Resurfacing Work To Commence In Ballygowan

A carriageway resurfacing scheme in Ballygowan is to start on Monday 5 June 2023.

The resurfacing scheme on the A21 Ballygowan Road will involve the asphalt resurfacing of a 2.1 kilometre stretch of the Ballygowan Road between the Magherascouse Road junction and the Hillsborough Road junction.

The work is expected to be completed by Friday 30 June 2023.

All work will be carried out in line with current public health and health and safety advice, with safe systems of working in place for staff and contractors.

Secretary Of State Called To Stand Up For Policing

DUP East Belfast MLA Joanne Bunting has challenged the Secretary of State to stand up for policing amid warnings that the number of neighbourhood officers across Northern Ireland could be slashed by 60% because of pressures facing the PSNI budget.

Commenting, the DUP Policing Board representative said: "The financial pressures facing the PSNI are unprecedented and the Chief Constable has been forced into the unenviable position of having to choose between balancing the books and ensuring he can deliver on his duties to tackling crime and keeping the public safe.

"The latest budget imposed by the Northern Ireland Office is entirely inadequate for policing and this will be catastrophic for confidence in communities across our Province.

"Difficult decisions have already been taken to pause recruitment and put on hold repairs to the PSNI fleet. This is only storing up problems for the future. For every year in which officer numbers plummet, it will take another three to undo the damage. That is the stark reality Simon Byrne and his team face in the current climate.

"In any other frontline service, a 60% cut in the workforce would be unthinkable, yet this is exactly the price the PSNI will have to pay for the chronic underfunding of policing over the past decade. Furthermore, given that the Chief Constable has said repeatedly he wants to prioritise neighourhood policing when taking these difficult decisions, one wonders how much worse the impact will be in other departments.

"It is a sad indictment on the Government that the PSNI is now having to countenance using funding set aside to address the security threat in Northern Ireland to plug gaps in grassroots policing. This creates a new series of problems and is not sustainable."

Funding For Vital Education Services Welcomed

Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson and deputy leader, Robbie Butler MLA, has welcomed funding surety for vital education services from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education.

Mr Butler said: "Over the past 6 weeks and more, I have met and spoken with countless organisations, individuals, parents and teachers who raised serious concerns about the impact that the loss of these services would have on our children.

"This morning's announcement from the Permanent Secretary for Education is testimony to the value-adding aspect of these services and the hard work that has been undertaken these recent weeks to convince the Department of the necessity to secure provision.

"An incoming Minister must move swiftly to identify and secure value-adding non-statutory services for children that make a difference, especially to those children in greatest need and not face this cliff edge again."