§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Ministerial Statement.
Earlier today, I placed in the Libraries copies of the annual report on the implementation of the regional development strategy for Northern Ireland 2025 (RDS), covering the period 2003–04. Implementation of the RDS is not simply a process for the Department for Regional Development; it is a shared process involving a wide variety of public and private organisations, businesses, voluntary and community organisations and individuals. Annual reporting on the implementation of the RDS involves assessment of progress being made against a number of critical threshold indicators (CTIs) and each of the strategic planning guidelines (SPGs) contained in the strategy.
The RDS sets out a regional brownfield target of 60 per cent by 2010 for towns with a population of 5,000. Recent information provided by the Department of the Environment shows a fall from almost 88 per cent in 2001–02 to 81 per cent in 2002–03.
Progress is also measured against each of the SPGs. The information is published annually in the monitoring report and is available on the department's website. With only three years monitoring, it is not possible to draw any significant conclusions on the data collected so far.
During 2003 and 2004, the department engaged with a wide range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors and in the community. A series of four sub-regional seminars were held in the north-west, the south-east, the west rural and the north-east. The aim was to identify the development needs of sub-regions and to examine the potential of the RDS to provide a framework through which those needs could be addressed.
The Planning (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 requires the department to examine emerging development plans for "general conformity" with the RDS. In March 2004, the department received the draft Magherafelt area plan for consideration, and a statement of general conformity was issued in the same month.
The annual report comments on the RDS commitment to a five-year review—a focused assessment—of the strategy to be carried out in 2005–06. The purpose of the focused assessment is to consider any aspects of the RDS where in-course adjustments to strategic guidance would be important prior to a major review at the 10-year point. Work has already commenced on a review of regional housing 58WS figures, and I expect to make an announcement on that shortly. The focused assessment process will provide the opportunity for consultation on the outcome of this housing work.