Proceedings of the Environment Committee

Minutes of meeting held on Thursday, 27 January 2000
at 10.15am in room 144, Parliament Buildings.

Present were: Rev. Dr W McCrea (Chairman)
Ms C Hanna (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr T Benson
Mrs J Carson
Mr A Doherty
Mr D Ford
Mr J Leslie
Mr M McLaughlin
Mr M Murphy
Mr E Poots
Mr D Watson

In Attendance: Mrs D Pritchard ( Committee Clerk)
Mr S Fay ( Assistant Committee Clerk)
Mr N Currie ( Executive Support)
Mr J Nulty ( Administrative Support)

1. Minutes of the last meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2000 were agreed.

2. Matters arising.

1. Scheduling of meetings.

   A response from the Clerk of Committees is still pending.

2. Letter from NIC-ICTU about disability impact studies.

Advice from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is pending on this matter.

3. Right of way at Blackwater Road - Sentry Lane, Mallusk.

Agreed: The Committee staff will reply to the letter advising that the Countryside Officer of Newtownabbey Borough Council has confirmed that the developer will not be closing the path.

4. The Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) Agreement.

Agreed: The Committee staff will reply to Mr Gray's letter advising him that the Department has confirmed that his company will be consulted about any proposals to change the MIB agreement.

5. Matters arising from the Planning Service presentation.

The Committee noted the response from the Department which was promised at the Planning Service presentation at the meeting on 13 January 2000.

3. The Department's budget.

The Chairman welcomed the Minister and his officials to the meeting and declared the meeting in public session. The officials were:

Mr Stephen Quinn Permanent Secretary
Mr David Thompson Director of Corporate Services
Mr John Small Central Finance
Mr Billy Hamilton Central Finance.

The Minister and his officials discussed the Department's budget with the Committee. The main points raised were:

• The budget paper from the Department is descriptive based on the figures in the statement to the Assembly by the Minister for Finance and Personnel and is not a bidding paper.
• The Departmental Running Costs (DRC) regime, in operation since the late 1980s, has resulted in very taut budget figures within which the Department must operate.
• Backlogs in several areas of its functions have developed.
• The Minister must consider the needs of each section of his Department and prioritise in accordance with available funds.
• The impact, in financial terms, of the Programme for Government will impact on the next financial year rather than the incoming one.
• Devolution costs for the Department amounted to £500k and resulted from new arrangements for the Minister's Private Office, the Department's press office, central finance and personnel functions and a policy co-ordination unit. They are the diseconomies of scale resulting from the increase to ten Departments.
• The Minister has raised with the Department of Finance and Personnel the possibility of the Department retaining receipts to increase DRC. This would be very useful but would fall well short of what is required and would not help all areas.
• Reductions in grants to District Councils could lead to both an increase in rating and a cut in services.
• Underfunding has caused the Department to operate with vacancies. Those vacancies are spread across each area to minimise the impact. Delays by the Department impact on several of the other Departments. The Minister has made this point to his Executive Committee colleagues.
• The Minister estimated that £5 million is needed by his Department to tackle realistically the problems that exist in Planning Services, the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) and Road Safety.
• The Department will provide for the Committee a detailed analysis of the problems it faces regarding lack of funding to carry out its current and future responsibilities. It will also provide a breakdown of EHS expenditure, its staff according to their functions and indicate where the shortfalls are, especially those in the most crucial areas.
• It was suggested that the Committee might use its influence to help to obtain increases in funding by making representations to the Department of Finance and Personnel and through the Assembly when the Executive Committee presents the Programme of Government.

The Minister and his officials left the meeting at 11.55am.

The Chairman declared the meeting to be in closed session.

4. The Chairman welcomed Departmental officials from Road Safety Division; the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) and the Driver Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI).

They were:
Mr Felix Dillon Deputy Secretary, Department of Environment.
Mr John Ritchie Director, Road Safety Policy and Legislation and
Transport Licensing and Enforcement.
Mr Brian Watson Chief Executive, DVTA.
Mr Brendan Magee Chief Executive, DVLNI.

The officials made presentations on their respective responsibilities. Firstly, Mr Ritchie described:

• Road Safety legislation;
• The responsibilities of the two branches under his command;
• Their resources;
• Statistics and targets;
• Recent initiatives.

Mr Watson presented the work of the DVTA and in particular:

• Its responsibilities;
• Its targets;
• Plans for improvements;
• The income it generates and its use.

Mr Magee advised the Committee of the DVLNI's:

• Responsibilities;
• Resources;
• Targets;
• Key issues.

The officials discussed with the Committee in more detail the following:

• The overcrowding of school buses and insurance implications. The Department undertook to provide a copy of the legislation governing the number of school children allowed on buses and a report on the matter. It also undertook to report on the insurance arrangements for taxi drivers used for school transport purposes.
• An error in the latest edition of the Highway Code. The Department undertook to look into the error and its implications and report back to the Committee.
• The loss of revenue because some hauliers are registering in the Republic of Ireland.
• The 45 mph speed limit for new drivers. The Department is carrying out a review on the limit's usefulness.

The Chairman thanked the officials and they left the meeting at 12.55pm.

5. AOB

1. A report from Soltron Ltd.

Copies of the report from Soltron dealing with fuel emissions are available for Members to read.

Agreed: Members may return to this matter after reading the report.

2. McQuillan Skip Hire Case

Members received a copy of a letter from the Minister detailing the action it has taken to date in the case.

Agreed: To await the papers which the Department is to send.

3. Chairman's meeting with Castlereagh District Council.

The Chairman will meet the Minister about the issues raised at the meeting.

4. Moyle District Council.

The council has asked to meet the Committee.

Agreed: That the council's request will be added to the programme of events for the Committee. The meeting with them will be in public.

5. Planning and Water Appeals Commissions.

The Commissions have offered a presentation on their work.

Agreed: That the Commissions' offer will be added to the programme of events for the Committee.

6. Accommodation for public sessions - use of the Senate Chamber.

Agreed: The question of the use of the Senate Chamber to accommodate large numbers of people attending public sessions will be pursued by the Clerk.

6. Date of next meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, 3 February 2000 at 10.30am in room 144, Parliament Buildings. The session of that meeting dealing with Statutory Rule number 496/1999 entitled

Public Health
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste)
(Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 will be in public. An official from the Department will be available to answer questions.

20 January 2000 / Menu / 03 February 2000