Nurses are at the frontline of our Covid19 response. Despite commitments made by Robin Swann to waive car parking fees for HSC staff until March 2021, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have stated they will not offer free parking to nurses working for them. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/health-trusts-rake-in-30m-in-parking-fees-39663814.html

The most vulnerable people in society will suffer if community services lose funding at the end of March. Money from the European Social Fund (ESF) is due to stop on 31 March as a result of Brexit. Young people, people with disabilities, those living in poverty and people with mental health issues are among many who will suffer.

An Overdose Prevention facility is a designated place for people to take drugs under the supervision of trained staff, who provide drug treatment, mental health services, wound care and blood testing. There are 200 facilities in the US, Canada and about a dozen European countries, but none in the UK.

37% of A-Level students in NI have had their grades lowered, because of the 'standardisation' process put in place by CCEA. The Minister is feeling the pressure. Today (17th August) he announced that teachers grades would be used for the GCSE results. The Assembly has been recalled. Decisions are being made now by universities that will have huge repercussions for the lives and futures of students. Leaving it to the appeals process is not enough. Pupils in England, Scotland and Wales, have been guaranteed results no lower than their AS grades, or had their 'moderated' grades scrapped. Action must be taken now to fix the A-Levels Fiasco. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53767773

Craigall Rocks - an escarpment with giant boulders and stunted woodland - was one of the most important sites for rare plants in County Derry . It is the last known location for Wood small-reed in Northern Ireland, and also holds old records for scarce wildflowers like Small white orchid and Intermediate wintergreen. As a result, it was designated as a Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance, but this has done nothing to protect the site from quarrying - which is able to take place under an archaic planning permission that predates most of our environmental legislation. There are signs that the woodland on Craigall Rocks may be Ancient (around since at least 1650): - many of the trees are clearly old and gnarly, with thick stools and many stems; - there is a huge diversity of woodland wildflowers; - and old woodland-associated lichens are present. Ancient Woodland is extremely rare in Northern Ireland, covering only 0.08% of our land surface. The surviving area of natural boulderfield and possibly Ancient Woodland at Craigall Rocks is tiny, spanning around an acre. There is still plenty of space to expand the quarry without destroying this precious and irreplaceable habitat.

Our children's mental health is being put at risk by the failure to put them first, and drop the transfer test. Young children of 10 and 11 should not be made to sit tests in the midst of a pandemic. The absence of the formal education setting means that those impacted by poverty will be even more disadvantaged, and put under additional mental health stress.

Northern Ireland's waiting lists are the worst in the UK - with almost one in four of the population waiting for admission or a first outpatient appointment. And no matter who we are or where we come from, getting medical attention when we need it most is vital to us all. The waiting list crisis has been years in the making, and it won’t be solved overnight. But a Department of Health plan has been published, and solutions from organisations like the Nuffield Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons are being put forward. Now we need political will to make it happen.

There is a great deal of concern from parents, teachers, principals and elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly about the current private system of transfer tests and particularly during this pandemic year.

Intensive farms like the one currently planned for would mean up to 40,000 pigs would be confined indoors in overcrowded, barren concrete pens. The animals are often treated with antibiotics to keep them alive in such horrendous conditions, and their waste contains ammonia which causes respiratory problems in humans and pollutes sensitive natural habitats. According to the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, Co Tyrone has the fifth highest number of indoor reared livestock in the UK, with Co Antrim placed at eighth. The two counties have a combined total of 13.5 million animals reared indoors.

Currently the passport office doesn’t accept these ID cards, that are issued by the electoral office. Often times these are the only photo ID people will have - and currently the only one that is free.

We should not have a statute of a white supremacist proudly on show in Northern Ireland. It should be removed as a mark of solidarity and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The pandemic has exposed big failings in how workers are protected against loss of income when they have to take days off work due to sickness. Ireland is completely out of line with European norms in not requiring all employers to continue to pay our wages if we are forced to miss work because we fall ill. We ask that a guaranteed period of paid sick leave of no less than 2 weeks and paid at 100% of the worker's wage is mandatory. Hundreds and thousands of low paid essential workers do not receive sick pay and face being financially compelled to keep working when sick.