By Paul Marinko The Government is to cull half of Northern Ireland's quangos as it moves to create seven ‘super councils'. Secretary of state Peter Hain has announced the number of public bodies in the province will be slashed from 154 to 75, as ministers press on with plans to replace Northern Ireland's existing 26 councils with seven. The new councils will gain powers in areas such as emergency planning, environmental health, planning and – significantly – housing. Mr Hain said: ‘We believe that housing is essentially a local issue, and for that reason we will consider the transfer of housing to local government at a future date, once the new councils are in place... ‘In the meantime, however, while the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will remain, some of its non-core functions will transfer to local government when the new councils are established in 2009.' This week's announcement marks the final stage of the Government's review of public administration in the province, and Mr Hain refused to budge on his decision last November to slash the number of councils, despite opposition from local government. But he did give ground on the number of councillors, which will now rise to around 60 per authority, rather than 50 – a cut from 582 currently to 420. But the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) said the reforms were not good enough. Its vice president, Ald Arnold Hatch, said the setting up of new bodies such as a Regional Library Authority could not be justified. ‘NILGA believes that many quango functions such as arts, tourism and sport would be delivered most effectively at a local level by councils', he added. ‘Unfortunately, these existing quangos will continue to dictate what we do at a local level, leaving the sector weak and powerless.' p.marinko@hgluk.com
