Other News In Brief

SDLP Demands Universal Credit Roll-Out Is Stopped

SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon met the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities to call for an end to the rollout of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland.

She said: "Universal Credit is a poverty charter. The lesson from the communities that have been subjected to it so far in England Scotland and Wales is that the new system forces working families further into poverty and into the grasp of pay day lenders and loan sharks.

"A month on from the initial rollout here, would we seek to replicate that in our communities?

"Most parties now recognise the significant flaws in the new system and the very serious impact it is having on those struggling to make ends meet.

"This issue demands the restoration of power sharing institutions. All parties must work together to deliver a system that is fair, practical and compassionate. It’s time we put the brakes on Universal Credit."

Conwell Contracts Starts Sewer-Laying Works In Portadown

Conwell Contracts has started sewer-laying works in Portadown.

The firm was appointed by NI Water and the work on the Armagh Road involves laying approximately 117m of sewer pipe on the road and 186m in Inglewood Lodge to serve a new housing development.

A temporary lane closure has been pt in place on a section of A27 Armagh Road. This will be in place from Mahon Hall care home, Armagh Road, Portadown towards Inglewood Drive. Two-way traffic will be maintained with the use of temporary traffic signals. Vehicular access will be maintained for residents as far as possible but may be subject to a slight delay, pedestrian access will be available at all times. There will be no parking within the working area for the duration of the works.

Initial works on the Armagh Road will be undertaken from 27 October to 12 November, between 8am and 6pm.

Work on the Armagh Road will continue during 'off-peak' hours to minimise disruption to road users and the public.

UUP Warns Health Service Is Lurching Towards Winter Pressures

Ulster Unionist Health Spokesperson, Roy Beggs MLA, has warned that the Northern Ireland health service is lurching towards a major winter pressures crisis. The latest publication of the emergency care waiting times has revealed that the situation across emergency departments has continued to deteriorate.

He said: "Whilst the target is to treat or admit 95% of attendees within 4 hours, only 69.4% of patients in September were seen within that time.

"That's obviously not acceptable but what makes it frightening is that the summer/early autumn months are generally considered to be quietest time of year for the local health service. If things are already so bad now, I dread to think what the situation will be in December and January.

"We are quite possibly only one major outbreak of flu away from the entire local health service grinding to a halt. I have spoken to medical professionals and there are indications that this year's strain of flu may be more virulent than in previous years. Hospitals across the UK have already been placed on high alert after major flu outbreaks in Australia and New Zealand."