Hate Crimes Targeted

Stormont Junior Minister Robin Newton (left) is pictured with Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Pat Convery and Justice Minister David Ford at the Unite Against Hate convention at City Hall today. The third annual event brought together representatives from community, voluntary and statutory organisations to focus on the issue of hate crime, and share best practice in addressing sectarian, racist and homophobic related incidents in Belfast and beyond.

PM For Conference

David Cameron is expected to attack dissident republicans in a high-profile speech at the Conservative conference in Birmingham. Today's is to be the first speech to his party since becoming Prime Minister that will include several references to Northern Ireland. As well as criticising the ongoing threat from dissidents, Mr Cameron is tipped to reinforce the Government's support for the peace process.

UUP's Bradshaw Quits

Paula Bradshaw, who stood as a joint Ulster Unionist-Conservative candidate in the Westminster election, confirmed she has cancelled her party membership. Her departure comes after another Westminster candidate, Trevor Ringland, resigned from the party on Monday.

SF Highlights Benefit Cuts

Sinn Féin MLA and Poverty Spokesperson Daithí McKay has said that the Government's decision to cut child benefits in 2013 will have a greater impact on single parents and families with a stay at home parent than others. He said that the Tory party's approach to cutting benefits will result in higher levels of poverty. "This proposal from the British Government will leave a perverse situation where on the one hand a couple with one child who earn over £80,000 will qualify for Child Benefit yet a single mother or father with a large family and an income of just £44,000 will lose thousands of pounds in Child Benefit which they are now entitled to. This is in addition to the freezing of Child Benefit rates for the next three years and the fact that the British Government has not put forward any concrete proposals which will tackle child poverty," he fumed. "Further to that they are refusing to guarantee that the Winter Fuel Allowance will remain untouched. That is a major concern with a high rate of older people in poverty, a rate which is continually rising."

Holiday At Home

NI Tourism Minister Arlene Foster has encouraged people, locally and in the Republic of Ireland, to take autumn holiday-breaks in Northern Ireland. She was backing the NI Tourist Board's £1million marketing campaign to highlight the range of activities and experiences that Northern Ireland has to offer, from action packed adventure holidays to relaxing spa breaks, fine dining and exciting nightlife. "This new marketing campaign highlights the diverse range of activities available in Northern Ireland and illustrates that there is so much to do close to home," she said, noting that the campaign aims to build on the 198,000 trips in NI taken by domestic and Republic residents last autumn. "Some 49% of NI's total earnings from tourism came from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It therefore makes strong economic sense to encourage people to enjoy and discover some of the must-visit, great value destinations on their doorstep; there has never been a better time to explore," she concluded. The marketing campaign is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.

£500 For Planning Offence

A Belfast man was this week fined £500 plus court costs of £95 at Belfast Magistrate's Court for a breach of planning regulations. Robert Goody, operator of 'Sun City', 149a Upper Lisburn Road, Belfast was served a summons for displaying an advertisement at the same address without the benefit of the consent required. Planning Service brought the charges under Article 84 of the Planning (NI) Order 1991 (as amended), which states it is an offence to display an advertisement without consent.

Prison Focus For DUP

The Lagan Valley DUP MLA Paul Givan has led a delegation of Prison Officers from Maghaberry at a meeting with Justice Minister David Ford in Parliament Buildings. Mr Givan who is also a member of the Justice Committee said: "A wide range of concerns have been raised with me about the safety and security of both prisoners and personnel. David Ford as the Minister responsible for the Prison needs to take a proactive approach to tackling the issues that have been raised with him by the Prison Officers who are at the frontline of delivering the prison regime in Northern Ireland's only Category 'A' prison dealing with over 800 prisoners. Prison Officers are best placed to handle the difficult environment that exists but too often senior management take decisions without properly consulting the staff that implement the regime put in place leading to difficulties that could have been avoided," he said, noting that "it is vital that lessons are learned".

Litter Fines Revealed

Three people have been fined at Belfast Magistrates Court for littering offences. Amanda Creighton, from Ebor Street in south Belfast, was fined £50 and ordered to pay costs of £66 for failing to reply to an information notice, issued by Belfast City Council, in relation to an investigation into dumping of household waste in a rear entry on May 6. Vitaliyus Larionovas, from Donegall Avenue, also in the south of the city, was fined £50 and ordered to pay costs of £66 for failing to reply to an information notice, issued by Belfast City Council, in relation to an investigation into dumping 10 bags of household waste in a rear entry on April 26. Nicola Reid, from Estoril Park in north Belfast, was fined £50 and ordered to pay costs of £66 for failing to reply to an information notice, issued by Belfast City Council, in relation to an investigation into illegal dumping in a rear entry on April 9 in prosecutions that were brought by Belfast City Council.

(BMcC/GK)