Northern Ireland

I am grateful for that. I can confirm immediately that the talks will be genuinely all-party. Whatever happened in the past and whatever the arguments about that are, given the distrust that has set in over the past couple of years, we cannot proceed without all-party, inclusive negotiations. That would include the Alliance party, as well as all the other major parties in Northern Ireland. I agree that there is still too much criminality—by loyalist paramilitaries and republican paramilitaries. That must be stopped. I find it encouraging that the leadership of both Sinn Fein and the IRA have said that they condemn it as well—the hon. Gentleman can make of that what he wishes. At least it is a positive agreement with the point of view that he was putting forward. On education reforms, I was slightly surprised to hear an avowedly progressive party such as the Liberal Democrats standing absolutely solid by the 11-plus, as though it were the fount of all educational opportunity. The hon. Gentleman knows that we are talking about a decision on a child’s future at age 10 or 11, which is taken as a result of a short test on one day, when that child’s parents might have had an argument over breakfast or there might have been a riot overnight. That test can open the gate to a child’s future, if they pass it, or close it shut—in some cases for good. That is not a defensible position for any progressive politician. There has been a long period of consultation and the matter has been given much consideration. It is in the interest of parents, pupils and schools that we settle the issue to provide long-term clarity. However—this addresses the points that the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) made—there are a wide range of other issues that will need to be addressed: the pupil profile, the curriculum content, the entitlement framework and so on. Those issues will all have to be the subject of subsequent orders. I hope that those decisions will be taken by the Assembly itself. As for tuition fees, I find it surprising that the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) did not say where he will find the money from.