Monthly Archives: September 2016

During Question Time to the Minister for Communities, East Antrim UUP MLA Mr Beggs asked the Minister for Communities to outline the extent of defective cavity wall insulation in Northern Ireland Housing Executive homes.  Responding to the Ulster Unionist Assemblyman, the Communities Minister commented: “There is a UK-wide problem with cavity wall insulation that was installed in the 1980s. The degrading or failure of this insulation affects all housing tenures, not just social housing. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive estimates that around 62,000 of its houses have full cavity wall insulation and a further 9,000 have partial cavity wall insulation. No comprehensive survey of the condition of cavity wall insulation in Housing Executive homes has been undertaken. The Housing Executive will carry out a representative sample of cavity inspections in the future, as part of its cyclical maintenance scheme surveys, to determine whether the cavity has been filled and, if it … Continue reading →

East Antrim Ulster Unionist Party representative Roy Beggs MLA has questioned the Infrastructure Minister on the costs to NI Water associated to the Woodburn exploration drilling project, following the disclosure that £25,585.86 was spent during the project. Mr Beggs MLA asked the Minister  to “detail how £25,585.86 was spent by NI Water in relation to the Woodburn exploration drilling project, to detail the income that they received as a result of the lease and to give details of the business case assessment made by NI Water before agreeing to this lease arrangement.” In response the Department advised that the breakdown of expenditure by NI Water included legal costs of £20,986.50, staff costs of £1,937.84, contractor costs of £815.76 and analytical costs of £1,845.76.  This was offset by the pro rata figure of £29,096.77 that NI Water received through the licence agreement. Mr Beggs said “I was shocked to see that … Continue reading →

East Antrim Ulster Unionist Party MLA Roy Beggs has questioned the Communities Minister on the timeframe for the transfer of powers which are to be devolved to the new Councils. Mr Beggs asked “The Minister for Communities for an update on the transfer of urban regeneration and community development powers to local councils.” In response, he was advised that “the extension of Regeneration and Community Development powers to Local Government did not proceed under the last mandate. The new Department for Communities (DfC) has now been established with a much wider range of responsibilities, including responsibility for local government and it will be in that context that I will wish to consider the options for going forward. Ultimately, any decision to extend powers to local government is a matter for the Executive. The timing of extension would be subject to the successful completion of the legislative process.” Roy Beggs added … Continue reading →