Nichola Mallon
North Belfast · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I have had the very moving opportunity to meet families who have tragically lost a loved one on that stretch of road. That was an important opportunity for me to hear at first hand their experience and the experiences of the local community as they try to go about their everyday business while living in close proximity to a key transport…”
“I take safety on our rural roads very seriously. My Department continues to be actively committed to improving safety on our roads and to work closely with our road safety partners to deliver a programme of road safety education, engineering and enforcement activities.”
“I thank Mr Muir and all the members of the Infrastructure Committee for very constructive working relationships. At times, those working relationships were tense, but they were always very constructive — I mean that.”
“It was important to me to take forward the motor insurance legislation to try to protect people against a hike of up to £50 in their motor insurance premiums. Members will be aware that I took the decision to freeze any hike in public transport fares.”
“That commenced a consultation process that is open until 6 May. I encourage anyone with an interest in this significant project to make their views known during the consultation period. <BR /> <BR />In advance of the major upgrade, it is important that we do what we can to improve road safety.”
“I have announced my intention to extend the concessionary fares scheme to provide free travel for people with disabilities who currently pay half fare and to new operators who have already indicated or expressed an interest in joining. I am aware that many people with a disability have limited travel options.”
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“I thank the Member for his question. He will be aware, as a veteran MLA, that we moved to a two-tier planning system, so a significant number of applications fall to councils to be processed. The Member will also be aware of the improvements that my Department is undertaking at a strategic and regional level to improve the planning process and its efficiency. Of course, we will continue to work with councils and support them. I encourage the Member, if he has concerns about the planning processes in his council area, to raise that directly with the council.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Subject to successful land acquisition, planning approval and procurement, I anticipate that the park-and-ride site could be operational to coincide with the completion of the A6 dualling scheme in 2022. I can also confirm that there will be active travel, through a walking and cycling link, to the park-and-ride site as well, because we need to maximise all opportunities to increase active and sustainable transport and to offer our citizens increased choice.”
“I can confirm to the Member that the Department is working closely with Translink to consider operational requirements for public transport through Dungiven when the park-and-ride project is completed. Translink is committed to continuing to provide an appropriate level of service to Dungiven, and we will certainly look at that request in order to assist the local community.”
“Last week, I was delighted to announce plans for a new park-and-ride scheme at Dungiven. It will provide around 150 spaces adjacent to the junction of the new A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe dual carriageway with the Feeny Road and will help to deliver cleaner, greener sustainable transport for the local community. My Department will now begin the pre-application discussions with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council as a precursor to applying for planning permission later in 2021.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Let me be unequivocal about this: I have no support for or any truck with the erection of flags or emblems that cause intimidation to anyone. However, this is the complexity of the issue: in a previous question, Mr Roy Beggs appealed to me not to remove emblems that had been erected in one part of Northern Ireland, and you now request the removal of emblems in another part. The reality is that the Minister for Infrastructure, whatever political party they belong to, will never be able to find a lasting solution to the issue. It requires political leadership. It requires the Executive to come together to address the issue holistically, collectively and responsibly.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Where flags have not been attached securely to lamp posts, it is possible that the detachment of flags and other materials from lamp posts and other street furniture could distract or injure road users. Fortunately, there have been no significant incidents of that nature to date. My Department has removed successfully and discreetly a small number of flags and banners over recent years. Records of that are not kept. Records were kept previously, but that practice ceased around six years ago.”
“Unfortunately, to date, I have not been able to secure the support of my unionist colleagues to do that. However, I have no interest in causing division or anxiety. All that I want to do is work hard as the Minister for Infrastructure with my Executive colleagues so that we can improve the lives of all citizens, whatever their political persuasion.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I understand that there is a sense of anxiety in the unionist community. However, that requires leadership and honesty. The truth is that there has been no change to the constitution. I urge people, when they are making comment, not to use terminology like "guerilla warfare" and to be mindful that our words have serious impact. When people are feeling anxious, we should be honest with them and try to address those anxieties. <BR /> <BR />I brought forward a suggestion in the Executive that we find consensus, as an Executive, to request a three-month extension to the grace period while trying to find pragmatic solutions to the difficulties that businesses face and while working to maximise the opportunities that can be presented.”
“Unfortunately, I am not in the Executive Office, so I cannot answer questions on its behalf. What I can say is that I am up for trying to trying to address this wider societal problem with all my Executive colleagues, all parties in the House and all councils and communities. <BR /> <BR />It is a long-running issue; we need to address it. As you say, we have seen the erection of posters on Brexit and the Irish Sea border. We have seen inflammatory messages throughout our history that cause intimidation and great upset. It is long past time that, as a society, we came together and found a lasting solution.”
“I am not aware of a working group being set up, so I cannot comment on the involvement or otherwise of my officials, but I will certainly look at that. With the Justice Minister, I wrote to the Executive Office on 18 September. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive a response. I am committed to doing what I can to address this long-running problem in our society, but, as I said, we will find a lasting and sustainable solution only when we work collectively.”
“That includes not only me and my Department but other Executive leaders as well as Members of all parties in the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />This area is being explored by the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition, which was set up as part of the Fresh Start Agreement, and I understand that the report has issued to the Executive Office. I wrote jointly with the Justice Minister on the issue of flags to the Executive Office on 18 September last year, and I have asked for sight of the commission's report so that, collectively, we can make progress on this important and challenging area.”
“I thank the Member for her question. The flying of flags and the attachment of emblems to departmental street-lighting columns is an offence under the Roads Order 1993, and my Department has the power to remove them from its property. <BR /> <BR />One of my Department's primary considerations is the safety of the public, and where unauthorised flags or attachments pose a hazard to road users, my Department will always seek to remove that danger. Where there is no such danger, my Department will liaise closely with other key stakeholders to seek to develop a solution. <BR /> <BR />While recognising my Department's responsibility, the reality is that if we, as a society, are to find a sustainable and lasting solution to the problem of illegal flags and emblems, we must all step up.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I have been very focused on the roll-out of the 20 mph speed limit schemes at 100 schools. I am also conscious of initiatives that are taking place across these islands, and I always ask my officials to monitor any pilots and to ensure that I am updated on feedback and can give consideration to the merits or otherwise of similar initiatives in Northern Ireland.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I was delighted to be able to commit funding from this year's budget to introduce part-time 20 miles per hour speed limits at some 100 schools, and I am pleased that good progress is being made to implement this programme. I am determined to make the roads around all our schools safer for everyone. Therefore, it is my intention that many more schools will have a part-time 20 miles per hour speed limit outside their gate. <BR />The scale and extent of any future programmes will be dependent on the funding allocated to my Department.”
“The Department's policy for setting speed limits contains a desire to assess speed limits on the upper tier class A and B road network, the outworkings of which would have informed a possible assessment of the ongoing applicability of the national speed limit and consideration of which was contained in an action of the road safety strategy to 2020. My Department remains committed to doing what it can to address road safety. While there are no plans in this mandate to change the speed limit, I assure the Member of my ongoing commitment to doing what we can to improve safety on our roads for all users.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I hope that she will understand that I have to refute very strongly any suggestion that the Department sits back and takes action only when someone is injured. We take our commitments on road safety very seriously. <BR /> <BR />With regard to changing the national speed limit, there are no plans to change the current system of speed limits, as the Department's view is that the approach has the flexibility to take into account local conditions when determining the appropriate limit.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I am aware of his correspondence on this matter, and my officials will be looking at it to assess the situation. <BR /> <BR />With regard to public anxiety, it is an important factor that I want to try to address, not just on an individual basis but collectively. The Member may be aware that a number of activities are being carried out through my Department's multimedia approach to address public anxiety, to send a clear message to vulnerable road users that their safety is important, and that the Department wants to do all that it can to make all those who use our roads feel safe.”
“I also believe my commitment to providing part-time 20 miles per hour limits at 100 schools, as well as helping to improve road safety at schools, will go some way to changing attitudes and behaviours, but all road users need to play their part.”
“The Department also considers the demographics, as well as the needs of local people, including vulnerable road users and the level of community support for a reduced speed limit. <BR /> <BR />As the Minister responsible for promoting and improving road safety, I want to work actively with partners to reduce the deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Setting appropriate speed limits is part of the solution. However, I firmly believe that attitudes to speeding have to change. Drivers need to view speed limits as a limit, and not as a target. My Department’s public information campaigns repeat the message that speeding is not acceptable.”
“I thank the Member for his question. The Department uses the GB system of speed limits. Our policy document 'Setting Local Speed Limits in Northern Ireland' is publicly available on the Department's website. It outlines our approach when setting speed limits outside this system. Our system of speed limits primarily uses the presence of street lighting to distinguish between urban and rural environments. Broadly speaking, where street lighting is present, the speed limit will be 30 miles per hour; elsewhere, unless indicated by traffic signs, the national speed limit applies. <BR /> <BR />The Department considers a number of factors when assessing the need for a lower speed limit on a road, including the average speed, collision history, and the function of the road.”
“<BR /> <BR />As for taking on feedback and learning from the first scheme, we have made changes to the second scheme that reflect the concerns raised by the sector, and we will, of course, continue to engage with it going forward.”
“I thank the Member for his question. A total of 140 valid applications were received. That was once the duplicate applications and those bus operators who provided no evidence were disallowed. As of today, I can confirm that 99 applications have been assessed as being eligible for the scheme, while 40 applicants have been notified that they did not demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria. That is because they were not making a loss, and this scheme is very much about targeting support at those who need it. As I said, there is one remaining application to be considered, and my officials are working at pace to progress that.”
“In addition, administration and scrutiny of claims as well as sign-off by accountants are still needed to protect value for money. I assure the Member that we will continue to engage closely with the sector, because it is in a turbulent time, and, with the ongoing impact on the tourism industry, it will be affected for quite some time.”
“I have engaged with the sector, and my officials have again engaged with sector representatives as recently as last month. We have considered their written submissions and suggestions. The sector articulated its concerns about the first scheme, and I understand the issues that it raised. In developing the second scheme, the £100,000 maximum cap has therefore been removed. Officials are working to ensure that there are no limitations placed on payments owing to state aid rules, and they will also seek to improve communications with operators. Those are three of the issues that the sector raised with us. Many of its other requests have not been taken on board, however, because they do not meet the test of value for money. For example, payments will not be made to profit-making businesses.”
“The scheme, however, was set up to provide funding only when losses have been incurred, in order to help those most in need and ensure value for money. <BR /> <BR />The evidence presented to my Department has confirmed the ongoing impact on the sector since September. The First Minister and the deputy First Minister have therefore agreed to my request for a further determination and designation under the Financial Assistance Act 2009 for a second financial assistance scheme. It will provide further support for the period between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021. I have engaged with the sector on the scheme and intend to launch it in early March.”
“I thank the Member for her question. With the pandemic continuing, private bus and coach operators are, like many others, dealing with an extremely difficult situation, particularly as a result of the shutdown of the tourism industry. I am pleased to have already delivered support to many operators in the sector through my first support fund, which closed just before Christmas. A total of 140 valid applications were received for the first financial assistance scheme, and, to date, most of those applications have been considered, with the one remaining application being processed at pace. Ninety-nine applicants have been assessed as being eligible for the scheme, resulting in payments. The main reason for ineligibility is that some operators are still profit-making despite a decline in business.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Multiple Administrations were at a meeting, there were many topics that we would have liked to discuss and there are many areas that we would have liked to focus on in our forward work programme, but we had to be targeted. I assure the Member that, under the agreed forward work programme on the contribution of spatial planning to building better places in the context of the COVID-19 recovery, we made it clear that consideration will also be given to how post-COVID place making can contribute to supporting the green economy and the decarbonisation agenda and to improving mental health and well-being. That will be interlinked with our agreed commitments on the revitalisation of our towns and villages.”
“That does not work; it is not sustainable. It is about supporting communities to drive lasting change from the ground up.”
“The Member will know that the majority of planning applications are determined at council level, but, as I said in response to other questions, community development plans and local development plans provide a real opportunity to better involve our communities at every level. There is an obligation on all of us to, where we can, try to be creative in reaching out to hear the voices of those who do not feel that they can access processes in the same way. Whether we term them the harder-to-reach groups, there is a responsibility on all of us to try as best we can to listen to as many voices as possible across the community. I always operate from the principle that local people know best. The Member will know that, with the blue-green fund, for example, I was very clear that I am not imposing change from on high.”
“The cross section of people in the partnership should assist with ensuring that a wide range of experience and views informs the work so that we are not just hearing from the "usual voices". The response to the invitation to participate in the partnership is encouraging, as is the level of interest shown by the general public.”
“I thank the Member for his question. He is right to point out that we talk about community involvement to community participation, and sometimes that can be a slogan as opposed to demonstrable action. To reassure him around the planning engagement partnership that I have convened, I say that it is specifically to look at how to enhance the quality and depth of community engagement in the planning process at the regional and local planning levels and to help to improve the planning system experience for users. <BR /> <BR />The partnership provides an opportunity for sharing experience, good practice and learning gained through the operation of the planning system since the reforms were introduced in April 2015 and for considering what more we can do to enhance community involvement.”
“Yes, the needs of urban communities and the needs of our rural communities were discussed.”
“I thank the Member for his question and share his concerns about the impact of the closures announced today, across the island, by the Bank of Ireland. I can assure him that the needs of rural communities were discussed at our meeting; in fact, one of the agreed areas for the forward work programme around the contribution of spatial planning to the revitalisation of towns makes specific reference to how the sector will explore the urban and rural dimensions of town revitalisation, particularly in the context of post-COVID recovery, and to the fact that this work that will consider how positive place making can support revitalisation in our rural areas and the decarbonisation agenda, which, I know, is a significant challenge for our rural communities, given that they do not have the same access to public transport as other places.”
“I certainly think that that will bring huge benefits to citizens, and I want to look at that much more carefully.”
“I thank the Member for his question. As I said, I was heartened by the fact that all of the Administrations recognised the importance of the revitalisation of our town centres and our villages. We reflected on the fact that our town centres were struggling pre-COVID, and the reality is that life will change now as a result of COVID and our high streets will take on a different form. They need to be supported to do that. We need to make our town centres attractive places for people to visit and to spend money and time, so I am keen to work and remain committed to working with councils to do that. <BR /> <BR />One of the initiatives that were discussed at the meeting was the 20-minute-to-town approach by the Scottish Government, which ensures that towns and facilities are within a 20-minute walkway.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will continue to engage with my Executive colleagues on the matter, because, if we are to realise and deliver on the ambitions and outcomes of our Programme for Government, we have to have significant and sustainable investment in our water and waste water infrastructure, because that is what underpins it all.”
“I thank the Member for her question. The issue of water and waste water infrastructure was not referenced at the meeting, but the Member is right to highlight it today. There has been historical underinvestment in our water and waste water infrastructure, and, as a result, 116 locations across Northern Ireland are at, or almost at, maximum development capacity. That will, inevitably, have a knock-on effect on development, be that the building of the many new homes that are needed, schools or, once we get through this, hotels. It is a huge challenge. It is a huge challenge when we reflect on the fact that some £2 billion has been identified for capital investment in the next price control period.”
“I thank the Member for her question. We did not get into a discussion on parklets, per se, but we did discuss the need to reimagine spaces in our town centres to make them better and more accessible so that people come to visit and spend their money in supporting local businesses. It is something that I am keen to continue to work on with councils. The Member referenced the Ormeau Road parklet. It has been a huge success, and I would like to see many more of them developed across Northern Ireland.”
“Once the responses to the call for evidence have been collated, the Department intends to engage further with the Committee for Infrastructure before summer recess to set out and discuss the views received and the Department's suggested response.”
“The focus of the review is the implementation of the legislative provisions of the Act and the extent to which the original objectives of the Act have been achieved. That will inform whether there is a need to retain, amend or repeal any provisions of the Act. The review will also provide an opportunity to consider any improvements or fixes that may be required to the way in which the Planning Act has been commenced and implemented in subordinate legislation. Issues with the planning system that have arisen as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will also be considered as part of that review. That may not always require legislative change.”
“I thank the Member for his question. The review of the implementation of the Planning Act is ongoing. On 15 February, the Department issued a call for evidence to a targeted list of stakeholders and interested parties asking for their views. Responses are requested by 15 March. The call for evidence has been posted on the Department's website, and, although it is primarily targeted at identified stakeholders, anyone who wishes to express views will have the opportunity to do so, which is important.”
“That is an area that I would like my officials to continue working on at a departmental level. <BR /> <BR />The Member is right about our engagement with local councils. Through the local development plans and the community plans, there are huge opportunities to do things differently and better.”
“I thank the Member for his question. There is always room for improvement in the planning system. The Department has undertaken a number of measures. One in particular that I feel very strongly about is improving our engagement with communities. The Member may be aware of the Planning Engagement Partnership (PEP) that I recently announced. It is all about improving communities' experience of the planning process, but it is also about making sure that they can play a much more influential role. One of the things that I am mindful of is the fact that the planning process is difficult to navigate. It has such a huge impact on communities' lives. Communities should be more involved in the shaping of plans and feel comfortable about navigating, objecting and supporting.”
“We have to be very careful that we do not see designing out crime just as gating up communities. It needs to be much more holistic in its approach so that it is about the design of places, engagement with young people, a policing response and community empowerment. It is about all those things. Planning and spatial planning have a role to play in all of that.”
“I thank the Member for her question. She makes an important point about the need for collaboration and partnership working right across these islands. As I have said time and again, the challenges that we face know no borders, whether on Brexit, COVID or the climate emergency. At the meeting, it struck me how valuable it was to get to listen to other Ministers speak about those challenges. Some of the strategies that they are bringing forward are at a more advanced stage than others. That collaboration was hugely beneficial and is something to which I remain committed. <BR /> <BR />The issue of designing out crime is very important. It is something that councils and local communities in particular are working on. I am conscious of that in my constituency of North Belfast.”
“We talked about the importance of people-centred place shaping. It was fascinating. We may have different terminologies in the strategies that each of our Governments is moving forward, but there was greater commonality in identifying the challenges and opportunities for embedding active travel and climate action in everything that we do. It is certainly a shared ambition across all the BIC Administrations and something that will be a strong element when the final reports on the forward work programme are being carried out.”
“They talked about the importance of making sure that we provide more opportunities for active travel for all our citizens and said that, because of the benefits that it will bring, it is a key element of the revitalisation of town and village centres.”
“I assure the Member that the representations that were made across all the Governments and Administrations were very strong on that point.”
“My departmental planning officials have oversight of the LDP programme, so we will be working closely with them to ensure that we "build back better" together, to use that phrase. We all have a role. I have it at strategic level, but a critical role has to be played by our councils in their local development plans and community plans.”
“<BR /> <BR />I agree with her that we face challenges with our population's ageing demographic, and our planning, housing and health sectors will have to adapt to meet them. I also agree with her on the importance of ensuring not just that facilities and spaces are accessible, inclusive and safe but that they are dementia-friendly. That is an area that I have a particular interest in. I have worked with the sector in my capacity as an MLA, and I acknowledge the great work that is being done by some of our councils to make their areas dementia-friendly places. I am happy to continue to support all that work. <BR /> <BR />As the Member points out, councils are advancing their new development plans.”