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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion, because, frankly, housing is absolutely in crisis. I do not know about other Members in the Chamber, but, if you were to ask me for the number-one issue that comes through my door each day, I would say, unequivocally, that it is housing. People face other pressures in…
I speak as a DUP member of the Committee for Communities. The availability and quality of all types of housing are major causes of concern and debate among the Committee members. We wish to see the regulated provision of quality housing in the private rented sector, including good protections for tenancies and a model…
I start by thanking Members for tabling the motion, and by saying that I own a private property from which I gain a rental income. Sinn Féin believes that housing is a human right. Everyone in our society, no matter what age or background they come from, should have access to a decent and affordable home of their own.…
You referenced the gap between support from DWP through the housing allowance and proposed a grant scheme for that. Do you agree that a grant scheme would be costly and place an administrative burden on officials; that, perhaps, a better approach would be for us to, collectively, lobby DWP to review the local housing…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. For many people, renting is no longer a stepping stone but their only option, and one that is becoming more untenable by the day. That stepping stone now provides slippery and unstable footing, with skyrocketing rents, stagnant housing benefits and a lack of meaningful support pushing…
I beg to move amendment No 1: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I support today's motion, and I hope that Members can support my amendment. For too long, Executive parties have refused to crack down on profiteering landlords, instead spending years, or even entire mandates, tinkering around the edges of reform at best. Private…
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. My apologies for indulging in points of order and dosing you on them twice in one day. In the past hour and a half, the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has issued, under embargo, a written ministerial statement. Further to what I raised with you earlier, not only…
Undoubtedly, for policing to work, it has to start with neighbourhood policing and with local communities feeling a positive impact from that policing. One of the positive things to come out of some recent reviews has been that neighbourhood policing is very highly rated, in terms of its quality, by the community. It…
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am getting another one in. Is there strategic planning and adequate funding to ensure that the justice system can effectively protect and serve the public? Albeit not exclusively, but a reduced police presence and 15 years of underfunding have increased pressures, with an adverse effect on…
I agree with you completely, and it is why I have made the case repeatedly in the House that we cannot underfund the justice system and still expect it to perform its functions as though by magic. We need to properly resource our justice system at every point in the system to ensure that, when members of the public…
My hope is that the legislation will be introduced in the autumn of this year, so we are working to a timeline of somewhere between September and Christmas with the Justice Committee and the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC). You are absolutely right in your wider point. Those who work in the justice sector are…
I thank the Minister for her response. When health workers are attacked, it is rightly condemned. There should be zero tolerance. When Fire Service operators are attacked, again, it should be condemned and there should be zero tolerance. Unfortunately, the PSNI does not seem to receive the same respect across the…
There are a number of things. First and foremost, I contacted the Chief Constable about the incidents that took place and extended my support and solidarity to the officers affected, as well as to their families and colleagues, because they have to face into such situations every day and showed great courage and…
There are a number of reasons. Different legislative constructs were put in place for particular purposes in order to ensure the absolute independence of the Police Ombudsman and of, for example, the judiciary, the PSNI and the Policing Board, to which I have referred. The legislative framework is different. I answer…
Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Questions are often brought to the Education Minister about decisions that the Education Authority has taken, and the Health Minister has answered questions on health trusts in particular. Why do you not feel, as Justice Minister, that that is information that you could present to…
I do not hold figures on spending by the Police Ombudsman on that legal action. As I have previously explained to Members, the ombudsman is a corporation sole, appointed by royal warrant on the advice of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. I have oversight of her office — I will have an oversight meeting…
Without doubt, and I commend the study to Members and encourage them to read it. It is instructive about the legacy that our experiences, particularly those related to paramilitarism and organised crime, have left us. The issues that we talk about weekly in the Chamber — people who have achieved less in school; people…
Minister, do you agree that the report could inform how the Executive can target resources and interventions at an early stage in order to prevent further costs across public services down the line?
It can have a number of impacts. The report shows that 60% of our adult population have reported at least one adverse childhood experience and that nearly one in five people has experienced four or more. The correlation between higher adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure and poorer life outcomes, from…
I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, are you in a position to detail the number of officers who are receiving no salary while the matter remains unresolved?
I do not have statistics on the number of people who have not yet been able to receive their ill-health retirement. It is not for me to make decisions on ill-health retirement. Those decisions fall to the PSNI to make and are a matter for the Chief Constable. However, we have worked hard to ensure that we are able to…