UUP wins Assembly Support to transfer ‘Meaningful Powers’ to Councils in RPA Debate
The Ulster Unionist Party won support for an amendment to a Ministerial motion seeking to transfer ‘meaningful powers’ to Councils in the review of the RPA. Lagan Valley UUP MLA Basil McCrea led the debate for the Party.
In a statement Mr. McCrea said,
“For local government to have real significance it needs to have responsibility for meaningful functions. This is the case throughout the rest of the United Kingdom – but not in Northern Ireland. The last Executive initiated the RPA in order to restore real local democracy in Northern Ireland. It is commonsense that local voters and local councillors are best placed to make local decisions on a wide range of service delivery and planning issues.
Unfortunately the DUP Environment Minister’s review of the RPA has decided to keep power at the centre – rather than to devolve it to where it belongs, to local councils. Is it any wonder that the local government association, NILGA, has said that the Minister’s refusal to give real power to local councils “calls into question the value of reorganising councils”?
The Minister’s complacency and inertia with regards to the need to revitalise local government in this part of the United Kingdom – and her desire to keep power at the centre rather than return it to local communities – is a disappointing, if unsurprising, development. Accountable regional government at Stormont needs to be complemented by strong, robust local government – not least because local government is best placed to deliver services effectively and efficiently to local communities”.