22 minute read
The Financial Times’ Philip Stephens discusses the new Prime Minister’s
Truss faces some jarring collisions between ambition and reality
The Financial Times’ Philip Stephens writing for agendaNI assesses whether new Prime Minister Liz Truss MP can marry conviction to political pragmatism when confronting the awkward compromises between the pledges she made and the reality of delivery.
Now for the real world. All new prime ministers struggle to reconcile promises made on the campaign trail with the hard truths of power. None will have found the constraints tougher than Liz Truss MP. The UK, in the apt description of her leadership opponent Rishi Sunak MP, faces a national emergency. For all the upbeat tone of her speech on the steps of Downing Street, Truss is already confronting the awkward compromises between pledges and reality.
Only weeks ago she dismissed the idea of more “handouts” to soften the impact of soaring energy prices on the cost of living crisis. Her promised cut in National Insurance contributions would do the trick. Now she is committing a sum not far short of £100 billion to a support package to avert economic and social chaos. The “small state” Prime Minister is presiding over a vastly expensive programme of intervention to cap prices in the wholesale gas market.
The energy crisis caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine, a stalling UK economy, runaway inflation and a funding crisis in the National Health Service are only the beginning of the new Prime Minister’s problems. A wave of public sector strikes challenges Truss’s authority. Truss’s plan for tax cuts sits alongside a clamour for more money from Whitehall spending departments. Brussels is promising a tough response to repudiation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The first imperative was always to shield families and small businesses from the worst of the energy price crunch. Consumers were threatened with another 80 per cent increase in average bills to £3,549 from 1 October. This over and above the inflationary surge in prices for food and other essentials. Businesses – from manufacturing companies to pubs and shops and care homes – faced much steeper rises.
Truss was persuaded that for all her ideological aversion to intervention, if she failed to get a grip on the crisis early on her premiership would not recover. There was no silver bullet. And none of the options came cheaply. An across-the-board freeze on gas and electricity prices was the most expensive. It also looked unavoidable.
For all that, the risks are also obvious. Truss has been told that high inflation, rising interest rates and slowing growth have wiped out any fiscal room for manoeuvre. She has made tax cuts her first economic priority. All this will have to be paid for through borrowing. This at a time when financial markets have been losing confidence in the UK’s management of its finances. Sterling is trading close to levels as low as any seen for more than 30 years. The Prime Minister cannot afford a strike among international investors and a further run on the pound.
Whitehall officials forever urge prime ministers to avoid prioritising the urgent over the important. In Truss’s case,
Philip Stephens, Contributing Editor, FT however, the two have merged. She faces a winter funding crisis in the NHS and social care, a rolling wave of public sector strikes, and a fight with the European Union about the Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland. All are both urgent and important. So too is the need for western unity in support of Ukraine’s fight itself against Russian aggression.
The Treasury thinks the economy is heading into a protracted recession. Earlier expectations of a short, sharp downturn followed by a bounceback next spring have made way for forecasts that the economy will shrink through next year. Inflation, by some estimates, could reach 20 per cent. The impact on living standards will be devastating. The Resolution Foundation think tank estimates that, without massive government intervention, the average family faces an unprecedented 10 per cent cut in disposable income during the two years to the end of 2023.
For their part, NHS chiefs are warning that the health service will not get through the winter without money to deal with a hospital logjam that has seen ambulances queuing for hours outside accident and emergency units. Public sector workers –barristers and nurses as much as rail and postal workers – want wage increases to match rising prices.
These demands fall on a Prime Minister promising to reduce the size of the state, starting next year with big cuts in corporation tax. Whitehall officials whisper privately about the need for “adjustments” to her prospectus. Political opponents will be watching for U-turns. The Brexiter right of the Conservative party will be alert to any retreat from her pledges.
Protocol
The Northern Ireland protocol presents another first test of where the balance will fall between political conviction – Truss voted remain in 2016 but has since declared herself a hard-line Brexiter – and necessary pragmatism. The UK faces a 15 September deadline to respond to a European Commission legal action which spells the end of the so-called ‘grace periods’ for phasing in border checks in the Irish sea.
As the author of the legislation that would see the UK unilaterally withdraw from parts of the Protocol, Truss’s rhetoric has been robust. “There's only one thing that the EU understands and that is strength,” Truss declared during the leadership campaign. “I'm strong enough to make it happen.” Aides have emphasised that she wants to give the Democratic Unionist Party the confidence to remove its veto on the restoration of Stormont government. Some have suggested that she might opt for the “nuclear” option of invoking Article 16.
Officials are urging caution. The signals from Berlin and Paris as well as from the Commission in Brussels have been unequivocal. The EU will not bow to ultimatums. The UK’s allies would see unilateral revocation as a breach of international law. This is not the moment to threaten western unity – and prospects of a good relationship with the Biden administration in Washington. Nor, with the economy heading into recession, to risk a trade war with Europe. The first signs are that Truss and her Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris MP want to avoid an early confrontation.
Another circle to be squared. Truss’s allies say that she is underestimated. She is sharper and tougher than generally realised. Voters will warm to her when they see her resolve. Perhaps, but even within her own party support for the new Prime Minister is conditional. The UK, she declared in Downing Street, will “ride out the storm”. That assumes she can marry conviction to political pragmatism.
Reaching rural
Reaching rural: The Housing Executive’s latest rural housing strategy reflects the growing demand for the development of rural homes.
Siobhan McCauley, Director of Regional Services, outlines the Housing Executive’s role in providing housing and housing services in rural areas.
The Housing Executive is more than just Northern Ireland’s largest social housing landlord. As the strategic housing authority for Northern Ireland, we undertake a range of statutory duties, to ensure that housing services are provided for people living in both urban and rural areas.
Last year we launched our sixth rural strategy, ‘Reaching Rural’. The strategy reflects the growing demand, and changing policy context for the development of new rural homes.
We understand that there are additional challenges faced by rural residents, most notably for those living in more remote areas. Everyday life in a rural area presents unique hurdles that those in urban areas take for granted – having to travel to access key services, a reduced public transport system, overreliance on private cars, slower broadband speeds and unreliable mobile network signals.
‘Reaching Rural’ focuses on the need to consider the housing requirements of an ageing population, the growing recognition of the requirement for carbon neutral, energy efficient, rural homes, and the access to basic services and support. It recognises that these factors present both challenges and opportunities. We want to address these through local engagement, investment, and collaborative working. We are already working with our Community Planning partners to find sustainable opportunities within rural settlements.
It is important to note that 15 per cent of all social housing waiting list applicants require a home in a rural location. The number of households on the waiting list for a rural home has increased over the past five years to 6,630 and the number of those in housing stress has also continued to rise year-onyear to 4,243. This highlights the gap between supply and demand and the difficulty many applicants face in securing a social home. The rise in housing stress in rural areas is often exacerbated by the fact that there are increasing difficulties in achieving social new build schemes in rural areas.
During the period of our last Rural Strategy (2016 to 2021), 671 new social housing homes commenced in rural areas through the Social Housing Development Programme. This is not simply a case of providing people a place to call home that is affordable and meets their needs, but this investment will has a ripple effect in rural communities, supporting schools, services and local businesses.
Pictured at Bovagh Bridge, Aghadowey are Matthew McKay (HE rural and regeneration unit) with Hilary Canning (HE Limavady office manager).
and for those households who have been waiting for new homes, it is far short of what we want to see delivered. Between 2016 and 2021, our strategic target was under by 355. Similarly, during 2021/22 only 7.5 per cent of all starts were in a rural location, against a target of 12.3 per cent.
Our annual programme of Rural Housing Need Tests is a strategic priority. Tests are a focused consultation with an individual community to encourage anyone in need of a home to come forward and have an initial discussion with a housing advisor about their housing circumstances, and the housing options available within their area of choice. If we determine there is a need for more housing in the area, we will consider support for a housing association proposal, or highlight the area in the Annual Commissioning Prospectus. Since testing first began in 2000, we have carried out over 200 tests, which has resulted in over 400 new homes for rural residents to stay and to thrive in rural communities.
We continue to work with housing association partners, to identify the main issues contributing to this shortfall. The increased difficulty in accessing land which is suitable and available for housing development; the impact of the cost of required infrastructure, and in particular the ongoing capacity issues will have on the feasibility of small schemes, are some of the issues that we collectively face. There is often limited land remaining within development limits. In addition to this, existing land prices are competitive in many rural settlements where we have the greatest housing need.
We recognise that more needs to be done to ensure the delivery of the rural homes required. A key theme of our strategy is ‘enabling the provision of affordable rural homes’ – we have set out a range of actions aimed at facilitating this provision. Our rolling programme of Site Identification Studies assist housing associations by identifying available land in rural areas of unmet housing need. This approach helps to promote the inclusion of rural schemes on the Social Housing Development Programme. It further develops our understanding of local land, infrastructure, and planning-related issues that informs our continued consultation with local councils regarding the development of Local Development Plans.
The waiting list figures illustrated provide evidence of the growing need for an increase in the supply of social housing in many rural settlements across Northern Ireland. As far back as our first rural housing policy in 1991, the Housing Executive recognised that there are rural settlements where there are fewer, if any, social properties. Limited awareness of social housing as an option and a low turnover of existing stock means that fewer numbers of people in need of social and affordable housing are identified. This perpetuates the issue of a lack of housing supply in areas where social homes are most needed.
We are fortunate to work with many amazing community groups and volunteers who are the backbone of our communities. This invaluable contribution from people living in rural communities, including those on our Rural Residents Forum, is essential to build sustainable rural communities.
Find more about our rural work on:
E: rural.housing@nihe.gov.uk. W: www.nihe.gov.uk/Community/rural-issues
Cross-border cooperation necessary to combat climate change
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are both transitioning towards green economies, and with respective goals of reaching net zero by 2050, cooperation on energy policy will be crucial going forward.
The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) released its comprehensive Shared Island Shared Opportunity report, which has recommended a close level of cooperation between the two administrations on the island on a number of key policy areas.
The report, which was commissioned by the Department of the Taoiseach, whilst not commenting on the constitutional settlement of Northern Ireland, emphasises the importance of cooperation between the two states for their mutual benefit across various policy areas, notably climate change and economic development. Chaired by Martin Fraser, former SecretaryGeneral of the Department of the Taoiseach, the report is a collaborative effort between various sectors in Ireland including agriculture, environmentalists, community groups, trade unionists, public servants, and business representatives.
Overarching conclusions
First, “there is very significant support, in practice, for an all-island approach to key economic, social, environmental, and wellbeing challenges. A solid foundation for the Shared Island Initiative exists. This foundation is made up of working
connections and relationships operating and evolving at various levels, from formal institutions to community-level networks,” the report states.
Second, the report outlines that combatting climate change will require “clear and urgent” cross-border cooperation.
“The council believes that this area is now ripe for further ambition, collaboration and action. Given the urgency and scope to protect and enhance the island’s environment, and to maximise the available opportunities.”
Third, the agendas of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are becoming increasingly aligned with one another, thus requiring a closer level of cooperation between the two states.
“The council argues that, in the period ahead, the main political actors – the Irish and UK, governments and the Northern Ireland Executive – should seek and prepare for an opportunity to reset the context and agenda for north-south and east-west cooperation.” Conclusions by policy area
The report reached conclusions on five key areas. These were: the economy; social policy; climate and biodiversity; wellbeing measures and; data coordination.
Climate and biodiversity are areas with the widest potential scope for cooperation between the two states, given that both states have wide circularity gaps in their respective economies (98 per cent in the Republic of Ireland and 92 per cent in Northern Ireland), with reforms to agriculture required in order to increase the circularity of their economies. The report recommends achieving this by further developing initiatives such as Farming for Nature. It also advocates cross-border ‘networks for nature’, which aim to build on the progress of the AllIreland Pollinator Plan.
On the economy, the report has recommended increased infrastructure investment on an all-island basis, particularly in the border regions. There is also a necessity for cooperation on the two states’ energy policies, with EirGrid and SONI hoping to become 70 per cent reliant on renewable energy to supply electricity, with additional goals for joint approaches for offshore wind, solar, wave, and tidal energy. In addition, the report has advocated for “a more structured basis for consultation, cooperation, and action by the two administrations on enterprise policy, and other economic development issues,” such as tourism and trans-border workers’ tax relief. This would require the dual consent of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland.
On social policy, the recommendations included providing specialist services on an all-island basis, with the goal of reducing costs, increasing accessibility and increasing standards. It also advocates for increasing the viability of cross-border social enterprises as well as a cross-border basis for reducing poverty.
“The role of the annual summer school collaboration, between the Department of Social Protection (DSP) in Ireland and the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, could be explored as a means of initiating this dialogue,” the report states.
Developing wellbeing measures in an efficient and cost-effective manner will require further cross-border cooperation. The report has called for the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Northern Ireland Research and Statistics Agency (NISRA) to cooperate in the development and application of wellbeing measures, to ensure that wellbeing in the two states is measured beyond narrow economic measures, and take a wider focus on other areas of wellbeing such as health, happiness, and education standards.
Shared Island Shared Opportunity emphasises the potential to use wellbeing frameworks as a tool to facilitate engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the island, inform priorities in relation to key challenges, and to learn from each other. Ensuring that there is a north-south and east-west element built into groups will be crucial to advancing wellbeing.
Going forward
The report states that funding crossborder economic projects, particularly in infrastructure and energy, is the most effective way to enhance all-island cooperation. It states that ‘substantial funding’ is now available to take forward infrastructure programmes.
“Time will now be devoted to ensuring that this report – and its ambition to help identify scope to improve all-island ways of working, and areas where such cooperation seems likely to bear useful fruit – is widely shared,” the report states. However, realising these goals will require the formation of an Executive in Northern Ireland.
First NIGALA Board:
(Seated) Her Honour Judge Philpott QC (Chair) Mr Ronnie Williamson (Executive Director) (Standing) Mr Jack Corr and Dr Colette McAuley
'Exploring Significant Harm'
Presentation of Bronze Investors In People (IiP) Award
NIGALA: Celebrating 25 Years
1996 Agency inception 4th November. 1997 Official Opening 20th July. 1998 First Conference entitled 'Care & Contact Planning'. 1999 Official Opening of North West office in L/Derry on 5th March. and New Chair - Ms Mary Connolly 2000 Discussions to establish an information network with the Family Courts.
2001 Conference entitled 'Exploring Significant Harm' and Official Opening of the office in Armagh in November. 2002 Conference entitled 'Children (NI) Order 1995 – Fit for Purpose?' 2003 New Chair - Mr Jim Currie MBE 2004 DHSSPS Inspection of the Agency 2005 Revised Guide to Case Management in Public Law Proceedings
2006 Multidisciplinary seminar entitled 'Children’s Participation in the Court Process' and Awarded Investors in People Award (IiP) 2007 COAC’s Best Practice Guidance training 2008 Introduction of the Guardian Case Information System (GCIS) 2009 Awarded the Bronze Investors In People (IiP) Award 2010 Awarded second place in the ‘Transformation of Services’ category in the and National Government Computing Awards
'Children in Family Proceedings - Who's Listening?'
The Inter-Agency Childcare & Legal Issues Group 'seminar entitled 'Post Adoption Contact Managing Perspectives'
Mrs Gemma Loughran Chair
Ms Dawn Shaw OBE Chief Executive 2011 New Chair - Mr Bernard Mitchell 2012 Conference entitled 'Children in Family Proceedings – Who’s Listening?' 2013 Re-Accreditation of Investors in People (IiP) Bronze Award and New Chief Executive - Ms Patricia Nicholl 2014 Stakeholder events entitled 'Care Proceedings in NI – A Snapshot Study' and and 'Tackling Delay and Working Together' 2015 New Acting Chief Executive - Mr Peter Reynolds
2016 Establishment of the Young Persons Forum and and NIGALA Celebrated its 20th Anniversary aad New Chief Executive - Mr Peter Reynolds 2017 Memorialcoffee morning for Mr Jim Currie & Her Honour Judge Philpott QC and Conference entitled '21 Years of Representing Children and Young People –and What Have We Learned and What Can We Do Better?' and Establishment of the Inter Agency Childcare and Legal Issues Group 2018 Awarded the Investors in People IiP Silver Award 2019 NIGALA hosteda Five Nations Gathering with Children First (Scotland), and CAFCASS Cymru (Wales), Barnardo’s DCYA (South of Ireland), CAFCASS England. 2020 Conference entitled ‘Are We Listening?' a and New Chair - Mrs Gemma Loughran
2021 New Chief Executive - Ms Dawn Shaw OBE and Awarded the Co-Production Award for participation work with young people and at the Regional Social Work Awards. Mr Peter Reynolds (past Chief Executive) and was also awarded the LifeTime Achievement Award. 2022 Change of premises from Centre House Belfast to James House Belfast
Over the past 25 years, NIGALA has provided representation in
16,000 Cases
Involving over
23,000 Children
10,000 7,500 5,000 2,500 0
Request by case numbers / children
1996-2000 2001-2005 2006-2010 2011-2015 2011-2015
cases children
Due to Covid-19, celebrations were postponed but it is very important that we recognise the need to mark, even belatedly, the work of the Agency over the 25 years.
The function of NIGALA is to safeguard and promote the interests of children and young people whose welfare is being considered in public law and adoption court proceedings, by providing independent social work advice and by ensuring the effective representation of the views of these children and young people. When a child or young person becomes subject to court proceedings to determine his or her best interests, the guardian must work to assist the court in making a fully informed decision about the future life of that child or young person.
The Agency is accountable to the NIGALA Board. During our 25 year history we have had five chairs: Her Honour Judge Philpott (deceased); Mary Connolly; Jim Currie (deceased); Bernard Mitchell; and Gemma Loughran, the current chair, who took up her role in 2020.
The first Chief Executive was Ronnie Williamson who led the agency for 17 years. On his retirement Patricia Nicholl was appointed; she was succeeded in 2015 by Peter Reynolds who retired in April 2021, when the current Chief Executive, Dawn Shaw OBE, was appointed.
In recent years, family life in our community has been adversely affected by many developments including the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise in mental health issues; the economic pressures which are causing escalating increases in the cost of living. There has been a 30 per cent increase in the numbers of children coming into care over the last 10 years and it is unlikely that the challenges to family life will ease in the future. NIGALA will continue to play its part in promoting the best interests of children and young people whose family life is under consideration by the courts and in being an independent voice for these children and young people.
Looking to the future
There are a number of significant events which will shape the next 25 years of the Agency. The new Children and Adoption Act (NI) 2022 will make significant changes to the law and to the process of adoption in Northern Ireland and our guardians look forward to preparing to meet the new requirements. The full implementation of the legislation will bring about changes to our names; NIGALA will be known as The Children’s Court Guardian Service Northern Ireland and the Guardians will be known as the Children’s Court Guardian.
The Belfast office of NIGALA will be moving to James House in the Gasworks site. This will provide a modern office environment to meet the needs of a forward looking service embracing the use of technology and hybrid ways of working.
Adapting to the future to ensure we provide the best service possible for the children, young people and families with whom we work is a core aim of the Agency. We are conscious that, as part of HSC, we cannot escape the funding restrictions across the public sector and we will seek to ensure that we are delivering the best service possible in the most efficient and effective way. We know that this will require transformation in the way we work and such transformation is a key theme for the Agency as we move forward. We are currently supported by the Leadership Centre in this endeavour which will focus on our most precious asset, our staff.
The core work of the Agency is delivered by qualified and experienced social workers supported by a team of administrative and corporate staff, led by a small senior leadership team. The NIGALA Board, which comprises five members from a range of backgrounds including social work, finance, corporate governance and law, provides strategic leadership, oversight of governance and accountability for our work. The Agency is ultimately accountable to the Department of Health and to the Minister of Health.
As part of our accountability processes we are required to produce a Corporate Plan and we are currently working on the plan which will set the direction for the Agency over the next five years from 2023 – 2028 and will create the platform for our next 25 years.
“It is a great privilege to acknowledge the outstanding work of NIGALA over more than 25 years in supporting thousands of children and young people whose future was under consideration by the court, and to look forward with confidence to NIGALA continuing to seek only the best for vulnerable children and young people in our society,” says Gemma Loughran, NIGALA Chair.
Some of the original staff, who started with the Agency in 1996, remain in post today demonstrating their long term commitment to supporting the lives of vulnerable children and young people.
For further information on our work go to https://nigala.hscni.net
