Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has introduced a Private Tenancies Bill in the Assembly improving protections for tenants living in the private rented sector. Minister Hargey said, “I am putting the needs of tenants at the heart of my approach. “Private renters should have access to good quality, affordable homes with peace […]
Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has announced a new Assured Skills Academy with PwC offering 20 high-quality training places for people with degrees. Focussing on Future Business Skills, the Assured Skills Academy will see successful applicants receive eight weeks of industry-relevant pre-employment training at Belfast Met and Ulster University. Participants who complete […]
Health Minister Robin Swann has launched a 12-week consultation on a draft policy on the use of restrictive practices in health and social care settings. The use of restraint and seclusion across health and social care in Northern Ireland is difficult to quantify, with challenges in capturing and articulating data on a regional […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has heralded something of a transformation in Northern Ireland’s attitude to saving money, new research suggests. Ulster Bank surveyed 1,000 people across Northern Ireland about their attitudes to budgeting and saving. The survey found that 63% of people in Northern Ireland see saving money as more important now […]
Finance Minister, Conor Murphy has announced a new policy that will see mandatory scoring of social value within public procurement contracts. The new policy agreed by the Executive mandates that from June 2022, tenders must include a minimum of 10% of total award criteria to social value. This will apply to […]
Local Government Boundaries Review Northern Ireland Provisional Recommendations Local Government Boundaries Commissioner Sarah Havlin has published her provisional recommendations. The Commissioner’s task is to review and make recommendations in respect of the number, boundaries and names of the 11 local government districts and the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which each […]
Finance Minister Conor Murphy has announced a special ‘Quiet Hour’ at the Mo Mowlam Playpark on the Stormont Estate, making the facilities more inclusive for all. The play park is designed for children of all abilities and includes a dedicated sensory area. It will now be opened one hour earlier each […]
Justice Minister Naomi Long has launched a consultation seeking views on possible legislation to require all compensation settlements to children for personal injuries to be approved by a court. Currently, in Northern Ireland, only those compensation settlements for a child which are agreed upon during legal proceedings must be approved by the court. […]
The Open University (OU) has been ranked no.1 university for Overall Student Satisfaction in Northern Ireland for the seventeenth year in a row in the National Student Survey (NSS) results. The NSS is an annual survey of nearly half a million final year students across the UK. It is their opportunity […]
Research shows Northern Ireland is the land of motorhomes with the highest UK demand for motorhome insurance premiums and Newry has seen a 60% surge for motorhomes. Although demand for motorhome insurance was down by 21% in Northern Ireland across the pandemic, the first five months of 2021 have bucked the trend, with […]
