Member's statement: Social and Affordable Housing
Member's statement by Mr Andy Allen MBE on .
- MLA
- Mr Andy Allen MBE
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 June 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Social and Affordable Housing
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5000981
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Across Northern Ireland, we have individuals and families not knowing where they are going to sleep tonight. We have children who are unable to attend school due to having been moved to temporary accommodation that is far too far away from a local school to which they can travel. We have individuals and families relying on the goodwill of their friends and families, pushing relationships close to the brink. We have debated multiple times in the House through Adjournment debates and private Members' motions how we have a housing crisis and that we need to provide more social and affordable housing to deal with that crisis. Whilst the interventions that the current Minister for Communities and his predecessors made are welcome, they do not go far enough. They do not address the scale of the problem and do not deliver for the tens of thousands of people who are hoping that a broken system will come through for them. As was said, tomorrow we will hear from the Chancellor about her comprehensive spending review. There is much speculation that it may well deliver an increased capital budget for this place. If it delivers increased capital funding, there is no doubt that the Executive must prioritise pressures. They must look at where that funding is most needed, and, for me, it is in housing. I have been an MLA for 10 years, and, I am sure that, like me, no Member can deny the fact that, in that time, they have been approached daily by constituents hoping that they can deliver housing for them. Frankly, in most cases, we cannot, because the housing system is not fit for purpose. The current housing build will deliver only 1,000 new starts this year, which, I repeat, is nowhere near enough. If additional capital funding is delivered, it is imperative that the Executive get around the table, look at how they can deliver increased investment in social and affordable housing and accompany that with the investment in water and waste water infrastructure that is required to enable that build.
345 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.98 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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