Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the number of Rural Needs Impact Assessments (RNIAs) under the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, carried out by her Department and its arm’s-length bodies, of policies, strategies, and services affecting rural communities; and (ii) a breakdown of (a) the number of; and (b) which, strategies and services that were enhanced as a consequence of the RNIA, in each of the last five years.
Minister of Justice: The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is the only arm’s length body of the Department of Justice (DoJ) that is subject to the requirements of the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Since April 2020, the number of Rural Needs Impact Assessments of policies, strategies, and services affecting rural communities that have been carried out by the DoJ and PSNI is as follows:
| Year | DoJ | PSNI |
| 2019-20 | 9 | 35 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 25 |
| 2021-22 | 10 | 36 |
| 2022-23 | 12 | 38 |
| 2023-24 | 16 | 31 |
Further information on the Rural Needs Impact Assessments are included in annual reports published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. The reports include details of how there has been due regard to rural needs when developing, adopting, implementing or revising policies, strategies or plans. There has been no formal assessment of which strategies or services have been enhanced as a consequence of the Rural Needs Act.
ENDS
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