Review Of Public Administration

Local Issues

Northern Ireland Issues

Your Opinion
Contact Me
Picture Gallery
Useful Links
Site Map


	10/02/2010 North Down MLA's praise work of Macmillan Cancer Support 19/01/2010 Call for immediate steps to help savers in the Presbyterian Mutual Society 12/01/2010 Significant drop in drink-driving figures welcomed 09/12/2009 Lesie Cree MLA visits Bangor Post Office over the festive season 03/12/2009 Domestic Burglary in Northern Ireland still on increase - Cree 03/12/2009 Cree welcomes findings from the NI crime Survey 26/11/2009 Bank charge ruling will hit consumers hard - Cree 24/11/2009 Fuel price hikes costing consumers dearly - Cree 24/11/2009 Time to pick a team for DUP 26/10/2009 Economy speech at UUP Conference on 24 October 2009 21/10/2009 UUP Response to Invest NI Motion in the Assembly 20 October 2009 19/10/2009 Cree calls for firework safety in North Down 15/10/2009 Cree calls for renewed efforts to combat alchol abuse 13/10/2009 Redburn Students Interview Local Politician 05/10/2009 Fuel Poverty is a real and persistent problem -Cree 29/09/2009 Institutional change ahead for Invest NI - Cree 29/09/2009 Cree supports PSNI targeting smugglers 22/09/2009 Party welcomes Matt Baggott to the PSNI 21/09/2009 Cree expresses drug fears 17/09/2009 We need more statistical information on drug driving offences - Cree 10/09/2009 Counterfeit goods seizure commended - Cree 10/09/2009 phoenix Gas reductions welcome - Cree 10/09/2009 Cree expresses concern at 'support for vigilantism' 03/08/2009 Cree welcomes gender specific consultation for Women Prisoners 03/08/2009 Cree responds to cigarette seizure 09/07/2009 Stabbing condemnation 07/07/2009 Domestic Burglary still on the rise - Cree 02/07/2009 Cree welcomes summer holidays but warns of dangers of acholol 25/06/2009 Economic Debate N I Assembly 23 June 2009 25/06/2009 Full Time reserve must be kept -Cree 09/06/2009 Bee Motion 8 June 2009 19/05/2009 Decrease in loutish behaviour in North Down Welcomed - Cree 19/05/2009 PSNI must refocus victims needs - Cree 13/05/2009 Bee Proactive - Call for more research into bees 13/05/2009 'Bee Proactive' 23/03/2009 Domestic burglaries in North Down have decreased - Cree 10/03/2009 No action by criminals should interfere with peace and stability - Cree 04/03/2009 DUP's posion is obscence- Cree 04/03/2009 UUP gain unanimous support for Business proposals 17/02/2009 The Credit Union Movement has a bright future in Northern Ireland - Cree 17/02/2009 I want a guarantee from the Minister of Finance that this Executive is delivering -Cree 12/02/2009 Cree commends PSNI crackdown on burglary 10/02/2009 Cree welcomes role of education to eliminate and raise awareness of violence against women 22/01/2009 Cree Welcomes Drop in Winter Drink Drive Figures in North Down

Review of
Public Administration

Purpose

RPA Map and Plan The 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.