To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for his assessment of the impact that the absence of an Executive will have on the A1 Junctions Phase 2 Scheme.

I am fully committed to delivering this important road safety project. The statutory orders for the scheme were made in summer 2021 and work on the development of the business case is nearing completion.

The next stage is to prepare the procurement and contract documents. This work will take approximately 12 months and be funded as part of the financial contingency arrangements.

However, the continued refusal of the DUP to form an Executive and an agreed 3-year Budget causes uncertainty in terms of timescales for commencing the tender process and moving to construction.