to thank those within the wider Solidarity family for welcoming me from the very start.

To the people of West Tyrone: I will stay on as your MLA in the Assembly. I want to thank you for your consistent support during my time so far and I will remain at your service for the remaining portion of the Assembly mandate.

I thank the wider public once again for granting myself and the SDLP a significant position to address your priorities in the last election, bringing in the first nationalist First Minister in years and bestowing our vision with a new confidence. While I will no longer be First Minister in the future, the SDLP's commitment to serve and make the North a better place will remain. I wish all my Executive colleagues well as they carry on that vital task and I will do what I can to support them in the next chapter of my life.

Thank you very much.

Natural Areas (Mineral Extraction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(1)(c) of the Natural Areas Act (Northern Ireland) 2020, makes the following Regulations.

Regulation 1: Citation and commencement

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Natural Areas (Mineral Extraction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021.

(2) These Regulations come into force one week after the day on which they are made.

Regulation 2: Interpretation

In these Regulations,—

“area of outstanding natural beauty” has the meaning found within the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

“National Park” has the meaning found within the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

“natural area” has the meaning found within the Natural Areas Act (Northern Ireland) 2020.

Regulation 3: Planning permission for mineral extraction

(1) No planning permission may be granted by the Department for Infrastructure for any development on a natural area which would facilitate the commercial extraction of minerals.

(2) No planning permission may be granted by a district council for any development on a natural area which would facilitate the commercial extraction of minerals.

Regulation 4: Taking minerals from natural areas

(1) A person who, without a permit granted under these Regulations, takes minerals from an area of outstanding natural beauty or a National Park for commercial purposes is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine no higher than level 4 on the standard scale; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine no higher than the statutory maximum.

Regulation 5: Permits for the taking of minerals from certain natural areas

(1) A person may apply to the Department to take minerals from a natural area under this regulation for the purposes of conservation, scientific or archeological research, or any other non-commercial use which is in the public interest.

(2) An application must specify the purpose of the collection, the location of any collection sites, the date or dates of collection, and the means by which the person intends to collect the minerals.

(3) Following the reciept of the application, the Department may, if it is satisfied that the collection would not breach lawful requirements or conflict with the relevant natural area plan, grant a permit for the purposes of these Regulations.

These Regulations were written by u/SoSaturnistic CT MLA and are sponsored by the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of the Northern Ireland Executive

Appendix:

• The Natural Areas Act (Northern Ireland) 2020

u/motelblinds will serve as Minister of Education from today onwards.

This appointment was conducted by the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

Ministerial Statement on a Venue in Northern Ireland for the World Cup 2030

When this Executive came to office, in our Programme for Government we committed to enabling Northern Ireland to have a stadium fit for our participation in the UK-Ireland 2030 World Cup bid and have a stadium which would, in the longer term, help us host large events to help grow our economy as time passes.

As members of this Assembly would know, Northern Ireland is indeed a unique place. Due to our social context, our ambition is to ensure that such a project has genuine cross-community appeal with the the consent and acceptance of our diverse population. With this in mind, we have endeavoured to use this unique opportunity to develop a stadium with these values in mind.

A statement made by my predecessor outlined a proposal, though still in progress at that time, to create a new Stadium entitled North Foreshore Stadium to be located in the brownfield Giant's Park site. This multi-sports facility would be supported by sports bodies which represent Gaelic games, football, and rugby. Furthermore, the idea was that this facility would provide a venue to host large events, like the World Cup and concerts, and meet the existing demands from various entities for a large stadium-like venue.

This stadium will provide the required stimulus for the economy of north Belfast. However, for this to happen, we needed to negotiate with each body. I have to begin by expressing gratitude to the Minister for Finance, the First Minister, Mr John Horan of the GAA, Mr Nicky Comyn of the IRFU, and Mr David Martin of the IFA for taking part.

After weeks of negotiations, I am happy to present what we have agreed to: the Memorandum of Understanding between all the stakeholders to construct the North Foreshore Stadium. This Memorandum provides for a four year period for the purposes of constructing the stadium, ready to have the stadium for use in the 2030 World Cup.

The Memorandum outlines the ambition to create a jointly-owned holding company. This holding company shall be responsible to manage and own the stadium and the Executive shall be providing monetary assistance for the initial construction of the Stadium. With respect to revenue distribution, we have created five different models of revenue sharing for different contexts.

Each model enables distribution of the revenue money made by use of the North Foreshore Stadium. The first is on events hosted by the GAA, the second for those hosted by IRFU, the third for those hosted by IFA, the fourth for events hosted by the Executive and the fifth for events hosted by private entities. The distribution of money for each of these models have been provided in Annexure B of the Memorandum.

For the purposes of payment for the Stadium, a cost distribution model has been generated which can be found in Annexure A of the Memorandum. The cost has been split in the manner of the Executive paying 80% of the cost, GAA paying 10% and IRFU and IFA paying 5% of the cost each. The Executive and GAA shall be paying their shares through a drawn out direct cash distribution for the four years of construction. The IFA and IRFU shall take a loan for five years from sources of their choice to pay their share.

This revenue sharing model provides us the estimation that the total cost of the stadium is £200 million. However, in the event of the cost of the construction of the stadium going more than that, the Executive shall negotiate with the other parties for appropriate payments to be made and in the event of the stadium being constructed at a rate lower than the negotiated, the revenue shall be distributed in the manner as the Executive will discuss with the other bodies.

Finally, we have, as the GAA is providing a large sum of investment within the North Foreshore Stadium, decided to fund the renovation of Casement Park from the status quo to a 30,000 capacity stadium with modern features, drawn over the same four year period. Casement Park has fallen into a disappointing state of neglect and disrepair. While many in Andersontown have opposed a large stadium, Casement Park as a modern mid-sized stadium will be a tangible improvement for Gaelic games and will fit the needs of west Belfast. Such a renovation will have much more modest costs than a full-scale expansion of Casement Park as well.

We shall update the Assembly further as Westminster forms a Government and all FAs start the second level of negotiations for the World Cup 2030 bid.

Ceann Comhairle, with these words, I commend the Statement and the Memorandum of Understanding made to the Assembly and would be glad to answer any questions if any, from the public and the Assembly.

Memorandum of Understanding agreed between Northern Irish Executive, Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish Rugby Football Union and Irish Football Association on the Construction of the North Foreshore Stadium

This Statement has been authored by the Rt Hon. NeatSaucer PC MSP MLA, Minister for Communities on behalf of the Northern Irish Executive.

Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2020 (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020

The Department of Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3(1)(b) of the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2020, makes the following Order.

Article 1: Citation

This Order may be cited as the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2020 (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020.

Article 2: Appointed day

The day appointed for the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland Act) 2020 coming into force is 9 November 2020.

This Order was written and submitted by u/SoSaturnistic MLA, Minister of Finance, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Appendix:

• The Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2020

Explanatory note:

The provisions of the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2020 only commence following the passage by both Houses of Parliament in Westminster, the passage of a motion by the Assembly approving bringing the provisions into force, and a commencement order. This commencement order is the final step towards bringing the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland into force.

u/SoSaturnistic will serve as Minister of Education from today on an acting basis.

This appointment was conducted by the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

Good Evening,

Following the resignation of u/Merrilyputrid and the UUP's decision to appoint u/TheWalkerLife to replace them, I am both obligated and delighted to announce that u/TheWalkerLife will be stepping into the role of both deputy First Minister for the Unionist delegation and Infrastructure Minister for the remainder of the term.

I'd like to thank Merrily for their service to the executive.

Thank you,

BoredNerdyGamer

First Minister of Northern Ireland

In our Programme for Government the Northern Ireland Executive set out to improve the management of Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater body in these isles. The lough is one of our greatest natural resources, supplying water to 40% of our population and supporting livelihoods in the area. It is one of the most important ecological features not only on the island of Ireland, but within the world due to its large size and the unique wetland habitat provided. In recognition of these qualities, Lough Neagh holds special status within both international and retained European environmental law in addition to statutory protection under Northern Irish law.

It has, therefore, been an unfortunate fact that the environmental quality of the lough has fallen over past decades. Illegal sand dredging, exposure to polluting effluent, and fractured management have reduced water quality and wildlife populations substantially; over the last three decades the population of birds alone has declined by 75%. While the Executive has worked hard to address the former two issues, by improving enforcement against environmental crimes and removing polluting subsidies, the issue of management remains vital to addressing the environmental ills of our greatest commons. It is this area that the Executive aims to address today.

Our ambition is to bring the lough into the control of the communities which jointly manage it. Under planning and development law, principally the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, the Department for Infrastructure will draft a plan and then compulsorily purchase the lough bed. To do this, the Executive has decided to set aside a £7 million lump sum for compensation to Shaftesbury estate as they are the current proprietors of the lough bed. This valuation is based on an independent assessment and is inflation-adjusted. No new legislation is needed for this.

Once the lough bed has been legally purchased, the title will be transferred to the Department for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs who will have registered a company limited by guarantee alongside adjoining district councils. The lough, and any other adjoining land that the district councils wish to add, will lie under a non-profit, community-led entity known as the Lough Neagh Conservation and Development Trust. For tax purposes, it will seek to attain charitable status so that it can more easily manage the lough and support adjoining communities in an efficient manner. This development trust will have conservation of the lough and economic improvement for communities near it at the heart of its mission.

We believe this sort of management structure has a number of benefits. It will guarantee stability and surety over the management of Lough Neagh for the future as the property will be removed from being considered for any future sale. It will ensure that there is local, not top-down, control while still bringing some of the benefits that come from joined-up working among the multiple adjoining councils. It must be noted that local people have long sought to better promote activities like tourism and recreation yet have so far struggled to realise this ambition; this sort of lough-wide approach can enable these activities much more easily. Finally, it will create a stronger public incentive to improve the protection of this natural resource, as damage from illegal dredging or otherwise will be a cost more directly faced by the public rather than the status quo.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs - u/comped MLA

Minister of Finance - u/SoSaturnistic MLA

Ceann Comhairle,

Each and every member of this chamber represents all people of Northern Ireland. However, this assembly is just one layer of a very extensive system of local government and this starts with our students and our schools. Historically most schools have had some form of student democracy however this has often been weak and ineffective with many in schools passing it off as a joke.

In recent years, however, there has been a change. Students now more than ever are yearning to have their voices heard and this executive is returning their calls. Today I stand before you to announce a number of new measures and legislation in regards to increasing students' voices within their school communities including planned funding for School councils, making School councils mandatory in all schools and increasing powers of School councils.

First I will go over some of the changes we will be making to how School councils work. Every grant-aided School will have a duty to publish a plan to facilitate democratic pupil participation within the school, school councils will have the power to inform the school timetable, make submissions as to the development of school facilities, arrange school activities, carry out fundraisers and any other powers the school sees fit to grant the school council. Areas such as term length, the election and frequentness of meetings must also be covered in the required plan.

However, this is just the beginning of our plan to expand the rights of students and their participation within the School. We also plan to roll out in the budget a funding plan for School Councils to make use of which shall be available to any School Council. This funding shall be used to fund school elections. Election Funding shall be used by schools to ensure there are free and fair elections. Fundings are calculated using formulas which were created with the average cost in mind. All together this funding will cost approximately 2.6 Million Pounds.

Election Funding

Base funding per school: 2500 Pounds (Total cost: 482,500 Pounds)

Funding per pupil: 15 Pounds (Total cost: 2,176,275 Pounds)

Total funding: 2,658,775 Pounds

Average funding per school: 13,780 Pounds

With this ambitious new plan, I truly believe that Students will be able to get involved better than ever before. Required School Councils should have been brought in long ago and I am proud to be here putting this plan for change before this assembly. Combined with plans for a look into curriculum reforms the Northern Irish education system will be more inclusive, welcoming and overall better than ever before.

Thank you and I commend this statement to the Assembly.

The Recreation and Youth Services (Gender Equality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

The Department of Communities, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 12(1) of the Recreation and Youth Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, makes the following Regulations.

Regulation 1: Citation, commencement, and interpretation

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Recreation and Youth Services (Gender Equality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 November 2020.

(3) In these Regulations, "Council" shall mean the Sports Council constituted under the Recreation and Youth Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

(4) In these Regulations, "Grants" shall mean the Lottery grants received by the Sports Council under Recreation and Youth Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 by virtue of receiving grants under the National Lottery etc. Act 1983

Regulation 2: Gender equality mandate for the making of grants

(1) When the Council makes a grant for the promotion of sport or recreational activities, it must ensure that-

(a) the grant does not disproportionately impact access to sport or recreational activities among people on the basis of sex, gender identity, or gender expression;

(b) the grant, if it is likely to have a disproportionate impact on access to sport or recreational activities for a group of people on the basis of sex, gender identity, or gender expression, is accompanied by such grants that any neglected group has equivalent access to like activities; or

(c) the Council has applied to the Department for an exemption, and the exemption has been granted.

(2) The Department, if on the application of the Council, believes that such a grant which falls under (1)(b) would still be of benefit to the public without any accompanying grant, may grant an exemption for the standard for the purposes of (1)(c).

(3) The Department must be provided with plans and assessments made for determining the utility of grants if requested.

These Regulations were authored and submitted by The Rt Hon. NeatSaucer MLA MS MSP, Minister for Communities, with advice from the Rt Hon. SoSaturnistic MLA, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Finance in the name of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Link to the enabling Order.

With the resignations of u/J_Ceasar and u/ohprkl from their previous roles, new appointments to the Executive have been made.

• u/MerrilyPutrid is the deputy First Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure
• u/comped is the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

This post has been made following the appointments by the parties in question.

Good evening,

Yesterday, u/ARichTeaBiscuit notified me of their intention to stand down both a member of the legislative assembly and as Minister of Health in the Northern Irish Executive. I would like to wholeheartedly thank them for their service and wish them all the best in the future.

Now, I can now announce that u/Ohprkl will be quickly stepping into the role as the new Minister of Health. I imagine they will be a capable voice in the Health portfolio as they were during their tenure as the recently departed AERA Minister. I wish them luck in their new position.

Thank you.

The Right Honourable Sir u/BoredNerdyGamer KP MSP MS MLA PC

First Minister of Northern Ireland

The Department of Health, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 11(2)(b) of the Free and Safe Access to Abortion Act 2019, makes the following Order.

**Article 1: Citation**

This Order may be cited as the Free and Safe Access to Abortion Act 2019 (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020.

**Article 2: Appointed day**

The day appointed for sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Free and Safe Access to Abortion Act 2019 coming into force is 1 October 2020.

**This Order was written by u/SoSaturnistic MLA and is sponsored by Dame u/ARichTeaBiscuit LT LD DCB DBE PC MP MLA MSP MS, Minister of Health, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.**

**Appendix:**

* [The Free and Safe Access to Abortion Act 2019](https://www.reddit.com/r/MHOLVote/comments/ccqftn/b7662_free_and_safe_access_to_abortion_bill_3rd/)

u/ohprkl will serve as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs from today.

This appointment was conducted by the Alliance Party.

Good Afternoon,

Today I informed the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party that I intended to step down from my post as Minister of Communities. I thank the Deputy First Minister for putting aside any cross-community differences in allowing me to temporarily assume the position these last few weeks despite concerns and criticisms and I hope that my replacement will honour the trust they have placed in both myself and the LPNI.

With that being said, I hereby announce that myself and u/SoSaturnistic have agreed that u/Neatsaucer will assume the duties of the Minister of Communities effective immediately. Neatsaucer has been an active and dependable backbencher MLA for some time now and I sincerely hope that the people of Northern Ireland will put the same trust in them as they did when they chose to return them to their MLA seat during the recent Assembly Elections.

Thank you all and best of luck to the new Minister

- The Rt. Hon Sir u/BoredNerdyGamer PC MLA KP, First Minister and Minister of Justice

For the duration that u/ka4bi is on break, u/ohprkl will serve as acting Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

For clarity, this appointment was conducted by the Alliance Party.

As a commitment made within the Programme for Government, this Executive pledged to take part in new discussions over our fiscal settlement.This has been a matter of controversy for some time now among political parties, of course, but only through a cross-party, intergovernmental settlement could we have a reliable and stable system of public finance in the years ahead.

As such, my colleagues within the Executive Office and I were engaged in serious discussion with the UK Government, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government over the development of a new fiscal settlement that is fair, governed by a formula, and accounts for needs in some manner. These talks, the Fair Funding Formula Forum (F4), were difficult at times. Ultimately, however, the Executive and the other administrations were able to find an outcome which is a substantial improvement from the status-quo. These talks concluded with the release of a joint statement which I advise all to read.

The main feature of the F4 talks, the formula, is essentially a return to the old Barnett formula. For more information about the way this formula functions, I advise members to read the recent Downing Street joint statement on the matter. As a brief explanation though, the block grant is calculated by adding up the products of the following: UK departmental expenditures, a factor relating to relative population for expenditure within that department, and a factor which accounts for the extent to which that departmental expenditure relates to a devolved competence. For example, an increase in funding for courts in England and Wales would lead to a proportional increase in our own block grant as justice is fully devolved. This is a positive move away from the arbitrary allocations used in the past and it ensures that the people who pay non-devolved taxes, such as income tax and VAT, get a fair portion back when the revenue from these taxes is spent elsewhere.

The other substantial change to the block grant as far as it pertains to our public finance is the introduction of a “deprivation grant”. In years past, even when the Barnett formula was used, there were calls for the block grant to have a boost on account of factors that increase pressure on services provided by devolved institutions. These factors include sparsity, poverty, and age for example and they are quite pronounced here. Within the F4, it was agreed by all parties that the value of the block grant from the Northern Ireland Office would be multiplied by 5% to yield a new “deprivation grant” which will help supplement the existing block grant. This accounts for some of the inequities faced within our society and we are quite pleased to see this offered for the first time in the history of this Assembly. It is a substantial step forward. As noted in the F4 joint statement, we intend to use the revenue from this additional grant to address poverty in particular.

In terms of immediate implications, if the past budget’s block grant were replaced by the block grant and deprivation grant under the new fiscal settlement, we would expect to see a revenue increase of approximately £2.75 billion or just over 20%. That is a substantial sum and I can assure members that it would be used wisely. However, I must stress that this increase is far from being guaranteed in the future as we will only have the real, new figure calculated when the next Westminster budget passes. Until that point, I am afraid we are left with the £12.31 billion figure appropriated by the last Westminster budget.

Following the formation of a new Government after the general election, the first discussion that we intend to have with the Treasury is to ask if the Government intends to pass a budget at Westminster before the end of this Assembly mandate. This will inform the Executive’s own budgetary processes and it will determine if the budget that we introduce in this term uses the old figures or a new one calculated under the terms of what was agreed within the F4.

We would like to extend our thanks to those in the UK, Scottish, and Welsh Governments for participating in earnest during the F4 by working in a spirit of co-operation and compromise. This Executive believes that this is a good fiscal settlement and we intend to continue supporting it in the hope that it is a settlement that can last for the months and years ahead.

I am happy to take any questions relating to the outcome of the F4.

Minister of Finance - u/SoSaturnistic MLA