AQW 9244/16-21

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 10/01/2017
Answered On Date: 24/01/2017
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for his Department's definition of rural.

Answer:

The Department’s definition of rural was provided as the answer to AQW 6623/16-21. It is as follows:

The definition of urban/rural the Department uses for statistical purposes is based on settlements. Schools situated in a settlement that has a population of 5,000 or over (classified as a ‘small town’) is urban. Schools in settlements with a population of less than 5,000 are classified as rural.

Further information can be found here: http://www.nisra.gov.uk/archive/geography/review-of-the-statistical-classification-and-delineation-of-settlements-march-2015.pdf.

An alternative definition of urban/rural has been used for specific projects in the past. Specifically, the Department’s Sustainable Schools Policy defines rural areas as those outside of what were the former Belfast and Derry City Council areas.