Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail (i) the number of Rural Needs Impact Assessments (RNIAs) under the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, carried out by their 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.
First Minister and deputy First Minister: Over the past five years, The Executive Office (TEO) and its arm’s-length bodies have completed a total of twenty-four Rural Needs Impact Assessments (RNIAs).
Section 1(1) of the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (the Act) places a statutory duty on public authorities listed in the Schedule to the Act to have due regard to rural needs when developing, adopting, implementing and revising policies, strategies and plans and when designing and delivering public services.
Section 3(2) of the Act requires DAERA to collate and publish an annual report containing the information sent to it by public authorities on the exercise of its functions under section 1 of the Act and lay this report before the Assembly.
The following table presents a breakdown, by year, of the RNIAs completed by TEO:
| Year(1 Apr–31 Mar) | Number of RNIAs completed TEO (including ALB’s) | Strategies and Services enhanced |
| 2021/2022 | 7 | Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) Planned Interventions ProgrammeT:BUC Strategy – Central Good Relations Funding ProgrammeImplementation of Together: Building a United Community PolicyDevelopment of a draft new Programme for Government (PfG) Outcomes FrameworkDevelopment of an Ending Violence Against Women and Girls StrategyDevelopment of a Refugee Integration Strategy. |
| 2022/2023 | 3 | Development of draft Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls and Draft Foundational Action PlanReview of the current Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997Implementation of Together: Building a United Community Policy |
| 2023/2024 | 2 | TEO’s Spending Plans 2023-2024Development of a new Strategy for Victims and Survivors. |
| 2024/2025 | 11 | Development of a new Programme for GovernmentTo establish an independent office to be known as the ‘Northern Ireland Climate Commissioner’.Development of a Refugee Integration Strategy and Delivery FrameworkProvision of free period productsTEO’s Spending Plans 2024-25T:BUC Strategy – Central Good Relations Funding ProgrammeT:BUC Strategy – Planned Interventions ProgrammeT:BUC District Council Good Relations ProgrammeT:BUC Camps ProgrammeImplementation of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls – Change Fund |
| 2025/2026 | 1 | The draft Framework for Race Relations consultation |
ENDS
