Northern Ireland Assembly Flax Flower Logo

ANNEX A

  1. Does the NIHE have plans to increase the number of adaptations to, and allocation of, ground floor accommodation for the elderly? Is there any move on statutory inclusion of public housing within private housing developments?
  2. There are circumstances that would make it difficult for such adaptations but, of the Newbuild programme, the Lifetime Homes Standards makes provision for future dwellings to be suitable for later adaptation for disability or infirmity.

Since the introduction of the sale of houses, 80,000 NIHE houses have been sold in NIHE estates effectively creating mixed tenure areas. However, in Northern Ireland, there are no current plans for obliging private developments to include a percentage of public housing in developments, but it is understood that such a scheme exists in the Republic of Ireland, and some interest has been expressed in GB.

  1. Where Departments hold land that may be sold for development, is there a policy that allows the NIHE to purchase the land before it enters the public domain?
  1. There is a mechanism that allows the NIHE to bid for land held by Departments before it is released into the public domain. However, there are no automatic rights of purchase and the NIHE must bid for the land in line with other Government Agencies.
  1. Does the NIHE have a policy to build a limited number of houses on interface? Is there a policy of differentiation on grounds of social or political lines within areas?
  1. The NIHE recognises that there are problems in specific areas and is committed to tackling all such problems. There may be differentiation for a number of reasons but where areas are available, the NIHE will endeavour to build houses irrespective of the bigger picture. In any case, projects go into the public domain for scrutiny and extensive consultation is carried out within both communities - the Stewartstown Road project being an example of this.
  1. The NIHE has not been able to increase its spending power with private money, is this not an area that could be given attention to?
  1. There is provision that would enable the NIHE to attract and use private money, but there are severe restrictions by the PSBR. However, Local Authorities in GB have put pressure on the Government to ease restrictions and a certain amount of sympathy has been expressed, but there has been no movement on that so far.
  1. The level of unfitness of dwellings in rural areas and the waiting lists for OT adaptations are unacceptable. Would the NIHE agree with this, and what is its view?
  1. The NIHE would agree that the level of unfitness is high and it is concerned with this. The Executive is taking steps to tackle the problem and is revisiting its current strategy. The NIHE is in a consultation period at present and is getting feedback from this.

In relation to OT adaptations, there are 3,000 outstanding. The NIHE is looking at ways of reducing this number and stemming the pressure on the OT service and the Executive in this area. However, there still exist fundamental funding and resource problems. Costs have almost tripled - from £8½m in 1994/5 to £20m today - and approaches had been made to the Department of Health and Social Services for a fundamental review of the Occupational Therapist Service. The review is still pending.

  1. There is concern over the introduction of Group Housing for Travellers and the lack of inclusive consultation with District Councils over this. A similar policy was introduced in the Republic of Ireland (Task Force) and its success is limited. Before committing significant funding to such a project, there was a need to ensure a high degree of success.
  1. This policy originated from the DOE, and the NIHE understands that consultation documents were sent to Councils for their comments. The Executive agrees that this project involves significant financial investment but feels that there'll be a high degree of success. The projects in GB and the Republic of Ireland have been looked at and it appears different approaches have been taken but the Executive feels they must 'plough their own furrow'.

So far it is content with the feedback from the consultation process. However, the NIHE also recognises that there are social problems in addition to housing that need tackled.

  1. What was the position with regards the sustainability of the Grants Scheme? In relation to improvements to heating, were tenants afforded the choice of gas or oil heating?
  1. There was a need to modify the Grants Scheme in order to fit into existing funding constraints. £40m was needed for improvements for next year, but only £38m was available with the result that 1,300 improvements out of 1,700 applications will be made. There is an ongoing Heating Policy consultation. As for the choice of gas and oil, in areas where gas is available, gas only is provided. Outside these areas, oil is provided.
  1. Does the NIHE have figures available for its yearly spend on temporary accommodation and, if so, could they provide a breakdown?
  1. Figures for yearly spend on temporary accommodation by the NIHE are not readily available. However, as well as providing funding to voluntary organisations to assist in the running of hostels, the NIHE directly funds a number of hostels itself in addition to providing support to people in hostels through the housing benefit scheme.
  1. 30% of NIHE tenants have their rent increased every year adding to their financial burdens. Are there any plans to lessen the amount of rent increases? Has the market in the selling off of Housing Executive houses reached a peak, as reported, and if so, what provision is there for the budget over the next 5 years?
  1. There are no plans at present to reduce the amount on rent increases and there are no indications that the market in the sale of HE houses has peaked. The market is still buoyant with 4,000 houses on average being sold per year. However, the NIHE recognises that resources from this area are not infinite and that this will have to be addressed at a later date.
  1. There is evidence that there is still a significant number of people on waiting lists and a substantial proportion are for family type dwellings. Is this the situation, and can the NIHE cope with this reality?
  1. There are still 23,000 applications on the waiting list but there has been no significant change in types of application. The need is still for predominately small households and the Common Selection Scheme should permit a better balance of allocation and have an impact on the waiting list.
  1. What is the NIHE policy on the sale of houses to the elderly? The publicity regarding the restrictions was inadequate and a number of people lost out. Are there plans for the NIHE to look at the policy again and to consider other ways of letting people know?
  1. There are restrictions on the sale of houses to the elderly but the NIHE has worked within the confines of the current policy. There are no plans to change the policy or the consultation process and previous judicial reviews have been unsuccessful.
  1. Is there an equality issue here with groups of people prevented from buying their own homes and does this contravene the NI Act that prevents public bodies from discrimination?
  1. This type of scheme is not unique and the exclusion of certain groupings for one reason or another is not unusual. This particular scheme had satisfactorily gone through the PAFT process and the NIHE doesn't recognise this as discrimination as the process complies with current legislation.

Social Development Minutes 20 January 2000