Statement by Peter Hain on the possible consequences of the Review of Public Administration on the structure of Nothern Ireland Government Departments, (18 July 2006)

Statement by Peter Hain, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on the possible consequences of the Review of Public Administration on the structure of Nothern Ireland Government Departments, (18 July 2006)

"There is one consequence of the RPA that needs to be addressed, and that is the future structure of government departments.

If it is right that we ask local government to reduce from 26 councils to 7, then it must also be right that we look at central government and whether we really need 11 departments to deliver public services in Northern Ireland.

Following implementation of the RPA, a number of Departments will simply be unsustainable in their current form.

DoE for example will see many of its functions transfer to local authorities and, if it is recommended by the ongoing Review of Environmental Governance, many of its remaining functions may transfer to a new Environment Agency. DRD will see responsibility for water transfer to the new GoCo and responsibility for local roads transfer to councils. And even in health and the two education departments, significant parts of those departments will transfer to the new Health and Social Services Authority and the Education and Skills Authority.

A reorganisation of departments would also allow us to bring together areas of policy that, in my experience over the past 15 months, genuinely hinder the delivery of public services:

• does the separation of schools and FE really enable us to best deliver the new post 14 curriculum?
• or is having a link between business and skills more critical?
• does the separation of the government agency that pays benefits from the department that has responsibility for getting people back into work make sense?
• can we properly deliver a joined up policy for the environment when energy policy is separated from all other parts of environment policy?

These are all issues that I want to now look at in forming a view over the coming weeks.

This is not simply an issue of numbers, but of effective governance.

I want the Assembly to take responsibility for these decisions, and reach agreement between the parties.

However, if they have not done so by November 24th, then I shall move ahead rapidly with the changes that I believe will improve the effective governance of Northern Ireland."