Alliance Councillor Kate Nicholl has welcomed a commitment to reinstall bench slats at an area used by homeless people. The bench slats in Jubilee Gardens were removed last week. The area is used by many homeless people to socialise. Following pressure from Councillors including Ms Nicholl, they will now be reinstalled over the Christmas period, […]
Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has said a backdated pay award for health sector walkers is a small step in the right direction. Arrangements will be put in place “as soon as possible” for civil servants to implement a wage increase in the absence of an Executive Minister. The payments, which will be backdated, […]
Alliance MLA David Ford has welcomed the findings of an inspection report which describes progress at Magilligan Prison as “immensely encouraging”. The inspection was conducted by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales. It said improvements had been made in a number of key areas and praised […]
Alliance Antrim Councillor Neil Kelly has said he is appalled after a swan was found dead following an apparent crossbow attack in the town. An image, posted on the Antrim Town Facebook page, showed the animal at Loughshore in Antrim yesterday evening with a crossbow bolt apparently protruding from its head. A search for the […]
Bengoa-style reform is needed for our education system, Alliance Education spokesperson Chris Lyttle has said. East Belfast Alliance MLA Mr Lyttle said the current funding crisis faced by many schools meant teachers and resources were being put under immense pressure. He said the Bengoa Report, a Government-appointed panel led by international expert Professor Rafael Bengoa […]
The Ards and North Down Council Alliance team have added their voices to the Votes at 16 campaign, after securing an important local debate on the issue tonight. Alderman Deborah Girvan and Councillor Karen Douglas said it was an “important move” for the Council, giving greater recognition to young people who are the future of […]
Paula Bradshaw MLA has said she is “beyond delighted” to hear the defect which causes Huntington’s Disease has been corrected in patients for the first time. An experimental drug, injected into spinal fluid by a team from University College London, safely lowered levels of toxic proteins in the brain. Experts believe it may be the […]
Alliance West Tyrone representative Stephen Donnelly has hit out at the perpetrator of an armed robbery in which a hammer was brandished. Around 7.15pm on Sunday, a male entered Culmore Service Station on the Dromore Road in Omagh wielding the hammer and demanded a staff member hand over money. He was wearing a grey tracksuit, […]
Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has called for immediate plans to be put in place to raise the pay of social care workers. The South Belfast MLA was speaking following the report of the Expert Advisory Panel Report on Social Care, which said a living wage should be adopted, as well as the equalising […]
Alliance Councillor Karen Douglas has welcomed plans to make Ards and North Down more dog-friendly after the Council agreed to make local businesses aware of the benefits of doing so. Ards and North Down Borough Council approved plans to direct local businesses to existing dog-friendly schemes and promoting them throughout the borough. “Alliance has always […]