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Ulster Unionist Spokesperson on Disability Issues and Lagan Valley candidate, Billy Bell, has given the UUP’s support to Arthritis Care’s call for a Northern Ireland Arthritis Strategy. Speaking after a question and answer session with people with arthritis, hosted by Arthritis Care, Mr. Bell said, “with 230,000 people in Northern Ireland affected by arthritis, we cannot as a society neglect or sideline this major health issue. The other UK regions have taken important steps towards securing high quality, integrated services for people with arthritis - Northern Ireland cannot be left behind.

“The view of Arthritis Care - that people in Northern Ireland are being offered inferior arthritis services compared to the rest of the UK - sets down a challenge for a new Assembly and Executive. Our services should at least be on a par with the rest of the UK. People with arthritis should be empowered to effectively manage their condition, and have access to support within the community. Not only would this improve quality of life for people with arthritis and their families, it would also help the NHS - early intervention and support for management of arthritis reduces the necessity for later and often more costly interventions.

“The Ulster Unionist Party has, in our Assembly Election Manifesto, stated support for free prescriptions on the NHS. It has been estimated that as many as 30% of people with long-term conditions such as arthritis have failed to purchase all or part of a prescription because of the cost. Arthritis Care have described prescription charges as ‘an unnecessary additional burden imposed on people already struggling to cope with a serious and continuing medical condition’. Those with arthritis, and hard-working families across Northern Ireland, would benefit from free prescriptions. Considering that this policy would only cost 0.5% of Northern Ireland’s health budget, it is a price worth paying to improve quality of life and access to health care for many. And it is yet another reason why the time for devolution is now.”

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley assembly member, and former chairman of the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, Billy Bell, has said that “creative accounting” and spin lies at the heart of the government’s £25 million funding announcement for schools.In a statement, Mr Bell said: “Last July it was revealed that the Department of Education had posted up a £69 million underspend for that financial year. At the time the government said that the money is not lost to Northern Ireland and will be reinvested.

“So this puts the £25 million ‘funding boost’ into some context. One third of what was left unspent has been returned to education. Fair enough – but where is the remaining £44 million? When will we see this money re-emerge?

“While that £44 million lies around the NIO, much-needed schemes are being denied funding necessary to survive.

“For example, Reading Recovery is a vital initiative to improve reading skills in six-year-olds.

“In the SEELB area, 88 schools received funding for Reading Recovery between 04/05. But that reduced to 29 schools by this year. Earmarked funding for Reading Recovery has reduced from just over £1 million in 2004/2005 to just over £400,000 in 2006/2007.

“The SEELB said that with the phasing out of earmarked funding for Reading Recovery, the future of the programme is uncertain.”

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley assembly member, and former chairman of the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, Billy Bell, has said that “creative accounting” and spin lies at the heart of the government’s £25 million funding announcement for schools.

In a statement, Mr Bell said: “Last July it was revealed that the Department of Education had posted up a £69 million underspend for that financial year. At the time the government said that the money is not lost to Northern Ireland and will be reinvested.

“So this puts the £25 million ‘funding boost’ into some context. One third of what was left unspent has been returned to education. Fair enough – but where is the remaining £44 million? When will we see this money re-emerge?

“While that £44 million lies around the NIO, much-needed schemes are being denied funding necessary to survive.

“For example, Reading Recovery is a vital initiative to improve reading skills in six-year-olds.

“In the SEELB area, 88 schools received funding for Reading Recovery between 04/05. But that reduced to 29 schools by this year. Earmarked funding for Reading Recovery has reduced from just over £1 million in 2004/2005 to just over £400,000 in 2006/2007.

“The SEELB said that with the phasing out of earmarked funding for Reading Recovery, the future of the programme is uncertain.”

He added: “I would like to see more of last year’s underspend targeted into vital schemes such as Reading Recovery which have been suffering persistent year-on-year reductions. So while the government is content to trumpet its £25 million today, it’s reasonable to ask – when will Ministers release the remaining £44 million to education?

“That money would go far toward properly underlining government’s ‘continuing commitment to education in Northern Ireland’.”

UUP Lagan Valley MLA and Spokesman for Disabilities and Older People Billy Bell today welcomed the launch of ‘Door to door transport’ by the Department for Regional Development.

Door to Door transport is a service for people with disabilities living in urban areas who find it difficult or impossible to use mainstream public transport. The service will be operated by Chambers Coach Hire and will fulfil a function similar to regular town services by enabling people to get to and from their homes to access local facilities and services.

In a statement today Mr Bell said,

“I welcome the launch of this initiative. Many people with disabilities living in urban areas, despite the increasing numbers of kneeling buses on offer, find it difficult accessing shops, supermarkets, libraries or even just getting out and about.

The Door to Door transport service will offer people a regular service that they can depend on which will pick them up from their front door and drop them off where they need to go, at their own time and at their own speed. I would urge as many people as possible with disabilities to make use of the service when it rolls out in late September and spread the word to others.”

Lagan Valley MLA Billy Bell has criticised Secretary of State Peter Hain for denying a request which all parties had actually agreed upon.

Mr Hain gave an emphatic ‘no’ to a request from the Speakers Advisory Group to replace old equipment at Parliament buildings with 16 new computers.

Mr Bell said:

“This minimal request from across all the parties is virtually the only thing that MLA’s from all parties have all actually agreed upon. What is so disheartening about the whole situation is that Hain actually said no – what kind of message is that giving out?  Not only does it show his arrogance but it also flies in the face of his commitment to listen to parties, particularly on unanimous decisions.

“Furthermore, his bribery attempts that the matter can be looked at if devolution is restored are childish, especially when we consider that any new computers can easily be relocated throughout the civil service should the Assembly fold. I only hope he undertakes an attitude adjustment before November”.

Billy Bell MLA, Ulster Unionist Assembly Member for Lagan Valley, has said that the increase in Lisburn’s population to 111,500 makes it clearly the second city in the Province after Belfast.

“The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency show that Lisburn now has a population of 111,500. This is 4,200 ahead of Londonderry which now has 107,300 inhabitants and which used to be considered the Province’s second city. That situation has now clearly changed in Lisburn’s favour.”

“In the past year 1,400 new people have come to live in the City of Lisburn. The city is growing at the rate of over 1% a year. This confirms that Lisburn with over 3,000 businesses has become a real economic hub.”

“It is vitally important that the City of Lisburn asserts its position as the Province’s second city and this includes insisting on its economic rights, especially with the close proximity of Belfast. We in Lisburn must be on our guard, especially over road and infrastructure proposals which could damage our city’s prosperity and favour Belfast at Lisburn’s expense.”

“Proposals by the Roads Service for a new slip road linking the A1 near Sprucefield with the M1 motorway after the Lisburn Sprucefield junction of the M1 represent a direct threat to the commercial prosperity of Lisburn City centre. This is nothing more than a Lisburn by-pass encouraging traffic to go on to Belfast and not go to either Lisburn City Centre of Sprucefield.”

“There can be no possible cost benefit from such a new road when a perfectly good existing road links the A1 before the Sprucefield Junction directly with the M! motorway in both the Craigavon and Belfast direction. How could the new road the roads service is proposing possibly be justified in the light of this ?  It is a monumental waste of £45 million of the taxpayer’s money.”

“The Roads Service would be better served by spending their time working out how to link the new stadium and business centre at the Maze to the existing A1 / M1 link road, thus facilitating easy travel from the South of the Province and the Irish Republic to the Maze site.”

Lagan Valley MLA and UUP Older Persons Issues spokesperson Billy Bell has expressed his concern that residential homes in Lisburn and South Down have come under threat of closure after a decision by the Down Lisburn Health Trust to reduce the number of beds in the area.

Public consultation ends this month and a final decision on the fate of the homes is due in January next year.

Mr Bell said:

“Obviously we do not want the homes to close and the wave of opposition in Lisburn shows the strength of opinion on the subject. This simply cannot be ignored by Down Lisburn Trust.

“We share the sentiments of Age Concern Northern Ireland when they ask the Trust to be sensitive to the fears and concerns of all affected parties. These centres play a very valuable role within our community and if they go, many may find themselves without a vital support network.

“The Trust needs to address these concerns sooner rather than later as many families feel left in the dark. At the end of the day the Trust’s priority should be the welfare of the elderly, not making sure the balance book adds up”.

Lagan Valley MLA and UUP Older Persons Spokesperson Billy Bell has welcomed plans by the British and Irish governments to offer pensioners unlimited free travel on both sides of the border.

The scheme could be running by April 2007. A consultation is being launched on Monday.

Mr Bell said:

“This is extremely welcome news for pensioners everywhere. Anything that helps alleviate financial burden for the elderly should be welcomed, especially at a time when 50pc of pensioners in Northern Ireland are living on less than the national average of household income.

“However, the government needs to go further than extending travel discounts. With so many pensioners living below the poverty they will hardly be in a position to go on day trips. If the government is serious about giving pensioners what they really need, they should create a Universal Pension Of £110 A Week and an end to means tested Benefits, something which Ulster Unionist’s have repeatedly called for. This is the financial help which will really count”.

Lagan Valley MLA Billy Bell has condemned a racially motivated incident in Lisburn when a Latvian man was attacked by two men with bats and sticks on the Moira Road.

The incident was one of six racially motivated incidents which occurred throughout the province at the weekend.

Mr Bell said:

“Ulster Unionists have expressed our disgust at these attacks and would ask that people offer support to their foreign neighbours during what must be a very anxious time. It is vital that we get the message out that hate crime will not be tolerated and is repugnant to the vast majority of the population.

“The fact that so many of these incidents happened in such a short space of time is particularly worrying. We are trying to turn away from these types of incidents as Northern Ireland is fast becoming a multi cultural society where everyone should be welcome.

“The PSNI have been working hard to get out the message that ‘Hate crime is wrong’. Obviously the message is simply not getting through. More needs to be done to let would be perpetrators know that there is no place for this type of behaviour in our society”.

Ulster Unionist Spokesperson for Disabilities, Billy Bell, has said that with health authorities reviewing guidelines relating to Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), it is vitally important that interest groups engage in a debate to assist policy making.

The Lagan Valley MLA is set to host a major seminar on the issue next week involving the Northern Ireland Attention Deficit Disorder (NI-ADD) and Lisburn’s KJET Programme. The seminar will take place between 10am and 12pm in the Long Gallery, Parliamentary Buildings, Stormont, on Tuesday June 27.

In a statement, the Lagan Valley MLA said: “Around half of patients in child psychiatry have this condition. Early detection and intervention is vitally important. And promoting a clear understanding and conducting a constructive debate within the public arena is what this seminar is designed to do.”

He added: “Children with AD/HD require a widely varying package of care depending on the circumstances of their diagnosis. While there is the question of awareness, early detection and education – there’s also the question of funding.

“The Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) is currently examining policy and services for those with AD/HD. And I trust that answers to these questions will emerge from that review.

“The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is also developing guidelines on the identification and treatment of AD/HD and this is due to be published in 2008.

“Issues that will be addressed in the near future will have a tremendous impact on the treatment of this condition. Key to this is the input of charitable and community-based organizations.”

He added: “Government can direct policy but the role of community-based support schemes is vital. For example, the KJET Programme was created after Lisburn police recognised that a number of children they were dealing with had the condition.

“The KJET scheme is a partnership between the North Lisburn Community Policing Team, Lisburn YMCA, LNCA (Lisburn North Community Association) and NI-ADD (Northern Ireland Attention Deficit Disorder) Support Centre.

“It is an example of the kind of community based partnership I would like to see replicated in other areas. Promoting partnership between NGOs and social partners is absolutely essential if we are to raise awareness and understanding of issues relating AD/HD.”

Concluding, he said: “I trust that next week’s seminar and the work of the groups involved – NI-ADD and KJET – will continue to assist not only in raising public awareness, but also in shaping the formulation of policy.”