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Responding to Gordon Brown’s last Budget as Chancellor, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey has raised his concerns about the tax hike on small businesses and the lack of new approaches to social and environmental challenges.

Sir Reg said,

“The reduction in corporation tax levels and the basic level of income tax might, at first look, suggest that the Chancellor is now beginning to recognise that the tax burden on the United Kingdom’s families and businesses is too high.

However despite headline grabbing reduction in corporation tax from 30% to 28% for large businesses, the chancellor concealed an increase in the same tax from 19% TO 21% for small business.

As NI has a small business economy I am stunned that the Chancellor has taken us in this direction. This makes our task with the Chancellor an even more herculean task tomorrow at No 11 Downing Street. Absolute unity from the parties involved is essential if we are to succeed tomorrow.

Considering the Northern Ireland economy - like some other parts of the UK - relies heavily on the enterprise of SMEs, this tax hike together with the failure to move away from the flawed R&D tax credit system results in a budget that offers little for Northern Ireland’s businesses.

If the budget fails the economic competitiveness test, it also fails the social justice test.  Older people have been offered little.  The fact that Help the Aged have described this budget as ‘a missed opportunity’ speaks volumes.  There has also been a failure to adequately address child poverty - despite the Government’s commitment to eradicate this scandal by 2020.  The plight of children in the most severe poverty has not been addressed by Gordon Brown.

The fact that green taxes have actually fallen during Gordon Brown’s time at the Treasury, and that his budget speech failed to even mention the Stern Report on the economic impact of climate change (despite being commissioned by the Treasury) also raises serious questions about the leadership this Government is showing in addressing environmental challenges.”

North Down MLA Leslie Cree, today stated, “I am pleased that Government has at last recognised that the people of Northern Ireland were opposed to the imposition of their proposals on water charges.”

At a meeting in Hillsborough on Monday (12 March), the four main political parties pressed the Secretary of State to defer the water charges planned for 1 April 2007.

Mr Cree UUP Chief spokesman for Regional Development said, “It was good to see progress being made in this very controversial subject which has been a major concern for ratepayers in Northern Ireland.”

He continued, “ I firmly believe that basing water charges on the valuation of a home is ridiculous.  It bears no relation on ability to pay and does not encourage economy in the use of water.  We already pay for water through the regional rates and should not be asked to pay twice.”

In conclusion the politician said “ I am optimistic that the Government will put a hold on the implementation of additional water charges until the new Assembly has had an opportunity to decide on a more equitable way to improve our water and sewerage facilities within the next year. I will continue to lobby for this outcome.”

Ulster Unionist MLA, Tom Elliott, has condemned those involved in two break-ins in homes in the Kesh area at the weekend and urged anyone with information to make it known to the police.

In a statement Tom said: “Crimes such as this cause immense worry and inconvenience to the families involved, to have your family home broken into and belongings taken, is very distressing.

“Those involved in carrying out these crimes have little regard for the property of others and the fear that their actions can bring to a community is intolerable, I condemn their actions.”

In conclusion Tom, chairman of the Fermanagh DPP, added: “In addition, events such as these highlight the need for greater policing resources in the Province, particularly in the west. A greater police presence would undoubtedly act as a deterrent to those contemplating carrying out such crimes, this would in turn improve community confidence.

“Breaking and entering is an offence which the police take very seriously and which society will not tolerate. Anybody with information on these incidents should pass it on to the PSNI immediately to allow their officers to carry out a thorough investigation and bring about prosecutions of those responsible.”

Ulster Unionist Newry & Armagh assembly member, Danny Kennedy, has strongly condemned those behind attacks on police and ambulance service personnel at the scene of the helicopter crash in Crossmaglen.

In a statement, Mr Kennedy said: “There is simply no excuse for any member of the emergency services to come under attack at any time. In this instance, police were acting for the public good by safely preserving the crash site.

“I also understand that ambulance crews were similarly targeted by stone-throwers. It is completely unacceptable for ambulance crews to be harassed in this way.

“Those behind these attacks, who were engaging in mindless, destructive behaviour, have nothing to offer the people of Northern Ireland.”

He added: “Regrettably there is considerable difference between resolutions passed at the Sinn Fein ard fheis and practical support for law and order on the ground in republican areas. Clearly much progress remains to be made.

“I would wish those injured in the crash a full and speedy recovery. I would also urge anyone with information on the subsequent violent attacks to contact police. The emergency services do a vitally important and difficult job. That job must not be made more difficult by the actions of an idiotic minority.”

UUP MEP Jim Nicholson has claimed a victory for Northern Ireland’s agriculture community and for the European Parliament in the battle over voluntary modulation.

The so-called ‘voluntary modulation’ proposals would allow Britain to voluntarily withhold up to one fifth of farmers’ CAP payments, and redistribute that funding into rural development schemes. The Prime Minister negotiated the deal as part of the EU’s budget settlement in December 2005 after Britain’s lacklustre negotiating skill secured a measly 2.5 percent of the EU’s rural development budget.

In a statement Mr Nicholson said,

“The deadlock on this issue looks like it has been broken. I am confident that the Parliament’s agriculture committee will pass the proposals today and that the Budgets committee will free up the funds it has been holding back this Wednesday.

“The British government have agreed to a number of major concessions over plans to cut UK farmers’ subsidies by a fifth including a full impact assessment to look at the impact this will have on farmers, a commitment not to modulate the full 20% and significant match funding.

“There are still some concerns over regionalisation, which takes into account the varying circumstances facing farmers across the UK because this is a devolved matter and I would urge any future agriculture Minister to set modulation at the lowest possible level.

“It has been a serious concern of mine that rural development programmes would have been held up by this fiasco, but surely it was better to hold out for a deal that will be far better for our farmers in the long-term. However, we wouldn’t have been in this position in the first place, if our government had have been more effective at negotiating a better deal for rural development.

“To all those who have claimed that the European Parliament is a toothless, useless tiger, this issue has proven that the Parliament can be a positive force for change and can have relevance in people’s everyday lives.”

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson has said today that Monday’s meeting of the EU farm Council should produce a tremendous victory for the European Parliament and Northern Ireland’s farmers over the issue of voluntary modulation.

Farmers were faced with a 20% income cut if the UK agrees to the Commission proposal before the Parliament to cut the value of the Single Farm Payment and use the amounts released to fund rural development schemes.

Mr. Nicholson said it is his understanding that regionalization in the UK will be agreed therefore taking into account the circumstances facing farmers in Northern Ireland.

In a statement Mr. Nicholson said,

“It is becoming increasingly clear that both the Commission and the Council are about to pull back from a conflict with the Parliament’s Agriculture and Budget’s committee who are closely working together to achieve a better and more equitable agreement throughout Europe for the future of the Second Pillar.

“I am hopeful that now that a more equitable agreement on voluntary modulation is in sight. It is my understanding that regionalisation within the UK will be agreed and that National co – financing has been assured as far as England is concerned. What we do not know, at this point, is if co – financing will also be agreed for Northern Ireland. We now have a magnificent window of opportunity opening up to us, but we must grasp this and ensure that our farmers should not have any less a fair deal than any other part of Europe.

“I have to admit that after serving 17 years as a member of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, this is a gratifying result. For the first time we can claim a real victory rather than on occasions in the past when we were reduced to merely huffing and puffing.

“The challenge now for Northern Ireland’s agriculture sector is to get to grips with EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s so called CAP “health check” and the implications it will have for Northern Ireland farming over the next 10 years.”

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson has written to the European Council of Ministers in Brussels demanding that they take action to stop the Zimbabwean Dictator Robert Mugabe or any of his Government representatives from attending conferences in the European Union.

Speaking from Strasbourg Mr Nicholson said,

“The deplorable behaviour of the Mugabe regime is an affront to democracy. They have violently broke up peaceful protests detaining and torturing many of those involved and their actions must lead to more robust action from the entire international community.

“I have written to the EU Council of Ministers demanding that they refuse to allow Robert Mugabe entry into the EU.”

UUP Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong said one of the first things a newly devolved assembly could do would be to find the right balance in rural housing rules throughout Northern Ireland to make homes more affordable for rural young couples and first-time buyers.

Mr Armstrong said moves on rural planning, unlike other policy areas, would not have any dramatic cost implications.

In a statement Billy said,

“A new Assembly should focus on increasing the efficiency and transparency of the planning system – delivering speedy and consistent planning decisions

We need a balanced rural planning policy: One that protects the countryside from random development while allowing for sustainable development of rural communities. We also need a planning policy statement providing, where required, for 25% of new builds to be affordable housing

The hard fact is that while we are governed by Direct Rule from Westminster, the Northern Ireland Office Ministers will be slow to order any relaxations in the specific PPS14 housing restrictions.

The major advantage of having a fully devolved legislative parliament at Stormont is that it can implement relaxations in the housing restrictions to allow our young rural constituents to get onto the housing market ladder.

It seems that many of the ‘new generation farmers’, who are part-time, are being classified as ‘hobby farmers’ and are therefore finding it extremely difficult to expand their farming businesses or to erect a dwelling house on their holding due to tight restrictions placed upon them.    Government’s criteria for need is too high for these ‘new generation farmers’ and the Northern Ireland Assembly must look to set these at realistic levels as soon as possible otherwise the countryside will be deserted.

We need to find the right balance between environmental concerns that protect our rural fabric while enabling people who live in rural areas to prosper and have a decent standard of living.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the North Antrim Ulster Unionist Assembly member, who is also the Ulster Unionist Health spokesman, has described the Government’s 1.9% pay award to nurses as “derisory and an effective pay cut”, given that inflation is currently running at 2.7%.

Assemblyman Coulter said this “totally mean” pay rise for nurses was clear proof the National Health Service was suffering from what he branded as “terminal managementitis”.

The UUP MLA, who has just won his third successive Assembly election, added: “Nurses and other health professionals can expect to receive a rise of 1.5 per cent in April and a further one per cent in November, equivalent to an annual increase of about 1.9 per cent.

“This will lead to still more nurses walking away from the health service and going abroad. It is already a very worrying trend. This award will mean less than £500 extra a year for a newly qualified nurse earning around £19,000.

“Nurses and doctors are the most valuable element in our health service, yet here we have nurses getting what amounts to a pay cut and family doctors getting no increase at all. Yet the number of bureaucrats continues to rise.

“There is a culture of “managementitis” which, under the guise of making things more efficient, is actually a massive waste of taxpayers’ money.

“It is time we had a cull of all these layers of meaningless management pursuing endless targets they themselves set and put health professionals back in charge of the health service with a new culture of patient centredness and health professional leadership,” argued Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Ulster Unionist South Belfast assembly member, and former DCAL Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has voiced his concerns over the far-reaching nature of the draft Irish Language legislation published today.

The UUP MLA said that the legislation could have huge implications not only for public services, but also for Northern Ireland’s courts system and tribunals.

In a statement, Mr McGimpsey said: “What the Minister is saying today is that if there is no executive up and running by March 26, then we’ll see:

- the use Irish in legal proceedings in Northern Ireland’s courts

the use of Irish in tribunals, such an industrial tribunals, the Fair Employment Tribunal, and social security tribunals

- a duty on public authorities on the use of the Irish language in the provision of their services

- and the creation of a new oversight body, an Irish Language Commissioner.

“Maria Eagle can’t really believe that these clauses could ‘build consensus’ or reflect a ‘middle ground approach’. She voices her hopes that such proposals will gain acceptance across both main sections of the community. This underlines how detached from reality government here has become.”

He added: “The high stakes nature of DUP negotiations means that excessive and unnecessary measures contained in the legislation could become reality for Northern Ireland.

“Everyone in Northern Ireland who speaks Irish can speak English. And yet DUP negotiators will ensure that Irish is given equal weight in courtrooms and tribunals.

“This has been one of the worst aspects of the St Andrews Agreement. Language issues were settled nearly 10 years ago under the Belfast Agreement.

“But the DUP did not seem overly concerned when this first emerged. And indeed they seem to have accepted the Act as part of the choreography.”

Concluding he said: “Today’s publication is DUP failure writ large. And without devolution on March 26 – a proposition which Gregory Campbell stated would be an insult everyone’s intelligence – we will see public services and legal procedures in Northern Ireland operating in Irish.

“This must represent all that a large section of society in Northern Ireland feared the most. The financial implications of this legislation, and consequent impact on community relations, are potentially enormous.”