Other News In Brief

Man Convicted Of Benefit Fraud

A man has been convicted for claiming £18,812 in benefits he was not entitled to at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Steven Weldon claimed Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit while failing to declare employment. He was given a Combination Order consisting of 60 hours' community service and 12 months' probation. The fraud was uncovered following an investigation by the Department for Communities.

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

Work To Start On Resurfacing Project In Co Down

Construction work is to start on a £120,000 resurfacing project in Banbridge, Co Down.

The work, which is due to start on Monday 24 July, will take place at Hillside Park, Leamount Park and Highfield Gardens in the Cline Road area.

Work will include the resurfacing of 400 metres of carriageway as well as improvements to the footways throughout the Hillside Park, Leamount Park and Highfield Gardens estates.

Local access will be maintained during the improvements although it may be necessary to close sections of footway and steps while works are ongoing.

Alliance Disappointed Over Commonwealth Youth Games Announcement

Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle has said he is disappointed after it was confirmed there will be no official handover to Northern Ireland during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The announcement was made by the Commonwealth Games Federation due to the current political deadlock and lack of agreed money by the Executive, meaning Northern Ireland would play no part in the ceremony this weekend in the Bahamas, despite being scheduled to host the event in 2021.

"The Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) is ready to deliver a superb games which would showcase this region on a global scale, while inspiring a generation of young athletes and volunteers. It is a disgrace the Executive failed to provide the support necessary to provide for this event, meaning we will now miss out on the traditional handover.

"The former Minister for the Economy Simon Hamilton has serious questions to answer as to when he was in receipt of the outcome of the business case in relation to the games and if there were any issues, why they were not escalated to the rest of the Executive. That would have allowed the will of the Assembly - to host these games - to be taken into account.

"I have facilitated meetings between the NICGC and the Head of the Civil Service in order to seek movement on this issue. Regrettably, Ministerial authority was still needed to deliver on the clear support. It is unacceptable this situation has been allowed to develop - the young athletes deserve an explanation as to why from former Minister Hamilton."

(CD/MH)