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.
There is a serious issue of concern here. The current situation is, in my view, not tolerable beyond the short term. The additional problem that we have is that the investment challenge is getting worse with every year that passes. I want to put the Housing Executive's 82,000 homes on to a much more sustainable…
Thank you for your answer, Minister. What actions will you undertake to meet those funding challenges and to help to address the shortage of social housing in Strangford?
The short answer is, "A lot". The Housing Executive faces significant investment challenges. The 30-year requirement was updated via a stock validation report in 2021 and estimated to be £10·3 billion at 2022 prices. That reflects the cost to address the backlog in maintenance, ongoing stock maintenance and investment…
I am aware of the difficulties that many people face and the additional help that will be required. I am waiting for a report to come forward on those mitigations, and we will then need to develop a plan on the way forward. That plan will require a budget and Executive support. I assure the Member that it is very much…
On that mitigation, we face a cliff edge when we come to 2025. Can the Minister outline any plans to work against that and put in place support for people who might face that cliff edge?
I am not aware of the specific figure that the Member mentioned. I know that a survey was carried out of, I think, 100 people in Northern Ireland. I am not sure whether that figure is from the same survey. Certainly, I want to ensure that people get what they are entitled to. I hope that the Member will refer people…
I raised that issue with the sports Minister. Every club that I visited with the sports Minister raised that issue with him as well. On departing, he was clear with me that he had heard the message, loud and clear, about the need for more investment in the sports infrastructure in Northern Ireland. I am more than…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Were any requests for additional funding made to the sports Minister for the delivery of subregional stadia projects? If the Minister has not yet visited Lisburn Rangers Football Club in Lagan Valley, I would like to offer him the opportunity to visit with me.
The Member will be aware that the Command Paper stated that a meeting would take place between the Communities Minister and the UK sports Minister within a month of the Assembly's return. That meeting happened last Monday. I was pleased to welcome the Minister to Northern Ireland and take him round a number of clubs…
I absolutely agree that bands make an important contribution and do so in a number of ways. They give many young people an opportunity to get involved. Some will have little or no musical experience, and they can become proficient. You also find that those young people and others come from all sorts of socio-economic…
In this financial year, 2023-24, £400,000 was allocated to the musical instruments programme, and, of that, £200,000 was awarded to 23 bands across Northern Ireland. I am pleased to announce that, following a reallocation exercise as we approach the year end, I am able to allocate a further £100,000 to the musical…
I do not have that detail in front of me, but I assure the Member that I have concerns about that. We need a properly resourced Department, and we will take the necessary steps to achieve that.
Minister, at the Communities Committee, we were told that a recruitment pause, temporary promotions and staff leaving had exacerbated a major problem in the Department, particularly in developing strategies or getting them completed. When will the Minister publish an action plan to turn the staff crisis in his…
That has been identified as a problem. I want to see it addressed by ensuring that we have the right number of staff in place so that we can fully deliver on my Department's aims and objectives.
— about homelessness, about regeneration or about disability support. It is a process issue, and that is what the SDLP seems to be most concerned about.
I am not saying that the previous Minister was doing anything wrong, but I certainly believe that the approach that I have taken will ensure that the Member gets her answer much more quickly and that there will be less pressure on my departmental resources. It is interesting that the Member has come along today to ask…
I seek clarity on that point for those families and our constituents. Was the Minister's predecessor doing something wrong by answering Members' questions and referring zero questions to the Housing Executive during her last two years in office?
No, I have no plans to review the practice, because I want Members to get information in the most timely way possible. There is precedent for it in the rest of the United Kingdom, as Ministers in Parliament often refer questions to outside organisations. The Member can take the approach of writing to the Housing…
I thank the Minister for his answer. I half expected him to give me the Housing Executive's phone number because, in the first month of taking office, the Minister has referred 78 Assembly questions for written answer to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; that is not to mention questions that were referred to…
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will group questions 7 and 9. In determining whether an Assembly question is on an operational matter, consideration is given to whether the question is about the day-to-day running of an arm's-length body (ALB), advisory group or other public body with links to the Department. The…
It is funny that the Member should ask that, because the Department is working with the Greater Shankill Partnership, the Better Understanding in Local Development group and other key statutory organisations and stakeholders in the greater Shankill area to take forward a further pilot of the craft kit, subject to…
We have certainly seen the benefit of that work, and I would very much like to be in a position to provide further financial support. Once the budgetary outcome is known, I hope that that will be the case. The Member has put her concern on the record.