§ Lord Kilclooneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What restrictions exist to limit the construction of new office buildings by Northern Ireland district councils, pending the completion of the current review of public administration. [HL4745]
§ Baroness AmosNone. Decisions on the provision of new office buildings are a matter for district councils themselves.
However, my honourable friend the Minister with responsibility for the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland (Ian Pearson) has encouraged councils not to enter into commitments which would impose costs on present and future ratepayers, in the belief that this might influence decisions on where administrative centres in new council areas might be located, following completion of the review of public administration. The same message has been conveyed to other bodies, right across the public sector.