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Archive 2009

2009 Consultations

Construction contracts bill report on Public Consultation

Please see the attached report on the responses to the public consultation - Improving Payment Practices in the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005

The Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005 (NIMDM 2005) is the current measure of multiple deprivation at the small area level. The NI MDM 2005 comprises seven domains of deprivation which combine to form the multiple deprivation measure. The NI MDM 2005 is the official measure of spatial deprivation in Northern Ireland and is used to target resources on the most deprived areas in NI and monitor the impact of policy interventions. The measures are available at Output Area, Super Output Area, Local Government District and Parliamentary Constituency Levels.

Work has commenced on updating the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005. A consultation document setting out proposals to update the measures was published on 27th July 2009 and gives users an opportunity to comment on the content of the updated measures. The final report including the new measures will be published in early 2010. Until publication of the final report the NIMDM 2005 remains the official measure of spatial deprivation in Northern Ireland.

A public consultation period began on 27th July 2009 and will end on 6th November 2009.

For more details see the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency website

The Dormant Accounts Scheme Consultation on spending priorities for Northern Ireland

A dormant account is a bank or building society which a customer has not asked about, put money into or taken money out of for 15 years and the Scheme is innovative in that it allows access to such funds, but at the same time guarantees that, if the account owners turn up and ask for their money, they can still get it through what is know as the Reclaim Fund.

This innovative Scheme was first formally announced in 2005 and is a way in which moneys currently sitting in dormant bank and building society accounts can be used to further social or environmental” purposes. The devolved administration has the scope to set their own particular priorities in Northern Ireland within this overarching framework.

We are now seeking views of interested individuals and organisations in establishing the Northern Ireland spending priorities thus ensuring that the policy framework and the funding programmes that will flow from it will be designed to specifically address the needs of the people in Northern Ireland.

The consultation will run from 6th August to 29 October 2009.

Improving Payment Practices in the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland

Improving Payment Practices in the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland seeks views on amending the Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and associated legislation, the effect of the proposed measures in respect of equality issues and on the anticipated regulatory impact.

The measures proposed are intended to:

  • Encourage parties to resolve disputes by adjudication;
  • Improve transparency and clarity in the exchange of information relating to payments, thereby enabling parties to construction contracts to manage cash flow better; and
  • Improve the right to suspend performance under the contract.

The format of the consultation follows closely on the content of the earlier consultation in Great Britain carried out by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Scottish Government.

In Great Britain, BERR’s proposed amending legislation, on which our proposals are based, is set out as Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill currently before Parliament.  This Communities and Local Government Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 4 December 2008 and has just completed its Report Stage.

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