Belfast City Council will officially focus on how it can reduce its use of hard to dispose of plastics tonight, after a proposal from Councillor Peter McReynolds is set to get the go-ahead at Thursday night’s Council meeting. Initially raising the idea last month, Councillor McReynolds has said he’s delighted Councillors will back his plans, […]
A majority of Ards and North Down Councillors simply don’t give young people enough credit, Alliance Councillor Deborah Girvan has said, as her attempts to put votes at 16 on the agenda where again defeated. Councillor Girvan raised the issue on Wednesday night – shortly after Wales voting reforms saw the voting age lowered – […]
Alliance MLA David Ford has said any restored Executive needs Ministers prepared to take difficult decisions while in office. Mr Ford, who was Minister of Justice for six years, said there was “little point” in having Ministers who would not do so, especially regarding the Budget. He added during his time in office, he saw […]
Alliance has recommitted its support for the delivery of the Stormont House Agreement mechanisms on legacy issues, during a meeting with the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors. Alliance Lagan Valley MLA Trevor Lunn said the meeting with Judith Thompson at Equality House in Belfast was a positive one. “Today’s meeting concerned a number of subjects, […]
Alliance South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw has expressed her concern at reports the Chair of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland did not enjoy the full confidence of his board. The move followed comments by John Edmund about the “high level of dependency” in the arts sector, which were interpreted by many as him supporting […]
Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong has said the only way any restored Assembly will be sustainable is to reform the petition of concern (POC) mechanism. The Strangford MLA said abuse of the veto had “significantly contributed” to the current political deadlock but despite previous Alliance attempts to secure reform, it was still the major issue blocking […]
Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has said she will be seeking a meeting with the Department of Health after an inquiry found a number of child deaths in local hospitals were avoidable. The inquiry into five hyponatraemia-related deaths in Northern Ireland hospitals found four of them were preventable. The inquiry was set up in […]
Belfast could be on its way to becoming a dementia friendly city, if plans by Alliance Councillor Carole Howard get the go-ahead. The new High Sheriff of Belfast said the move would allow those living with dementia and their families the freedom to move about the city with ease, removing the isolation that can often […]
Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw has said the lack of movement on obtaining compensation for the victims and survivors of institutional abuse underlines the need for the restoration of the Executive. South Belfast MLA Ms Bradshaw was speaking following a briefing from the Executive Office on the implementation of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry findings, which […]
Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong has welcomed the UK Government deciding not to challenge a court ruling stating Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were unfair to people will mental health conditions. In December, the High Court ruled changes made by the Government to PIP last year, which limited the amount of support people with mental health could […]