Post-It On Politics
30/06/2008 Rising Energy Costs

30/06/2008 PARENTS' I'M ON YOUR SIDE - CREE

30/06/2008 UUP POSITION ON THE FUTURE OF UNIONISM

30/06/2008 Railway Strategy

13/05/2008 MLA's open new office in Bangor

08/04/2008 Cree welcomes call for comprehensive N.I. rail-way strategy

01/04/2008 Varney review -Assembly Debate - Leslie Cree 31 March 2008

01/04/2008 Have your say in Post Office plans

13/03/2008 Education, Diet and Income all play a role in a Childs Opportunity in Life

07/03/2008 N.I. Infrastructure lags behind as major tourist attractions forge ahead - Cree

26/02/2008 We must maximise our tourist and commercial assets -Cree

19/02/2008 Tourism Speech NI Assembly 19.2.08

28/01/2008 Programme for Government

26/11/2007 Cree supports local charity cookbook initiative

12/10/2007 Donaghadee and Movilla Debate

05/10/2007 UUP takes issue with all-island Development Body - Cree

05/10/2007 In North Down we have a bush fire raging

02/07/2007 Assembly Motion Accidents in the Construction Industry

19/06/2007 50M POOL PROJECT WILL HAVE IMPACT ON LOCAL TOURISM FIGURES _CREE

12/06/2007 Industrial Rates Speech 12 June 2007

12/06/2007 Budget Bill: First Stage Speech 11 June 2007

04/06/2007 Stormont Speech - Private Caravan Owners

30/06/2008 Rising Energy Costs

30/06/2008 PARENTS' I'M ON YOUR SIDE - CREE

30/06/2008 UUP POSITION ON THE FUTURE OF UNIONISM

30/06/2008 Railway Strategy

13/05/2008 MLA's open new office in Bangor

08/04/2008 Cree welcomes call for comprehensive N.I. rail-way strategy

01/04/2008 Varney review -Assembly Debate - Leslie Cree 31 March 2008

01/04/2008 Have your say in Post Office plans

13/03/2008 Education, Diet and Income all play a role in a Childs Opportunity in Life

07/03/2008 N.I. Infrastructure lags behind as major tourist attractions forge ahead - Cree

26/02/2008 We must maximise our tourist and commercial assets -Cree

19/02/2008 Tourism Speech NI Assembly 19.2.08

28/01/2008 Programme for Government

26/11/2007 Cree supports local charity cookbook initiative

12/10/2007 Donaghadee and Movilla Debate

05/10/2007 UUP takes issue with all-island Development Body - Cree

05/10/2007 In North Down we have a bush fire raging

02/07/2007 Assembly Motion Accidents in the Construction Industry

19/06/2007 50M POOL PROJECT WILL HAVE IMPACT ON LOCAL TOURISM FIGURES _CREE

12/06/2007 Industrial Rates Speech 12 June 2007

12/06/2007 Budget Bill: First Stage Speech 11 June 2007

04/06/2007 Stormont Speech - Private Caravan Owners

Review of
Public Administration

Purpose

RPA Map and PlanThe Government has announced its plans for the improvement of Local Government.  These are unsatisfactory.

In October 2000 the Ulster Unionist Party initiated this Review believing that Northern Ireland is not over-governed but is over administered  The many layers of administration have been outside the norms of democratic accountability.

The current public administration or local government (it is more than just Councils) needs to maximise efficiency and be effective and accountable to those who pay the bills.

From the beginning my Party has promoted the principle of co-terminosity or the single footprint for services and political structures.  Service boundaries, council boundaries and parliamentary/Assemble boundaries should be inter-related.  It is within those parameters that the new structures should exist.

Instead the Government has decided upon seven new super councils with enhanced powers to cover all of Northern Ireland.  These would in effect re-partition Northern Ireland with three “green” councils, three “orange” councils and Belfast being marginal.

This foolish decision has the propensity to undo all of the good work done on community relations over recent years.  It would also mean the end of ”Corporate Northern Ireland” in the event of the Assembly being ended.

Quangos are a legacy of the failure of the MacCrory proposals for the last reorganisation of Local Government in the early seventies.

The Government has proposed some changes to these undemocratic organisations but they have not gone far enough.  These must be made accountable to the public through their elected representatives.

There are eleven Government Departments in Northern Ireland and their review is outside the brief.  But with enhanced powers and responsibilities being proposed for the new Councils it makes sense to consider the functions of the Departments and I believe that their number could be reduced by at least one third.  

 
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