COMMITTEE FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2011
LONG GALLERY, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Fred Cobain MLA (Chairperson)
Michelle McIlveen MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Billy Armstrong MLA
Anna Lo MLA
Fra McCann MLA
Ian McCrea MLA
Conall McDevitt MLA
George Robinson MLA
In Attendance:
Roisin Kelly (Assembly Clerk)
Trevor Allen (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Andrew Larmour (Clerical Supervisor)
Alison Ferguson (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Cathal Boylan MLA
Allan Bresland MLA
Billy Leonard MLA
The meeting commenced at 10.14am in public session.
Members noted papers which were tabled for consideration later in the meeting.
1. Apologies
Apologies are detailed above.
2. Draft Minutes of meeting held on 19 January 2011
Agreed : The minutes were agreed for publication on the Assembly’s website.
3. Matters Arising
- The Committee noted correspondence from the Department for Regional Development, dated 18 January 2011, on legal advice that it had received on bilingual signs.
- The Committee noted correspondence from a member of the public in relation to financial assistance for properties not served by a water main.
- The Committee noted a written Departmental briefing on the “plugged in places” initiative.
- Agreed: Members noted correspondence from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) on the Draft Budget proposals and agreed to consider the correspondence as part of the Committee’s consideration of the budget proposals.
- Agreed: Members noted a press release from the Quarry Products Association (QPANI) welcoming the Regional Development Minister’s commitment to repairing roads and agreed to consider the press release as part of the Committee’s consideration of the budget proposals.
- The Committee noted correspondence from the Department for Regional Development, dated 19 January 2011, as requested during its briefing to the Committee on 19 January 2011, on the water supply emergency.
- Agreed: The Committee noted correspondence from the Committee for Finance and Personnel on the monitoring of Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans and agreed to consider the correspondence as part of the Committee’s consideration of the budget proposals .
- Agreed: The Committee noted correspondence from a representative of the industrial group of Trade Unions Lobby Group within Northern Ireland Water and agreed that a sub-group of the Committee would meet with the representative to discuss its issues of concern.
- Agreed: The Committee noted the Department for Regional Development’s Equality Unit Quarterly Progress Report and agreed to write to the Department indicating that it was content with the report. The Committee also agreed to commend scrutiny of the Department’s new Equality Scheme to an incoming Committee.
10.17am Mr Robinson joined the meeting.
4. Subordinate Legislation
Members noted the following Departmental proposals to make subordinate legislation:
- The Prohibition of Waiting (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011;
- The Parking Places on Roads (Lisburn) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011;
- The Road Races (Cookstown 100) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011; and
- The Roads (Speed Limit) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011.
Members noted that the SL1 memos from the Department on the above proposals made no reference to their having been the subject of a public inquiry . Members noted that the Department has confirmed that the police service and relevant local councils affected by the above proposals have been informed, and the Committee office has not received any comments from the relevant councils regarding these policy proposals.
Members considered the following Departmental proposals to make subordinate legislation, which were noted at the Committee meeting on 19 January 2011:
- The Waiting Restrictions (Bushmills) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011; and
- The Road Races (North West 200) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Committee would write to the Department, indicating that it was content with the policy merits of these SL1s.
Members considered the following statutory rule which was laid in the Assembly’s Business Office by the Department for Regional Development and is subject to the negative resolution procedure. Members noted that the Examiner of Statutory Rules reported on this statutory rule in his Eighth Report to the Assembly for the 2010-11 Session, published on 14 January 2011:
- SR 2010/429 The Redpoll Avenue, Lisburn (Footpaths) (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010.
In the absence of any objection, the following question was put and agreed:
- ‘The Committee for Regional Development has considered Statutory Rule 2010/429 The Redpoll Avenue, Lisburn (Footpaths) (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010 and has no objection to the rule.’
Members decided that the Committee Clerk would inform the Business Office of the decisions made today.
5. Correspondence
The Committee noted the Consumer Council’s draft forward work programme for 20111/2012.
The Committee noted a written briefing from Volunteer Now on the need for continued volunteer involvement.
Agreed: Members noted correspondence from the Alternative A5 Alliance in relation to the A5 Western Transport Corridor (WTC) and agreed to schedule a briefing on this issue during February 2011.
Agreed: Members noted correspondence from Northern Ireland Water on the recent freeze/thaw event. The Committee agreed to note the correspondence, in the first instance, and to defer further consideration to a future meeting of the Committee, once information requested from Northern Ireland Water had been received.
Agreed: Members noted an Assembly research paper, received from the Finance and Personnel Committee, on preventative spending and agreed to consider the paper as part of the Committee’s consideration of the budget proposals.
Agreed: Members noted correspondence from the Quarry Products Association (QPANI) on the Department’s Draft Budget proposals and agreed to consider the correspondence as part of the Committee’s consideration of the budget proposals.
Members noted the following reports :
- Belfast Healthy Cities’ 2009-10 Annual Review; and
- The Department for Regional Development’s Northern Ireland Road and Rail Transport Statistics, July to September 2010.
6. Any Other Business
Forward Work Programme
Agreed: Members considered a revised forward work programme for the Committee and agreed that the revised work programme should be published on the Assembly website.
10.34am Mr McDevitt joined the meeting.
Committee stakeholder event on the Draft Budget and subsequent meeting
Agreed: The Committee noted and agreed arrangements for its evidence event on the Draft Budget on 26 February 2011 and decided to meet at 9.30am on Friday 28 January 2011 to agree its interim response to the Finance and Personnel Committee on the Draft Budget.
Agreed: The Committee also agreed to consider a final response after it has received the additional information requested from the Department at the Committee meeting of 19 January 2011 and having considered the Hansard transcript of today’s stakeholder event on the Draft Budget. It was agreed that the final response will be published on the Committee’s pages of the Assembly website and also forwarded to the Minister for Regional Development, the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Finance and Personnel Committee.
7. Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Friday 28 January 2011, at 9.30am in Room 30, Parliament Buildings.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 10.26am.
Fred Cobain, MLA
Chairperson, Committee for Regional Development
2 February 2011
19 January 2011 / Menu
