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, regrettably, you have shown no regret over what you have said and done over the past few days. You have failed the test as a Minister and as a community leader. People expected better and more from you. It is disappointing. Given your poor judgement over what was written on Facebook, did you give any serious…
Minister, if social media is not your focus, your focus must be on your role as housing Minister. Can you tell the House whether you have taken the opportunity to meet privately the people who were displaced and brought to Larne leisure centre traumatised? Have you accepted that that is part of your role as housing…
Can the Minister advise the House of what correspondence he or his office had with the PSNI over the course of 11 and 12 June? Can he share with the House any details of those discussions?
Threatening graffiti has appeared on the windows of a number of homes in Bangor, which is disgraceful. Can the Minister assure me that his officials are engaged or will engage with the families who have been so disgracefully targeted?
Minister, I am afraid that your response, just a minute ago, reinforced the sense that many of us have that, rather than take responsibility for your actions and a statutory agency for which you are responsible — the Housing Executive — or empathise with people who were put out of their homes, your instinct is to…
Minister, I was involved in the evacuation, or at least the coordination of the evacuation, of the people who were brought to Larne leisure centre in the late hours of Tuesday morning. Do you regret the tone and commentary of the conversation that happened below that post, which was not moderated by you or your team…
Given that the families, including a pregnant woman and young children, were forced from their homes in Ballymena in the middle of the night to access emergency accommodation, why did the Minister feel that he should have been consulted?
The Housing Executive participates in the established interagency civil contingency arrangements, which include the provision of shelter and other assistance in emergency situations. In line with that responsibility, the Housing Executive has assisted a number of families over recent days as a result of the civil…
Professor Holtham’s work was crucial to securing the agreement. He is very highly regarded across these islands for his work in the field and, particularly, in his work on a similar funding model in Wales. He is respected by the Treasury and others, so it was important to bring that independent and respected voice to…
In financial terms, it will make around £600 million difference over the spending review period. It was crucial that we were able to secure that agreement with the Treasury and separate agriculture funding from the formula, which, in part, helped to secure that additional £600 million.
I stand to be corrected on this, and I will follow up with the Member in writing. While my Department has the lead on it, there may be regulations in other Departments that might cover certain parts and aspects of that work. I can explain my experiences from engaging with property management companies in my…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Is he aware of any codes of practice or associated regulations that are specific to the operation of property management companies?
I recently met officials on that matter, and it is an area of work that I am interested in continuing. However, as with many Departments, we have limited resources and have to prioritise what programmes of work we can realistically bring forward in this mandate. I have asked my permanent secretary to bring forward a…
I am not sure whether actual targets have been published, but, with regard to Budget sustainability, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. As I said, our returns show that we now have a stable Budget in the sense that we have cleared what should never have been classified as a debt but was classified as such by…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Have targets associated with the plan been tracked since its publication to ensure that there is confidence in its delivery?
We continue to work our way through the Budget sustainability plan. I announced earlier that, as part of the returns, the Treasury and the British Government no longer require us, on confirmation of the returns, to repay around £500 million, which was part of the package for return. That is a good thing. While we…
It all depends on the number of jobs for advertisement that come from the Communities Department. It would have to make a decision on whether it can afford those recruitment practices. That decision has to be made. There is also difficulty recruiting a workforce when there are low unemployment rates. We are trying to…
In a recent briefing, the Committee for Communities was told that 2,551 declared vacancies existed as of March 2025, which is over 20% of posts in that Department. Recruitment has increased over the past year, but so has the number of vacancies. Given that his Department is responsible for the recruitment exercise,…
My Department is responsible for recruitment on the basis that, when Departments come to us seeking recruitment, we run the process for them through NICS human resources service (HRS). However, the level of recruitment required in each Department is a matter for that Department.
The report covers a wide aspect, as the Member will know, of the challenges and opportunities for local businesses — certainly the challenges. I will continue to engage with the local business sector about those matters. We have consultations going on about rates and how they impact negatively and positively on…
Thank you, Minister. What tangible actions can the Finance Department take to mitigate some of the impacts on local businesses identified by the report?
I have not received a formal reply to date, but the report formed part of the evidence pack that I presented to Treasury in relation to the comprehensive spending review.