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25 May 2006 : Column 1978W—continued
| Roads Service expenditure on major and minor works by council area | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| Council Area | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
In providing the above information I should explain that Roads Service does not simply split its total budget for capital expenditure on roads across all the district council areas. Major road improvements are prioritised on a countrywide basis taking account of a broad range of criteria such as strategic planning policy, traffic flow, number of accidents, potential travel save times, environment impact and value for money. While the actual spend on a major works scheme may be within one district council area, the benefits of such schemes are not confined to the district council, constituency or county in which they are located.
Roads Service expenditure on minor road improvements includes minor works, accident remedial schemes, transportation measure and minor bridge strengthening. The resources available for such works are allocated to the 4 Roads Service Divisions and, in turn, apportioned across district council areas on a needs-based priority approach using indicators such as population, weighted road lengths and the number of accidents. This ensures, so far as possible, an equitable distribution of funds across the country.
With regard to the capital budget for 2006-07, again it is not possible to split this budget into counties. The total Roads Service Capital Budget in 2006/07 is £111M and the split per the relevant Roads Service Division is as follows:
The initial budget allocation for major and minor works in Western Division is £22M (£7M Minor, £15M Major). Our Western Division incorporates 6 District Council areas—Cookstown, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Omagh, Magherafelt, and Strabane.
The initial budget allocation for major and minor works in Northern Division is £12M (£6M Minor, £6M Major). Our Northern Division incorporates 8 District Council areas—Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Derry, Larne, Limavady, and Moyle.
With regard to the capital budget for the next two years I can advise that the total Roads Service capital budget in 2007/08 is £112M. However, this budget has not yet been allocated to our Divisions. The 2008/09 budget is outside the current budget period and cannot be confirmed.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) budget and (b) timetable is for construction of the Skeoge Link Road in Derry. [73308]
David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin, dated 25 May 2006:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about what the (a) budget and (b) timetable is for construction of the Skeoge Link Road in Derry. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
I can confirm that good progress is being made by Roads Service to secure the delivery of the Skeoge Link Road in Derry. The road is to be constructed to dual carriageway standard at an estimated cost of £5 million.
The Notice of Intention to make a Vesting Order was published in March 2006 and no objections to the Notice were received. The Scheme was passed for planning approval at a meeting with Derry City Council on 16 May 2006 and discussions are ongoing with developers to complete the statutory agreements.
Roads Service has completed the detailed design of the scheme and will be in a position to invite tenders at the end of June 2006. This would enable construction to commence in September. However, this time scale remains dependant on the agreed transfer of lands from the developers, which has still not been secured.
I would like to assure you of Roads Service's continued commitment to provide this much needed road scheme, which would complete the strategic route from the Foyle Bridge through to Buncrana Road, remove through traffic from Glengalliagh Road, and will also unlock land for further housing and industrial development.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much roads maintenance funding has been allocated to each of the district electoral areas in (a) Down and (b) Newry and Mourne Council area in each of the last 10 years. [73476]
David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 25 May 2006
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about how much roads maintenance funding has been allocated to each of the district electoral areas in (a) Down and (b) Newry and Mourne Council area in each of the last 10 years.
I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
First of all I must advise that Roads Service does not maintain details of expenditure on a district electoral area basis. However, such information is available on a district council basis. Details of roads maintenance funding allocated by district council area are only available from 1999/2000 and are detailed in the table below:
| £000 | ||
| Council area | ||
| Down | Newry and Mourne | |
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