Other News In Brief

Call For Rising Costs Of School Uniforms To Be Addressed

SDLP Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has said the spiralling costs of school uniforms to parents across the North must be addressed.

A Department of Education review into the issue is currently underway.

Newry & Armagh MLA Mr McNulty said: "I was stunned to learn that families in Britain receive can receive over £100 more per child through a school uniform grant when compared with those in the North. This is completely unfair and raises serious questions about why the Department of Education has not offered more support to parents in recent years, with the costs of uniforms and sports kits rising all the time.

"I welcome the review currently taking place, but it must address the key issues – the cost of uniforms, the lack of support available and the lack of consultation with parents. A small rise in the uniform grant will be an insult to parents here who are struggling, particularly in light of spiralling energy and living costs, as well as cuts to welfare. This issue has run on far too long – DUP Minister McIlveen and her predecessors at the Department of Education all have serious questions to answer. The ridiculous cost of school uniforms and PE kits should not have to be a consideration for parents trying to get the best education for their child."

Proposed Funding For A5 Welcomed

Sinn Féin MP Órfhlaith Begley has welcomed proposed funding in the Executive’s draft Budget to begin work on the A5 road.

The West Tyrone MP said: "I welcome that Sinn Féin Finance Minister Conor Murphy has included over £113m to begin work on the A5 road in the proposed Executive budget.

"The upgrade of the A5 will improve connectivity between the north west and the rest of this island.

"It will tackle regional imbalance, improve the economy and creating jobs.

"The A5 upgrade is vital for road safety as it is currently considered one of the most dangerous roads in Ireland.

"Given the significant strategic importance of this project it is vital that the upcoming public inquiry proceeds without any further unnecessary delays."

Dept Of Health Called To Share Weekly Data On Number Of Patient Contacts

The DUP's Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA Deborah Erskine has called on the Department of Health to share the weekly data on the number of patient contacts made in each General Practice surgery in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Erskine said the publication of this data would allow for the identification of best practice models and would highlight the pressures that GPs are facing.

Mrs Erskine said: "On average there are 230,000 patient contacts each week across our 329 surgeries in Northern Ireland.

"Whilst the Health and Social Care Board gets a weekly return from each surgery detailing the number of patient contacts, it would be beneficial for this data to be made public.

"GPs undertake fantastic work. The publication of this data would allow us to see best practice models and also highlight the pressures on a reducing number of GPs.

"The Department of Health must provide additional resources to those surgeries under pressure. We cannot have a postcode lottery when it comes to accessing General Practice services.

"One of the outworkings from the NHS response to the covid-19 pandemic has been greater transparency around hospital admissions, pressures on Intensive Care Units, bed vacancies as well as the number of cases and vaccinations on a daily basis. It is all accessible online.

"This has allowed for the identification of those sections of our healthcare system that are under pressure and helped to educate the public around how best to ease pressures.

"Greater access to data helps demonstrate the strains upon our frontline staff and helps the public with understanding.

"Patients need better access to GPs and GPs need better support from the Department in coping with these pressures."