Provisional planning statistics for the second quarter of 2023/24 are now available. These data provide an overall view of planning activity. Alongside this there is a summary of council performance across two of the statutory targets, for major development applications and local development applications as laid out in the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, along with other statistics of interest such as application approval rates.

A major international survey of educational achievement of 15-year-olds shows that young people in Northern Ireland continue to perform highly compared to young people in other education systems across the world.

The Department for Communities has announced the appointment of Mr Maynard Mawhinney as the Independent Chair of a working group which will review the roles and responsibilities of councillors in Northern Ireland. The appointment takes effect from 1 December 2023.

The Department for the Economy has published the final response to the 2023/24 budget consultation.

Before your winter fuel top up the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is encouraging anyone with a domestic heating oil tank to carry out a number of simple checks to prevent leaks or spills to protect our environment and wildlife.