All of Ms Liz Kimmins’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I have previously provided the Assembly with my position on the matter. My Department has already extensively reviewed NI Water's funding model and analysed the opportunities for NI Water in raising additional revenue, operating more efficiently and using financial transactions capital (FTC) and additional borrowing…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank Mr Martin for securing this important debate on his concerns about a lack of investment in the road network in North Down. I also thank Stephen Dunne, Alan Chambers and Connie Egan. I have listened intently to all the comments and issues that have been raised by…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank Mr Beattie for securing this important debate on concerns about the road infrastructure leading to Craigavon Area Hospital. The issue is important to me, as a Newry and Armagh MLA and a former member of the Health Committee. I listened intently to Members as they…
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. During Members' statements, Timothy Gaston raised an issue in relation to my announcement yesterday on Irish language signage for Grand Central station and indicated that an equality screening had not been completed. I want to rectify that. An equality screening had been completed, and…
Health and safety is paramount in every case. I have said clearly that we have been working with the board. However, if my Department overspends, there is a consequence. We all have difficult work to do to ensure that we live within our budgets. I do not underestimate the challenges that any ALB has in living within…
Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to address the Assembly. My statement is on my decision to start the process of engaging forensic accounting services to investigate why NI Water has been unable to live within its resource budget allocation this year. Members are fully aware of the budgetary…
I am loath to say that decisions on where houses are built are taken based on the area of the community that people are in. Everything has to be assessed on its merits. I will say that, where there are difficulties, NI Water's developer constraints team engages with developers to find solutions. The broader issue is…
I have heard that point raised. We saw recent figures that suggest that there was a 15% rise in the price of housing in the past year. That was before developer contributions were even being talked about, so there are other factors that feed into house prices. The reality is that, at present, developers have to pay to…
The consultation is looking at those options and taking people's views, so we do not have an accurate figure for the revenue that they would bring in. There has been commentary to the effect that it would be a drop in the ocean. From the outset, my predecessor and I have said that developer contributions are only one…
For any such issues that arise, the Windsor framework was put in place to streamline and make sure that we have ways of mitigating them. I am happy to work with the sector and any other stakeholders who see such issues, and maybe we can find solutions by working together. Since taking up my post, those issues have not…
I have agreed to meet with the head of Logistics UK, who happens to be one of my predecessors. I am happy to speak to her on any of the issues that may be arising.
Absolutely. I know how important it is to the people in Hannahstown whom you represent. I assure you that improving those facilities is a key priority for me and my Department. I also appreciate residents' frustration that the footway has not yet been constructed. We are 100% committed to progressing the design of the…
I thank the Member for her question, and I am looking forward to meeting her in Hannahstown to see the scheme. I am very aware of how important the scheme is to the people who live in Hannahstown village. I assure the Member that improving facilities for pedestrians in Hannahstown and many other areas is a priority…
I am happy to take the Member's suggestion on board to see whether we can do that. Given the fact that the PAC is an independent body that sits outside my Department, I do not know whether I can instruct it to take that action. I will take it forward and speak to officials to see whether we can potentially look at…
Since coming into post, I have not had any direct discussions with the Department of Justice. However, the Planning Appeals Commission sits outside my Department. We are working through the planning improvement programme to improve the whole planning process. Hopefully, the programme will feed into those issues as…
Without an understanding of the commission's exact terms of reference or what it would look like, it is very hard to make a judgement about that. As I said, if a proposal were put forward about a commission, we can consider it and look at its benefits and at whether it is more onerous than what we already do. I am…
I thank the Member for his question, and I apologise for the earlier technical difficulty. I am happy to come back to him about his listed question. At this point, I have not considered that matter in any great detail. His colleague raised it when I was in with the Committee a number of weeks ago. I am happy to look…
I am happy to take that request forward. As part of the process that I mentioned that will decide which schools will be included, we can consider that school.
At this stage, we do not have the budget allocations, as the draft Budget is still out for consultation, but we are working through those things. I have not made any decisions on specific allocations.
The NIEA is responsible for monitoring water quality. We continue to work closely with it and other partners to ensure that our water is safe. NI Water's role is to treat our water and ensure that it is safe for drinking and to manage the treatment of sewage. In that respect, the NIEA could probably provide the Member…
As I said earlier, quite a lot of work is being done to see such projects move at a much faster pace. On Friday, we launched the consultation on developer contributions, which is about trying to get more investment into the system so that we can move ahead with the much-needed upgrades. No one in the Chamber would…
If you can point me to examples, I will be happy to ask officials to consider them. I am sure that many political parties have signs and banners up everywhere. We look at each case on an individual basis.
That is the subject of ongoing debate. My Department has a specific remit to remove things that obstruct or otherwise have an impact on motorists' vision on our roads. As the Member knows, however, and the Member for South Belfast outlined, because of their contentious nature and the difficulties that they can cause,…
That is an issue that affects all Departments. For a lot of major projects, we have to ensure that all our i's are dotted and all our t's crossed. I appreciate that there have been delays. Some of the delays that occurred in the past were to do with planning and waste water. Those are the priorities on which I, as the…
We have not made any decisions on the budget for the incoming year or on prioritising projects. We are very aware of the scheme, and, as I said, it has to tie in with the transport plan. I hope to have further updates to give very soon.