Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of Rural Needs Impact Assessments (RNIAs) under the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, carried out by his 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 Education: The number of Rural Needs Impact Assessments under the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 undertaken by the Department of Education and its arm’s length bodies in each of the last five years is as follows:
| 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 | 17 |
| 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 | 28 |
| 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 | 35 |
| 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 | 46 |
| 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 | 79 |
The Department complies with its statutory obligations under the Act specifically the due regard to rural needs as outlined in Section 1(1) and with regard to Section 3(1) which requires public authorities to monitor and report. In doing so the Department ensures that the needs of people in rural areas are considered in developing robust policy and in the implementation of relevant strategies.
ENDS
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