I will also be parochial in welcoming the £12 million for the gas pipeline. I am sure that I speak for everyone in Derry - people, patients, the families of patients and the hard-pressed staff - when I give thanks for the Durkan/Trimble package, which will enable the £10 million upgrade of Altnagelvin Hospital and contribute to the new Stradreagh hospital. Can the Ministers clarify that, as they have secured the resources, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety will be able to start the work?

The announcement of the money clears the way for the work to be done, but it will be for the Department to fill in the details of what will be done when. We have made a provision that we hope will bring significant improvements to the hospital.

I also appreciate the Member's welcome for what has been done on the gas pipeline.

The developments on gas in Northern Ireland would not have been possible without the co-operation of our opposite numbers in the Republic of Ireland. That has benefited everyone in Northern Ireland, and it shows how people have been able to work together not only in the Administration but further afield.

I see that the Deputy First Minister will be answering my questions. Yesterday, when I asked him a simple question, with the unanimous backing of the Committee, I got an hysterical outburst and a personal attack. Perhaps I will get answers to my questions today.

Not one penny of the £510 million that is available has been allocated to the Department of the Environment. We must examine the strategic priorities. The Department made a bid for £2·5 million to extend its Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency Headquarters to facilitate essential changes to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. That small amount of money would fund something of strategic importance. When will the Department of the Environment receive support from the Executive programme funds?

Speaking in a personal capacity, I am sure that the schools that are getting investment will be delighted. However, I invite the Minister to come to Magherafelt, where he will find that the controlled primary and high schools are dilapidated and run-down, while there is excellent provision for maintained schools. When will the discrimination stop, and when will appropriate action be taken to fund controlled schools in the town?

Several points must be borne in mind. The allocations are part of a package that the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister negotiated with the Treasury and the Prime Minister. We decided that the bulk of our priorities, given the short-term pillar of the reinvestment and reform initiative, would reflect those that were agreed not just by the Executive but by the Assembly when it adopted the Budget and the Programme for Government.

I make no apology for our being consistent in the approach that has been mandated by the Executive. Much of the investment, not least on the water and sewerage side, will ensure that we move more quickly to comply with Directives being implemented by the Department of the Environment, which, as a watchdog and enforcer of standards, has an interest in expenditure outside that Department also. The Minister of the Environment has been pushing to ensure that more investment goes into water and sewerage so that we can comply with those Directives. That shows that that Minister practises joined-up Government and knows the implications of environmental issues beyond those contained in his Department's fixed budget.

The Member complained that the Department of the Environment has not benefited from the Executive programme funds, but it has been well treated and supported over the past few years in the mainstream Budget. The Department received a 25% increase in its budget over two years, an allocation that few other Departments received. That percentage increase amounts to more than the bid that Dr McCrea complains has not been met in this funding round. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister is asking for ideas for investment at a further stage, and other issues will be dealt with in the Budget cycle.

I wish the Member would have the good grace to welcome packages that provide extra money. The fact that additional money is being provided to the Department of Education must surely improve the prospects of the schools that have not yet been reached under traditional investment programmes.

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. There are many welcome announcements in today's statement, and every constituency, with the exception of Lagan Valley and, apparently, South Antrim, has had its good news. In particular, I welcome the announcements on the road between Newry and the border, on Daisy Hill Hospital and on Abbey Grammar School, which I have keenly supported for some time. I congratulate the Deputy First Minister on scoring his own cheap political points in response to my Colleague, Gerry McHugh.

Can the Ministers tell me if there will be any implications for the ongoing negotiations with the Treasury, given that they have allocated this loan facility? Are there any implications for the negotiations for a fairer allocation under the Barnett formula, and will it have any impact on those discussions? That should be a priority for the Executive.

There have been many fine statements about the importance of reform as part of this package. What targets have the First and Deputy First Ministers set for reform? Is it merely to increase efficiency within Departments, or is it to change fundamentally how Departments and the Executive do business?

The improvements to the roads that will take place will be significant, and they were part of the view taken by the Executive of the immediate strategic priorities.

One of the most significant aspects of the reform is the strategic investment board and how we hope that it will develop. That body has just been established in shadow form, and the project board has started to meet. One outcome that we hope to see is an improvement in the range of financing that is available, with the centralisation of all the expertise in dealing with public finance initiatives and public-private partnerships in whatever body is formed.

We must improve the handling of private finance initiatives and public-private partnerships. That was evident on our recent visit to Scotland, where they have had more success in raising money from the private sector than we have. Part of the reason for that is that our expertise is scattered across the Departments. By focusing and concentrating that expertise in one place, we hope to have more success in raising money from the private sector.

In the current allocation, there is a certain amount of private-sector finance. It is part of the way in which the £270 million, which is the initial expenditure for the next two years, will grow to £500 million in the longer term. When we come to deal with the longer-term issues, we want a better result. I cannot set targets for that, but we want to see a higher proportion of the money being brought in from outside, so that we are not limited to the public expenditure funds that we have. That public expenditure money can lever in significant sums from elsewhere, and that is one of the key reform aspects.

Other reviews that have been undertaken are also elements of reform. In particular, in the review of public administration we want to improve the quality of administration. The public service agreements and the service delivery agreements that are part of the Programme for Government are a key element.

We also want to challenge Ministers to think carefully about what they do in their Departments and how they improve the efficiency and quality of the service they provide. We all have to consider ways to raise our game.

With regard to the Member's questions on ongoing negations and the Barnett formula, there are certain realities that we must bear in mind. We all heard the announcement made by the Chancellor at the time of his Budget, and we know that he anticipated part of the spending review by announcing that he was committing large sums of money to health.

From the point of view of the analysts who looked at what the Chancellor said at the time of the Budget, it was clear that he was committing the bulk of additional public spending available in the next financial year to health. The amount of public spending available for other programmes will be quite limited. We know what the Barnett consequentials of the spending on health will be.

We do not yet know the other public spending increases that the Chancellor will announce. However, it was clear from Budget figures that moneys for sectors other than health will be limited. However, we will get Barnett consequentials. There are disadvantages with Barnett consequentials because they are per capita based, and public expenditure per capita is higher in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the United Kingdom. When we discuss the side effects of Barnett consequentials with the Chancellor, we are given the obvious rejoinders: first, Northern Ireland receives better public expenditure per capita than elsewhere; and secondly, we are asked whether we are making the most efficient use of resources. We must be able to answer that question clearly, which is why reform must be at the heart of the initiative.

Like Mr Close, I am parochial. However, due to the efforts of all Lagan Valley MLAs, five new schools have been established in the constituency during devolution. In addition to that, it has just been announced that we are being granted the use of the Maze Prison.

For the MLAs?

Not necessarily for the MLAs. However, it will be huge advantage to the area and to Northern Ireland.

I am pleased that £23 million has been allocated to water and sewerage. I am concerned that £47 million a year is being wasted through the leakage of water. That is a huge burden on taxpayers, and I am pleased that £5 million of the £23 million appears to have been allocated to leakage. Can the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister assure the House that that £5 million will be used for leakage and will not be used to develop an extra source, so that even more water can be poured down leaky pipes?

Given that the Member referred to his shared interest with Seamus Close, another Member for Lagan Valley, I could say that we must be careful about being too generous to Lagan Valley in case anyone thinks that we are trying to offer sweeteners to members of the Public Accounts Committee, who are normally forensic about implying that superficial consideration was given to certain allocations.

Some of the provisions are site-specific, while others will support relevant services across the region, including Lagan Valley and other constituencies. For instance, mobile classrooms are an issue for schools in Lagan Valley, as they are for schools elsewhere. It is not as if some parts of the region will not be touched or improved by the measures announced today.

There are problems with water because of underinvestment and serious leakage. Today's investment announcement will directly support a programme that complies with the Public Accounts Committee's recommendations. The Minister for Regional Development and his Department have identified many problems, which should not be underestimated. The Public Accounts Committee has brought certain aspects to the attention of the public. What is required with regard to water goes far beyond anything that is possible under the initiative. As the First Minister said, there are major long-term strategic issues for us to consider. Where we know the problems and what needs to be done, we must will the means to do it.

I welcome the £6·7 million investment in further education and, specifically, the £3·2 million that will be invested in Limavady College of Further and Higher Education. Do the Ministers agree that that is only a beginning, that much has yet to be done to narrow the gap between vocational and academic education and that, if we are to address the imbalances of the past, further investment is necessary to promote lifelong learning and so widen access for people who were deprived of further education?

The money that has been committed to Limavady College of Further and Higher Education will be used to replace current leased and temporary accommodation that is in urgent need of replacement. The new accommodation must meet present educational and skill demands.

I also endorse the Member's broader point and remind the House that, when we brought forward the package for further and higher education, it was for further, as well as higher, education. In doing that, we departed from what happened in Scotland, which was regarded as breaking new ground by providing support for students in higher education. Our overall package may not seem as generous as the Scottish one, but we decided to spread the money into further education as well as higher education. It was a deliberate decision, taken for the precise reason that the Member gave.

Academic education is valuable but, from an economic point of view, there is also a need for the skills that become available through further education. It also opens up opportunities for a broader range of people. We are anxious that further education is not forgotten, just as we are anxious, with regard to educational provision as a whole, to level up, not level down.

Can the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister identify what funding allocation has been spearheaded to improve water mains and sewers in north Antrim? Can they also identify where specifically the work will take place?

The precise breakdown of the additional expenditure will be for the Department for Regional Development to provide. We have a list, but I do not intend to go through it in detail. However, the additional money will involve expenditure in several areas and will ease the pressure and backlog in other areas.

As I said earlier, the sum total of spending by the Department for Regional Development on water and sewerage issues will not be confined to the new money. It will also involve the money that is already in the Department's budget. I undertake to have the details provided to the Member by the Department for Regional Development.

I make no pretence that the additional money, helpful though it is to the areas that receive it, will be anything like what is needed to counter the scale of underinvestment in water and sewerage provision, which affects all parts of the region and is becoming an increasingly common problem. There is also pressure on planning because water and sewerage provision is under such strain.

I hope that the Member will be able to find some direct benefits for North Antrim. Where direct benefits are not immediately available there, I hope that his constituency will benefit from the easement in the existing departmental budget.

I have spoken previously about the neglect of our infrastructure in the west and other peripheral areas, so I warmly welcome this morning's announcement and congratulate the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. The £6 million investment in rural schools is welcome, as is the £15 million investment to replace mobile classrooms. Does the First Minister agree that the investment in rural schools will help to ensure that they continue to deliver education, which, in turn, will underpin local rural communities? Moreover, does he agree that mobile classrooms and the neglect of school estate were features of education under the control of direct-rule Ministers? Perhaps he will agree that it has taken the Assembly to begin to sort out that mess.

Yes, this is an opportunity to deal with the underinvestment in infrastructure during direct rule, when it was all too easy to postpone capital projects to meet the many other pressures on budgets. As I said earlier, the particular provisions for their removal will reduce the number of mobile classrooms by approximately 20%, which is a substantial proportion.

The allocation will improve accommodation at 75 small rural primary schools. That is one quarter of the total number of primary schools with fewer than 100 pupils, so a significant proportion of schools will be assisted by the project. The reinvestment and reform initiative has given us the opportunity to take action over and above what would normally result from public expenditure.

My earlier points about private finance are particularly appropriate for schools. Not so long ago, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of a school that was the result of a private finance initiative (PFI). One benefit of a PFI provision in schools is that it relieves teachers of the need to act as estate managers. Experts in property management will do that for them. That benefit is perhaps not yet fully appreciated by the public, which is one reason for wanting to improve our PFI performance. I hope that that will be a consequence of developing the strategic investment body.

I welcome the statement for two major reasons. First, it is indicative of new initiative thinking and of the value of devolved Government. The reinvestment and reform initiative and the earlier Executive programme funds initiative create new money and vindicate those who support devolution.

I welcome the expenditure allocation for the new cancer centre, which, no doubt, will be appreciated by many families. In the parochial sense, I welcome the allocation of £4·4 million to the Kilkeel fishing industry, which will improve safety and support investment in the harbour.

Among the many hospitals mentioned, was a bid made for new capital funding for the Downe Hospital in Downpatrick? The Ministers may not be able to tell me that.

I appreciate the Member's broad welcome for the approach we outlined and for the devolution dividend that has been shown by the reinvestment and reform initiative, which follows from the new Executive strategic prioritisation that was shown by the creation of the Executive programme funds. We must continue to do that. We must show that devolution offers us a chance, not only to bridge divides between communities, but to continue to narrow the gap between what ought to be and what is. Initiatives that strategically use additional resources help us to narrow that gap.

The regional cancer centre is hugely welcome. Many of us have seen family and friends suffer from cancer. We have seen them struggle to cope as patients, and we have seen dedicated professionals struggle to administer treatment in inadequate and outdated conditions. They need and deserve better facilities, and we will deliver them. The regional cancer strategy is delivering the regional cancer centre and the additional cancer unit at Antrim Area Hospital. Alongside the regional cancer centre, the four units are significant pillars of the regional cancer strategy.

I am glad that the Member welcomed the significant investment in Kilkeel harbour, and I hope that the fishing community in Kilkeel, which has faced recent stresses and distresses, welcomes it too. The Executive's investment is a timely response to the needs of that community there.

Mr McGrady referred to a bid for funding for Downe Hospital. A bid was not submitted specifically for Downe Hospital. I must repeat the caution that I have given on other occasions to other Members: we must not turn the scrutiny of these announcements into bid-chasing exercises, in which we try to come up with every possible bid. It would be easy for Departments to bid for everything. In fact, we had a daft situation in which some Departments submitted total bids that amounted to more than the total amount of money available.

Shortage of bids is not a problem; underspending is. I am not suggesting that Downe Hospital could not spend money allocated to it in a timely and strategic fashion, but the Assembly must break the bid-chasing cycle. The real issue is how Departments and services plan to manage and spend the money. The timescale for that pillar of the programme is this financial year and the next, so Departments concentrated on proposals that could use the funding straightaway. The timescale may, therefore, have determined the areas for which Departments submitted bids. However, if we want strategic investments and strategic commitments, we must move away from the bid frisking that Committees sometimes get hung up on.

I also welcome the money that was made available for the various items that were given priority. That they were delayed for so long makes my welcome all the more enthusiastic. However, the Deputy First Minister said that we must not burden future generations with the cost of present implementation. Regardless of the long-term borrowings, where will the money come from to pay the interest on the short-term borrowings? Where will the money come from to repay the considerable capital involved? Is it to come from charges levied on water, and possibly sewerage systems, and vast increases in rates? I ask that question bearing in mind that it was suggested that the Barnett formula will be required for running costs and that that money will not be used for anything other than capital investment in the black hole in our infrastructure.

I hope that my question will avoid any accusations of parochialism, and I trust that it will not provoke the sort of hysteria that seems to have infected the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister in their responses to questions that they are not happy to deal with.

I thank the Member for welcoming the announcements. I want to carp slightly at his terminology when he said that the investments had been "delayed for so long". The Member is fair if he refers to delays during direct rule, but if he refers to delay on our part, I must point out that we have brought these proposals to the House a mere two months after the reinvestment and reform initiative was announced. The negotiations on the development of the initiative took a great deal of work over several months, and we have created a facility that was not anticipated.

As the Member knows, the short-term package - the £125 million that was borrowed to fund some of these investments over the next two years - will be paid for from existing revenue. There is no question of any increase in borrowing. That point was covered in the statement. The issues that the Member raised are important for our long-term objectives, and we must consider those carefully. We must be honest with ourselves and with the community in Northern Ireland. It is the same point that arises with regard to the Barnett formula. When we raise the issue of funding in Northern Ireland with the Treasury, we are asked if we are making the best use of existing resources and revenue. We can, and do, argue our case with the Treasury. However, compared to England, Wales and Scotland, there is undertaxation in Northern Ireland in respect of locally raised revenue, which runs at several hundred million pounds a year.

We must consider what we will do about that. Will we say to local people that we will try to get the Treasury to pay for their services when they are not contributing as much as people in England, Scotland and Wales? Is that a fair approach to taxation and expenditure across the kingdom? I think not. The rating review will enable us to consider the issue, and it will probably mean that there will be some increase in local taxation.

Will the rates be increased?

The rates might be increased or something else might be increased. That is what we have to consider. The rating review opens up the issue for discussion. The Assembly and the community in Northern Ireland must face that discussion. We must recognise that the level of taxation in local government in Northern Ireland is less than that in England, Scotland and Wales. Therefore we must consider that point and ask whether additional revenue can be found to meet the cost of future borrowing.

Some of the scare stories that have been spread in the media about what this may mean are, however, greatly exaggerated. The Assembly will make any decisions on the matter, and I hope that when we reach that point there will be grown-up discussion and consideration instead of some of the sillier points that have been raised in recent months.

We have less than three minutes left. If the question is brief and the answer equally brief, I will consider that I have received your co-operation.

I welcome the announcement and, from a parochial perspective, the proposals for health, education and roads that affect my constituency, Newry and Armagh.

Although I welcome the education allocations, I seek assurance that they are consistent with the capital building list of contenders so that the schools on that list will receive the funding. I also seek assurance that the welcome replacement of 200 mobile classrooms will happen throughout the Province and across all education sectors.

Members were told that hard choices lie ahead for the Assembly. What is the nature of those choices? Will the Minister confirm that all parties in the Executive will share the burden of those hard choices?

The allocations announced for specific capital projects are in line with the overall capital needs priorities as reflected by the Department of Education. The Committee for Education can pursue that aspect, if Mr Kennedy is not happy with my assurances.

If we are to use the extra spending capacity offered by the longer-term borrowing power, we will have to balance the amount that we can afford to borrow against the amount that we cannot afford not to spend. If we use the borrowing power, we will not have extra free money, because we will have to use public revenue to support our loan. That is one reason why there should be a focus only on strategic capital. It will be the Assembly - not just the parties in the Executive - that makes those choices.

British-Irish Council Summit

TOP

I have received notice from the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister of their wish to make a statement on the British-Irish Council summit meeting, which was held on 14 June 2002 in Jersey.

I understand that there have been no problems with the advance distribution of the text of the statements. I will make a statement on the British-Irish Council summit, and the Deputy First Minister will make a statement on the North/South Ministerial Council meeting.

All the Northern Ireland Ministers who attended the third summit meeting of the British-Irish Council have approved my report, and I make it on their behalf. The Deputy First Minister and I, together with the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the Minister of Education, and the Minister for Employment and Learning, represented the Northern Ireland Administration. Representatives of the British and Irish Governments, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales, the Isle of Man Government and the States of Jersey and Guernsey also attended.

The main focus of the meeting was the knowledge economy and the development of plans for co-operation on that issue in the British-Irish Council. It was apparent from discussions at the meeting that all British-Irish Council Administrations are actively working on strategies to address knowledge economy issues, and there was a good exchange of information and views on the wide variety of policies, methods and projects under way.

In recognising the need to address important challenges in that area, it was agreed that work in the knowledge economy sector would include specific projects relating to the digital divide, such as providing access for disabled people to information and communication technology facilities and e-government.

A group of knowledge economy officials from all the Administrations has been established to develop the issue, and sub-groups will progress matters of mutual interest in areas such as research, the digital divide and e-democracy.

The importance of the effective switchover to digital terrestrial television and competitive broadband markets was also recognised, and it was agreed that those matters could be considered further. Members also agreed to work together on the identification and development of pilot programmes for specific issues relating to the knowledge economy. The meeting heard about the outcomes of the recent British-Irish Council conference on bridging the digital divide, which was hosted by Jersey in April 2002. In consultation with other British-Irish Council Administrations, and along with the British-Irish Council Secretariat, Jersey took the lead in designing a British-Irish Council web site, which was launched after the meeting.

An update was provided on sectoral work by the relevant lead Administrations. The Irish Government are taking the lead on drugs. Since the second summit meeting in Dublin in November 2001, at which the issue of drugs misuse was the main focus, drugs officials have been preparing recommendations for co-operation. A meeting of drugs Ministers, hosted by the Irish Government on 22 March, focused on the importance of targeting the proceeds of drugs trafficking, and of involving the community in the development and implementation of drugs strategies. It also considered the need to divert young people at risk into healthier pursuits, and to provide training and employment opportunities to recovering drug misusers. Further meetings on diversion programmes for young people at risk and reintegration and training opportunities for recovering drug misusers are scheduled to take place in the coming months.

A conference on targeting the proceeds of the drugs trade, hosted by Guernsey, took place in May 2002. A further conference on community involvement in the development and implementation of drugs strategies will be hosted by the Northern Ireland Executive in November 2002. The next meeting of Ministers to review developments is scheduled to take place in Dublin in spring 2003.

The United Kingdom Government have been taking the lead in the environment sector. In February 2002, British-Irish Council Environment Ministers met for the second time in Edinburgh to consider waste management, Sellafield and radioactive waste, marine nature conservation, and climate change.

The Scottish Executive, with other members, continue to advance work to find more sustainable ways of managing generated waste, which is a matter of increasing concern to British-Irish Council members. The Scottish Executive gave a presentation on the issue to other members at the Edinburgh meeting, and work to address the challenge and to identify the scope for co-operation continues.

Ireland and the Isle of Man have taken the lead in examining the issue of radioactive waste from Sellafield. Ministers discussed the matter during their recent meeting, and it will be considered further at the next meeting of environment Ministers, which will be hosted by Northern Ireland in autumn 2002. There will be a further meeting of Ministers in the Isle of Man next year.

Scotland and Wales are the lead Administrations on social inclusion, which will be the central focus of the next summit meeting. Current proposals for future co-operation include practical processes for sharing information and best practice for promoting social inclusion at community level. Future work will also build on existing experiences of networking between communities. Communities will be involved in the development of the Council's future programme of co-operation.

In addition to the summit meeting in Scotland, a community inclusion conference is scheduled to take place in Glasgow in September 2002, when the main theme will be financial inclusion. Plans to develop an electronic community inclusion network are also being considered.

Northern Ireland is the lead Administration on transport. British-Irish Council officials have met to progress work on several aspects of the transport sector that were identified at the first summit and at a ministerial meeting that took place in Belfast in December 2000. As part of that work, the Irish Government have agreed to take the lead on integrated transport matters.

Officials from all British-Irish Council Administrations are also exploring the possibility of an exchange of views and experience of public-private partnerships for transport infrastructure. Having recognised that there is considerable scope for co-operation on road safety issues, the Administrations are also identifying areas that could be developed in that way.

Regional air links, which are of particular concern to several Members, are among the other matters under active consideration. The Northern Ireland Executive will host a ministerial meeting soon to discuss those issues further.

The Isle of Man agreed to take the lead on the application of telemedicine at the summit meeting in November 2001. Initial meetings of officials have taken place to plan future co-operation, and proposals currently include the monitoring and exchange of information on the use of telemedicine and evaluation of the benefits to be derived by implementing telemedicine and e-health clinically, educationally and organisationally. Further meetings, including a number of study visits to telemedicine projects across British-Irish Council Administrations, are scheduled to take place before the end of the year.

It was also agreed at the summit meeting in November 2001 that Guernsey would be the lead Administration on tourism. Officials continue to discuss how best to advance work in this area. Future plans include proposals to identify common visitor data and an examination of tourism satellite accounting. The challenges of transport access, industry contacts, disabled access, and links between the environment and tourism, as well as training and the support of small businesses in the sector, will also be considered. Further meetings to develop this work are planned for the coming months.

The Council agreed that the National Assembly for Wales would take forward work in the area of minority and lesser-used languages.

The meeting considered proposals to improve the workings of the Council, and it was agreed that the senior co-ordinating officials group, which comprises officials from all Administrations, will examine how best the Council can be supported and developed in order to promote and maximise its impact.

This group will also consider whether further benefit could be derived from the bilateral and multilateral arrangements between two or more members described in paragraph 10 of strand three of the agreement. The Council also agreed that the senior co-ordinating officials group should bring forward proposals to the next summit meeting so that the Council might consider how to encourage the development of the inter-parliamentary links provided for in paragraph 11 of strand three of the agreement.

The Council agreed that Scotland will host the next summit in November 2002, and that the meeting will focus on the issue of social inclusion. Northern Ireland and Wales will host summit meetings in 2003. A copy of the communiqué issued following the meeting has been placed in the Assembly Library.

The First Minister has described a comprehensive and worthwhile forward work programme for the British-Irish Council. Will use be made of the scope provided in the Belfast Agreement for bilateral meetings between member Governments?

Yes, indeed it will. Meetings will not always involve all eight Administrations, as only a limited number of items are of direct interest to all, and progress has been made on having meetings in different formats, and on some form of variable geometry.

The Deputy First Minister and I have discussed this with the Scottish Administration, and there is a tentative agreement. We have not yet involved the Welsh in these discussions. We are working towards a situation where the Scots, the Welsh, and our own Administration meet regularly to look at common interests and issues. As the three devolved regions within the United Kingdom, there are some issues that apply directly to us.

We see this activity occurring within the British-Irish Council framework, and as part of those bilateral and trilateral activities that are actually provided for in the agreement. The other participating Administrations in the Council will be informed about what is happening, and will hopefully not feel that the three of us are ganging up on any other particular Administration.

What further progress has been made on the misuse of drugs agenda since it was first discussed at the Dublin British-Irish Council meeting at the end of last year? Also, with the National Assembly for Wales taking forward the work on minority and lesser-used languages, will the First Minister confirm that sign language will be included as one of the lesser-used languages?

On the question of drugs, the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety will host a conference in November 2002 in Northern Ireland. This will explore models of good practice and involving communities in local strategies.

It is proposed that the conference will include community-based speakers from member countries, who will share their experiences of working alongside policy makers and statutory agencies to implement their respective strategies. British-Irish Council members will also be invited to speak about their experience in developing partnership networks across Departments between voluntary, community and statutory sectors, and the importance of community involvement in the implementation of local strategies.

The Welsh Administration proposed holding a sectoral meeting on minority and lesser-used languages. Given that many people in Wales speak Welsh, they have some expertise in that area. It is natural to think of that in relation to other British-Irish Council members where minority and lesser-used languages are also used. It is a new proposal. The Welsh Administration did not go into detail on its possible ambit, so I cannot answer the Member's specific question about sign language. We will bear it in mind and see if inquiries can be made. If there is any information, it can be communicated subsequently to the Member.

Would the First Minister pass on my congratulations to the Government of Jersey for not only taking the lead in designing a web site, but in appearing to have achieved that? I counted 33 phrases in the First Minister's statement similar to, and including, "will also consider", "development of pilot programmes", "preparing recommendations" and "work continues". In the face of those aspirations, surely we should all welcome the fact that at least Jersey has achieved something.

The First Minister referred to Northern Ireland taking the lead on transport matters. Neither the Minister for Regional Development nor the Minister of the Environment were at the meeting, but can the First Minister give us a flavour of what has been achieved by his Administration in transport co-ordination, especially in road safety?

I would put a slightly different interpretation on the phrases that the Member has drawn to my attention. Drawing attention to ongoing work and work that will be done in the future highlights the fact that the British-Irish Council is developing. The Council has taken some time to build up. The number of references to ongoing work - and I am indebted to the Member for telling us the total number - is a sign that the Council is developing.

I also join with Mr Ford in congratulating Jersey for the progress they have made; it was good to launch the web site.

Work continues on transport. At the sectoral meeting an idea was developed that related directly to road safety, and especially to legislation in different jurisdictions and the consideration of a means of making that legislation read across from one jurisdiction to another. It was pointed out that many road accidents happen near the border. The reason for that seems to be that when drivers cross the border, they think that they are now on the other side and do not have to worry to the same extent about road traffic legislation and penalties. Now that we are all moving towards a penalty points system, the idea was mooted that we try to ensure that there is reciprocal enforcement so that drivers from both sides of the border realise that when they cross the border, the law still applies to them. Those ideas are being advanced.

Will the Minister confirm that the experience of all our partners in the British-Irish Council will be used in the development of the reinvestment and reform initiative, especially in the area of public-private partnerships?

Will he confirm that public-private partnerships are used more extensively in England, Scotland and Wales, and also in the Republic of Ireland? Does he accept that Northern Ireland has been relatively slow to use public-private partnerships and that we should gain from the experience and innovation that exists in the private sector?

That question could have been asked regarding the previous statement. I have said that officials in the British-Irish Council Administrations are exploring the possibility of exchanges of views and experiences regarding PPPs, especially in relation to transport infrastructure.

We do not have a great deal of experience of PPPs in Northern Ireland, and we have a lot to learn from other British-Irish Council Administrations. We look forward to the exchange of information on that. The subject was discussed when we visited the Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. They have been successful in raising several billion pounds from private finance for projects, particularly with regard to schools. We are moving only in a small way on that, but we are hoping to improve our performance through the reinvestment and reform initiative.

I will stray for a moment into the territory of the Deputy First Minister. There is a national finance corporation in the Republic of Ireland that bears some similarity to the strategic investment body that we are developing. There will be areas there where there can be a useful exchange of information.

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Radioactive waste from Sellafield was discussed recently by the Environment Ministers in Edinburgh, and it will be considered at a meeting here in the autumn. I welcome that. Many people are expressing public concerns about the implications of an attack on British nuclear plants such as Sellafield, and the potential risk to the people in Ireland should not be underestimated.

That risk was underlined in the recently released first report from the Office for Civil Nuclear Safety, which discloses deficiencies that are hampering attempts to protect those plants. Will that report be examined in detail at the autumn meeting, and will it look at the grave risk that Sellafield poses to Ireland and the Irish people? Will the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, through the British-Irish Council, press for the closure of Sellafield?

The National Assembly for Wales is to take forward work in the area of minority and lesser-used languages. Can we have more detail about that work and how it might impact on the development of the Irish language?

I remind the Member of the answer I gave on languages a few moments ago. That proposal has come from the Welsh Administration and it struck us as a good, sensible proposal because several Administrations have minority and lesser-used languages, and something may be learnt from the experience of others. We look forward with interest to what the National Assembly for Wales has to say, what ideas it brings forward and what we can learn from its experience. I cannot give the Member any more information, but no doubt there will be further developments.

I am glad to see that the Member is alive to the danger of terrorist attacks on Sellafield or other installations of that nature. We are all very much alive to that following September 11. However, it has not come up in the British-Irish Council. It is a matter that comes up through the Civil Contingencies Committee, which exists on a UK basis. The Northern Ireland Administration is represented on that committee and has attended meetings.

Efforts have been made by the Civil Contingencies Committee to ensure that contingency plans for major emergencies are up-to-date and robust. I am assured that our plans for any contingency of that nature have been reviewed and are robust. However, we should hope that there is no terrorist attack on Sellafield and support what Governments are doing worldwide in the pursuit of the war against terrorism.

I was especially pleased to learn that the knowledge economy was discussed. What provision will be made to ensure that e-government assists social inclusion rather than simply become another tool of bureaucracy?

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