Debate contribution: Housing (Amendment) Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Phillip Brett on .
- MLA
- Mr Phillip Brett
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Housing (Amendment) Bill: Second Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5743196
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I appreciate the Member's giving way. As I am not on the Committee for Communities, I will not have the opportunity to raise this point. Representing North Belfast, as I do, I deal with homelessness quite regularly, as you can imagine. An unintended consequence came to my mind when Mr Allen raised the point about the ability of applicants to challenge a negative homeless decision by the Housing Executive.
Under current legislation, it has up to 56 days to look at that review. Will the Committee give consideration to the impact that a change to the legislation may have? My experience is that it always takes the 56 days. If there are, as Mr Allen said, more opportunities for more people to appeal that decision, will that then create an additional workload, meaning that those 56 days will not be met, which is already an issue? I flag that up to the members of the Communities Committee for when they have the opportunity to discuss that with the Housing Executive. I have a concern that it will create bigger bureaucracy for the Housing Executive, particularly when it comes to challenging a negative homeless decision.
I appreciate the Member giving way. Given what he said about the importance of Committee Stage, has the Member settled on how long the Committee Stage for the Bill will be, given that he has just articulated to the House that even the great brains of the Communities Committee might not be able to see straight away some of the unintended consequences? Have you, as the Opposition, settled on a position on how long, you think, the Committee Stage will be? I fear that the Committee may set a short Committee Stage with an artificial deadline to try to get the Bill through by the end of the mandate.
How long?
305 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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