‘Outrageous' – criticism as Assembly Commission puts out £35k tender for ‘media monitoring'
The Assembly Commission has put out a £35,000 tender to find a company to carry out 'media monitoring', it has emerged, prompting criticism over the use of public funds.
It comes after the Executive Office (TEO) was accused of wasting public money by getting civil servants to transcribe comments made by TUV representatives during appearances on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.
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Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Justice Minister slams ‘absolute nonsense' over claims she can quickly change Ombudsman removal laws
Naomi Long said there has been 'a lot of misinformation' surrounding the issue which would require extensive public consultations to achieve. It comes after Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman, Marie Anderson, announced she was taking a temporary leave of absence on Tuesday. Her leave follows the news that police investigating an alleged domestic incident at the Ombudsman's home have sent a file of evidence to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). Ms Anderson said that, despite planning to retire in December, she opted for temporary leave due to the 'current commentary' that was 'detracting from the focus' of her work with bereaved families. The probe, launched after the alleged incident at Ms Anderson's Co Down home in September 2023, was carried out by West Midlands Police at the request of the Chief Constable, and has now concluded. Think tank calls for new approach to save public services The PPS confirmed that the file reports 'one individual for potential offences of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office'. Mrs Long believes there has been 'too much speculation' regarding the alleged incident, as well as 'a lot of misinformation' in the capabilities of the Department of Justice's powers. She told the BBC's Nolan Show: 'I think that brings a legal risk. I also think that brings all sorts of damage to the individual.' Asked about the department's powers generally in relation to the Police Ombudsman, she said: 'There has been a lot of misinformation around this. First and foremost, for me, public confidence in the role of the office of the Police Ombudsman is crucial because it impacts on the confidence in policing. I want to acknowledge [her] decision to delegate her powers to the chief executive and senior staff. 'To be clear, the Ombudsman herself is not appointed by the Department of Justice or employed by the Department of Justice. She is a corporation sole, which means that the powers of the Ombudsman are vested in the individual, not in the office. 'It's not her office that has the powers, the office is there to facilitate her powers.' Mrs Long explained that the nature of accountability in the Ombudsman role was set up to ensure control was not 'abused' for political means. She added: 'It's something I am very conscious of and have been conscious of for some time. It would require a period of significant public consultation to ensure that any power to suspend or remove the Ombudsman could not be abused for political ends. 'That is the reason why when this office was set up originally there was no power of suspension or removal from office. The fear was that if politicians had the power to suspend the Ombudsman, they would use that power if they disagreed with their findings or their interventions.' The Justice Minister admitted there is 'a conversation to be had' surrounding the high thresholds, but slammed the notion that any action from her office could be taken swiftly. 'There are very clear rules set down in law about when the Ombudsman should be removed from office, in terms of when someone should retire, and those thresholds are high – there's no question about that.' 'There is a conversation to be had around this, but the idea that a piece of legislation, that either I or the Executive Office could bring at the drop of a hat without thorough consultation and legal advice is absolute nonsense. 'Some commentators have been suggesting we should just change the law, it is not that simple.'
ITV News
5 days ago
- ITV News
Mother and baby home victim says Executive should 'hang their heads in shame' over new proposals
A survivor of mother and baby institutions here says that the First and Deputy First ministers should 'hang their heads in shame' over Stormont legislation to establish an inquiry and redress scheme. More than 14,000 pregnant women and girls passed through the secretive institutions, with many found to have been mistreated, held against their will and forced to give up children for adoption. A bill to establish an inquiry into mother and baby homes, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses - and an associated redress scheme - passed its first stage in the Stormont Assembly on proposals are expected to cost around £80 million. Adele Johnston who was born in a home and later sent to one when she was a pregnant teenager says those affected haven't been listened to and the Department needs to go back to the drawing of her experience in the homes she said: "It was very demeaning and demoralizing. "We were made to work, we were made to feel that we were unworthy, unfit, that we weren't fit to look after a child and that, the best place for a child was to be adopted." She had high hopes for Stormont proposals to deal with this dark period of our past, but feels let down after a meeting with the First and Deputy First Ministers on Monday. "We didn't expect all that we asked, but we did not expect it to be so brutal and it was brutal. "We were corralled into one meeting and we were dealt one body blow after another. "And we feel very badly let down by the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister and the TEO. "Actually, they need to hang their heads in shame for what they done yesterday."Concerns have been expressed that 'huge swathes' of potential applicants to a long awaited redress scheme are set to be were run by the Catholic Church, religious orders, some Protestant denominations as well as the State, with some in operation until Minister Michelle O'Neill said they hope the legislation 'demonstrates our sincere commitment to respecting and fulfilling the wishes of those who for many decades have suffered and been silenced'.The Executive Bill is to establish a statutory public inquiry and a statutory redress scheme at an estimated cost of £80 million, which includes almost £60 million in initial redress payments to cover about 6,600 eligible claimant is to receive a payment of £10,000, and a £2,000 payment will be made to each eligible family member on behalf of a loved one who has died since September 29, 2011.A further Individually Assessed Payment (IAP) for the specific harm suffered by an individual is to follow the public ministers also met with survivors of the institutions on some who attended the meeting expressed concern over those who are excluded by the legal firm KRW Law, which represents many of the victims and survivors, described 'huge disquiet over the prospective exclusion of many survivors'.They said the cut-off for posthumous claims for deceased birth mothers and children of 2011 'cuts out a huge swathe of prospective applicants', while victims of work houses appear to be excluded, and the 'blanket removal' of foster care home is also concern around the limit on the sum proposed by way of interim payment with no allowance for Aine Rice, of KRW's historic abuse team, said they reject the current proposals as 'unfit for purpose'.She said: 'So much work has been put in by many people to get to this stage only for it to be undone in one fell swoop.'There's an insensitivity underpinning all of this which makes it galling.'We reject the current proposals as unfit for purpose. More, much more, needs done to address the imbalance in play here. We need to see a complete U-turn by the time we reach the next stage of the Bill, but time is running out fast.'We are told that many are thinking of leaving the consultation forum and threatening protest.'Institution survivor Marie Arbuckle said the latest proposals are a 'kick in the teeth for many survivors'.She added: 'It seems to me that the Government hasn't listened to us properly at all.'Why do a consultation in the first place if the wishes and hopes of survivors aren't taken on board?'I don't think lessons have been learned from what happened in the south of Ireland.'The understandable drive to save money has simply gone too far, and all at the expense of the wishes of victims.'We have lost all confidence in the process we worked so hard on for the last three years.'
South Wales Guardian
6 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Stormont MLA Remuneration Board Bill passes despite opposition
The Assembly Members (Independent Remuneration Board) Bill will establish a new independent board to determine salaries and pensions for MLAs. It will replace the previous Independent Financial Review Panel which has been defunct for a number of years. Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500. A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and Members of the Irish Parliament (113,679 euros/£94,537). The Bill, put forward by the Assembly Commission, was passed by an oral vote by MLAs on Monday, with the sole MLAs representing the TUV and People Before Profit both opposing the Bill. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston claimed it is 'nothing more than a vehicle to enable MLAs to award themselves a substantial pay rise', and objected to former MLAs being entitled to sit on the new board. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also criticised that former MLAs could sit on the board, and said that a pay rise for MLAs amid 'rising rates of poverty' would be 'completely tone deaf'. However UUP MLA Andy Allen, who sits on the Assembly Commission, described a 'technical Bill' to deal with the process of how salaries and pensions are set. Closing the debate Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis slammed what she termed 'inaccuracies and misunderstandings' over the Bill. She also warned that if the Bill did not pass the Assembly 'will have failed' to ensure legal clarity and leave no structure in place to determine the salaries and pensions of MLAs. 'In passing this Bill today, future discussions and decisions around the salaries and pensions of members will shift to the independent remuneration board,' she told MLAs. 'That board has independence in deciding what factors it wants to consider before determining its view on the appropriate level of salaries and pensions for members. 'That is the appropriate way of dealing with these matters.'
