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Roy Beggs MLA, Ulster Unionist Spokesperson on the Public Accounts Committee has welcomed the inclusion of Northern Ireland into the National Fraud Initiative as a result of its inclusion in the Serious Crimes Bill and which can into effect on 6th April 2008.

In a Statement Mr. Beggs said,

“I welcome the inclusion of Northern Ireland into the National Fraud Initiative which will result in significant data matching and will increase the likelihood of identifying fraud which may have gone previously unnoticed. This new provision will not only detect additional fraud and error but I believe will also deter many acts of fraud from taking place in the first place, as those contemplating fraud become aware of the increasing likelihood of detection.

“The National Fraud Initiative has been successful in identifying up to £400m worth of fraud and overpayments to date. The 2004/05 figure of £111m of fraud and error is suspected to increase substantially to £125m for the last full financial year of 2006/07. Significant amounts of public funds have, by fraud or in error, been allocated and this leaves less money available for the public purposes that it was originally intended for”.

Ulster Unionist MLAs Danny Kennedy and Tom Elliott have called on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to heed the calls made in today’s Assembly debate on a Bill of Rights to ensure that the Commission’s advice on the matter to the Secretary of State has cross-community support. A shared UUP-DUP motion expressed grave concern at the lack of cross-community support for the recommendations contained in the Report of the Bill of Rights Forum, and strongly urged the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to ensure cross-community support for its advice to the Secretary of State.

Mr. Kennedy said, “today’s debate and vote is another emphatic demonstration of the absence of cross-community support for the Bill of Rights proposals contained in the recommendations of the Final Report of the Bill of Rights Forum. The combined votes of the UUP, DUP and Alliance have underlined the failure of the Report’s recommendations to win broad support across society in Northern Ireland.

“It should be startlingly obvious to anyone that a proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland must have cross-community support. The fact that the Forum’s Final Report, and today’s debate and vote illustrates the complete absence of cross-community support, must be carefully considered by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission as they now reflect on the way forward.

“If, when the Commission comes to give its advice to the Secretary of State in December about a Bill of Rights, it fails to secure cross-community political support, then the Commission will have fundamentally failed and fundamentally compromised its standing in Northern Ireland society”.

Mr. Tom Elliott urged the Commission to “read, mark and learn from” the Forum’s Report, and its failure to gain cross-community support. “There is now a weighty responsibility placed on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. It has the benefit of the experience of the Bill of Rights Forum. It knows what recommendations and proposals do not have cross-community political support. I hope an important lesson has been learnt”.

North Down MLA Leslie Cree Ulster Unionist Enterprise Trade and Investment spokesperson has welcomed the debate in the Assembly today concerning the development of the Northern Rail Corridor between Londonderry and Belfast. Mr. Cree considers the debate to have raised wider issues and specifically the need for a long-term strategy for the rail-network in Northern Ireland. Mr. Cree is concerned that the Minister for Regional Development and the Enterprise Minister are not co-operating and are lacking in ideas when it comes to improving infrastructure links between tourist attractions and economic hubs in the province.

In a statement Mr Cree said,

“We are not maximising the potential of our rail system. With limited trains, carriages and track restrictions the number of commuter services and long distance journeys are well below what they should be. We are now reaching a situation that growth in the sector is being directly hampered by the lack of rolling stock and decaying train-tracks. This is nowhere more apparent than on the Londonderry to Belfast line. Good commuter services between our economic hubs are essential for the growth of the economy and equally our tourist infrastructure is reliant on links between key destinations; currently we are lacking in both these areas.

For example I think it is something of an embarrassment that there is no direct rail link to either of our two major airports. Sydenham Station which previously linked the City Airport to Belfast and North Down is now floating in no man’s land. With some strategic thinking and relatively limited investment we could create a link that provides both for the airport and the new Ikea store. Similarly with relatively little investment the International Airport could be linked to the existing rail network. These are the types of issues the Regional Development Minister and the Enterprise Trade and Investment Minister need to be discussing sooner rather than later so that the necessary plans can be put in place as soon as possible.

Our Ministers need to start thinking more strategically to gain the most out of our commercial and tourist market and also the opportunities that inward investment from India and the United States will bring to the Northern Ireland marketplace. Excellent commuter and tourist services are expected by tourists and inward investors. We need to ensure that we are moving towards the delivery of these essential services and a integrated strategy for our rail-network is sorely needed”.

THE DUP and Sinn Fein alliance is in chaos according to Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy.
Speaking from Stormont after the Consideration Stage of the Commission for Victims and Survivors Bill was unexpectedly, and at the last minute, postponed by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) the MLA described as “cruel incompetence” the DUP/SF handling of the Bill: “Only last week, OFMDFM were telling the Assembly that this was crucial legislation which had to be accelerated in order to ensure the Victims Commission was secure allowing it to get up and running. However today we have seen the unedifying spectacle of the DUP-SF political fudge falling apart. Once again, the DUP and Sinn Fein have failed to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.”
In its proposed amendment to the Bill, the Ulster Unionist Party has voiced their concern surrounding the DUP’s failure to change the flawed definition of ‘victim’ contained in existing legislation. Although because we were not the Bill’s sponsors our amendment was not accepted, we are asking the DUP to take our amendment and include it in the Bill – removing the offensive definition of ‘victim’ which includes terrorists something they believe is causing repercussions within the DUP- Sinn Fein alliance.

In the event of another attempt to push this Bill through the Assembly, the Ulster Unionist Party will continue to support amendments which seek to improve this rushed and flawed Bill.”

The Ulster Unionist Party amendment to the Bill sought to change the current definition (in the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006) of a ‘victim’ to protect innocent victims of the Troubles from being lumped together with convicted terrorists. Currently a victim can mean anyone who has been affected physically or psychologically as a result of a conflict-related incident. This leaves the door open for former terrorists to claim that they are ‘victims’ of the Troubles.

Notes to editors

Proposed amendments
‘Interpretation: “victim and survivor”
1A. In Article 3 of the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 insert
“(3) In this Order references to “victim and survivor” shall not include an individual appearing to the Commission to be any of the following –
(a) someone who is or has been physically of psychologically injured as a result of or in consequence of their undertaking a criminal act in a conflict-related incident;
(b) (b) someone who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for an individual mentioned in paragraph (a); or
(c) someone who has been bereaved as a result of or in consequence of a conflict-related incident where the deceased was undertaking a criminal act in that incident.”

Prior to the Bill being the retracted the Ulster Unionist Ministers had been expecting support from the DUP Ministers as the newly appointed Junior Minister in OFMDFM, Jeffery Donaldson, has frequently stated his position on this matter. In February of this year, he said:

“The DUP is engaged in advancing the victims’ agenda and we will continue to fight for victims and will resist any efforts to rewrite or sanitise history to suit republicans. That includes any attempt to equate terrorist perpetrators with their innocent victims.” (Jeffery Donaldson News Letter 8th February 2008)

This echoed his statement of 2005:

“We will also be making it clear to government that it must not equate innocent victims with the perpetrators of violence and that any definition of victim must exclude those engaged in acts of terrorism.” (BBC News 1st March 2005).

Nor is this merely a personal view held by Mr. Donaldson. A DUP policy paper makes clear that party’s stated position on the definition of victim:

“There is a fundamental distinction between those who have suffered at the hands of terrorist gangs and those terrorist gangs and former terrorists who contributed to the terror campaign… The DUP simply demands a fair and sensible recognition of the victims of terror. Clouding the issue or applying a one-fits-all definition merely concedes to the principle of political expediency.” (DUP Policy Paper ‘A Voice for Victims’2003)

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson has demanded that the Spanish Government orders a final halt to the demolition of houses owned by British expatriates.

Mr Nicholson, speaking from Brussels, called for a moratorium on demolitions and all future land grab developments after receiving numerous letters from alarmed expatriates from Northern Ireland who have settled in Spain and whose homes now face demolition.

The European Parliament has previously issued four Resolutions calling for action to be taken to protect property owners, and although the law was amended in the form of the new Valencia Land Law (LUV), many still face the expropriation of their land without compensation or arbitrary costs for unnecessary infrastructure developments in their region.

In a statement Mr Nicholson said,

“The Spanish authorities have had long enough to talk about change. Now is the time for action. I am calling on the Spanish authorities to issue an immediate moratorium on demolitions and future land grab developments.

The damage can already be seen both to those owning property in Spain and to the local environment. The European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will be referring cases to the European Courts of Justice and Human Rights. ”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has said the Education Minister should not use the lower birth rates as an opportunity to cut teacher numbers in her bid to make financial savings in education.
Assemblyman Dr Coulter, who served as a member of the first Assembly’s Further and Higher Education and Training Committee and was himself a college lecturer for 18 years, emphasised that public services should be governed by quality and not just cost-effectiveness.
He added that there was “an urgent need” for the Education Minister to begin making major choices in the direction of quality delivery of public services.
Dr Coulter continued: “In the next decade, school pupil numbers will decline as a result of lower birth rates. Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to cut down on the number of teachers and save money, the Minister should be using this as an opportunity to cut down on class sizes. This would be a positive decision in favour of quality.
“The Finnish and Danish education systems are widely recognised as the best in the world. They also have the lowest class sizes. The Office for Standards in Education has shown that this is a key feature of education in both Finland and Denmark.
“We are going to have to shift education on to a quality footing, otherwise we cannot hope to compete with low wage economies in the Far East. Instead, we should be focusing more on innovation and quality and on building a high-tech, high-value added economy like the Scandanavian countries.
“We should also be looking at ways to rebuild the cohesiveness of our society and a greater sense of order and calm among our people,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Mr Robin Swann, a leading North Antrim Ulster Unionist, has issued a challenged to both the Department of Agriculture and the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) to boost Ulster ’s farming sector by working more closely together in support of local producers.
Mr Swann is North Antrim UUP Association Treasurer and the Party’s Spokesman on Social Economy, Energy and Consumer Affairs.
He made his plea as guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the party’s Ahoghill branch, which was also attended by party leader and East Belfast MLA Sir Reg Empey.
Mr Swann told the meeting: “We have also heard many calls from all sectors of the farming industry – from producers to processors – of the need to buy local produce.
“This theme of supporting Northern Ireland farmers and promoting Northern Ireland by buying from Northern Ireland farmers is something which the Stormont agriculture minister must be commended for.
“Currently, all tenders at this level are handled by the CPD. It is here that the Stormont power-sharing Executive can play its part in supporting and developing Northern Ireland ’s local agri-food business.
“However, I am aware that I am not asking for preferential treatment towards our local producers and processors as under European Union laws, buyers cannot restrict their purchases to specific locations or suppliers.
“Therefore, the challenge facing both the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the CPD is to work with suppliers to help them compete more successfully at a local level.
“The promotion of local produce is a common cry. Now we have the opportunity to see if our Stormont Executive is willing to listen.
“The agri-food sector is a major player and employer in Northern Ireland . But to succeed, the entire agri-food industry needs to join up and form a long-term strategy, not a plan lasting only three to five years.
“This would involve a ten-year plus strategy bringing together research, production, supply and marketing. Togetherness is the key – not the current situation where we have different sections of the same industry seemingly working at odds with each other.
“The reality is that our Province’s agricultural industry has faced many difficulties – but still we survive. We have had to overcome BSE, Foot and Mouth, the threat from bird flu, and latterly Blue Tongue.
“It was the actions and abilities of our devolved administration to act independently to the rest of the United Kingdom which helped us greatly in all of these cases.
“But that same administration could also very easily sign the death warrant for the future of farming. That future was under threat from the EU nitrates directive, but DARD and its minister solved that problem by selling off one of the jewels of agri-research in the UK – Crossnacrevy.
“While the money from that sale has been greatly welcomed and has solved the immediate problem, what about future research which could have been carried out there?
“We should never forget that Northern Ireland ’s agricultural research and development was once at the forefront of global farming.
“We need to see the continued support of agri-research and development in Northern Ireland ,” said Mr Swann.

Roy Beggs MLA for East Antrim and Ulster Unionist Party Spokesperson on Children’s Issues has reacted to the publication of an Ofcom Report into Social Networking on the internet by advising parents to take an active interest in what their children are doing online. The report highlighted that large numbers of very young children in the UK have a profile on a social network site. The Ofcom report showed that social networking is becoming a major part of young people’s lives and it is a phenomenon that adults need to get to grips with as there are real dangers for children who set their profiles onto the public domain.

In a statement Mr Beggs said,

“This report has highlighted that a quarter of eight to 11-year-olds in the UK have a profile on a social network site such as MySpace or Bebo. There is very little regulation and no technology to check the age of users on these sites and whilst most children are using such sites to talk to their friends, many children and their parents do not understand the potential danger they are in. Once a child’s profile is set up on these sites, unless they stipulate otherwise, complete strangers can access their personal information. Parents need to be aware of this and take an active interest in what their children are doing on the internet; the internet is a great resource but it also has potential dangers such as predatory adults posing as young people and identity theft. Parents need to try to understand these dangers so they can advise and so assist in protecting their children.”

“I welcome the fact that the Home Office is expected to publish a set of guidelines for the sites on Friday. I expect them to introduce tough guidelines that request social networking sites to introduce age verification technology and that any profiles setup by children will be by default private to recognised friends and family. These measures would go some of the way to protecting our children; however parents will still need to take a greater interest to ensure the well being of their children. Practical measures such as placing computers with internet access in a living room or a shared household area can help to protect children against internet predators”.

John McCallister MLA for South Down and Ulster Unionist Health Spokesperson has recognised the gravity of the figures published today which highlighted that more than 450 deaths in Northern Ireland hospitals have been linked to superbugs since 2001.

In a statement Mr. McCallister said.

“These figures illustrate to us the serious challenge that faces the health services in Northern Ireland and we must always remember that the figures represent individuals and families that have suffered greatly.

In a way the figures are also to be welcomed as we now know the true extent of this problem; we also now know that this is a long standing problem that stretches back to 2001 and I am sure prior to this date. The problem is extensive, people are still at risk and we need to continue to take the right actions. The Minister for Health Social Services and Public Safety has introduced a range of measures to tackle this problem and having examined them carefully I believe they are currently the correct actions. They include ‘ring-fenced’ funding of £9million; a new dress code for all staff has also been launched; and a hand washing and hygiene campaign has been initiated. It should be noted that it may take a little bit of time to see the results of these actions and we all have to get behind the Minister and the health professionals within the Health Service to ensure that the ambitious targets the Health Minister has set are achieved. With figures dating back to 2001 we must recognise that the Minister needs some time to improve the situation and I am confident that we are on the road to greater patient safety.

I will be working with the Minister and my colleagues on the Health Committee in an attempt improve the situation on the ground and I would call on everyone with influence, including those on the Health Committee, to work together on this issue. This is a time when we need a Churchillian attitude of co-operating in the face of a real danger to people’s lives, any political point scoring or sniping from the sides is unhelpful and unwelcome”.

The Ulster Unionist Party is seeking to amend the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to change the current definition of a ‘victim’ to protect innocent victims of the Troubles from being lumped together with convicted terrorists. The UUP have also outlined their extreme disappointment that the DUP have failed to put forward any amendment on the issue in light of their long-standing claims that they are against the existing definition. Currently a victim can mean anyone who has been affected physically or psychologically as a result of a conflict-related incident. This leaves the door open for former terrorists to claim that they are ‘victims’ of the Troubles. The opportunity to change the definition has arisen due to the need to introduce legislation that will accommodate four Victims’ Commissioners which was tabled in the Assembly today.

Speaking after the debate in the Assembly Ulster Unionist deputy Leader Danny Kennedy said.

“Under the current definition a perpetrator of acts of terrorism is given the same legal status and potential compensation as an innocent victim of an act of terrorism; as the Ulster Unionist Party has consistently stated this is clearly wrong and we are confident that most people believe this should be changed. We thought we had the support of the DUP on this issue but they have failed to introduce any amendment; this is especially disappointing when you consider their long history of statements which position themselves against the current definition and indeed earlier today Simon Hamilton speaking on the Bill of Rights Forum critised the Draft Bill of Rights for using the current definition. He stated:

“the DUP rejects the definition on the basis that it places victims and perpetrators on an equal footing. This is entirely unacceptable to us”. (DUP press release 31st March 2008)

Well I am afraid that Mr. Hamilton has been deserted by his ministerial colleagues in OFMDFM.

The Ulster Unionist Party now faces some logistical difficulty in tabling an amendment as we are not the sponsors of the Bill. However, we will be seeking to table our amendment at the consideration stage which will be next week, this will be our only opportunity to get the definition changed and I am still hopeful for DUP support. The DUP have two Minister’s sponsoring the Bill and have four members on the OFMDFM committee, yet they have failed to table any amendment and have subsequently failed innocent victims in Northern Ireland. I for one am very disappointed and I know I will not be alone.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Tom Elliot, who has been a leader in the recent campaign for the Ulster Unionist Party, also expressed his desire to see the definition of a victim changed, in a statement Mr. Elliot said.

“It is almost a year since the restoration of the Assembly and I think that it is clear to see that very little has been achieved for victims. However now that we are finally seeing movement in this area the flawed definition of a victim is being ignored by Sinn Fein and the DUP. If we do not have a definition of a ‘real’ victim created soon we could find ourselves with former IRA members championing themselves as victims of the troubles in Northern Ireland. The very thought of that makes me and many other sick to our stomachs, and it simply cannot be allowed to happen.

The UUP are bringing forward an amendment to the legislation to provide for the real victims and change the definition. Instead of cutting deals with Sinn Fein/IRA the DUP should make sure that the definition of a victim is as it should be, someone who suffered because of paramilitary violence and not the sickening terrorists who brought suffering to so many”.