AQO 8111/11-15 Oral question to the First Minister and deputy First Minister
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of whether the Commissioner for Older People in Northern Ireland's budget is sufficient to allow all legal action on behalf of older people to be initiated.
Asked by Stewart Dickson MLA on 30 April 2015
- Answered
- Oral
- Answered in the Chamber
- Tabled
- 30 April 2015
- Answer due by
- 11 May 2015
- Answered
- 11 May 201511 days after tabling
- Department
- The Executive Office
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Answered in the Assembly Chamber on 11 May 2015. Extract from the Official Report (Hansard), including any supplementary questions:
Mr M McGuinness
With your permission, Mr Speaker, junior Minister McCann will answer the question.
Ms J McCann
The Commissioner for Older People's main aim is to safeguard and promote the interests of older people. The commissioner is provided with a budget of £822,000 for 2015-16, and it is for her to allocate, including to decide whether or not to initiate legal action on behalf of older people. The commissioner applies criteria for acceptance of requests for individual assistance and applies a further set of criteria should the request include or necessitate legal funding or action. Neither set of criteria takes into account the cost of a case or the available resources in a legal funding budget. The commissioner has confirmed that she has not declined to offer assistance or take legal action in part or full on the basis of cost.
Mr Speaker
I am sorry. There is not time for a supplementary question. That ends the period for listed questions. We will now move on to 15 minutes of topical questions.