Prof Geraint Ellis (QUB) The Northern Ireland planning system is now primarily seen as a mechanism for coordinating and facilitating development, with the aim of delivering opportunities for economic growth. However, in managing our built environment, it also plays a major – but often unseen – role in shaping peoples’ lives by creating (or constraining) … Read more
Dr Stephen McKay (QUB) The Northern Ireland planning system has witnessed major reform in 2015, with key responsibilities being transferred to new local authorities. There are far-reaching consequences of this relating to the future management of development and the production of a new generation of area plans. This will also have an impact on arrangements … Read more
Dr Alice Diver (Ulster) The recent statutory cap on Housing Benefit in England and Wales is commonly known as the ‘bedroom tax’ or the ‘spare room subsidy’, depending upon whether one is a critic or a proponent of it. It has given rise to a small, but significant spate of domestic legal cases that examine … Read more
Dr Caroline Linse (QUB) As of 2011 there were over 50,000 migrants, who speak a language other than English or Irish at home, residing in Northern Ireland. Many of these individuals do not possess adequate levels of English language proficiency in order to access services. Research funded by the Northern Ireland Inclusion and Diversity Service … Read more
Dr Piotr Blumczyński (QUB) and Prof John Gillespie (Ulster) Culture revolves around values: they hold the cultural community together and underpin the mutual interests. A cultural group whose members hold opposite or otherwise incompatible values is hardly conceivable, which demonstrates that the concept of culture is predicated on shared values. However, values are often “invisible” … Read more
Dr Gillian Carter (QUB) The general practitioner (GP) is in a pivotal position to initiate and adapt end of life care for their patients living with dementia. A postal survey was conducted to gauge GPs’ perceptions of the provision of good quality palliative care in dementia in Northern Ireland. The survey was also conducted in … Read more
Dr Lisa Hanna-Trainor and Dr Laurence Taggart (Ulster) People with intellectual disabilities are living longer and many are living with ageing family carers: this presents challenges surrounding how services respond to the needs of both cohorts. This is a fundamental issue for policy makers, commissioners and Trusts in organising how services are planned, funded and … Read more
Dr Cathal McCall (QUB) A United Kingdom (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) poses significant questions for the UK’s borders, the most pertinent of which are: would there be a need for a hard border? If so, where would it run? The primary goal of the Leave campaign is to halt the influx of … Read more
Dr Lee McGowan (QUB) Ahead of a now imminent referendum on the United Kingdom’s (UK) membership of the European Union (EU) this presentation addresses the specific issue of how much the EU dimension matters to Northern Ireland and considers the implications of a Brexit for this region of the UK. It is divided into two … Read more
Prof David Phinnemore (QUB) The presentation reviews the nature and content of the outcome to the UK government’s attempt to renegotiate the terms of UK membership of the European Union (EU) as well as options for a new relationship in the case of a vote to leave the EU. The presentation reviews the agreement reached … Read more