19/07/2017

Other News In Brief

Woman Convicted Of Benefit Fraud

A woman has been convicted for claiming benefits she was not entitled to at Omagh Magistrates' Court.

Shauna Armstrong claimed Income Support and Carer’s Allowance totalling £3,276 while failing to declare employment. She was given a two year conditional discharge.

She is also required to repay any outstanding money wrongfully obtained to the Department for Communities.

Construction Work To Improve Road In Killyleagh To Begin

Construction work to improve the A22 Comber Road in Killyleagh is to start on Monday, 24 July.

The £180,000 scheme will involve drainage works and the resurfacing of a 1.1 km stretch of the A22 Comber Road from the Tullymanous Road junction.

To facilitate the works, a temporary road closure will be in place between 9am and 4.30pm daily from Monday, 24 July to Friday, 18 August.

The road will remain open overnight and at weekends.

The diversion route will be clearly signed with traffic being diverted via Saintfield, Ballygowan and Comber using Frederick Street, B7 Shrigley Road, B6 Clealough Road/Manse Road/Killyleagh Road/Station Road/Todd’s Hill, A7 Belfast Road, A21 Ballygowan Road/Saintfield Road/Comber Road /Ballygowan Road/Braeside/High Street/Killinchy Street and A22 Killinchy Road/Comber Road/Killyleagh Road.

Lack Of Executive Is Preventing Tackling Crisis In Health - Alliance

The lack of a functioning Executive is preventing the tackling of the crisis in health, Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has said.

The South Belfast MLA said the Health and Wellbeing 2026 vision, which was launched by then-Health Minister Michelle O'Neill last year, needed implemented urgently, with one increasingly important area of concern being prostate cancer. She added improvements in pathways for men with the disease are now being delayed by the failure of the big parties to agree a route forward.

"Our health service is in desperate need of reform - no one can argue that. This plan has the chance to do that but first it must be given the opportunity. Without an Executive providing political direction, it will not get off the ground. Every day we go by without a functioning government, more people go on suffering.

"I had meetings this week in relation to prostate cancer, which will be the most common form of cancer in Northern Ireland within the next 15 years. There, we find inadequate pathways, postcode lotteries, and nearly 100 men having to travel to England every year for vital surgery.

"The core issues are much the same as with many other conditions - we need improved workforce planning, better use of facilities, and a more responsible balance between local clinics and specialist treatment centres."

(CD/MH)

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