Debate contribution: Flooding: Financial Support for Householders
Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on .
- MLA
- Mr Gordon Lyons
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 20 February 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Flooding: Financial Support for Householders
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4380865
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As the House will be aware, the scheme for emergency financial assistance was introduced by the Executive in 2007. Its purpose is to provide immediate financial support to households that have suffered from flooding. It is not a compensation scheme and does not purport to be one, nor is it intended to replace or displace the assistance that households should receive from their insurers. An immediate payment of £1,000 was made via district councils in order to provide eligible households with assistance to make their homes habitable as quickly as possible. In the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, assistance was provided to 119 households during the flooding event in October 2023. My Department's finance support service is available for people who find themselves in financial crisis, including those who are experiencing financial difficulty as a result of disaster, such as flooding. The service provides financial support through discretionary support, social fund and universal credit contingency fund payments. In addition, householders can contact my Department's Make the Call service to ensure that they get all the money and supports to which they are entitled. Make the Call offers a telephony service and has a team of community outreach officers who work from regional locations across Northern Ireland to conduct home visits and provide face-to-face assistance and support with benefit claim completion.
222 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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