Northern Ireland Grand Committee
Thursday 4 June 1998
[Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair]
Regional Strategic Framework for Northern Ireland
10.30 am
The Chairman: Before I call Lord Dubs to make his statement on a regional strategic framework for Northern Ireland, I should explain how I propose to conduct this morning’s proceedings. When the Minister has finished, I shall endeavour to call all hon. Members who rise to ask a question. There is no time limit on the statement or on discussion of it, but I must bear in mind that there will be a debate on the same subject immediately afterwards, which has to finish by one o’clock. If hon. Members co-operate by asking short questions, I might be able to call them more than once, but my ability to do that is in their hands.
10.31 am
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Lord Dubs): I thank the Committee for giving me the opportunity to make a statement. I should like to speak about the work of my Department in developing a regional strategy for Northern Ireland. I should welcome views on key topics that the Committee considers should feature in the regional development strategy, and I shall refer to its place in the Good Friday Agreement. I shall of course, take questions at the end of the statement.
Let me start with the origins of the project. During an inquiry into land-use planning in 1996, the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs considered that there was a need for a regional plan along the lines of the regional planning guidance statements that are produced for England and Wales. In their response, the Government of the day accepted that recommendation, and the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland began to consider how it might be delivered,.
As we investigated the best way to approach the task, it became evident that regional planning guidance in the United Kingdom and, indeed, in Europe was about more than land-use planning. Notably, sustainable development had become an increasingly significant consideration in the development of policies. Hon. Members will be familiar with the Bruntland definition of sustainable development, which was offered in 1987. It states that sustainable development is
“development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
The Earth summit in Rio in 1992 brought that concept to the world state. Slowly but surely it has become more and more influential in policy development right across the spectrum.
The change of Government in May 1997 presented an opportunity to give further impetus to the development of a regional strategy for Northern Ireland. It is fair to say that the preparation of a regional strategic framework for the future development of Northern Ireland has become an extremely exciting challenge. It represents a unique opportunity to help create a region that will fulfil a bold long-term vision. For the first time, we have begun to tackle, on a cross-Departmental basis, the inter-relationships between where people live, work, socialise and spend their leisure time. The framework offers a unique opportunity. The Government’s comprehensive approach to looking ahead to the next 25 years is unique, and I can find no other example of such an ambitious and exciting project.
In announcing the beginning of work on the development of the regional strategy in June 1997, the Secretary of State said:
“Our task is to devise a coherent, integrated strategy for the development of the region well into the next century; a strategy that effectively addresses the region’s critical economic, social, environmental and community problems.”
It was evident then there was strong support for an approach that would go beyond conventional land-use planning principles to consider strategic issues relating to agriculture, education, the economy, health, the environment and the matter of a divided society.
Our approach is to develop a long-term vision for the region, setting clear goals, rather than simply accepting current trends. We are at the leading edge in the UK and Europe in developing a long-term strategy to take us to 2025.
The strategy will become the overarching framework in which policies and programmes can be co-ordinated and integrated. It will also provide a framework for the subsequent preparation of more detailed local plans. The Government aspire to have a strong economy, a sustainable environment and an inclusive society. It is right that the people of Northern Ireland should enjoy those qualities in their region.
I should like to refer to four initiatives that are important in themselves, but which will also feed into the regional strategic framework and will in turn, be informed by the work that we heave done and are still doing on it.
The first is sustainable development, which the Government have put to the forefront of our national policies. We want to raise standards of living and quality of life through economic development, but in a way that protects and enhances the environment. We must try to ensure that the benefits of vibrant economy and of healthy environment are enjoyed by all sectors of society and by future generations as well as our own. That also applies to Northern Ireland.
The second initiative concerns integrated transport policy. The Government are working on the development of such a policy, which is especially important in Northern Ireland. Compared to those of other regions, Northern Ireland’s regional transportation system is underdeveloped and requires considerable investment. Following the publication of the Governments White Paper on transport policy, I shall publish a complementary policy statement about transport in Northern Ireland. It will enable me to highlight the specific ways in which transport in Northern Ireland is different, and to deal with the reflection of those differences in policy development.
The third main initiative is the waste management strategy. The Government recognise the relationship between health and the environment, so in Northern Ireland we have begun the task of developing a waste management strategy.
However the development of a regional strategy also seeks to take account of other policy initiatives. For example, in the Government’s White Paper, “Partnership for Equality” in March 1998, the Secretary of State wrote:
“We all have an interest in a stable, secure society. To be that, it has also to be a fair society, whether government is by Direct Rule, as now, or by agreed new arrangements.”
The fourth initiative concerns economic development strategy. We have decided to prepare such a strategy for Northern Ireland. While it will focus on detailed aspects of economic development, there are important relationships between spatial and economic matters. For that reason, the two strategies are being taken forward in parallel, with close liaison between the two Departments responsible: the Department of Economic Development and the Department of the Environment.
We are all aware that each policy impacts on many others and is interdependent with them. The links between the quality of our environment and people’s health and well being are interconnected. They have a bearing on how well the local economy performs, which means that we must strive for social equity and equality of opportunity.
Equality of opportunity and equity of treatment are implicit principles that feature throughout the Government’s policies, whether they relate to strengthening the economy, education, agriculture, health and social services or the environment.
The regional strategic framework offers a chance to set the direction for the region by linking the policies in a way that is appropriate for its specific needs and aspirations. It will guide future development of the area.
For that reason the Government are committed to a regional approach where it will ensure that our policies are introduced in the most appropriate way. In the light of recent political development, that is especially relevant in Northern Ireland.
In many ways, the preparatory work already done locally on transportation and on beginning the development of a regional strategic framework, waste management, sustainable development and the review of the economic strategy, is likely to be helpful to the New Assembly, but I shall say more about the New Assembly’s relationship with regional strategy later.
I shall now turn to the most important part of the process so far. Long-term planning for the region is a complex task. Reaching agreement about the most appropriate regional strategic framework involves difficult choices and decisions affecting the whole community. Therefore, every effort has been made fully to engage all sections of the community in the important process of preparing an agreed final version of the strategy. That has meant a lively and vibrant debate.
Having made the initial announcement in June about the development of the regional strategy, I responded to concerns that it would be more sensible to reach decisions on the future development of the Belfast city region, an exercise that began in January 1996, within the context of an overall strategy for Northern Ireland. In September 1997, when I announced the decision to merge the two exercises, I said that I wanted to have them settled together by the end of 1998. To give effect to the merging of the projects a major conference was held in Belfast on 27 November 1997. To coincide with that conference, the Department published a discussion paper, “Shaping our Future”, and invited everyone with an interest to submit comments by the end of March 1998. Hon. Members will have seen in the discussion paper the merging thinking that has been formulated through extensive consultations with those in the Belfast city region.
We were acutely aware of the desire of the citizens of the region to take ownership of their destiny; and the wish to develop a sense of civic pride and responsibility should be nurtured and cultivated rather than stifled. It will come as no surprise to some members of the Committee that we received more than 200 replies to the “Shaping our Future” discussion paper. We distributed almost 20,000 copies and the document was also accessible on a dedicated web site.
Following the conference, officials from my Department had meetings with each of the 26 district councils, all of whom have now presented their views to us, and staff had meetings with more than 100 interest groups, either individually or through a series of seminars that were organised to aid consideration of the discussion paper. Significantly, we arranged for a university-led consortium to help groups from the voluntary and community sectors to engage in the debate. That consortium organised regional conferences and workshops across the region, which were attended by representatives of more than 350 groups. The rural community in Northern Ireland has also taken up the challenge and has advanced strong arguments as to why we must respect their role in the region.
The Secretary of State attended two youth conferences last month in Belfast and in Derry at which 17 to 25-year-olds outlined the sort of future that they hoped for. They were very clear about what they wanted. We owe it to those young people of the region to give them the best possible legacy. They and the community at large know the importance of strengthening the economy, protecting the environment, caring for the vulnerable sections of our community, tackling disadvantage and providing the basis for sustainable communities. We need to reassure them that we are determined to plan for the future.
The views of everyone, especially those of young people and of people in the voluntary and community sectors, including the rural community, have been a major influence on our thinking. The degree of public debate and the responses that we have received will give members of the Committee an idea of people’s desire to be part of the process. It has never been more evident that Northern Ireland stands on the edge of a whole new world and that the people have a strong desire to move forward. I am therefore reassured that our approach has been directed towards securing consensus.
I do not think that I shall be breaching any confidences if I now give the Committee a flavour of the reaction to the discussion paper. The issues that concern people include the integration of public services, with measurable targets and adequate resources based on a partnership approach; social cohesion, valuing people and the role of women; good public transport; achieving the right balances within the region and equitable distribution of growth between rural and urban areas; the reuse of urban land; the revival of towns and sustaining rural communities.
I have also been conscious of the need to ensure that there is enough land for house building in the years ahead. The projections suggest that as many as 200,000 new households may be required in the next 25 years. We cannot extend into green-field sites as we have done in the past. Since 1951 we have urbanised about 100,000 acres—that is, 160 square miles—of land that has been permanently lost as countryside. Most of that is in the river valleys, where the best agricultural land is located, and we have a lower percentage of good agricultural land than does England. We are not as land rich as we might think. We must therefore conserve this diminishing resource for future generations, which means that house builders must make greater reuse of urban sites. That will help to renew our towns, but we must not build on every site there either. We must retain the best of our built heritage and open spaces.
Many members of the Committee will have noticed that the regional strategy was among the issues that featured in the rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity section of the Good Friday agreement. That agreement also reinforces the commitment to partnership and equality. The Good Friday agreement suggested that the regional strategy was a matter for consideration in due course by an assembly. The outcome of the referendum on 22 May means that that is now possible. I suspect that the assembly will want to make it one of its priorities, although we will need to consider when it might best be done. There is, however, no doubt that the regional strategy offers an early opportunity to get involved in serious decision making about the things that matter to people—they matter all the more in a peaceful and stable environment.
The project team has been working flat out in the past few weeks to convert all the informed opinion into a draft strategy, which we hope to publish either later this month or in early July. That will be followed by a further period of consultation—eight weeks in all. In that respect, today’s Grand Committee is timely. Views that are expressed today can be fed immediately into the preparation of the draft strategy. We will subject the draft to public examination in the autumn. The independent membership of the panel has been established.
Following the public examination, the final strategy, which will be put in front of the New Assembly, will be available for consideration in early 1999. I look forward to the Committee’s comments and questions.
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