: CiNI-Integrating children’s and young people’s services

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
By Pauline Leeson, Chief Executive of Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI), the umbrella group which has been representing the children’s sector in Northern Ireland for the last 25 years. Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI) is seeking greater commitment from the Executive to children and young people in the current Programme for Government, and has been reassured that momentum is building to get the Executive’s over-arching Ten Year Strategy for Children and Young People back on track. This will help to ensure a cohesive response to children’s needs across all aspects of their lives....[full story]

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: Steven Agnew–Working together for children

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Green MLA Steven Agnew outlines his planned private member’s Bill on joined-up children’s services. Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society and we have a duty to ensure that their basic needs are met and their rights are protected. I have been a member of the All Party Group on Children and Young People since November 2007 when I represented the then Green Party MLA Brian Wilson. Now as an elected MLA, I sit on the group in my own right. Many issues have been discussed in the group including child poverty, youth justice, child and adolescent mental health and...[full story]

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Posted in Assembly, Children's, Politics, Reform, Social | Comments Off

: Bryson-supporting children and strengthening families for over 100 years

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Children are at the heart of the work carried out by one division of Bryson Care, part of the leading social enterprise, Bryson Charitable Group. In the past 30 years, Bryson has helped and supported over 30,000 children and young people to improve their lives and create a more stable family environment. The challenge Even today many families in our society continue to suffer high levels of multiple deprivation including poverty, poor mental or physical health and isolation. More than ever, these families require new forms of help to tackle their individual needs providing a route to...[full story]

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: Skills in the ESA

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
The Department of Education will continue to cut spending in management and support services until the Education and Skills Authority is established in 2013. It will have a limited remit in the skills sector. Why is the word ‘skills’ included in the name of the [Education and Skills Authority]?” the DUP’s Brenda Hale asked the Assembly in November. The Lagan Valley MLA queried if there was “a political point implied in the use of that word”, adding: “Not all schools in Northern Ireland would agree with that term, as many schools focus on educational and academic achievement.”...[full story]

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: The end of DEL

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Cutting the Department for Employment and Learning will slightly reduce the Executive’s size but the move is widely seen as a political carve-up. Peter Cheney assesses the decision. The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) has become the first department to be earmarked for closure since devolution began, with significant implications for how the Executive handles education and economic policy. Formed in 1999, DEL has often been seen as the easiest target to cut. It was carved out of the Department of Education and Department of Economic Development, which then became the Department...[full story]

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: Is North/South stalling?

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Twelve years on from the North/South Ministerial Council’s formation, the formal structures for cross-border co-operation are standing still although a new form of all-island politics appears to be gaining momentum. Andy Pollak, the Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies and a well-placed observer on North/South co-operation, has described the state of the Council as “minimalism (at best) or obstruction (at worst)” with meetings followed up by the “interminable internal processes for which the Northern civil service is famous”. On the North/South Ministerial...[full story]

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: A petitions committee in practice

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
The Oireachtas is about to become the latest neighbouring legislature to establish a public petitions committee. Stephen Dineen examines the scope for one in the Assembly. A parliamentary committee in Dublin is to start considering public petitions, with citizens able to lobby the Oireachtas on matters of general interest. The UUP has told agendaNi it will now be pressing for a review of the current petitions system in the Assembly. Under the proposed standing orders for the new Public Service Oversight and Petitions Committee, citizens will be able to submit a “written request...[full story]

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: Deirdre Heenan – Personalisation of care

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
The personalisation of care has the potential to transform the design and delivery of health and social care, writes Deirdre Heenan. ‘Transforming Your Care: A Review of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland’ was published in December 2011. Described as the biggest shake-up of healthcare in the region’s history, it concluded that doing nothing was not an option as the current and future pressures on the health and social care system provided an unassailable case for change. The report set out a vision for the future of health and social care in Northern Ireland which ensured...[full story]

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: Consilium–going mobile

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Northern Ireland can take the lead in developing mobile technologies and generate new jobs for graduates.  Consilium Chief Executive Colin Reid shares his ambitious vision for the sector with Owen McQuade. Maximising the benefits of mobile technology can make organisations more productive and help citizens hold government to account, Consilium Chief Executive Colin Reid believes.  However, the Executive needs to radically change tack on how it attracts ICT investors to Northern Ireland, by prioritising software product companies, especially in emerging growth areas such as mobile...[full story]

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: The Big Society – Hugo Swire interview

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
To Hugo Swire, the Big Society is a major culture shift to give power to citizens but critics claim the concept is shallow and disguises cuts. Peter Cheney discusses the idea with the NIO Minister. Instead of a cover for cuts, Hugo Swire sees the Big Society as a kind of confession. The NIO Minister, who leads on the subject in the province, describes it as an admission that “big government can’t always do it, shouldn’t always do it and when it does things, it doesn’t always do it very well.” He sums up David Cameron’s concept as a transfer of power from the state to local...[full story]

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