Social and Economic Development

Social and economic development will be central to SDLP activity in the new institutions and we will continue to develop our strong links with both the United States and Europe in order to assist us in our major socio-economic task. The economic and social costs of the violence, instability and division in our society have been enormous. Economic investment and development have been retarded and the creation of severely marginalised and disadvantaged sections of all the community has resulted. The SDLP has always insisted that the creation of a viable and productive economy in Northern Ireland must be a primary aim of politics and would lessen if not remove the fertile seeds of mistrust and conflict. The SDLP has always highlighted the need for cross border economic co-operation and partnership and believes that the new cross border institutions brought into being by the Agreement offers an unparalleled opportunity to begin to tackle the serious inequities in the economy particularly in border regions.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· a long term economic development strategy for effective planning

· fiscal powers for the Assembly

· the encouragement of enterprise in all sections of the economy

· the establishment of a constructive and structured relationship between the public and private sectors

· the development of a system of education to offer life long learning, quality training for the workforce and a dynamic link between education, training and the economy

· a strategic approach to developing north/south links, paying particular regard to cross border initiatives in tourism, agriculture and industry

· a strategic approach to exploiting the full potential of our membership of the European Union

· the amalgamation of the IDB and LEDU to maximise and better focus the drive for industrial development

· the inclusion of the social partners - the unemployed, the trade unions and employers - in economic planning and decision making

 

Agriculture and Rural Development

The SDLP is seriously concerned about the decline in farm incomes brought about by the BSE crisis and the strong value of sterling. The SDLP wishes to see farm incomes increase but believes that it is important that the industry is mindful of the challenges of the modern competitive global market and the need for diversification of the rural economy generally in the face of the next round of CAP reform and EU enlargement under Agenda 2000.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· the protection of agricultural incomes and rural communities under further reforms of the CAP

· a vigorous international marketing campaign to counter the serious effects of the BSE ban on the existing markets

· diversification of the rural economy and adequate assistance in promoting diversification initiatives

· the availability of proper advisory services for rural areas and for agriculture

· adequate resources for the rural development council

· adequate resources to tackle poor housing condition.

· the completion of electrification and mains water schemes in rural areas

· assistance for the horticultural industry to help it meet the challenges posed by the arrival of the major supermarket chains

· a development policy for rural industry to ensure environmentally-friendly industries in rural areas

· the protection of the landscape and heritage of rural areas

· strong links between rural development and tourism

Tourism

The SDLP believes that tourism offers very significant opportunities for economic development and job creation. The full working of the Agreement and a peaceful environment will maximise the potential of a comprehensive tourism strategy.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· an integrated approach from the different parts of the tourism sector to market a coherent and attractive product and quality facilities

· harmonisation of the promotion strategies of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Bord Failte to maximise the benefits of an all Ireland tourist strategy

· the identification, preservation and protection of tourist assets to ensure that their full potential is realised through strategic planning

 

Education

The SDLP regards education as a necessary foundation for an active responsible citizenship. The education system should be based on principles of equality of opportunity, respect for children and learners and parents' rights. The objective of policy must be the establishment and maintenance of a flexible system which achieves quality education and training for children and adults as well as providing for parental rights and parental choice.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· comprehensive nursery education

· the end of selection at 11

· the preservation of rural schools

· the abolition of misleading and uninformative "league tables" from schools

· the abolition of student loans and the introduction of a proper grants system

· life long learning strategies to target parents, the unemployed and the poorly qualified

· the development of community education initiatives

· a higher priority for Education for Mutual Understanding initiatives

 

Health and Social Care

The SDLP recognise that there are a number of major issues and problems in health and social care. Health is not exclusively related to individual factors, but has a strong social and economic dimension. There are major inequalities in health and care between social classes and a link between the prevention of ill health, income, education and housing. Real health and social gain can only be achieved by reducing poverty and inequality.

There is significant underfunding of health and care, particularly in comparison to other European countries, and the cumulative impact of underfunding, year on year, has had a deleterious impact on the health and social services available to our people.

The Health and Personal Social Services have become burdened with expensive overheads associated with a complex and inappropriate bureaucracy.

In addition the internal market and the contracting process is proving to be complex and expensive. Contracting on an annual basis is irrelevant to and fails to address the longer term strategic planning requirements.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· an effective strategy to recognise the underlying links between health, poverty and income, between health and education and health and housing and the general environment

· an effective strategy to prevent ill-health through education, housing, economic and environmental policies

· an adequately funded NHS and reduced waiting lists

· equal and effective access to health and social care services for all areas throughout Northern Ireland

· the management of health services in such a way that the maximum level of resources is available to health and care professionals instead of being lost in unnecessary layers of administration

· a radical overhaul of the internal market with 3-5 year commissioning plans being developed

· a clear strategy for investment in the physical and clinical infrastructure needed to support primary care

· the right of informal carers to have a separate assessment of their needs carried out, and appropriate services developed to support them.

· the reduction of the number of HPSS organisations including the number of trusts and their organisational boundaries changed to ensure that they are integrated providers of health and social care, providing integrated, acute and community services in a Health and Personal Social Services Common Services Agency.

· the development of a 3-5 year strategic plan to incorporate administrative reform, an investment strategy and a clear commissioning framework, tied to research based indicators of health and social gain.

 

Social Security

Within the context of social and employment policies the broad objectives of the social security system must be to prevent poverty and allow a choice for work.

The social security system must provide the means for the poor, the elderly and the unemployed to meet basic needs.

In the new Administration the SDLP will work for:

· a system of benefits and pensions designed to meet basic needs and ensure access to other types of social provision such as housing, health, social care, training and education.

 

· efffective policy co-ordination between social security, health, the economy, education and housing.

· a minimum wage.

· a relationship between the tax system, the social security system and the pricing policy for basic services, such as housing, that does not create poverty traps.

· monitoring of the New Deal project to ensure effectiveness, fairness and delivery of proper jobs.

· an increase in the basic Retirement Pension, with the restoration of the link between inflation and average earnings.

· the restoration of the value of Child Benefit in real terms to what it was in 1987 when it was frozen.

· the restoration of the right to Income Support for 16 to 17 year olds.

· the replacement of the Social Fund by a system of grants as a legal right linked to an appeals system and discretionary grants for emergencies.

· a Comprehensive Disability Income Scheme.

· an end to the capping of Housing Benefit.

· access to adequate support with mortgage interest re-payments immediately mortgage holders become unemployed.

· an end to the restrictive points system used in assessing Incapacity Benefit.

· the continuation of the Independent Tribunal service and the right of the individual to appeal to the service.

· opposition to the privatisation of the Social Security Agency.

 

Environment