Policing and parading progress welcomed by pair

Speaking after the cross party parading group completed its work and in the aftermath of the Assembly vote on the devolution of Policing and Justice powers, David Simpson and Stephen Moutray said:

“In the past other unionists signed up to the devolution of policing and justice powers under D’hondt and with the probability of a Sinn Fein Minister. That was agreed by the UUP’s chief negotiator Sir Reg Empey with absolutely no requirement for republicans to support the police, no proper funding, no guarantees over police or criminal justice independence and no mechanism in place to offer a fresh start to the parading issue.

"At that time one senior UUP MLA stated publicly that a Sinn Fein justice Minister simply ‘had to happen’.

“That approach of simply saying ‘yes’ was not our approach. As a result of our negotiations, there will be no Sinn Fein control of policing and justice. There will be no SF Justice Minister. On policing, operational control rests with the Chief Constable. The Chief Constable is independent and will be operationally responsible for directing and controlling the police.

"There will be no Irish Language Act. There will be no new North-South Bodies. The Parades Commission will not be in place next year. Outstanding issues such as education will be addressed and the working of government will be improved.”

The went on: “As a result of our negotiations there will be additional resources for the police and the Courts to the tune of almost 1.1 Billion; there will be 400 million for hearing loss claims; police Part Time Reservists will receive a recognition payment 22 million and personal protection weapons for former officers will now be retained.

“In addition to this when it comes to the joint issues of policing and parading there will be no jumping ahead – parades legislation will be enacted in parallel to policing, with a firm timetable for completion.

“We helped to deliver that package. Indeed we came in for criticism during the final week of the negotiations for being among the much discussed 14 MLAs who helped ensure this excellent policing package was secured.

“This represents an opportunity to both deliver a proper, sufficiently funded policing future while at the same offering the prospect of a new beginning to parading issues."