Danny Kennedy
Newry and Armagh · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />I know the circumstances that we are in, but my hope is that departmental officials will continue to explore these issues and find solutions so that, at the earliest point, those solutions can be delivered to my constituency and to the people who have such frustration with the lack of service.”
“This situation is also prevalent in other rural areas of Northern Ireland. People in areas such as Lissummon, Ballygorman, Cladymilltown, Altnamackan, Loughgall, Mullaghglass and countless others, unfortunately, all of which are located in my constituency, find themselves in a position currently where they are provided with little or no e…”
“I, with others, receive regular contact from my constituents on this issue. It is abundantly clear from the representations that I receive that the lack of broadband provision, particularly in rural areas, impacts in many ways on families and businesses that reside in various locations across the constituency.”
“Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I thank you and the Business Committee for affording me the opportunity to debate the issue of broadband provision directly relating to my constituency of Newry and Armagh. I also place on record my good wishes to you as you leave the House, and I wish you well for the future.”
“The lack of high-quality broadband, for instance, has an impact on the ability of many rural businesses to function efficiently, placing them clearly at a disadvantage to other competitors in their particular field.”
“I could continue to detail many more circumstances, but I want other Members to contribute and to hear what the Minister has to say. I take this opportunity to make an impassioned plea to the Minister to pursue, within a quick time frame, the network improvements that are so clearly required.”
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“I pay tribute to my party colleague Lord Empey, who, in another House in another place, has doggedly pursued the issue. <BR /> <BR />The NCA has a great deal of expertise, which the PSNI should be able to call upon to assist it in the fight against serious and organised crime. There is no question that the PSNI and Northern Ireland plc need the National Crime Agency. Previous opposition to the NCA operating here as in the rest of the UK was couched in terms of concerns about oversight arrangements, and I trust that those have now been overcome. <BR /> <BR />Police assessments state that there are at least 140 organised criminal gangs operating in Northern Ireland. Members will know from within their own constituencies that many of our communities have a serious problem with gangs supplying illegal drugs.”
“<BR /> <BR />The NCA builds a single comprehensive picture of serious and organised crime affecting the UK, drawing on information and intelligence from a wide range of sources that drives both the NCA's and its partners' operational activity. It has been a great source of concern that the NCA has not been able to operate in Northern Ireland to the same extent as in the rest of the United Kingdom. That denies us the same level of protection as the rest of the kingdom and also risks Northern Ireland becoming a back door for organised and criminal gangs to use as an entry point to pursue their illegal activities in the United Kingdom. The Ulster Unionist Party has been clear from day 1 that this situation is simply not acceptable. We consistently argued that point at Stormont and at Westminster.”
“Organised crime, of course, covers a diverse range of activities, including child sexual exploitation and abuse; the criminal use of firearms; cyber crime; drugs; economic crime; organised acquisitive crime; plus organised immigration crime and human trafficking. The NCA responds on a 24/7 basis, targeting the criminals and groups posing the biggest risks to the UK. It does this in three ways: by conducting its own operations; by providing operational and specialist support to its partners' operations; and by providing clear national leadership that ensures that UK law enforcement makes the best use of its collective resources and targets them most effectively.”
“This is an important debate. At the outset, I welcome the debate, and I particularly welcome the statement that we have just heard from Mrs Kelly: very clear and distinct support has been indicated — some would say at long last — by the SDLP. It is welcome nonetheless because we bear in mind that it was as far back as 2010 that the then Home Secretary announced the creation of the NCA to lead the UK's fight to cut serious and organised crime, which the NCA's website states is one of the greatest threats to the UK's national security. The National Crime Agency became operational in October 2013, and its website describes it as a new crime-fighting agency with:”
“It only remains for me to thank Members for their positive contribution, not so much today but overall, to the Bill throughout its Assembly passage. I commend the Off-street Parking (Functions of District Councils) Bill to the House.”
“The five hours for £1, which was referred to by my colleague Mr Beggs, has been very successful. It has been met with a very good response from the management of town centres and Chambers of Trade around Northern Ireland. There are opportunities that we can all avail ourselves of and which can be to the benefit of local government, too. <BR /> <BR />I hope that I addressed most of Members' issues. We will scrutinise the Hansard report, and, if we need to get back to Members on any issues, I will happily do so.”
“That is the basic information that will be included in the transfer schemes to be signed off by the Department. Mr Lynch mentioned the specific case of Castle Park car park in Enniskillen, the condition of it and issues around it. I understand that flooding impacted on part of that facility. My officials have met local council officials to discuss the concerns. Obviously, those negotiations and discussions will continue as necessary, and it is important that they do so. <BR /> <BR />As John Dallat said, huge opportunities come with the increased responsibilities. It is a comparatively minor and straightforward power for my Department to transfer to councils. Nonetheless, locally elected councillors will have the ability to decide whether to charge, to reduce charges or to amend charges at set times.”
“If there are issues that need to be addressed, we should do that, but I do believe that the officials sought to provide all the necessary information as quickly as possible to facilitate the work of the Committee. It is important that the Committee fulfils its scrutiny role. It has done that: it produced a detailed report within the confines of the 30 days. It was necessary to ask for that to be done because of the time pressures that were outside my control — the introduction of the measure in time for new local government to take on responsibilities by 1 April. <BR /> <BR />I say to Mr Lynch, yes, it is important that any legal issues are sorted out. All title information and boundary maps have been shared with councils over recent months.”
“So, the provision for car park maintenance in the budget to transfer to councils is based on actual expenditure in 2013-14 on all aspects of maintenance. It is uplifted by inflation to the 2015-16 level, where applicable, and includes capital expenditure, whether budgeted for or not. Those figures were subjected to independent review commissioned by the councils. <BR /> <BR />I will deal very quickly with the specific contributions of Members. The Chairman of the Committee indicated unhappiness with the engagement with the Department. I regret that. It is not in the interests of either not to seek fully to respect or cooperate with each other.”
“That will be the case for off-street car parks at the point of transfer. From that point onwards, it will be up to councils to decide whether functions will be provided at an increased cost or to the benefit of ratepayers. <BR /> <BR />My Department is transferring assets valued at almost £43 million to councils. Those assets currently generate a surplus in each of the new 11 council areas totalling almost £6 million. However, the financial settlement for all the transferring functions is the responsibility of the Department of Finance and Personnel. I understand that the final allocations that will be paid to each of the new councils in connection with the transfer of responsibility to local government for planning, off-street car parks, economic development and water recreation sites were provided to councils on 20 January this year.”
“Concern was expressed that the transfer of all functions should remain rates-neutral, not just at the point of transfer but for the foreseeable future, subject to any changes in car parking charges and penalty charge notice tariffs implemented by the councils. I refer Members to the statement made by the Minister of the Environment on 22 April 2013, when he said:”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Lyttle said that transfer schemes might include a reference to existing planning policies or replacement of car parking spaces to ensure that, where car parking spaces are used for local regeneration, they be replaced either by more efficient car park arrangements or another location that is conveniently located to the primary retail core. The Department's legal advice is that the provisions of the Local Government Act 2014 do not confer any powers to include a restriction on subsequent use by the transferee of the assets transferred in a scheme under the Act, and, consequently, I cannot give that reassurance. <BR /> <BR />Let me deal with the issue of rates.”
“It has, however, been confirmed that such an amendment would be outside the scope of the Bill. This is a very straightforward, single-clause Bill, as Members have said. <BR /> <BR />Members raised the issue of the transfer schemes. My Department will produce transfer schemes provided for under section 122 of and schedule 8 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 to transfer formally the car parks and any associated machinery and equipment to each of the new councils. A sample transfer scheme is presently under consideration by the Departmental Solicitor's Office and will shortly issue to the councils for comment. However, detailed information on each car park in a new council area has been provided to every new council.”
“In terms of the potential disposal of car parks, some Members said that there might have been a need to prevent councils from disposing of off-street car parks that are to be transferred to them. As I said before, one of the principal aims of local government reform is to create stronger and more responsible local government, and I think that any such restriction would have been counterproductive to that aim and might have meant that a council could not act in the best interests of its ratepayers; for example, where a developer wishes to invest in a town centre and use a car parking site for redevelopment or where it is proposed to redevelop a car park for a social housing project. Some members of the Regional Development Committee had suggested that the Bill should be amended to include a restriction.”
“I also stated that my Department had not been given any additional funding by DFP to resurface or upgrade car parks in advance of their transfer to councils, and that, of course, remains the case. I believe that the car parks that we are transferring are fit for purpose. They are inspected regularly and used daily, and that will continue up to the point of transfer. Any defects that are identified in the run-up to 1 April will be prioritised and repaired as the Department's resources permit. I understand that some councils have carried out their own condition surveys, and my Department has already agreed to carry out some repair works before 1 April. I have asked officials to carry out a special public-liability inspection of car parks prior to the handover and to complete any maintenance work identified prior to 31 March.”
“I am grateful to the Members who have contributed to the debate. I believe that the Bill will make a significant contribution to the reform of local government here. <BR /> <BR />I want to touch on the issues that have been raised by Members. Much has been said by Members about the condition of off-street car parks and the councils' desire to see them upgraded prior to transfer. I remind the House that, during my closing speech at Second Stage, I advised:”
“<BR /> <BR />That the Members of the House were content with the content of the Bill was indicated by the fact that no amendments were tabled at Consideration Stage on 13 January or at Further Consideration Stage on 26 January. I am happy to respond to any comments that Members may wish to make during the debate.”
“<BR /> <BR />Each of the 11 new councils has confirmed that it wishes the traffic attendants employed by my Department to continue performing their enforcement activities on behalf of the councils until at least the expiry of the present contracts in 2016. <BR /> <BR />The Bill was introduced in the House on 13 October 2014, and its Second Stage took place on 21 October. I am grateful to Members for the contributions that they made to that debate, and I place on record my thanks to the Chairman and members of the Committee for Regional Development for their cooperation in completing their scrutiny of the Bill by 9 December 2014. That was within the 30 working days provided for in Standing Order 33(2). Without that cooperation it would not be possible for the Bill to come into operation on 1 April 2015.”
“I do not intend to address the content of the Bill to any great extent. This is a single-clause Bill with a single aim: to put in place one aspect of the Executive's vision for stronger and more responsible local government in Northern Ireland. The Bill will provide the new district councils with the powers to provide and operate off-street car parks and to carry out enforcement of parking contraventions in them. That will be achieved largely by providing councils with certain existing powers of my Department that are contained in the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and the Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. <BR /> <BR />Designated park-and-ride and park-and-share car parks will remain the responsibility of my Department.”
“I am grateful to the Member for asking a very ingenious question of the Minister: how to get a claim paid. I am not sure that I should be drawn into such detail in the way that I suggested he framed the question; I am having some fun with it. <BR /> <BR />Criteria have been set down and are published and available on the Department's website. If it is helpful, I will ensure that a copy is made available to you at the earliest possible opportunity.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her supplementary question. The Member will know that the next stage will be to publish the draft statutory orders for the scheme. This involves the publication of the draft vesting orders and the draft direction order, together with the environmental statement for the scheme. That, in turn, will initiate a six-week public consultation period. It will also be my intention, during this time, to hold a series of public exhibitions at venues local to the scheme. I stress that only on completion of this six-week consultation period can a decision be made on the need for a public inquiry, although I have to say that, given the scale of the scheme, a public inquiry is highly likely. If deemed necessary, a public inquiry is likely to be held later this year.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her question. We continue to work through the processes on the A5. The latest consultation that was undertaken was that on Tully Bog. We are assessing the total number of representations and the quality of those representations. The next stage will be deciding whether we will need to move to a public inquiry, after the fresh statutory orders are made. A total of 18 responses to the consultation exercises were received. These have now been analysed by my Department and will be taken into consideration as the scheme and the appropriate assessment process progress.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her supplementary. The railway investment prioritisation strategy that I published includes proposals for feasibility studies of extensions to the network, west along the road network on the A6 towards Castledawson roundabout and along either the M1, the A4, the A3 or the A29 corridors in the vicinity of Dungannon and Armagh. The feasibility of reopening the Antrim to Knockmore line will also be reconsidered, with an option of a future rail link to Belfast International Airport, should air passenger numbers grow towards 10 million, as is predicted by the airport operator. We are already on the case. Investment in our railways is one way in which we can make a difference in public transport and hugely transform the way in which, and the mode by which, we travel.”
“I would like to see the opportunity being given and moneys being allocated to see how we can further develop that network.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her question. She is probably aware that, some months back, I issued future plans for rail provision in Northern Ireland. That was a 30-year plan in which I envisage the extension of rail travel across Northern Ireland in various places. <BR /> <BR />We can build in a very real way — no pun intended — on the opportunities that exist. We have found success with the purchase of the new trains, the restoration of the Coleraine to Londonderry line and improved facilities at some of our stations, including Ballymoney, Portadown and Antrim bus station. Other bus improvements are planned, including in Banbridge. We are seeing a renaissance in rail travel in Northern Ireland. Record numbers since the '60s are using the railways, and we are heading to record numbers since the 1950s, so the opportunities are there.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. We will undertake to investigate the reasons for that, but more especially to ensure that that grit box is restored to its place as quickly as possible, if it has not been already.”
“I thank the Member for his question. He will know that some 4,500 grit boxes are distributed during the winter period, and a considerable number of grit piles — in the region of 50,000 — are left at various locations. We attempt, wherever possible, to at least leave the facilities available for self-help, and we very much recognise that many communities help to distribute salt, particularly in rural areas and areas where the elderly or more vulnerable live. I welcome that, and I would like to see it continue.”
“North Antrim and the Ballymena area are mainly salted from the Ballykeel and Ballymoney depots. During the current season, Ballykeel has carried out 56 actions and used 2,834 tonnes of salt. <BR /> <BR />I am not sure you need much more detail.”
“There can, of course, be no guarantee of ice-free roads, and I reiterate that road users should always be aware of the need to drive with care on the road network, regardless of whether roads are treated or not. Salting actions take two to three and a half hours to complete, so there is always a possibility that a journey will start or end on an untreated section. Rapidly changing weather patterns also presented particular challenges for officials, with snow, sleet, hail and rain showers, interspersed with freezing and thawing conditions, sometimes compromising the effect of the salt and giving rise to the possibility of icy stretches. <BR /> <BR />So far this year, an estimated £4·5 million has been spent on the winter service programme. At the same point last year, some £3·7 million had been spent.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary. I am not sure whether he wants to be Barra Best or Frank Mitchell, or wants me to be either of them, but a full service will be available in North Antrim in the coming days. <BR /> <BR />I can also confirm that six salting actions on the scheduled salted network in the Ballymoney and Moyle areas, spreading 336 tons of salt, were directed from 3.30 am on Friday 16 January 2015 until 2.00 am on Sunday 18 January. On Saturday 17 January alone, three actions were directed, at 3.30 am, 4.00 pm and 9.30 pm, spreading 178 tons of salt, with gritters ploughing snow on affected roads as they travelled. <BR /> <BR />Private contract snow ploughing was also deployed throughout the area on many minor roads.”
“At the same point last year, just over 35,000 tons had been used. <BR /> <BR />That is the forecast, but I hope that we will not see the full impact of the Arctic polar vortex.”
“I thank the Member for a very helpful question. The displaced Arctic polar vortex is likely to have an impact on Northern Ireland in the coming days. The southerly position of the jet stream will pull colder Arctic air over the United Kingdom. There is the prospect of up to 10 cm of snow tomorrow, even at some lower levels. On higher ground, there is the risk of strong winds causing drifting and even blizzards. <BR /> <BR />I have been advised that commuters and travellers are likely to face winter hazards. Therefore, my available fleet of over 120 gritters is available to salt the 7,000 kilometres — 4,300 miles — of main roads in just over three hours, which is a massive logistical exercise that costs over £80,000 each time. Almost 51,000 tons of salt have been used so far this season.”
“Again, I am grateful to the Member. I think that I heard her making a similar point yesterday in exchanges during questions to the Health Minister . Of course, I am very happy to liaise with the Health Minister or through agencies in his Department, and my officials and, perhaps, Translink can look at how best this issue can be carried forward.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her question and understand the rationale behind it. It may well be helpful for the Member to approach Translink, if she has not already done so, to facilitate a meeting to discuss the issue at senior official level. I am happy to be kept apprised of any outcome. I have constituency concerns that I probably share with the Member, but, initially, it is a matter for Translink to look at, assess and reflect on.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. The Member will, of course, know that road safety is primarily the responsibility of Minister Durkan; certainly, it is the Department of the Environment that funds and arranges the television publicity associated with road safety. That is not to say, of course, that my Department and, indeed, the Department of Justice do not meet regularly to exchange information and look at ways in which we can all improve the situation. The tragedies that occur on our road network and generally are very real to those who suffer as a consequence the enormous grief and sadness from which families rarely, if ever, recover. Whilst my Department certainly works with DOE and other agencies, our prime thoughts must always be for those who have suffered tragedy and loss as a result of road traffic accidents.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary. Clearly, it would be sensible to wait until the assessments were carried out before proceeding to a site meeting. I have noted the request. Hopefully, we will be able to follow that through.”
“That information will allow officials to carry out a technical assessment for improvement works at the Temple Hill Road junction, and it will be used to update the assessment for the provision of traffic-calming measures in the area. The revised assessment should be completed within the next few weeks, and I have requested that officials update you with the results. Ballyholland will however remain under consideration for traffic-calming measures when works have been completed at other prioritised locations in the Newry and Mourne area.”
“As the number of requests for traffic calming far exceeds the budget available, my Department has established assessment methodology to prioritise those requests. My officials completed an assessment for the provision of traffic-calming measures in Ballyholland in February 2014, which indicated that there was merit in introducing traffic-calming measures in the area. However, at present, there are other locations in the Newry area with a higher merit rating, which is a key consideration when work programmes are being formulated. <BR /> <BR />Just this week, officials carried out a manual traffic count at the Temple Hill Road junction to assess that location for a junction improvement scheme to increase safety by improving visibility for road users and to confirm up-to-date traffic volumes at that location.”
“I am grateful to the Member for indicating his support for the scheme. He has regularly lobbied me on the importance of the scheme for that area of his constituency. Clearly, in moving forward with the scheme, NI Water is seeking to find agreement with the golf club and reduce inconvenience to an absolute minimum. I do not have a timescale for the necessary work on the site of the golf club, but, clearly, every effort will be made to facilitate the club on the understanding that, obviously, it will want to continue with as much normal service as it can. We will seek to undertake to do that.”
“Any influence that the Member may be in a position to bring to bear in a positive way — I am not sure if he is a golfer — would be very welcome.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. Obviously, the design of the scheme — I am sure he will not underestimate its importance — includes proposals to carry out works on the Taughmonagh stream within the grounds of the golf club. I understand that the concerns raised are technical in nature and are associated with the detailed plans for attenuation of the Taughmonagh stream. Northern Ireland Water has actively engaged with the management and the committee of Balmoral Golf Club to address the concerns raised and to find a solution satisfactory to all parties that will allow the scheme to proceed without undue delay. It is my hope that that progress can continue and the scheme completed, because it is important to the area. I very much hope that we will see the early resolution and ironing out of any existing issues.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary. I confirm that NI Water completed a short-term investment in the area in September 2013 when over £100,000 was spent to improve and rehabilitate existing infrastructure and assist Rivers Agency to identify additional utility services in undesignated culverts in the area. This work proved very successful, maximising the carrying capacity of the existing storm-water sewers, culverts and watercourses in the area and reducing the risk of flooding in the short term.”
“<BR /> <BR />The attenuation of storm water in Balmoral Golf Club is integral to the scheme, and there has therefore been ongoing engagement with the golf club to reach agreement and enable commencement of the project in May 2015. The remainder of the work to complete the Glenmachan strategic project is a longer-term commitment, currently estimated to cost in the region of £110 million. I can confirm that NI Water has included sufficient development funding in its PC15 business plan to progress the feasibility, planning and design work, which will take up to three years to complete. It is important that sufficient time is taken at development stage to ensure the best solution for this significant capital investment.”
“NI Water has advised me that phase 1a, the upgrade of Sicily Park and Marguerite Park, and phase 1b, Greystown and Upper Malone Road, of the Glenmachan strategic project are planned to commence in May 2015, with a construction period of two years, subject to obtaining statutory approvals and concluding third-party land issues. The estimated combined cost of the projects is £11 million, with phase 1b being part-funded by the Rivers Agency. That part of the overall Glenmachan strategic project was advanced following the flooding of June 2012 and required extensive investigation, design and stakeholder engagement owing to the complexity of the solution. There are still some third-party land issues to conclude and statutory approvals required for this phase of the project, but progress is being made.”
“Generally, the Department for Regional Development has always been treated like a Cinderella Department and given money at a late stage in the financial year — money that could and should be released earlier and that would allow greater value for money to be deployed for the important schemes that we want to see and the repairs that need to be carried out.”
“I thank the Member for his question. In fact, he makes a reasonable point on my behalf — one that I have made consistently — about proper funding and the timing of that funding. With that in place, it makes more sense. A Department such as the Department for Regional Development gets better value for money when it is able to plan ahead with its resource budget and even its capital budget for schemes that it would like to do, including repairs and structural maintenance. All that work is better carried out at times of the year when it is warmer and there is better weather.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. It is somewhat ironic that my request for the funding gap to be plugged because of the release of value was not met. It is ironic that funding was released against street-lighting repairs, possibly in the expectation that it could not even be spent on street-lighting repairs because of the issues surrounding the port and the £20 million that was extracted from my budget. I remind the Member and the House that £20 million was extracted from my budget this year and last and was spent at the centre. The previous Finance Minister replaced it last year, but, this year, the current Finance Minister has not, despite money being held at the centre to do so. My instinct is that some people are playing games and rather juvenile ones at that.”
“I have made considerable efforts to reduce my Department's spend to address the pressure identified. In addition to the £19 million of cuts that the Executive's 4·4% reduction required, I have identified a further £6·8 million to go towards the release-of-value pressure, although that is not without risk. The remaining £13 million could be achieved only through service reductions that would damage core services severely and have an impact on public safety. They include stopping winter services and all routine road maintenance. As a consequence, I issued my accounting officer with a direction to continue to provide such services.”
“I find that position astonishing, particularly given that the Finance Minister's paper identified £13·9 million of non-ring-fenced resource DEL that was available for further allocations but recommended that it be taken forward to next year.”
“January monitoring provided my Department with allocations of £5·2 million resource and £3 million in capital. The resource allocation came with the stipulation that it was to be used solely for addressing street lighting repairs and the operation and maintenance of roads and bridges. It was not to be used to meet the pressure arising from the £20 million release of value from Belfast Harbour Commissioners, for which I put forward an £18 million bid. As a consequence of the Executive not meeting either in full or partially the £18 million bid that I put forward for the release of value and despite the Budget review group's recommendation that the issue should be addressed in monitoring rounds, my Department faces the very real prospect of breaching its control total.”