To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for an update on the roll-out of her Department's part-time 20 miles per hour speed limit zones outside schools.

Ms Kimmins

I have said repeatedly that road safety is a high priority for my Department, and we are committed to working proactively to make our roads safer and to address the needs of all road users. We are acutely aware that children and young people are among the most vulnerable groups using roads, particularly around schools. In June last year, I announced tranche 3 of a programme for part-time 20 mph zones that would benefit 40 schools across the North as part of my Department's ongoing commitment to improving road safety. That tranche focused on schools on rural roads where the 60 mph national speed limit applied. It did so for obvious reasons because those roads pose a high risk for children and young people going to and from school. Delivering each project is a tailored and collaborative exercise, involving constructive engagement with the PSNI, equipment suppliers and contractors, alongside careful coordination to meet the statutory requirements for implementing the legislation covering the new speed limits. The work draws on the expertise and input of teams from across the Department and reflects a shared commitment to supporting safer journeys for pupils, parents and local communities. Significant work has been completed across all areas of the programme, and I am pleased to advise that 31 of the 40 schools were fully completed as of 1 October. The remaining schools are scheduled for completion in the coming weeks. Whilst the focus is aimed at high-speed roads where national speed limits apply, I am aware that there are also schools in urban and residential areas that would benefit from a reduction in speed limits. That is why I asked my officials to consider other schools that could benefit from 20 mph limits, and that work is continuing. Any further tranche will be considered in light of the evidence from the speed limit review, the updated policy position, site-specific circumstances and the funding available to my Department.

Ms Kimmins

The announcements to date were not made on a constituency basis. They are done by division, and the Member will be aware that there are four departmental divisions across the North. They were based purely on schools that scored highest. As I said in my response, we focused on schools on rural roads where there was a 60 mph speed limit. In conjunction with that work — hopefully, this will give the Member reassurance — we recently completed the speed limit review, and I am due to move that to the next stage. Part of that work involved looking at having permanent 20 mph speed limits across the board outside schools in more residential areas. Whilst what we have done to date was budget dependent and worked off assessment criteria and scoring, I am cognisant that every child should be able to get to and from school safely, and very much at the forefront of my mind is how we can change policy. When I am able to make a further announcement on the speed limit review, hopefully that will provide clarity on some of those issues.

Mr Speaker

We now move on to topical questions.