Question Time: Employment and Learning Tuesday 15 September 2015
Fra McCann
MLA asked Employment and Learning Minister, Stephen Farry, what initiatives he
has planned to support people classified as long-term unemployed during today’s
Question Time. Mr Farry was disappointed to say that current budgetary
concerns mean that he has no new initiatives planned. However there is already
a range of provision in place to support the long-term unemployed such as
assistance from staff in front-line offices and the Steps 2 Success programme.
The Minister defended criticism of the programme saying that they have been set
very challenging targets and bring their experience from other jurisdictions to
bear in Northern Ireland’s situation. Mr Farry is committed to helping the long-term
unemployed but remains hamstrung by budgetary restrictions – “Once again, we
are seeing money being, very sadly, stripped out of schemes and projects that
can help people gain a foothold in employment because of a very single-minded
approach to handling these issues.”
Mr Farry
then discussed budget
cuts and the reduction of courses, staff and student provision at the
Ulster University. The cuts came in response to the Executive’s draft budget in
November 2014. As a result the Department for Employment and Learning published
a consultation document outlining the resultant impact on functions and
services including universities and colleges. These included a reduction in
student places and staff numbers. Despite efforts to mitigate the cuts, they
proved necessary and were “the last resort to balance the overall budget.”
While the Department sets the budget for universities they remain autonomous
and responsible for the way in which they function and service the students.
The Minister also added that “before making decisions on course provision and
staffing levels, the universities take a number of factors into account,
including my Department's priorities, the needs of the economy and student
demand. Reviewing course provision is part of the normal annual cycle and is
good business practice. It is a reflection of the current budget position that
this has led Ulster University to close some courses and to consolidate others. ”
Throughout
Question Time Mr Farry also answered questions on the European social fund,
cross-border mobility for students, Horizon 2020, the number of students in
Higher Education and the Success Through Skills programme.
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