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Ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled meeting of the Executive, Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today asked what a Minister had to do to break the Ministerial Code after he received an answer to a written question he put to the First and Deputy First Minister that in their opinion, Catriona Ruane did not break the code when she made her education announcement without Executive approval or consultation.

In a statement an incredulous Mr McCrea said,

“Not only did Minister Ruane make an absolute mockery of the DUPs much mooted improved ministerial accountability but she drove, as I see it, a horse and cart through the Ministerial code by making an announcement on Education without consulting a single one of her Executive colleagues.

Education is one of the most important and significant policy areas in government. In fact after St. Andrews the DUP trumpeted the fact that they had saved academic selection and that Ministers could no longer do solo runs like Martin McGuiness. History seems to be repeating itself. The choices made in education impact children’s and parents lives, their prospects and their aspirations. It also affects our economy in a number of ways.

Just to re-iterate the Education Minister by-passed all of her Executive colleagues, by-passed the Assembly Committee and if she could have gotten away with it, would have tried to by-pass a proper debate in the Assembly. This, given the sensitive nature of her proposals and not least the fact that they cut across the cross-community requirement, should have been run past the Executive. It should be remembered how some in the Executive reacted to Margaret Ritchie’s decisions on the CTI money. The way in which Minister Ruane was allowed to behave illustrates the double standard that the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP were referring to in October. There is clearly one law within the Executive for Sinn Fein and another for the SDLP.

I saw no evidence of Ministers jumping from the front benches to the back benches to challenge Catriona Ruane on her statement. Indeed the First and Deputy First Minister seem rather relaxed about a fellow Minister running amok on such a vitally important policy area. The question has to be asked therefore what on earth a Minister has to do to break the Ministerial Code?

I have asked my Party Leader to ascertain, at tomorrow’s meeting what constitutes a breach if this does not.”

Ulster Unionist Education Spokesman Basil McCrea today created a rare moment of consensus in the Assembly when all political parties declared their support for clarity and a detailed road map from the Education Minister on her proposals.

To date there has been precious little detail on her ‘vision’ which has left education professionals, commentators and MLAs perplexed and, in addition, the manner in which she made her announcement without proper Executive consultation may well have broken the Ministerial code.

Mr McCrea, in a bid to avoid confrontation on such an important issue, sought and gained unanimous Assembly support for his amendment which called on the Minister to provide greater clarity on the processes outlined within her proposal.

In a statement Mr McCrea,

“While we still have major reservations about the Minister’s proposals this important debate was being bogged down in political rhetoric. The Assembly, on such a vitally important subject – our children’s education – saw the value of a measured and rational approach and one which the Minister cannot hide behind.

We want the Minister to clear up the confusion she has created. We need to get to the bottom of her ‘vision’ and have a proper debate on the issues and processes. There is little point in the Minister asking the Assembly to share her vision when we can’t get a clear view of what that vision is.

The support given by the Assembly to our amendment should clear up some of the fog. I think the Minister herself realises that she has overstepped the mark and was treating the Assembly and her Executive colleagues with disdain.”

Ulster Unionist Education Spokesman Basil McCrea has asked for an urgent answer from OFMDFM as to whether Minister Ruane broke the Ministerial code when she presented her statement on Education without taking it to the Executive. Mr McCrea has received Ministerial confirmation from across departments that Ministers were not consulted on the statement.

After it emerged that Sammy Wilson from the DUP thanked the Minister for advanced notice of the statement, Mr McCrea also said the matter re-inforced the need for a meaningful coalition, not a carve-up between the two parties.

In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“Remember the row over Margaret Ritchie’s decisions on the CTI money? Only last week Minister Ruane decided to ignore the Executive and press ahead with a statement on education. This illustrates the double standard that the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP were referring to in October. There is clearly one law within the Executive for Sinn Fein and another for the SDLP.

I saw no evidence of Ministers jumping from the front benches to the back benches to challenge Caitriona Ruane on her statement, which by any reading of the Ministerial Code was well out of order (her statement being both cross-cutting as well as signigficant). But on an issue as important to the community as education, and the post primary aspect of it in particular, how can it be that Ministers in a government only hear about this either on radio or receive an e-mail a few minutes before the statement is delivered, yet Sammy Wilson can thank the Minister for Education for advance notice?

I have asked for and will receive in the next couple of days an answer from OFMDFM as to whether the Education Minister acted in a manner that breached the Ministerial Code. I believe she has.”

Ulster Unionist Police Board Member Basil McCrea, speaking ahead of a Police Board meeting with the Chief Constable to discuss the implementation of a Taser pilot scheme, said that while it was right and proper to hold Policing matters to account, the Board’s function was not to tell the Chief Constable what to do as this would amount to political policing.

In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“The introduction of the Taser has raised many questions amongst board members and as Chair of the Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee i will be asking the Chief Constable questions about operational guidance and procedures for deployment of the Taser units, the procurement process and what training will take place.

In addition we want the ground rules for use firmly established and call on Taser use to be justified where the officer honestly and reasonably believes that it is immediately necessary in order to prevent a real risk of death and serious injury.

These are sensible questions to be raising. What we cannot and must not do, particularly from quarters whom have called for an end to perceived political policing, is interfere or seek to make political decisions for the PSNI. My own personal view is that the Chief Constable’s operational independence must be safeguarded at all costs and at all times.”

Ulster Unionist Education spokesman Basil McCrea said Education Minister Catriona Ruane’s announcement today was made without Executive approval, without proper debate in the Assembly and was consequently a unilateral decision that flew in the face of DUP Manifesto commitment that:

“The DUP forced the Government to back down on its plans to scrap Academic Selection. We will ensure that pupils still can be placed at schools on the basis of aptitude and ability”, and ”The DUP made the retention of the transfer test a precondition for the return of devolution.”

In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“It is my understanding that even senior officials in the Minister’s department were not consulted on this statement, nor were her colleagues around the Executive table. This statement today is also sneakily and deceptively contrived to avoid proper debate on the floor of the Assembly.

This is no way to do business on such an important matter for the parents and children of Northern Ireland.

This announcement also puts paid to the ridiculous assertion from the DUP post St.Andrews and in their 2007 manifesto that Ministers would not be able to act unilaterally.

I pressed the Minister if any of these proposals would require cross-community support, despite repeated attempts to get a definitive answer, none was forthcoming indicating that the Minister does not consider cross-community support either necessary or desirable. So much for democratic Ministerial accountability”

Ulster Unionist Education spokesman Basil McCrea today asked the Education Minister whether she agreed with CCEA that the latest date for a decision on a transfer test is January 2008 and whether she intended to address the issue or merely run down the clock so that no discussion is possible.

Mr McCrea posed the question during Ministers question time in the Assembly today amid growing concerns from parents and teachers that the question of what will replace the transfer test is still hanging in the air with only 73 days to go before academic selection becomes obsolete.

In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“We need to know if the Minister agrees with deadline set by CCEA. There are few things more important to parents than the educational future of their children and the Minister’s delay in making a decision is causing worry and distress to many.

Minister Ruane is putting everyone in a very unfair position by refusing to enter into a debate on this. It is very unreasonable, with just 73 days to go before academic selection is consigned to the dustbin, to ask people to be patient.

Either the Minister knows exactly what she is going to do and that she is so confident about her plans that she doesn’t need to tell anyone or she is being driven by a political agenda to do away with academic selection but doesn’t have a clue what to replace it with. All this stalling leads me to believe that she is not on top of her brief.”

The Ulster Unionist Party won support for an amendment to a Ministerial motion seeking to transfer ‘meaningful powers’ to Councils in the review of the RPA. Lagan Valley UUP MLA Basil McCrea led the debate for the Party.

In a statement Mr. McCrea said,

“For local government to have real significance it needs to have responsibility for meaningful functions. This is the case throughout the rest of the United Kingdom – but not in Northern Ireland. The last Executive initiated the RPA in order to restore real local democracy in Northern Ireland. It is commonsense that local voters and local councillors are best placed to make local decisions on a wide range of service delivery and planning issues.

Unfortunately the DUP Environment Minister’s review of the RPA has decided to keep power at the centre – rather than to devolve it to where it belongs, to local councils. Is it any wonder that the local government association, NILGA, has said that the Minister’s refusal to give real power to local councils “calls into question the value of reorganising councils”?

The Minister’s complacency and inertia with regards to the need to revitalise local government in this part of the United Kingdom – and her desire to keep power at the centre rather than return it to local communities – is a disappointing, if unsurprising, development. Accountable regional government at Stormont needs to be complemented by strong, robust local government – not least because local government is best placed to deliver services effectively and efficiently to local communities”.

Ulster Unionist Police Board Member Basil McCrea today said he supported moves by the Chief Constable to phase in ‘Tazer’ units saying that they would save lives rather than endanger them.

In a statement today, after the Policing Board voted against their immediate introduction until an impact assessment was made, Mr McCrea said,

“There have been many misleading statements about Tazers in the Policing Board, giving the impression that the PSNI would use them willy nilly.

Tazers are to be used as a last resort, in place of firearms where appropriate. Surely it is better to Tazer an individual committing a serious crime or endangering the lives of others rather than shoot them?

The Policing Board has asked for an equality impact assessment to be carried out before they make a decision. My own personal view is that not only should the Chief Constable’s operational independence be safeguarded at all costs and at all times, but also that if a Tazer saves one life where it could have been lost by shooting someone with a gun then it is something that needs to be brought in sooner rather than later.”

Ulster Unionist Education spokesman Basil Mc Crea today met with a large number of classroom assistants who were picketing Parliament Buildings, Stormont.

In a statement Mr McCrea said the assistants didn’t want to be in this position but felt nobody was listening to them or their reasons for striking,

“I was struck today by the sheer numbers of classroom assistants who came to picket Stormont and try and lobby politicians. These are not militant workers but just ordinary people who want a fair wage for a fair day’s work.

Many I spoke to are visibly upset at being put in the position where they have to strike and deny the children, many with special needs, of their valuable skills and teaching skills.

The fact that they are striking is down to a failure of dialogue. Many assistants complained that they couldn’t get hold of or meet with the key decision makers in politics and as a result are feeling marginalised, ignored and consequently misunderstood.

I understand that the Education Minister herself avoided meeting 100 assistants at a school in Craigavon by cancelling her visit. This is no way to treat people. I offered the assistants my support and that of my party and we will continue to try and resolve this dispute to the satisfaction of all.”

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea said today that the currently used template for measuring inequality – the Committee on the Administration of Justice’s September 2006 report (CAJ) – was flawed.

Mr McCrea said the report’s conclusions about economic inactivity were way off the mark. Speaking after the debate in the Assembly he said,

“If you get the questions wrong to begin with you will not get the right answer, nor get to the heart of the matter.

It is utter tripe to talk about inequality when you look at all the facts that come out that actually stack against it. If the facts don’t fit the argument, you have no argument. Yet the Assembly is carrying on regardless, using this Committee Report from 2006 as the benchmark and template for measuring inequality despite the Housing Executive pointing out numerous flaws with it and University studies showing that its premise and conclusions are also flawed.

If we are to have a proper debate on matters of equality it helps if the debate is grounded in rational fact, not partisan conjecture.

I believe we need to go back to the drawing board and find an agreed template so that we can properly begin to tackle issues of inequality in the Assembly and at Executive level free of the emotional and groundless political baggage that the CAJ report currently carries with it.”