OFFICIAL REPORT (Hansard)

Committee for Infrastructure OFFICIAL REPORT (Hansard) Ministerial Briefing: Mr Chris Hazzard MLA (Minister for Infrastructure) and Department for Infrastructure Officials 8 June 2016 NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY Committee for Infrastructure Ministerial Briefing: Mr Chris Hazzard MLA (Minister for Infrastructure) and Department for Infrastructure Officials 8 June 2016 Members present for all or part of the proceedings: Mr William Humphrey (Chairperson) Mr William Irwin (Deputy Chairperson) Ms Kellie Armstrong Mr Alex Easton Mr Paul Girvan Mr Declan McAleer Mr Fra McCann Mr Eamonn McCann Mr Justin McNulty Mrs Jenny Palmer Witnesses: Mr Hazzard Minister for Infrastructure Mr Peter May Department for Infrastructure Ms Fiona McCandless Department for Infrastructure Dr Andrew Murray Department for Infrastructure The Chairperson (Mr Humphrey): Good morning. I welcome Mr Chris Hazzard, the Minister for Infrastructure; Mr Peter May, the permanent secretary; Dr Andrew Murray, deputy permanent secretary, roads and rivers; and Ms Fiona McCandless, deputy secretary, planning, water and the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). You are very welcome. Over to you. Do you want to make a presentation, Minister, before taking questions? Mr Hazzard (The Minister for Infrastructure): Yes, Chair. Thanks, and thanks for the opportunity to brief you so early in the term. I am very excited to be the first Infrastructure Minister, so it is good to engage with you straight off the bat. I will take the opportunity to set out what I see as the role of my Department and my ambitions going forward. As Minister for Infrastructure, I will focus on three levels of activity. First, to place a strategic focus on the infrastructure needs of the North for the next 20 to 30 years; in other words, to recognise that what we do today sets parameters for the next generation and therefore getting it right matters hugely. It takes a long time to get major projects from concept to delivery, but I want to engage with the Committee on that pipeline of projects going forward. Secondly, in this mandate I want to make a real difference in key areas. The Programme for Government (PFG) has two key areas of focus: improving transport connections and increasing the use of public transport and active travel. There is work ongoing to develop action plans on both those issues, but I can set out some key areas of priority today. On transport connections, I want to ensure that we have infrastructure that enables economic 1 growth across the region, including delivery on the A5 and A6 major road schemes. To that end, I will seek early discussions with my ministerial counterpart in the South to ensure that the monetary commitment to the A5 remains intact. I want to place a focus on public transport, delivering Belfast rapid transit (BRT) and advancing the transport hubs in Derry and Belfast. I want to advance the cross-border projects laid out in the Fresh Start Agreement, namely the Narrow Water project and the Ulster canal and to develop and deliver major improvements where the need is greatest. Alongside that, DFI has a major part to play in working with local government in place-making responsibilities. Thirdly, I will intervene as issues arise. On Monday, I demonstrated my commitment to announce proposals to remove oil and gas from permitted development rights. I look forward to working with the Committee to introduce legislation to that end. That is one example. As the Committee will be aware, the Department for Infrastructure was formed by drawing together functions from several previous Departments, including roads, water and public transport from the Department for Regional Development; strategic planning, road safety and the Driver and Vehicle Agency from the Department of the Environment; Rivers Agency from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; inland waterways, including Waterways Ireland, from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure; and Crumlin Road Gaol and the St Lucia site from OFMDFM. The bringing together of those functions presents an exciting opportunity. Infrastructure is key to building a successful region by driving economic growth and tackling disadvantage, but it is also a vital component in the daily lives of all our citizens, providing vital services that are so important for quality of life. It is easy to take our infrastructure for granted. Roads, public transport and water are such essential services, but we really notice them only when something goes wrong. I strongly believe that investment in our transport and water infrastructure is a key driver for attracting investment and growth and ensuring that we have an equitable regional balance. I will certainly do all I can as Minister to achieve that balance, dispel inequalities and promote and pump-prime economic growth. I am conscious that this is a five-year mandate and that it will be important to take a long-term strategic view. As members will know, the new Programme for Government is outcomes-based and thus seeks to ensure a more strategic approach to the issues we face as a region. As a new Minister, I am keen to consider the role that the Department can play in contributing to the wider Executive agenda; for example, the contribution that can be made to health and well-being through the promotion of road safety, cycling and the creation of greenways and, indeed, the contribution that my Department's strategic planning function makes to the environmental and economic outcomes of a more confident society moving forward. Of course, I am well aware that there will be some specific day-to-day matters that will come to the Committee's attention, and I and my officials will be happy to keep you as informed as possible. To that end, it might be useful if Committee members built their understanding of the work of the Department by engaging in site visits to some key locations where they can see the Department's work in action. We would be happy to offer some suggestions if you would find that helpful, and I would be more than happy to make some visits jointly with the Committee as well. I am also happy to listen to ideas and suggestions that the Committee may have on a range of issues and to work with you on them. Finally, I would like to touch on two brief housekeeping matters, if I may. First, I must apologise for not being able to bring the June monitoring to you at this meeting; unfortunately, I was not able to resolve all the issues arising in time. However, my officials will brief you in the very near future, and I am happy to come back to the Committee to address any issues arising, if necessary. The second thing is that members may have noticed that I have swapped my scheduled Question Time with the Minister of Justice: I will now answer questions for oral answer on Monday 27 June instead of Tuesday 21 June. I apologise if that causes Members any inconvenience; however, I will be attending to important departmental business in the Netherlands from 19 to 22 June. That will involve hosting a TEN-T event in Rotterdam. As members may know, TEN-T is a European-wide network of existing and proposed infrastructure for transport. Going to Rotterdam will provide me with the opportunity to meet several important EU figures in a single visit and will allow me to begin the process of promoting key TEN-T projects here in the North of Ireland. I will also have the opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges and issues that we face as a region while seeing how competing member states and regions plan and perform, to ensure that we stay one step ahead of them. I look forward to a fruitful relationship with the Committee, and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. As you can see, I am ably supported here today by Peter, Fiona and Andrew, who will be able to add any detail that you may require. Thank you very much. 2 The Chairperson (Mr Humphrey): Thank you very much. Before I bring in members who have indicated that they wish to speak, I have a few questions. Obviously, the Committee was keen to discuss the June monitoring round and the budget for 2016-17 with you, but we are not able to do that this morning: what are the reasons for that? Mr Hazzard: Discussions are ongoing with the Finance Minister, and consideration of all priorities is still taking place. When any information is available, I will provide it to the Committee as soon as possible. The Chairperson (Mr Humphrey): Everybody around the table, as well as the people out there, are keen to be aware of the position not just in your Department but across government. We are disappointed — I am sure that will manifest itself as members come to ask questions — that we have not been able to discuss those matters. I would be keen, as Chair and speaking on behalf of the Committee collectively, to get the information you have as soon as you have it so that we are informed and members can make their judgements and ask questions. I was speaking to the Committee Clerk yesterday about visits. There are new members on the Committee and new Members in the Assembly — we are all new members of the Committee, although some of us served on the Environment Committee or the other Committees that this one succeeds — so we are keen to make those visits as much as possible and to be out there across the Department. Minister, we heard last week from the civil servants that there was a potential 9% cut to the budget.

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