ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUB-GROUP INFRASTRUCTURE SUB-GROUP

 

Meeting held on Tuesday 21 June at 1.30 pm in Clarence Court, Belfast.

 

Present:

 

Sub-Group        Jim McCusker (Chairman)

Richard Sterling

Michael Brennan

Doreen Brown

 

In Attendance: Tom Clarke

 

Apologies:        John Gilliland

Michael McGuckin

 

1.         Introduction

 

1.1       Jim McCusker and Doreen Brown reported to the Sub-Group on the EDF meeting of 15 June at which reports were given by each of the four sub-groups.  In relation to Infrastructure, particular attention had been paid to the sub-group’s views on the importance of action to increase the take-up of Broadband in Northern Ireland.

 

2.         Infrastructure Projects – mandatory processes – Economic Appraisal

 

2.1       Michael Brennan circulated a brief paper setting out the rationale for proper economic appraisal of infrastructure (and other capital investment) projects.

 

2.2       The economic appraisal process was often criticised as unnecessary and/or unduly time-consuming.  It was, however, a process required for all projects, or baskets of projects, spending public money in order:

 

-      to prove value for money, generating an economic return for the taxpayers;

 

-      to provide accountability, ensuring public money is used in line with Parliament’s wishes.

 

2.3       The process was perceived as being a lengthy one.  This could be due to a number of factors:

 

-      failure to conduct the appraisals according to HM Treasury’s Green Book standards, resulting in them being rejected by the government’s economists, and having to be reworked;

 

-      lack of appreciation that appraisals of schemes which were routine, with no novel features, did not need to involve much work; proportionality it also a factor;

 

-      lack of staff trained in assessing economic appraisals.

 

2.4       It was desirable for organisations to build up expertise in appraisal rather than hiring consultants.  DFP envisaged training being rolled out to develop in-house skills.

 

2.5       Inevitably, however, appraisals for politically sensitive, complex or contentious schemes took longer to process.

 

3.         Statutory Planning Processes

 

3.1       Tom Clarke outlined the key stages in the physical planning process.

 

3.2       Planning permission could be applied for before an economic appraisal had been carried out, in parallel, or after.  The Planning Service was ready to talk to applicants, to give advice, informally at any stage of the process.

 

3.3       The NI statutory planning process was the same as the English process and similar to that in the ROI, although the ROI process permitted third party appeals which elongated the process.

 

3.4       The number of applications being handled by the Planning Service had increased markedly in recent years, and had impacted on the Service’s speed of response.

 

3.5       The tendency was to put further checks into the system.  Each new check or balance slowed down the process.  In addition, a considerable amount of time was taken up by the need for the Planning Service to interact with other Agencies, eg, Roads, Water, District Councils.

 

3.6       The Planning Service was discussing with SIB how the system could better gear itself up to dealing rapidly with the major schemes envisaged in the ISNI.  SIB would be providing a programme listing the main schemes.

 

4.         Use of Road Space

 

4.1       Doreen Brown circulated a note prepared by Roads Service on its consideration of the case for dedicated road space for commercial traffic in the context of the M1/Westlink.

 

5.         Conclusions

 

5.1       The group agreed that it was important to get input from a range of interests:

 

-      from SIB on the impact of major infrastructure development, and with particular reference to the capacity of the private sector, and of services to cope on matters such as appraisal and on planning processes;

 

-      from the CBI, if they wished to raise issues related to the roads infrastructure;

 

-      from Roads Service to provide information relating to road speed targets and measurement;

 

-      from DETI in relation to Broadband uptake; the possibility of drawing in further information on this area from other sources would also be explored.

 

July 2005