Elections
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Elections
Are 40,000 people in NI on the Housing Executive waiting list, with 30,000 of those in housing stress?
18 May 2022
CLAIM: Over 40,000 people in Northern Ireland are on the Housing Executive waiting list - with 30,000 of them in ‘housing stress’ - yet only around 2,000 social or affordable homes are built each year.
Rating
ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION
The Ulster Unionist Party manifesto for the 2022 Assembly Election says: “Unfortunately, over 40,000 people in Northern Ireland are on the NI Housing Executive (NIHE)
Economy
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Elections
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Environment
Do 25 of NI’s 27 main ‘economic hubs’ have creaking water and sewage infrastructure that is holding back development?
4 May 2022
CLAIM: The DUP’s manifesto claims that 25 of NI’s 27 economic hub towns have compromised water infrastructure - with only 12 set to see investment by 2027.
Rating
ACCURATE
The DUP manifesto for the 2022 Assembly election claims: “The crisis in available water and sewerage capacity in Northern Ireland is curtailing economic investment and
Economy
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Elections
Was the Tories’ £20 cut to Universal Credit the biggest overnight drop in welfare since World War II?
4 May 2022
CLAIM: When the Conservative government in Westminster removed £20 per week from individuals’ social security payments in October 2021, this represented the biggest single reduction in benefits since 1945.
Rating
ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION
The SDLP manifesto for the 2022 Assembly election claims: “The £20 Universal Credit cut marked the largest overnight welfare cut since World War II.” This
Elections
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Environment
Do nearly 30% of NI’s carbon emissions come from farming, compared with 10% in the rest of the UK?
3 May 2022
CLAIM: Alliance’s manifesto says almost 30% of Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture, whereas in Great Britain that figure is 10%.
Rating
ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION
The Alliance Party’s 2022 Assembly election manifesto claims: “Addressing our agriculture and transport sectors is fundamental to drastically reducing emissions in Northern Ireland. Nearly 30%
Economy
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Elections
Did the early collapse of the Executive leave £334m public money sitting on a shelf?
28 April 2022
CLAIM: Sinn Fein’s manifesto says the premature disintegration of the Executive left £334m of funding unallocated and, had the First and deputy First Ministers remained in place, this money could have provided relief around the rising cost of living.
Rating
ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION
At least £334m in public funds for 2022-23 is currently gathering dust. No clear way to allocate this money exists without an Executive in place.
Education
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Elections
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Health
Are children entitled to free school meals 29 percentage points less likely than their peers to get good GCSEs? Has this attainment gap barely closed in over a decade?
21 April 2022
CLAIM: Children in Northern Ireland who are entitled to free school meals (FSME) are 29 percentage points less likely to get 5+ GCSEs at A*-C, including English and maths, than those who aren’t FSME, based on results for 2018-19. This attainment gap has only shrunk by three percentage points (pp) since 2005-06
Rating
ACCURATE
Data shows that in 2018-2019, 49.5% of FSME school leavers had at least five GCSEs including English and maths, compared to 78.5% of their non-FSME
Elections
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Peace
Do most UUP voters intend to transfer to nationalist parties ahead of other unionists in the May elections?
6 April 2022
CLAIM: According to polling, most people planning to cast a first preference vote for the UUP in May’s Assembly election will switch their vote to nationalists before they provide a transfer to other unionist parties.
Rating
INACCURATE
Only 7% of UUP voters plan to switch to a nationalist party first, according to the survey. While 31% say their first move will be
Economy
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Elections
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Europe
Do 20% of EU customs checks take place in the Irish Sea?
24 March 2022
CLAIM: 20% of EU customs checks take place in the Irish Sea.
Rating
UNSUBSTANTIATED
It is unclear how this figure was calculated. Neither the DUP, DAERA nor the European Commission could confirm the figure. On 14 January 2022, the
Elections
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Peace
Are 75% of non-voters in Northern Ireland pro-Union?
16 November 2021
CLAIM: Three-quarters of non-voters in Northern Ireland are pro-Union.
Rating
ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION
This claim is accurate with consideration. The claim that three-quarters of non-voters in Northern Ireland are pro-Union is based on evidence from a research survey
Elections
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Explainer
The process of nominating the First and deputy First Ministers
1 June 2021
EXPLAINER: Which parties might be in a position to nominate one of their MLAs to be First or deputy First Minister after future elections?
The publication of polling data about changing levels of party support in Northern Ireland has led to speculation about which parties might be in a
Economy
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Elections
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Europe
Can 45 NI Assembly members vote together to revoke and remove the Northern Ireland Protocol?
18 May 2021
CLAIM: If 45 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly vote to revoke the Northern Ireland Protocol, then the Protocol goes.
Rating
INACCURATE
The Assembly cannot simply vote and “the Protocol goes”. By December 2024, the Assembly will vote on whether to continue with or withdraw consent for
Elections
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Explainer
The electoral register and the 10-year canvass
2 March 2021
EXPLAINER: How is the electoral register maintained in Northern Ireland?
What is the electoral register? The Electoral Commission describes the electoral register as “a record of the names and addresses of people eligible to vote