(AQW 392/02)

The Minister for Regional Development (Mr P Robinson): In order to ensure compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations (NI) 1995, Water Service is implementing a programme of upgrading wastewater treatment works across Northern Ireland including the Mid Ulster constituency.

Water Service has recently completed the upgrading of 7 wastewater treatment works (ie Killygonlan/ Mullanhoe, Upperlands, Ballinderry, Knockanroe, Drapersfield, Davagh and Killeen). The costs involved were £3 million.

In the 2003/4 financial year, Water Service proposes to start upgrading work at 6 Works (ie Cookstown, Clunto Richardson, Bellaghy, Creagh, Dunnamore and Killyneese) at a cost of £12 million. The construction of the Cookstown Works was originally programmed to start in June of this year. However, it was necessary to carry out a major reappraisal of the Works to take account of revised assessments of residential, commercial and industrial development in the area. The scheme is now programmed to start in June 2003.

In the 2004/5 and 2005/6 financial years it is proposed to upgrade 11 Works (ie Stewartstown, Draperstown, Maghera, Magherafelt, Coagh, Sandholes, Rock, Gulladuff, Pomeroy, Desertmartin and Castledawson). The total cost involved is £3.8 million.

Pending these major upgrading schemes, Water Service is currently carrying out interim improvements to 3 Works (ie Moneymore, Coagh and Stewartstown) at a cost of £151,000. It is also intended to carry out interim improvements to a further 9 Works at a cost of £350,000.

(AQW 393/02)

Mr P Robinson: My Department’s Roads Service is currently monitoring the situation in Great Britain regarding such measures and, in light of that, I will consider what course of action is best for Northern Ireland.

I should explain that, in England, many highway authorities now require undertakers executing street works to pay a penalty charge for exceeding the prescribed duration of the works, or if the works are not completed within a reasonable period. In February 2001 the Government appointed consultants to monitor the effectiveness of such overstay charging in England. A report covering the first 12 months is expected shortly.

In addition, pilot studies of lane rental that started in GB in March 2002 will continue to March 2004. There are therefore no research findings available yet. However, I understand that, if it becomes apparent that overstay charges have failed to lead to a sufficient reduction in disruption, then the Government is prepared to make the lane rental charging powers available to highway authorities across England.

I can also advise that, in Scotland, the Scottish Executive has carried out public consultation on introducing similar charges and is presently analysing the responses. In Wales, I understand that the Welsh Assembly is awaiting the outcome of the consultants report on the effectiveness of overstay charging in England before deciding on the way forward.

(AQW 395/02)

Mr P Robinson: The review of noise monitoring at Northern Ireland airports, which I announced recently, is a 2-part exercise. Part 1, which takes the form of a scoping study, has already commenced and involves a series of site visits and meetings with a number of people, including local residents, airport management and local authorities.

This initial fact-finding will determine the extent and thus the timetable for the further more detailed work which will be undertaken during Part 2 of the review. The Department would expect the initial phase of the review to be completed by the end of October 2002, however it is too early to put a date on the overall completion of the review.

(AQW 419/02)

Mr P Robinson: Subject to the completion of all statutory processes, including planning approval and environmental consent considerations, construction of the new wastewater treatment works for Larne is scheduled to commence in September 2003. It will take two years to complete at an estimated cost of around £10 million.

(AQW 420/02)

Mr P Robinson: My Department’s Roads Service has no record of Larne Borough Council having sought permission to erect bunting from street lighting columns in Larne town centre.

(AQW 433/02)

Mr P Robinson: My Department’s Roads Service is aware of the increasing traffic volume on the trunk route through Ballykelly and the delays at peak times on the approaches to the traffic signals in the centre of the village. The results of an ongoing review of these traffic signals should be available in November with any identified improvements implemented by early 2003.

Looking to the longer term, within the context of the Regional Transportation Strategy, Roads Service is preparing a Forward Planning Schedule of major road schemes, which it is expected could be started within the 10-year period of the Strategy.

Roads Service is currently carrying out appraisals on a number of schemes for possible inclusion in the Schedule. I can confirm that a bypass of Ballykelly is one of the schemes currently being appraised. However, you will appreciate that there are many competing pressures on the finite resources available for the roads programme and not all schemes will be successful.

Those schemes that are successful would have to be taken through the statutory procedures of Environmental Assessment, Planning Approval and Land Acquisition, but the most critical factor in delivering the Regional Transportation Strategy will be the acquisition of the necessary additional funds for such schemes.

(AQW 458/02)

Mr P Robinson: My Department leases one building which has been identified by the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Construction Service as currently containing asbestos as a component of its construction. The building is Ballycastle Depot, Station Road, Ballycastle and, at present, 12 staff are employed within the premises.

There are no current plans to remove the asbestos from this building. Construction Service carry out regular surveys of the building together with an assessment of risk.

(AQW 461/02)

Mr P Robinson: There were 3 site offices associated with the construction of the Comber Bypass which were completely destroyed in an arson attack in the early hours of 24 September 2002. The estimated replacement cost of these offices and their contents is £40,000.

While it is not anticipated that this attack will have a significant impact on delivery of the project, I have to say that I am extremely concerned and saddened that the contractor’s property should be damaged by an arson attack in this way. This act of mindless damage serves no purpose other than to impede this scheme which has been welcomed by the whole community.

The long awaited Comber Bypass scheme will provide relief to the traffic congestion problems in Comber, which have increased over the past 3 decades.

It is obvious that the vast majority of people in Comber want this scheme completed as soon as possible. I would appeal to the local community to make it clear to those responsible that this attack is totally unacceptable and support the contractor in ensuring the scheduled completion of the project.

(AQW 507/02)

Mr P Robinson: Further to my answer of 22 May 2002 in response to your Written Assembly Question AQW 3452/01, I am pleased to advise that the negotiations to acquire the land necessary to construct a left turn lane for traffic exiting from Upper Damolly Road onto Rathfriland Road as part of the proposed signalised junction, are nearing a successful conclusion.

It is hoped that the relevant documents will be signed within the coming weeks to enable my Department’s Roads Service to commence construction work on site before Christmas, with a view to bringing the new signals into operation early in the New Year.

(AQW 512/02)

Mr P Robinson: The attached table shows the take up of Senior Citizens Smartpass by Parliamentary Constituency. There is, in general, a very high take up demonstrating the success of my initiative to introduce free travel for older people. More than 142,000 people representing nearly 65% of over 65s in Northern Ireland have now applied for Senior Smartpasses. This is a huge increase in the approximately 60,000 old style Concessionary Passes in issue prior to the introduction of free travel.

As part of the launch of the Senior Smartpass, my Department arranged a direct mail shot to around 220,000 pensioners combined with an extensive publicity and information campaign. Ongoing procedures are in place to ensure that people newly turning 65 are invited to apply for the Senior Smartpass.

It may be that we have now reached a natural ceiling for the issue of Senior Smartpasses. A proportion of the population over 65 will not be interested in obtaining Passes, for example, those relatively affluent pensioners who prefer to use private cars, those who are too aged or infirm to benefit from the Scheme and those, particularly in rural areas, for whom public transport services are inaccessible. Further contact to encourage these people to come forward is unlikely to result in substantial additional public transport usage. In this regard, it is noteworthy that 69,000 or just under half of those who have applied for and received the Senior Smartpass since the 1 May have not yet used them on scheduled bus services.

(AQO 237/02)

Mr P Robinson: As the Member’s question relates to the use of procurement to assist the unemployed into work, I will restrict my answer to the number and value of capital and services contracts that meet the financial criteria specified by the Procurement Board for the pilot. These criteria specify that:

The contract value should ideally be £3.86 million or more for construction or £0.5 million per year for services. However construction contracts with a value of £1 million or more, and service contracts worth £0.25 million per annum or more will also be considered.

Dealing with part (a) of your question first.

To date, my Department has awarded 7 capital contracts with a total value of £30.7 million, and 11 services contracts with a total value of £19.5 million during the 2002/03 financial year.

Responding to part (b) of your question.

Each of these contracts, together with all contracts to be advertised in the EU Official Journal during the period August to November 2002, was assessed for inclusion in the Procurement Board’s pilot scheme.

Turning to part (c) of your question.

The Procurement Board has specified that the EU Official Journal Notice for all contracts to be included in the pilot must clearly state the requirement for the production of an Unemployment Utilisation Plan. With the exception of one Water Service contract for services, notices for all other eligible DRD contracts had already been placed in the EU Official Journal without reference to the Unemployment Utilisation Plan before the pilot scheme was launched. The Water Service contract, which has a total value of £900,000, has been nominated by my Department for inclusion in the pilot scheme.

(AQO 242/02)

Mr P Robinson: I met the Minister of the Environment on a number of occasions to review officials’ assessment of the complex legal, environmental and operational issues involved with water quality and planning in 56 areas across Northern Ireland. The statement that he made earlier today reflects a great deal of work by our Departments. We have agreed a sensible and pragmatic way forward which achieves a balance between Northern Ireland’s development needs and protecting the environment. Development can proceed in each of the areas subject to the normal planning processes. I can assure you of Water Service’s commitment to the programme of upgrading wastewater infrastructure at these and other locations across Northern Ireland.

(AQO 264/02)

Mr P Robinson: My Department’s proposals to improve the M1 and Westlink are currently at the statutory procedures stage.

Public Inquiries about the environmental aspects of the project were held in late 2000. The Inspector’s report was generally favourable and my predecessor, Gregory Campbell, decided to proceed to the next stage with a modified scheme to take account of any points of concern upheld by the Inspector.

In May 2002 my Department published the draft Designation Order, which is broadly equivalent to a planning application. Five letters of objection and 3 comments were received. Due to the nature of the objections I have decided to hold a further Public Inquiry which will commence on 22 November 2002. When I have considered the Inspector’s report I will be in a position to make a decision and I will, of course, consult the Regional Development Committee.

Subject to this process, we should be able to start phase 1 of the works in mid 2003. This will widen the M1 to 3 lanes in each direction between Black’s Road and Stockman’s Lane. Funding for this phase has already been secured through the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative.

Phase 2 of the project will improve the M1 / Westlink from Stockman’s Lane to Grosvenor Road. This requires some land to be acquired and funding has not yet been secured. One option currently being considered is the use of a Public Private Partnership.

(AQO 236/02)

(a) Translink has advised that the current figures for passengers using the Carrickfergus – Antrim bus service is approximately 300 per month.

(b) Translink has further advised that its plans to introduce a service from Carrickfergus to Mallusk were shelved when research confirmed that the service was not viable. However, given recent developments, such as the closure of the Nortel factory in Carrickfergus which may result in the relocation of some jobs to their Mallusk site, Translink will carry out further research and reconsider the introduction of a service from Carrickfergus to Mallusk.

(AQO 253/02)

Mr P Robinson: Total allocations to my Department from the Infrastructure EPF and RRI for 2002/03 and 2003/04 amount to £33 million and £64 million respectively. No allocations have yet been made in respect of 2004/05 and beyond.

Of the total allocations, £30 million is earmarked for four specific projects on the Regional Strategic Transportation Network including the Toome Bypass, part of the Belfast – Larne road and widening of the M1. However, the majority of the resources will be devoted to programmes of general benefit throughout Northern Ireland although plans for investment are not drawn up on a constituency basis.

My Department has recently provided the Department of Finance and Personnel with a broad assessment of its infrastructure requirements and details of RRI opportunities totalling in excess of £200 million per annum. Any additional expenditure secured from RRI from 2004/05 onwards will, no doubt, benefit all areas of Northern Ireland, including the Strangford Constituency.

(AQO 269/02)

Mr P Robinson: The need to improve the junction of University Street and Ormeau Road to facilitate traffic wishing to turn right into University Street was identified in the mid-1990’s during the determination of the planning application in respect of the Gasworks development.

At that time, Laganside Corporation and ‘Making Belfast Work’, now part of the Department for Social Development’s Belfast Regeneration Office, agreed to fund the work and purchase the land required for the scheme. My Department’s Roads Service agreed to design the scheme and supervise the construction work.

The present position is that while funding has been made available by Laganside Corporation and Roads Service has prepared a suitable design, the purchase of the two small strips of land required for the scheme from the adjacent former petrol filling station and rugby ground has presented difficulties.

I understand that discussions are ongoing between the Regeneration Office and the owners of the former filling station, to acquire one part of the necessary land. The former rugby ground, having been sold to one developer, was recently re-sold to Clanmil Housing Association. I understand the Regeneration Office is working with the Housing Association in order to co-ordinate the works for the junction improvement with those required to achieve a satisfactory entrance into the proposed housing development.

It is expected that a formal planning application and a traffic assessment for the Clanmil housing development will be submitted in due course. If and when planning approval is granted, both schemes can hopefully move forward together.

(AQO 249/02)

Mr P Robinson: In the last two years, my Department’s Roads Service secured 5 successful prosecutions against two utility companies for failing to reinstate road openings in the manner prescribed. There were a further 7 successful prosecutions of utilities for other offences under the Street Works legislation.

Roads Service does not recover money from fines imposed on utilities by the courts. It does, however, ensure that defective reinstatements are properly repaired by the utility concerned, whether or not the defect is a prosecutable offence.

I am hopeful that the increasing emphasis being directed to the role and performance of the utilities and the tougher approach being adopted by Roads Service will result in improved standards of reinstatements across Northern Ireland.

(AQO 275/02)

Mr P Robinson: Since 1 July 2002 I have met Sean Farren, Minister for Finance and Personnel, on 2 occasions and Dermot Nesbitt, Minister for the Environment, on 3 occasions.

During my study visit to Australia in August I met John Brumby, State Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development in the State of Victoria, and Steve Bredhauer, Minister for Transport and Main Roads in the State of Queensland.

Most recently, on 20 September, I discussed cooperation on transport issues with Ian Gray and Sue Essex, transport ministers in the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly, respectively.

(AQO 259/02)

Mr P Robinson: A planning application for the proposed North Down Wastewater Treatment Works, associated pumping stations and transfer pipelines was submitted to Planning Service in May of this year. It is currently being processed. The proposed site of the Works is currently in private ownership and initial land acquisition procedures will commence shortly. Consideration is also being given to procuring the Works using a Public Private Partnership approach.

As the Member will appreciate, these processes can be complex and lengthy, and many are outside the direct control of Water Service. It is, therefore, unlikely that the construction of the new wastewater treatment works can commence before 2005.

(AQO 256/02)

Mr P Robinson: The Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) has identified an additional funding requirement of £1370 million over the 10-year strategy period, of which, it is assumed, £400 million will be sourced from private sector contributions. My officials are currently considering how best to secure these private sector contributions to fund the strategy.

The RTS assumes that the use of Public Private Partnerships for the delivery of highways and public transport schemes will result in a net contribution of £300 million toward the strategy. The viability of a Public Private Partnership, or PPP, procurement solution is currently being investigated for roads and transportation schemes with a total value of £500 million. Value for money will be the key determinant in any decision to adopt a PPP solution to any road or transportation scheme.

My officials are also developing detailed policy proposals for developers’ contributions toward roads and transportation infrastructure enhancement. The RTS assumes that £100 million additional funding will be made available from this source. I will be considering these proposals early in 2003.

(AQO 245/02)

Mr P Robinson: Water Service will adopt sewerage infrastructure constructed by private developers provided the infrastructure meets the specific requirements set out by Water Service under Article 17 of the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1973. The sewage pumping station at The Coaches, Croft Road, Holywood was constructed by Hagan Homes, who developed The Coaches housing site. Water Service has advised that the pumping station has not been adopted due to legal difficulties relating to the transfer of the land on which the pumping station is located. Water Service has been in contact with Hagan Homes and their legal advisers on many occasions about the issue, but regrettably despite these approaches, it has not yet been possible to bring the matter to a conclusion.

The ownership of the pumping station remains with Hagan Homes, who are therefore responsible for its inspection and maintenance. Water Service is aware, from correspondence with one of the local residents, that there is an ongoing problem with discharges from the pumping station, but Water Service cannot take any action with regard to the operation of the pumping station.

Both Water Service and Hagan Homes are anxious to have the legal issues resolved, and Hagan Homes are pursuing this aspect. When the legal issues are resolved Water Service will inspect the pumping station and, subject to all of its requirements being met, will proceed with adoption. Water Service is confident that following adoption, and the implementation of its stringent inspection and maintenance procedures, there will be a significant reduction in the risk of future problems with the pumping station.

(AQW 410/02)

The Minister for Social Development (Mr Dodds): The information is not available in precisely the format requested, but the post-codes in the table below broadly correspond to constituency areas.

(AQW 411/02)

Mr Dodds: The Warm Homes Scheme is demand led and funding is not allocated on a constituency basis. However, the Department’s scheme manager promotes and markets the scheme to ensure that vulnerable people in fuel poverty have access to it wherever they live. The funding for the Warm Homes Scheme in this financial year totals £7.98 million.

(AQW 434/02)

Mr Dodds: I can confirm that the Department for Social Development does not lease any buildings containing asbestos as a component of their construction.