Other News In Brief

Alex Maskey To Stand Down From NI Assembly

Alex Maskey has announced that he will not contest the next Assembly election.

The 69-year-old Sinn Féin MLA and Stormont Speaker is one of small number of MLAs who have served in the Assembly since it was established in 1998.

In 2002 Mr Maskey became the first Sinn Féin member to hold the position of Lord Mayor of Belfast and he has been Speaker of the Assembly since Stormont was restored last year.

New Bookstart Baby Programme Announced

The UK's largest children's reading charity BookTrust is to work with the Department for Education to provide book packs to families with babies born in 2021.

The new programme aims to support early learning and development and encourage a positive home learning environment.

Education Minister Michelle McIlveen said: "I'm pleased to support the Bookstart Baby programme in Northern Ireland this year, which will ensure parents are encouraged to read with their babies and young children

"Bookstart Baby packs aim to promote a love of reading in children from as young an age as possible. Reading to a child has enormous benefits from helping to build confidence, and develop empathy, creativity, communication and social skills, and is also a huge pleasure in itself.

"Around 24,000 babies born in 2020 were gifted a Bookstart Baby pack. This was especially important last year during the pandemic, as parents were limited in accessing normal support services.

"This is an essential programme for families in the local community as it reminds parents of the importance of looking at books and reading together. Shared reading with young children supports language development, confidence, communication skills and resilience."

Fund Established For Aluminium Cladding Removal

A new £1 million fund is to be established to remove aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from private residential buildings over 18 metres.

Finance Minister, Conor Murphy, made the announcement following a meeting with leaseholder representatives of Victoria Place Apartments which has ACM cladding installed on part of the building.

Minister Murphy said: "The Executive approved the establishment of this fund on 08 July. Since then my Department has worked at pace on development of the remediation fund. We are currently finalising the scheme design and eligibility criteria. Next month the Fund will open for applications and we will also be publishing a call for evidence to identify any other buildings over 18 metres with combustible ACM cladding which have not yet been identified.

"This Fund will protect leaseholders from the cost of replacing unsafe cladding on their homes, provide homeowners with reassurance and bring confidence to the housing market."