Beggs lobbies for Retention of Larne DARD Office

Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs and Cllr Andy Wilson, have met senior department of Agriculture officials at their Belfast headquarters about the proposal to close the Larne Agricultural Office and has argued for the Crown Buildings site to be included as a DARD Direct office and the retention of the 27 local jobs.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Beggs said:

"As the only local representative to have responded to DARD during the original DARD Direct consultation I sought a follow up meeting several months ago. I am pleased that the meeting with the Department finally took place and believe that it was a useful meeting to strengthen the argument for the retention of the Larne DARD Office."

The Department have agreed the location of all other DARD direct office but are continuing to analyse the best location to place a DARD Direct office to cover both the South and East Antrim regions and have considered Larne, Ballyclare, Antrim, Dundrod, Mallusk and Lisburn.

The Ulster Unionist MLA, who is a member of the Public Accounts Committee said,

"The Department of Agricultural officials do not seem to have fully taken into consideration the fact that over Ã'£2m has been spent up-grading the Larne crown Buildings over the past 5 years. This means that it already meets Disability Access Standards and it could easily be converted to a DARD Direct office at minimal cost. Significant public funds would be required to rent and invest in a brand new facility elsewhere. Additional relocation travel costs would also have to be incurred for those staff who would be able to relocate.

During the course of the meeting, I highlighted that DARD themselves describe 24 of the 27 staff in the Larne Office as being "non-mobile", ie part time or administrative staff. Any proposal to relocate the office would be devastating to staff as well as the local farming community who would have to travel further to receive the service."

In written answer from the Minister for Finance and Personnel has confirmed to me that, "In the event that any Department decides to vacate a property then the vacating department must meet the accommodation costs of the property until it can be re-occupied or disposed of". The Officials did not appear to be aware of this advice from the Department of Finance and Personnel.

Given that DSD are also considering relocating staff from Larne and Carrickfergus offices to Ballymena, finding any appropriate tenant to take up the lease would be difficult. They will now have to factor in the ongoing costs of retaining the Larne Building on top of any rental cost of any alternative site that they might consider. I would hope that this will improve the chance of retaining DARD jobs in Larne."

Mr Beggs added:

"The Department of Agriculture, like any other government agency is charged with using public money wisely and their decisions have to stand up to scrutiny in terms of providing value for money. The senior officials have been left with a wider set of factors to consider before they make a recommendation to the Minister. In the meeting I also reiterated the fact that Larne and East Antrim in general is poorly served in terms of public sector job locations, and that a relocation of DARD jobs away from Larne would make this situation even worse. The bottom line is that the Larne DARD office serves a wide population of farmers in East Antrim, it is widely used and appreciated, and could be easily expanded into a DARD Direct office at minimal cost to the public purse."

ENDS

Friday 23 January 2009

Written Answers to Questions

Government Buildings in Larne and Carrickfergus

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, in the event that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department for Social Development relocate staff from Government buildings in Larne and Carrickfergus, (i) which Department will have to pay for the maintenance of the vacant offices; (ii) the amount of funding that has been spent on each of these offices, in the past five years; and (iii) his assessment of the quality of accommodation of these offices currently. (AQW 3718/09)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: DARD and DSD currently occupy three buildings in Larne and Carrickfergus:

1. Portal Inspection Office - Redlands Road, LARNE, BT40 1AH

(occupied solely by DARD)

2. Crown Buildings , 59 Pound Street, LARNE BT40 1SH

(DARD share this accommodation with DSD - it is both a Jobs & Benefits Office and a Divisional Veterinary Office)

3. Carrickfergus Jobs & Benefits Office, 1 Davy Street,

Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, BT38 8TJ.

(occupied solely by DSD)

In the event that any Department decides to vacate a property then the vacating department must meet the accommodation costs of the property until it can be re-occupied or disposed off.

The amount of funding that has been spent on each of these offices, in the

last five years is as follows;-

Resource Capital

Carrickfergus JBO = Ã'£213,011 / Ã'£1,704,000

Larne JBO/DVO = Ã'£ 358,040 / Ã'£2,035,000

Larne Portal Office = Ã'£ 137,000 Ã'£31,000

The three buildings are considered to be in good repair.