AQW 12664/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 13/01/2021
Answered On Date: 21/01/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure how much her Department has spent on consultancy fees for roads projects in each of the last three financial years.

Answer:

The Department engages consulting engineers to assist in the development and delivery of its Strategic Road Improvement (SRI) Programme through a Major Works Framework. Assistance in delivering smaller scale highway improvement schemes is sourced when necessary through an Engineering Services Consultancy Partnering Contract.

In each of the last three years the fee expenditure on the SRI Programme has been £13.4m in 2017/18; £11m in 2018/19; and £13m in 2019/20. In this financial year (to the end of December 2020) expenditure totals £9.1m.

The Consultancy Partnering Contract has expended £2.0m in 2017/18; £2.0m in 2018/19; and £1.5m in 2019/20 on roads related projects. In this financial year (to the end of December 2020) expenditure totals £0.9m. This includes the development and delivery of minor/major road improvement projects, structures, cycling measures and the works associated with Belfast Rapid Transport.