Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the DUP on 2 December 2022.

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has said the Secretary of State’s decision to press ahead with the commissioning of abortion services is fanning the flames of the crisis facing devolution in Northern Ireland.

Her comments come following a letter sent by the Secretary of State to DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, confirming the move.

Carla Lockhart said,

‘‘Amid the rising cost of living and the Government’s failure to deliver energy support payments to households in Northern Ireland, it is a matter of deep regret that the Secretary of State can find the money to promote the taking of life.

Pressing ahead with this divisive policy is a further attack on the principles of devolution. Abortion is a devolved matter and future decisions should be taken by local ministers.

The former Secretary of State failed to respect these principles when an Executive was sitting so it perhaps not surprising that his successor has chosen to pursue this agenda when the institutions are paralysed because of the Protocol.

There are many financial pressures facing public services in Northern Ireland, including our NHS. It is notable that amongst all those competing issues the government is providing financial certainty for the provision of abortion when it is absent for so many other issues.

The point has been made forcibly and repeatedly to the Secretary of State and his predecessor that action in this area undermines the devolution settlement. That is only underscored further by the Government’s deliberate inaction across many other areas.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 2 December 2022.

DUP South Down MLA Diane Forsythe & Sammy Wilson MP have written to the Chancellor and outlined the need for Treasury to adjust the allowance for Tax Free Childcare across the UK after a report finds that childcare costs in Northern Ireland are on a par with London and are holding back working families.

Commenting on the issue Ms Forsythe said,

“This report looks at options for childcare in England but one of the most significant points from their survey is that childcare costs in central London are £36 per day. (graphic below) In Northern Ireland our childcare costs are significantly above the UK average and on a par with central London and in many cases higher as identified in a recent Employers for Childcare report.

Whilst this report finds in England mortgage, household energy and household food costs are higher than childcare, that is not the situation in Northern Ireland. Families here regularly report that childcare is their biggest monthly cost and significantly more than their mortgage payment.

Our Treasury spokesman in Westminster Sammy Wilson and I have written jointly to the Chancellor and urged him to look at increasing the Tax Free Childcare allowance for working families. This would help get more people into the workforce and particularly in our public services such as schools and hospitals where it is simply not affordable for a parent to work.

The DUP Education Minister before leaving office had set the wheels in motion to ensure all children aged 3-4 have access to a minimum of 22.5 hours of funded pre-school education per week and that is a work in progress. One of the best ways however, to make returning to work affording in those years after maternity leave would be for the Tax Free Childcare allowance to increase beyond the 20% contribution. Treasury has previously told us that this scheme consistently underspends, therefore there is headroom for expansion.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 2 December 2022.

East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has said that swift action on MLA pay is correct but stands in stark contrast to inaction on more than £10million of other allowances claimed by Sinn Fein MPs in the last 10 years alone. He said the figures demonstrate the government’s priorities.

The DUP MP said, “The Government have taken action in relation to MLA pay, citing the fact that currently they are not carrying out their full duties. Whilst the Assembly is not sitting due to the Protocol introduced by this same government, it is evidence of their ability to act when they want to.

This swift action stands in contrast to other areas, including allowances paid to Sinn Fein MPs. Mary Lou McDonald has proclaimed that Sinn Fein has “no business” in Westminster, but with more than £10million accrued in ten years, Sinn Fein MPs certainly aren’t operating a charitable enterprise.

When I raised this £10million figure with the Northern Ireland Office Minister during the week he claimed that he didn’t “recognise” this figure. Perhaps that was because figures provided to be by the House of Commons Library show the total is actually greater than the £10million I cited. The representation allowance Sinn Fein receive was not only specially designed for the party but comes with less transparency and accountability than allowances paid to any other MP or Party.

Whilst energy support payments are being withheld by Ministers in London, there is no such holdback on Sinn Fein allowances. The determination shown on MLA pay isn’t replicated by any such desire to place a real focus on abstentionist MPs who don’t turn up for work, and show no desire ever to do so but are content to sown plenty of taxpayers money in doing so.

Many people will see it as a demonstration of this Government’s priorities thus far”

The press release issued by the DUP on 2 December 2022.

Writing in today’s Belfast Telegraph, East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons has set out the last minute change introduced by Ministers in London which means energy payments to households in Northern Ireland are being withheld.

Much has been made about references that the £400 (now increased to £600) energy support payment would be paid in November or at least before Christmas. These were not dates of our invention, but the words of the then Chancellor and Prime Minister. They also were not some whispered promise to the DUP out of the public gaze. They were comments made in public by the Chancellor in August and reported in this very newspaper.

On 10th August 2022 the Belfast Telegraph reported an interview by the Chancellor on BBC Northern Ireland’s Good Morning Ulster programme. A quotation by Mr Zahawi was included where he said:“The £400 will begin to drop, in the autumn”.

There may be some debate about exactly what might constitute ‘autumn’, but most people would accept that autumn falls before Christmas in the calendar year.

It wasn’t just DUP representatives who referenced payments in this timescale. On 26th August the Belfast Telegraph reported comments where the Utility Regulator said they had hopes people here would see the £400 payment “this side of Christmas”.

Energy support payments could and should have been delivered to households here before the end of November. There was nothing preventing that from happening save for a lack of political will in London. The funding is in place, the systems are in place and the energy companies are ready to process the payment as outlined by the then Chancellor in August.

Instead however, Ministers in London decided within the last few weeks to insert the so-called “cash out” option whereby customers could withdraw some or all of the payment from their electricity provider if their account is in credit. That is an entirely legitimate and useful mechanism, particularly in Northern Ireland where we have a high dependency on oil and other fuel sources. It was also an entirely legitimate and useful mechanism during the summer when it was ruled out as an option by the UK Government.

Little wonder that energy companies are not in a position today to deliver a scheme that includes this cash out option when they were told many months ago to prepare for a scheme where it was specifically ruled out.

For Ministers to re-introduce something like this at the last minute looks to most people like nothing more than a delaying tactic. It is most disgraceful because it is dressed up in some cloak of kindness. It is entirely cynical to introduce measures at this late stage to actively delay the scheme.

It’s not “empty promises” from the Tories in August that should be of most concern, it’s the callous actions in October and November which will likely mean that some people in Northern Ireland suffer a cold Christmas, because Ministers in London decided to withhold payments from people who need that money transferred immediately.

If this is a further act to punish the DUP for demanding the Government and Brussels replace the NI Protocol with arrangements acceptable to unionists, then it is an outrageous abuse of power and hurts the most vulnerable.

The press release issued by the DUP on 1 December 2022.

DUP Upper Bann MLA Diane Dodds has said the European Union should focus on replacing the Northern Ireland Protocol with arrangements that unionists and nationalists can support rather than brandishing threats of sanction.

On Wednesday the European Council and Parliament agreed plans to restrict trade with the UK for a failure to comply with the Protocol and earlier today European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was speaking in Dublin.

Mrs Dodds said:

“The EU is failing to recognise the concerns of Unionists. Despite the Protocol driving up the cost of doing business, hindering the supply of medicines and preventing the devolved institutions from functioning, Brussels refuses to face the reality that the very arrangements it insisted upon are undermining political and economic stability in Northern Ireland.

For weeks we have been told the mood music is good and that talks have been constructive. Yet the EU seems to be focused on punishing the UK for having the audacity to protect the integrity of its internal market. The hypocrisy is staggering. Let’s not forget that it was the EU that moved to trigger Article 16 to stop the supply of vaccines during the pandemic.

Rather than using the threat of sanctions as a stick to beat the Government, the EU need to get on with agreeing alternative arrangements that can command the support of both unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland. Any solution must restore the consent principle at the heart of the Belfast and St Andrew’s Agreements. Not a single Unionist MP or MLA supports the Protocol. Without a return to consensus politics the future of devolution will remain on life-support.

It is crucial that the Government hold their nerve in the face of this aggression but most of all there is a need for decisive action. An antidote for the poison the Protocol has injected into our politics is found in the Protocol Bill. Ministers must not shy away from taking the necessary steps to bring matters to a head and finally restore Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.’’

The press release issued by the DUP on 1 December 2022.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson has welcomed guidance sent to stakeholders in the Education sector alerting them to the passage of the Armed Forces Covenant Act.

The Act introduces the Armed Forces Covenant Duty on public bodies to have due regard for the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when exercising specific functions, including within education.

The DUP MP said, “The Act fulfils a commitment that we secured in the New Decade New Approach agreement that there should be statutory underpinning of the Armed Forces Covenant on a UK-wide basis. Its inclusion within NDNA followed a Private Members Bill which I brought before Parliament back in February 2019.

Sadly, there had been attempts to block the implementation of the covenant, with some even trying to deny that it applied here. It was these actions which motivated my initial attempt to see the Covenant enshrined in law. The passage of the Act leaves no doubt now that Northern Ireland is fully included within the Covenant.

The Covenant doesn’t provide any unfair advantage to veterans, it merely ensures those who serve in the Armed Forces, both regular and Reserve, veterans and their families should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens.

Whilst the legislation currently covers areas of health, education and housing, there is scope for further areas to be added, and I would hope that it can be extended in the future to areas including employment, pensions, criminal justice and social care.

The guidance sent by the Department of Education is a useful reminder to all areas of that sector following the Covenant Duty coming into force on 22nd of November. I would hope that other Departments impacted by it in Northern Ireland will take similar action.”