Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
Minister, I will stay on the matter of the public consultations on Bangor waterfront and your Department interacting with the developer. Local stakeholders have strong views about the project; we hear a lot that the development is mission-critical to the development of Bangor. Will you agree that the stakeholder…
I am aware of issues that were raised during the consultation on the Pickie Funpark element of the programme, particularly potential noise impacts and health and safety concerns associated with some attractions. In response, the council design team reviewed the proposals and brought forward a number of changes,…
Thank you, Minister. It is great to see work on the Queen's Parade phase progressing so well. Is the Minister aware of the local controversy and concerns over a car park that will form part of the Queen's Parade development? Is that a done deal, or is it open to further community input or consultation?
I am pleased to advise that progress continues to be made across the Bangor waterfront programme. My officials are working collaboratively with council partners to support the development and delivery of that programme. Work to establish the professional teams required for the delivery of the programme continues, with…
The Member is absolutely right to raise that issue. Many in our communities have been helped by the funding that was previously in place. There are many others who want to work but face barriers to work that must be broken down. We believe that we can get an extra 50,000 disabled people into work. As I always say, we…
We have talked about access to employment for people with disabilities: there is a concern that, with the loss of funding to the community and voluntary sector, we will lose a massive amount of institutional knowledge and skill. What is your Department doing to prevent that? Will it be possible to deliver those…
Our focus remains on working with the Government to make sure that there is a Budget. It is absolutely the case that we are suffering because a Budget has not been agreed; I agree with the Member on that. The situation would be even worse if we were to agree to a Budget that clearly did not meet the needs of people in…
You are right to say, Minister, that the community and voluntary sector is critical to the delivery of services here. That sector has been let down by the local growth fund, but it has also been let down by the failure of the Executive to set a Budget. Will you tell us here and now what services in the community and…
Absolutely. That will form part of the ongoing work as we design the scheme. As I said, the Department of Finance is leading on that. We will hear from the voluntary and community sector, and I encourage any organisations in the Member's constituency to get in contact and be part of the process so that we can ensure…
I ask the Minister to set out the safeguards that the Department has in place to ensure that smaller voluntary and community organisations are not disproportionately disadvantaged.
I am grateful to the Member for that question. The Department of Finance is leading on a cross-Executive design process. Evidence from the voluntary and community sector will inform that work. I want future arrangements to recognise the important contribution that is made by the voluntary and community sector. The…
Thanks very much, Minister. As you said, the move from the European social fund (ESF) to the Shared Prosperity Fund and now the local growth fund has resulted in a 77% cut in employment and skills support programmes, which has led to significant job losses and over 8,000 people losing support. You highlighted some of…
I recognise the serious impact that reduced resource funding is having on voluntary and community organisations, their staff and the people whom they support. The Shared Prosperity Fund ended on 31 March 2026, and the local growth fund has different objectives and a substantially different balance between capital and…
I am grateful to the Member for raising that issue. One of the greatest pressures on household budgets is the cost of heating our homes. That is why all of the issues are being looked at in that way. I am not saying that we should cut back on our standards in any way, and I make that very, very clear. These are issues…
Reducing the bills of tenants is absolutely essential. Will the Minister confirm what the minimum energy performance certificate rating of the new design standards will be for any new homes being built?
No, none of it materialised. In fact, not only have we delivered more social homes and record levels of investment, but I have paved a way to make it even easier to build them. I hope that Members will reflect on that, show more confidence in our housing partners and make sure that they know what they are talking…
Minister, we were told by parties across the Chamber that the social housing development programme would collapse, house building would stop and the sector would fall over, due to the Minister's decision to review the grant. Did that materialise?
I am happy to get that information for the Member. However, the reviews took effect last year, and, last year, we had a 17% increase in the number of social homes that we were able to build. That is what I am about. That is what I want to see: more homes being built. That is what I will continue to push for.
I thank the Minister. Minister, will you outline the number of new-build social homes that were projected to be viable under the previous housing association grant rates compared with how many are projected to be viable under revised rates?
Fundamental system reviews of grant funding and the design standards for new-build social housing are ongoing. They offer an opportunity to look at the social housing development programme afresh and identify opportunities to be innovative and creative. We need to do more with less, collectively working to address the…
Yes. I say clearly to the Member that the First Minister has not allowed a paper on to the Executive agenda that would have prioritised homelessness prevention. How often in this place do we talk about the need to prevent homelessness? Mr Gildernew has just asked me about the cost of temporary accommodation. It is out…
The Programme for Government committed to making homelessness "brief, rare and non-recurrent". We currently have almost 35,000 households, representing almost 65,000 individuals, with homeless status. Is the Minister telling us today that Sinn Féin is blocking his efforts to get homelessness support through the…
It is a distraction by the First Minister; the Member is absolutely right. The First Minister is not funding homelessness prevention. I put the paper in front of the Executive, and they refused to address it. I am grateful for the Member's support, and I hope that he will be able to lobby the First Minister on that.
Yes, that is the case. As I have said, I have sought agreement from the Executive to ensure that homelessness is properly provided for. We all know that there is uncertainty around our Budget for this year and future years. I have placed a priority on prevention. I wanted to make sure that that money is in place and…