[Mr Justin McNulty]: To ask the Minister of Education to detail the number of students leaving full time education without proficiency in literacy and numeracy, broken down by constituency.

[Mr Daniel McCrossan]: To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the progress of a new Emergency Department build for Altnagelvin Hospital.

[Mr Daniel McCrossan]: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, pursuant to AQW 14656/22-27, for an update on discussions with the Westminster Government to extend the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.

[Mr Daniel McCrossan]: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail the criteria that will be set by his Department to decide which projects proceed to Phase 2 of the Small Business Research Initiative.

[Mr Daniel McCrossan]: To ask the Minister of Health whether he will bring forward legislation on assisted dying during the 2022-2027 mandate.

[Mr Daniel McCrossan]: To ask the Minister for the Economy, pursuant to AQW 16309/22-27, to detail the benefits of the decision by Ofgem to approve a new electricity link between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

[Mr Stephen Dunne]: To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the number of jobs created by foreign direct investment in each of the last five years, broken down by local council area.

[Mr Stephen Dunne]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail his Department’s engagement with NI Water in relation to the impact of potential industrial action by NI Water staff.

[Mr Stephen Dunne]: To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail his Department’s engagement with Post Office UK in relation to potential branch closures and job losses.

[Mr Stephen Dunne]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for an update on the planned upgrades to the Kinnegar Wastewater Treatment Works.

[Mr Stephen Dunne]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for an update on the delivery of the Belfast Living With Water Programme.

[Mr Jonathan Buckley]: To ask the Minister of Finance to detail the current status of the Community Ownership Fund as pertaining to Northern Ireland, following the Autumn Budget 2024.

[Ms Diane Forsythe]: To ask the Minister of Finance to detail the number of Northern Ireland Civil Service employees were employed on a full time equivalent salary point of (i) over £124,500; and (ii) over £90,500 in 2023-24, broken down by Department.

[Ms Diane Forsythe]: To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the tourism budget in each of the last three financial years (i) within Tourism NI spent directly on tourism in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area; and (ii) provided to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to distribute on tourism themselves within the area.

[Ms Diane Forsythe]: To ask the Minister of Finance why Northern Ireland Tourism Statistics published by NISRA and detailing a variety of tourism statistics, omit four full financial years from 2019-20 to March 2023 citing Covid.

[Ms Diane Forsythe]: To ask the Minister of Finance to detail any discussions she has had with UK Treasury since the Labour Government has taken power.

[Mr Phillip Brett]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) whether the position of the walking and cycling Champion in his Department still exists; and (ii) to provide an update on any work they have undertaken.

[Mr Phillip Brett]: To ask the Minister for Communities, following his announcement of further funding for councils to provide debt advice, how he will ensure this funding is spent fairly and equitably across North Belfast.

[Mr Phillip Brett]: To ask the Minister for the Economy, pursuant to AQW 16996/22-27, when this change in policy was agreed by the Executive.

[Mr Phillip Brett]: To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any further considerations she has given to the introduction of legislation similar to Harper's Law in Northern Ireland.

[Mr Phillip Brett]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, pursuant to AQW 16604/22-27, when he will be requesting a meeting with the Ulster-Scots sector.

[Mr Patsy McGlone]: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail the number of people that have (i) applied; (ii) been interviewed; and (iii) been accepted for positions as Soil Sampling Technicians in the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme during the current recruitment process.

[Mr David Honeyford]: To ask the Minister for the Economy whether his Department has plans to review the current ApprenticeshipsNI programme to extend the support it provides to other forms of apprenticeship such as workplace or training provider-led schemes.

[Mr David Honeyford]: To ask the Minister for Communities for an update on the current figure available from his Department for the Casement Park project, given the £62.5 million figure originally set aside in 2011.

[Mr David Honeyford]: To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any work his Department has carried out on the likely impact on trade, particularly in packaged goods, of the General Product Safety Regulation in Northern Ireland.

[Mr David Honeyford]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail any plans his Department has to extend the on-street residents only parking zones, with particular reference to Lagan Valley.

[Mr David Honeyford]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the average response time from each Roads Division to reports received from elected representatives in the last three years.

[Ms Kate Nicholl]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, in light of the recent flooding in the area, to detail NI Water's plans to replace and upgrade the storm drains in (i) Ravenhill Park; and (ii) Onslow Parade, South Belfast.

[Ms Kate Nicholl]: To ask the Minister for the Economy, pursuant to AQW 14548/22-27, to detail any work to assess the ongoing cost of not implementing an entitlement to paid carer's leave.

[Ms Kate Nicholl]: To ask the Minister for the Economy, pursuant to AQW 14548/22-27, to detail any progress made on further modelling and refinement of the cost of implementing an entitlement to paid carer's leave.

[Ms Kate Nicholl]: To ask the Minister of Health to detail any improvements that can be made to the lighting and safety features of car park 8 Broadway that is used by staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

[Mr Gerry Carroll]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether his Department has considered developing a flood alleviation scheme for the St. James area of West Belfast.

[Mr Gerry Carroll]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the number of historic flood zones that exist in West Belfast.

[Mr Gerry Carroll]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the amount that developers have paid towards (i) roads; and (ii) other infrastructure costs in each of the last ten years.

[Mr Gerry Carroll]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, in light of his Department’s introduction of the new Planning Portal, (i) whether the Gunning principles on public consultation apply to planning applications; and (ii) whether these principles informed the design of the new online system.

[Mr Gerry Carroll]: To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department collects data in relation to the proportion of patients or health service users in (i) primary care settings; and (ii) secondary care settings whose first language is not English.

[Mr Alan Chambers]: To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to confirm whether the Sydenham bypass resurfacing project is currently on schedule.

[Mr Alan Chambers]: To ask the Minister of Finance whether the unadopted status of The Point, Groomsport, is taken into account when establishing the rateable value of residential properties along this roadway.

[Mr Harry Harvey]: To ask the Minister of Finance whether her Department has any plans to mirror the 40 per cent business rates relief scheme for independent retailers announced by the UK Government for England.

[Mr Harry Harvey]: To ask the Minister of Health when he will answer AQW 14259/22-27.

[Mrs Ciara Ferguson]: To ask the Minister for Communities whether any additional financial support will be allocated to homeless service providers from the October Monitoring Round.

[Mr John Blair]: To ask the Minister of Justice whether her Department is implementing any measures to reduce general waste in buildings used by her Department or its arm's-length bodies.

[Mr John Blair]: To ask the Minister for the Economy whether his Department is implementing any measures to reduce general waste in buildings used by his Department or its arm's-length bodies.

[Mr John Blair]: To ask the Minister for the Economy whether his Department is implementing any measures to increase recycling rates in buildings used by his Department or its arm's-length bodies.

[Mr John Blair]: To ask the Minister of Justice whether her Department is implementing any measures to increase recycling rates in buildings used by her Department or its arm's-length bodies.

CPAs from SC&H and Cherry Bekaert LLP Named Runners-Up

NEW YORK (Sept. 7, 2017) –  BDO executive Kelly Johnson, CPA, is the winner of CPA.com’s 2017 Innovative Practitioner Award, which recognizes innovation in process, services or technology implementation in public accounting firms.

Johnson, BDO’s national leader of business services and outsourcing, led the development of BDODrive, a cloud-based, integrated solution for financial management, accounting services and business intelligence. The platform provides real-time, streamlined accounting information via dashboards for clients, operational efficiencies and access to the Top 10 accounting firm’s specialized expertise for businesses. While CPA.com administers the voting process online, winners of the Innovative Practitioner Award are chosen by their peers.

“The tangible growth in client accounting services that’s been documented in research by the AICPA and CPA.com is due to the kind of fully realized offerings being developed by BDO and others,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Kelly is a deserving standard-bearer for our Innovative Practitioner Award, and I want to thank all our finalists in the competition who are helping drive innovation in the profession. It was a strong field this year.”

Johnson will be recognized as the award winner at the 2017 Digital CPA Conference, which she will be invited to attend as a guest. The event will be held Dec. 4-6, 2017, at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.

Among the finalist group, two other runners-up were recognized for their innovative work. They are:

First Runner Up

• Michael Lynch, CPA, principal of SC&H Group’s CFO Advisory Services practice, developed an outsourced accounting practice focused in part on emerging life science and software-as-a-service companies. He uses technology to automate workflow and transactional processing, and acts as a trusted advisor for management on business development, financial leadership and strategy.

Second Runner-Up

• Jonathan Kraftchick, CPA, managing director, Cherry Bekaert LLP, developed training programs to educate auditors on coming changes in artificial intelligence and machine learning and how these innovations might impact the profession. Within his firm, he is also involved with two beta projects with vendors to improve data analytics and machine learning in audit applications.

To read more about these practitioners, please visit the award page. More information about the Digital CPA Conference can be found at digitalcpa.com.

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms.

The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the accounting profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

NEW YORK (Sept. 8, 2017) – Two CPA.com staffers have been named to CPA Practice Advisor’s Top 20 Under 40 Superstars list, which the trade publication said is composed of “young leaders helping advance the profession through their roles in technology, education, consulting and firm development.”

Representing CPA.com on the list are Samantha Mansfield, the company’s director of professional development and community, and Kalil Merhib, director of sales. Mansfield is a driving force behind the Digital CPA Conference and the curriculum and training it offers to firms, including the recently launched Client Accounting Advisory Services (CAAS) certificate and CPA.com’s popular CAAS workshops. Merhib’s key responsibilities include rollout of the RIVIO Clearinghouse, a private company financial information hub jointly developed by CPA.com and Confirmation.com, and working with firms across the country in building effective strategies for outsourced accounting practices.

“This year’s 40 Under 40 and 20 Under 40 honorees are visibly and incrementally changing the accounting profession through their exemplary leadership, their innovative thinking, their collaborative efforts guaranteed to provide unity to the profession across the generations, and their community outreach which extends the visibility of the profession outside the workplace” Gail Perry, CPA Practice Advisor’s editor-in-chief, wrote in an article announcing the winners.

“It’s a great honor for CPA.com to have two employees on this list,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “We’re grateful to see validation of our staff’s hard work in helping CPA firms embrace change and thrive.”

The full list of winners can be found on CPA Practice Advisor’s website.

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms. The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the CPA profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

https://www.cpa.com/system/files/cpa/infographics/bdcinternationalpayments_infographic.pdf

TASHKENT, 29 July 2016 - A central area of Tashkent is to be lit by 20 autonomous street light systems fully powered by solar energy as part of a pilot project officially launched today by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

The Co-ordinator is supporting the host country in the area of green economy policies, including the analysis of costs and benefits in using environmentally-friendly and sustainable systems in street lighting and urban planning.

Senior Project Officer at the OSCE Project Co-ordinator Hans-Ullrich Ihm said that urban street lighting powered by solar energy is one of many possibilities that contribute to preserving our environment by reducing the consumption of fossil fuel and emissions. He added that the Project Co-ordinator strives to support the government in implementing policies advocating for such technologies.

Related Stories

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• OSCE-supported training course in Uzbekistan focuses on addressing and preventing human trafficking in the tourism sector

BISHKEK, 8 July 2016 – As part of the first phase of the two-day military Command-Staff Exercise ‘Barrier 2016’, representatives of the State Border Service (SBS), local authorities and civil society of Osh region focused on border security and management problems during a roundtable discussion and video-conference supported by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

The discussions, held at the SBS headquarters, aimed to promote co-operation between the military, law enforcement agencies and civil society and improve the existing mechanisms of co-ordination. Participants were able to directly ask border management-related questions to the deputies of Jogorku Kenesh (the parliament), government officials and SBS representatives.

Head of the SBS Colonel Abdikarim Alimbaev detailed the complex measures taken by the Service to strengthen the Kyrgyz-Uzbek and Kyrgyz-Tajik border areas, such as improving the infrastructure of border units and setting additional border barriers and posts. “Through improved relations with neighbouring countries, the strengthening of border security and management will ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State and in this way safeguard peace and stability in the specific border areas and in the broader Central Asian region,” he said.

Daniele Rumolo, acting Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek highlighted the crucial significance of border security for Kyrgyzstan: “Effective counter-efforts to the current challenges remain the most relevant strategic priority for continuous co-operation and also an important aspect of OSCE activities in the framework of transnational threats. The OSCE Centre in Bishkek greatly values its engagement and interaction with the Kyrgyz Government and the SBS, and expresses its readiness to further develop the co-operation in this field.”

Vice Prime-Minister on border issues Jenish Razakov stressed the importance of co-operation between security and law enforcement agencies and local governments, stating that in their absence it would be impossible to resolve border crises. He also noted that in the past two years such joint exercises to enhance the combat readiness of units have demonstrated positive results.

On 8 July, following the roundtable discussion and video-conference in Bishkek, the practical phase of the ‘Barrier 2016’ simulation exercise took place in Osh with the participation of the Special Forces Unit, the SBS, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Command-Staff Exercise ‘Barrier 2016’ was held jointly by the SBS and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek as part of the Centre’s project to enhance the ability of the Kyrgyz Government to engage in regional co-operation on border security and management.