Mark Durkan
Foyle · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“That review involved an extensive engagement exercise with charities, regulators and funders, aimed at creating a more modern and proportionate regulatory system.”
“When the review was commenced in 2021, many organisations were still in the midst of responding to the pandemic. Since then, they have faced a succession of new and evolving challenges. The ending of European funding programmes, on which so many in our communities relied for decades, has left a significant gap.”
“<BR /> <BR />The broad principles behind the Bill are sensible. The changes will modernise charity regulation, strengthen the Charity Commission's ability to intervene where misconduct or mismanagement occurs, improve information sharing and, importantly, reduce unnecessary red tape, particularly for smaller charities with limited adminis…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today. Before turning to the detail of the legislation — there will not even be that much detail in the debate today at Second Stage — I pay tribute to our charity sector. Across every constituency, charities provide support that changes and saves lives every single day.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst the SDLP supports legislation that removes unnecessary bureaucracy, we should not kid ourselves that administrative reform alone will secure the future of charities and organisations in the voluntary and community sector.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Like other Members, I welcome the fact that we have reached this point. There seems to be consensus among Committee members and, I am sure, all Members that the introduction of these measures will save lives, which begs the question of whether the 10-year delay in introducing the measures had an opposi…”
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“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Ms Ruane for that question. It is very much my intention that flexibilities will be able to be secured by local councils for local communities. That is something that I alluded to in my earlier answer to Mr Milne about how well placed councils are to know what their communities require and what will work in and for their communities.”
“It is hoped that that practice note will be of particular assistance to councils that are undertaking consultation with communities on their new local development plans.”
“That is a statement of a council's policy to involve members of the public who appear to councils to have an interest in matters that relate to development in their districts. With respect to a local development plan, it is therefore the responsibility of each council to prepare a statement of community involvement and to consult communities on their new local development plans to involve them in shaping the growth and development of those areas. <BR /> <BR />To support councils in their new development planning functions, my Department has developed a series of practice notes, one of which provides guidance on the preparation of a statement of community involvement and which is publicly available on the planning portal.”
“The Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, supported by subordinate planning legislation, established a two-tier planning system on 1 April 2015 that gave the 11 new councils powers in relation to the functions of development planning, development management and planning enforcement. The 2011 Act places a statutory duty for the preparation of a local development plan (LDP) on the new councils, with the Department having an oversight role, whereas, prior to 1 April, the development planning function was exercised by my Department. <BR /> <BR />One of the key elements of the reforms to the planning system is enhanced and early public engagement, including through the development plan process. The 2011 Act places a statutory duty on each council to prepare a statement of community involvement (SCI).”
“That is why I think that, in many respects, councils will welcome the fact that they will now make decisions on the vast majority of applications. Indeed, any application under 30 MW will be dealt with locally. Councils are best placed to make those decisions, as they will know what will work in their communities and what will be acceptable. If not, their communities will certainly let them know.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Mr Milne for his question and his supplementary question. Cumulative impact is something that is considered — at least, it certainly should be considered — in the assessment of any renewable energy application, but, in particular, to date, with wind applications. Unfortunately, as the Member touched on in his supplementary question, there are no set criteria for what the cumulative impact or threshold should be. However, as I outlined in my initial answer, that is something that I wish to address through the fundamental review of PPS 18, the policy that pertains to renewable energy applications. <BR /> <BR />The term "saturation point" is one that I have heard in some areas in the North, particularly west Tyrone, which has proved extremely attractive to wind energy companies.”
“<BR /> <BR />Some other recommendations — such as those relating to the consent process for connection to the grid, models of community energy ownership or the report on the turbine failure at Screggagh — fall outside DOE's remit and will require consideration and action by other Departments and bodies. Nevertheless, my Department is continuing to liaise with the responsible authorities, in a supporting role, to ensure that, where possible, these recommendations can also be advanced.”
“Work on this guidance is at an advanced stage, and I can confirm that it will address matters such as cumulative impact, noise impacts and planning conditions. Furthermore, I have made clear my intention to undertake a fundamental review of strategic planning policy for renewable energy following publication of the SPPS. Some of the report's recommendations, including those regarding the use of the ETSU-R-97 noise assessment methodology and the minimum separation distance between turbines and dwellings, require further research, policy development and public consultation, and are better considered as part of this fundamental review.”
“The Member will already be aware of my Department's formal response to the Environment Committee's inquiry into wind energy. I welcome the Committee's report as the product of an extensive and thorough inquiry process. I believe that it makes a valuable contribution to the debate surrounding wind energy development. The Member will know that I have sought to take account of the report's recommendations in finalising my strategic planning policy statement (SPPS), which I will publish as soon as possible following its consideration by the Executive. <BR /> <BR />Other recommendations are being taken forward through guidance notes that my Department is preparing on the processing of wind energy development.”
“I thank the Member for that question. I suppose, in what is a rarity, I concur with what he is suggesting. Again, it is something that I have spoken of here before. Ultimately, this will be a decision for local government as well, but it is one on which my Department will work closely. I believe that a single waste authority is the best way forward, and I am happy to talk to and negotiate with local government to find the best way forward.”
“I believe that a deposit return system for drinks containers could play an extremely important and effective role in reducing litter, improving recycling services and supporting my ambition to develop and promote a low carbon circular economy here. <BR /> <BR />Since I floated this idea on Friday, I have been overwhelmed by the positivity of responses that we have received to date from the public. Far from a novel idea, it is almost a nostalgic one, as many in the Chamber — perhaps not the Member in question — will recall deposit return schemes existing for drinks containers in our childhood. Again, it is something that I will be pursuing. I have asked my officials to prepare papers outlining the feasibility and desirability of such a scheme for Northern Ireland.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I very much thank Ms Hanna for that supplementary question and welcome her to these Benches, to which I know she will bring much sense as well as plenty of passion.. <BR />I welcome the findings of the feasibility study for a deposit return scheme for Scotland that were recently published by Zero Waste Scotland. The study was informed by a number of recycle-and-reward pilot projects undertaken at locations across Scotland during 2013. The pilots clearly demonstrated that incentivised recycling of drinks containers can be made to work and that the materials collected by the schemes were typically of very high quality.”
“Although up-to-date figures are not available yet, I think that that will be borne out in the coming quarters in the amount of waste collected and, more importantly, the amount of waste being sent for recycling.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Mr McMullan for that question. It is not dissimilar to one that was asked previously in the House, in response to which I spelt out the inevitable teething problems of different councils with different waste collection policies and programmes coming together and trying to find what methods best suit the council area as a whole. While I would very much like to see some degree of uniformity across all councils, it is understandable that what works in an urban area or city might not necessarily work in a more rural area. It is important that councils retain that flexibility to identify what works best for them and the environment. <BR /> <BR />We are now three months into the new council structure and setup. I believe that all the councils should have overcome those teething problems.”
“Whilst there has been a slowdown in recycling rate increases in recent years as most of the kerbside services for the main waste streams have already been rolled out, many of the Rethink Waste initiatives and projects will take further time to come to fruition. Those will contribute to ensuring that we meet the European recycling target of 50% by 2020. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, the Member will have heard me lament the current financial situation for my Department and all Departments. What we can do on Rethink Waste grants has been impacted on by the swingeing cuts that came with the final Budget settlement. However, capital funding is still available, and I am happy to work with Carrickfergus, or wherever, on applications that they might make for grants.”
“I thank Mr Beggs for his questions. I certainly concur with the Member's view that, the easier and more attractive it is to do something, the more people will do it. That is certainly borne out if we look at investment that has been made over the last number of years in recycling infrastructure through supporting councils to create better and more attractive amenity sites for their recycling. <BR /> <BR />Since May 2010, my Department has allocated over £12·5 million in capital funding and over £1·6 million in revenue funding through the Rethink Waste programme. Much of that funding has helped to deliver the current recycling rates of over 41%.”
“Year-on-year improvements in the recycling rate have been increasingly more difficult to achieve. This is because of a number of factors such as poor financial return on low-grade recyclables, low global energy prices, which have made the substitution of virgin material with recycled material less financially attractive, and the high costs of recycling for some waste streams. Despite those difficulties, councils are working to meet the European Union waste framework directive target of a recycling rate of waste from households of at least 50% by 2020, and doing so with a much greater focus on improving the quality of recyclates so that those materials can be used closer to home, which will create jobs and additional value for the local economy.”
“That is the most recent validated figure.”
“When the provisional information on municipal waste for the October to December quarter of 2014 was published back in April, I welcomed that the tonnage of recycled household materials excluding composting had increased by more than 16,000 tons, which is over 3·5%, compared with the same October to December period of the previous year. <BR /> <BR />However, whilst the total tonnage of household materials sent for recycling increased, the rate of recycling decreased slightly by 0·3% to 38·6%, mainly because of the even faster growth in the total amount of waste collected by councils, but it is important to put that into context. Over the last five years, the recycling rate across all councils has increased in spite of significant challenges. Over the last decade, the annual recycling rate has increased fourfold to 41·3% in 2013-14.”
“This order will enable councils to continue to have greater flexibility in the drawing-up of their contracts and, as a result, will benefit their communities. I thank the Chair of the Environment Committee and other Committee members for their support for the motion.”
“<BR /> <BR />The draft order will enable councils to continue to include social clauses in their work and supply contracts, should they wish to do so. This could include, for example, the provision of apprenticeships, the employment of people who are long-term unemployed and the provision of work experience places. The draft order replicates and will re-establish the provisions of the Local Government Best Value (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) Order 2012, which was made at the request of councils and approved by the Assembly on 3 July 2012. The draft order was not consulted on, as it simply maintains the provisions introduced by the 2012 Order and does not include any new policy proposals. <BR /> <BR />I ask the Assembly to approve the draft order.”
“The draft Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 is being made under articles 19, 7 and 8 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. Article 19(9) of the 1992 Order provides that a draft of the order must be laid before, and approved by, a resolution of the Assembly. The draft order will maintain and continue the policy that was in place before the coming into operation of the Local Government Act 2014 by removing certain restrictions imposed on councils in relation to their public supply or works contracts. It is necessary to make the order because the 2014 Local Government Act replaced the best value regime with the new performance improvement framework.”
“I beg to introduce the Environmental Better Regulation Bill [NIA 55/11-16], which is a Bill to enable provision to be made for protecting and improving the environment; to provide for an integrated environmental permitting system; to provide for a review of powers of entry and associated powers and for the repeal or rewriting of such powers and for safeguards in relation to them; to provide for the repeal or rewriting of offences connected with the exercise of any such powers and for the preparation of a code of practice in connection with such exercise; to amend the Clean Air (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 to provide for a new method for authorising fuels for use in a smoke control area and for exempting fireplaces from the provisions of Article 17 of that Order; to amend the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 to remove the requirement on district councils to make an assessment of air quality under Article 13 of that Order; to amend the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to transfer certain functions to the Department of the Environment from the Department for Regional Development; and for connected purposes.”
“<BR /> <BR />This is another step in the reform and transfer of planning to councils. Through having this new, wider range of enforcement measures available, including, now, fixed penalty notices, I believe that councils will be in a better position to respond appropriately and proportionally to a breach of planning control. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Chair and other members of the Committee for their support of this motion.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Ms Lo and Mr McElduff again for their support and Mr McElduff for his questions. We did look at other jurisdictions, primarily and chiefly Scotland, when arriving at the amount for these fixed penalty notices and indeed for the discount that is available to those who pay early. The experience from Scotland is that this is working. Ideally, we want to be in a situation where people do not pay early or late and do not have to pay these at all because they do not breach planning conditions or enforcement notices. These are very much another tool in the planning enforcement toolkit that is aimed at reducing the number of breaches that we have. It will be primarily up to councils how and when they use them. They do have that discretion.”
“<BR /> <BR />I believe that the legislation will strengthen councils' enforcement powers by providing an additional, discretionary power as part of their enforcement toolkit. I believe that the system of fixed penalties provides a flexible and cost-effective alternative to court action and will act as a further deterrent to those who might consider flouting our planning legislation. I therefore ask the Assembly to approve the draft regulations.”
“As I have said, the use of fixed penalty notices is discretionary, and councils will therefore exercise judgement as to their use in any particular circumstances. <BR /> <BR />The levels of £2,000 and £300 mirror exactly the levels applied in relation to similar fixed penalty notices in the planning regime in Scotland. These levels are viewed as being more appropriate for the more minor breaches that might be used by councils in relation to fixed penalty notice powers. <BR /> <BR />The Environment Committee considered the SL1 for the draft Planning (Amount of Fixed Penalty) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 on 16 April this year and confirmed that it was content for the Department to make the statutory rule.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members may recall that the proposed amounts were part of the phase 2 consultation on planning reform and transfer to local government proposals for subordinate legislation. Overall, there was general support for the introduction of the fixed penalty notices as a discretionary enforcement tool for councils and for the proposed regulations that set out the penalty levels. <BR /> <BR />I recognise that for more significant breaches of planning control councils may still decide that prosecution through the courts would remain a more appropriate course of action. That will be a matter for an individual council in assessing the nature and scale of a particular breach of planning control and selecting the appropriate enforcement measure available to it.”
“The system of fixed penalty notices introduced by the 2011 Act is an additional enforcement measure and an alternative, at the discretion of a council, to potentially lengthy and costly court proceedings. Where a council might decide to issue a fixed penalty notice, it would give the offender the opportunity to pay a penalty as an alternative to prosecution. <BR /> <BR />These regulations will assist councils and strengthen their planning enforcement function. The key purpose of the regulations is to set out the level of the relevant fixed penalty. They propose a penalty of £2,000 for failing to comply with an enforcement notice and £300 for failing to comply with a breach of condition notice. Sections 153 and 154 of the 2011 Act provide for a 25% reduction of the amount payable where a fixed penalty is paid within 14 days.”
“If the offender fails to comply with such a notice, the further enforcement options open to a council would be to initiate court proceedings or to take direct action to remedy the breach of planning control.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I am pleased to bring before the Assembly the draft Planning (Amount of Fixed Penalty) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. These regulations will be made under sections 153(9), 154(9) and 247(1) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. Under section 247(3) of the 2011 Act, the regulations are required to be laid in draft and approved by resolution of the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />By way of background, the 2011 Act allows for the issuing of an enforcement notice or breach of condition notice by a council in its role as local planning authority responsible for enforcing against all breaches of planning control under the new two-tier planning system.”
“Regrettably, we cannot be sure of anything; however, when we look at other jurisdictions where similar measures have been taken, we see that they have proven successful. Obviously, we will continue to monitor the situation and remedy it, if needs be. <BR /> <BR />This new enforcement tool would benefit the whole of Northern Ireland by helping to ensure that the conservation objectives of Northern Ireland's marine conservation zones and European marine sites are met. I reiterate my thanks to the Chair and other members of the Committee.”
“The questions posed by Mr McElduff are indeed pertinent. It is vitally important that we do what is necessary to increase public awareness of the existence of these fixed penalty notices. If any such regime is to be successful, people need to be made aware of it. That will very much be an issue for those managing the MCZs, and in cases where no management body exists, the Department will play an active role. I encourage the Member to do what he can to make people aware, and I look forward to reading his press release on the passage of today's regulations. <BR /> <BR />Sorry, I forget the second question.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Ms Lo and Mr McElduff. I reiterate my thanks to the whole Environment Committee for its support of the regulations.”
“The provisions therefore provide for an independent, transparent and cost-effective appeals mechanism, which should provide members of the public with confidence that enforcement decisions relating to the fixed monetary penalties would be both balanced and robust. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I am grateful to the Environment Committee for its scrutiny of the draft Marine Conservation (Fixed Monetary Penalties) Order, and I ask the Assembly to approve it.”
“Members will also wish to note that any moneys received would be paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund and that my Department would be able to recover any unpaid penalties as a civil debt. <BR /> <BR />Of course, where sanctions are involved, it is essential to include an appeals procedure, and this order would be no different in that respect. Anyone subject to a fixed monetary penalty would be entitled to make written representations to my Department, and, should it still decide to apply the penalty, an appeal could be made to the Water Appeals Commission, which is an independent body. The commission would then have the power to confirm, vary or quash the enforcement decision, in accordance with its existing procedures and without further referral to the Department.”
“That would provide for a more effective system of protection and management of Northern Ireland’s marine area. <BR /> <BR />In saying that, I want to make it clear that my Department would retain the right to initiate criminal proceedings where it considered that a more serious case of environmental damage had occurred. The order would not change that position in any way. <BR /> <BR />I will now deal with the details. The order would give my Department the power to issue individuals with a fixed monetary penalty of £100, or £200 in the case of commercial enterprises. In each case, a 50% discount for prompt payment of the penalty and a 50% surcharge for late payment have been included.”
“A Cheann Comhairle, this statutory rule is being made under powers in the Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013, which prescribes that this order must be laid in draft form for approval by affirmative resolution of the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />As it stands, my Department has two options when there is a contravention of nature conservation by-laws: it can either take no enforcement action, or it can initiate criminal proceedings. There is nothing in between those two positions. This order would improve that situation by providing a more targeted and proportionate response. It would introduce a fixed monetary penalty that could be issued when a low-level offence was committed, but it would not warrant the full weight of the criminal law.”
“Such issues are also addressed in the consultation. Again, I encourage people to have a look at that and respond to it. <BR /> <BR />With regard to increasing the speed limit, it was remiss of me not to point out that the vast majority of collisions in which tractors were involved and in which speed was a factor were brought about because the tractor was travelling too slowly.”
“That document is out to consultation. The closing date for the consultation is 7 July, and I anticipate quite a number of responses. Indeed, I encourage responses from parties in the Chamber as well.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Member for the question. Just recently, I put out for consultation a document in which I was seeking to increase the maximum speed limit of tractors from what is currently 20 mph to 25 mph or, to be precise, 24·8 mph, which is 40 km/h. I know that Mr Wilson does not particularly like speed limits given in kilometres per hour —”
“Therefore, the legal advice that my Department has received is that it would be going too far to include the wishes or aspirations of Sinn Féin for PPS 21 in the SPPS. However, I have given a commitment — we touched on it earlier with PPS 18, which relates to the renewable energy policy — to review fully and comprehensively PPS 18 along with PPS 21 post the publication of the SPPS. It will be through that vehicle that more dramatic changes could be made to each of the policies. I know that they are changes that a lot of people think are required.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Member for that clarification, which is helpful. I know that the issue of PPS 21, particularly on dwellings for non-farming rural dwellers, is one that her party has been extremely vociferous on for a couple of years and would very much like to see accommodated in the final SPPS. I have met a deputation from the Member's party to listen to their views and to hear how they would like to see the issue accommodated. <BR /> <BR />First, I have to emphasise that the SPPS was viewed very much as an opportunity to consolidate existing planning policy statements, as opposed to altering them drastically, regardless of how drastically or in what direction you might want them altered.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I am not entirely sure what legal advice on the SPPS the Member is referring to. I cannot give a time frame for how long it will take the Executive to make their deliberations on the document. However, I can give the Member a commitment that, as soon as they do, I will publish it. It is vital for the reasons outlined earlier that that be done as soon as possible. Perhaps, in her supplementary question, the Member will expand on the particular legal issues to which she referred, and I will do my best to answer.”
“I would be keen to use the vehicle of Eco-Schools, which has been tremendously successful. We now have every school in the North signed up to the Eco-Schools programme. We could use it to get the campaign out there to educate children, who are great at going home and educating their parents on such matters.”
“I thank the Member for that question. They are not so much plans of the Department as plans of mine, although I hope that they will very much be plans of the Department before long. <BR /> <BR />I am keen to embark on a campaign. I know that a similar campaign has been embarked on in England to educate people on the risk to hedgehogs and on what they can do to ensure the survival of hedgehogs and, indeed, to boost their numbers. It could be simple measures such as leaving out a shallow tray of food. They particularly like cat food; I suppose they prefer that to being cat food. People could also cut holes in fences. Simple measures like that do a lot to help hedgehogs, particularly given the loss of habitat that they have suffered in recent years.”
“Generally, if we see a hedgehog during the day, it is an indication that there is something wrong with it. I would be keen, as Minister of the Environment, to undertake a scheme of sorts or a campaign to educate people about the very real threat to hedgehogs and their potential extinction.”
“I am not aware of specifics for the south Down area. However, I am aware of reports of a huge decline in the hedgehog population across these islands. I saw it reported on television recently that, over the past 50 years, there has been a 97% decline in the population of hedgehogs, and genuine fears exist that, should positive action not be taken now, the species could face extinction by as soon as 2025. That is very alarming. <BR /> <BR />Hedgehogs are not something that we see every day. Unfortunately, the ones that we do see are often on the roads. As Minister for road safety, I do not know whether my remit extends as far as making roads safer for hedgehogs, albeit that I know that that is an initiative that has been looked at in some jurisdictions.”
“You have stolen my thunder. I was going to take that one, too. I was going to say that you can probably see as few hedgehogs today as Down supporters.”
“However, that is a timely process as well. <BR /> <BR />Clearing the backlog will be up to the new councils and the planning staff therein. I will have no further role in the vast majority of planning applications.”