2.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, in the light of recent sectarian intimidation of students at further and higher education colleges, to outline (a) any steps she will implement; and (b) what assurances she will give to those students who have applied for places in September 2002.

(AQO 1674/01)

The recent sectarian incidents affecting students at further and higher education colleges are to be deplored. I have already made a statement to the Assembly in relation to the incident at Tower Street. The sentiments I expressed then apply to any such incidents.

Such events are primarily a law-and-order issue. Further and higher education colleges are autonomous bodies, and I am confident that they will take whatever steps they feel are necessary to reassure and protect students according to local circumstances. I assure the Member and the Assembly that my Department will respond sympathetically to any requests from colleges for assistance. I have met with the staff and students at Tower Street and with the director of the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education. I have also requested a meeting with Queen's University and its Student's Union to reassure myself that students are given adequate advice on safety and, indeed, to ensure that practical support is in place in the event of any emergency.

In the light of recent attacks on students in south Belfast, it is not sufficient to put out a statement on departmental headed notepaper and, at the same time, suggest that it is only a policing responsibility. I suggest that the Minister might want to revisit an answer that she gave to me in a recent letter, in which she said that she had no intention of setting up a working party to look at the seriousness of those issues.

Given that the Minister has had a range of meetings with the university, the Student's Union and staff, perhaps it is time to set up that working party. When this became a crisis in south Belfast two years ago, I asked the universities to appoint two community liaison officers from Queen's University and the University of Ulster. They have since done so, but they believe that the lead must be taken from the Minister, and that the working party is needed now more than ever. Otherwise, Northern Ireland students will go elsewhere, rather than to the two universities.

Such events are primarily law-and-order issues. That is not to say that I do not take the events extremely seriously. However, as Minister for Employment and Learning, and as MLA for South Belfast, I suspect that there may be a conflict of interest in my chairing that working party. I have made it clear that I am happy to meet the other South Belfast MLAs and have done so several times in the past on those issues.

Does the Minister have any evidence that Protestant students still perceive the Student's Union at Queen's University as a so-called cold house, since they make up only 22% of part-time workers there?

This question has been asked in the Chamber on at least two other occasions. I do not have any evidence or figures to that effect.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. How many students, if any, have not returned to Tower Street after the disgraceful incidents of sectarian intimidation there? What action is the Minister taking to ensure the absolute neutrality of all educational institutions in the third level sector?

I do not have definitive figures, partly because the incidents happened so close to the end of term. I am aware that the director of the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education has facilitated, as far as possible, any students who had to resit exams or who do not wish to return to Tower Street. I will happily come back to this issue in September.

I have just been advised that question 3 in the name of Mr David McClarty has been withdrawn and will receive a written answer.

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4.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to outline the timescale for the integration of the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College with the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.

(AQO 1679/01)

12.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when she intends to reach a decision on the merger of the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.

(AQO 1665/01)

15.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for her assessment of the decision of the Committee for Employment and Learning to reject the merger between the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown; and to make a statement.

(AQO 1664/01)

I shall answer questions 4, 12 and 15 together, and shall make a statement.

I received a variety of responses to the proposal to merge the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College with the University of Ulster. They ranged from the strongly supportive - from some of the key organisations representative of the hotel and catering industry - to opposition on the basis that the merger would not secure appropriate throughput of graduates to the labour market. Reservations were also expressed about the impact of the movement of University of Ulster courses from Belfast to Portrush.

I have carefully considered all reactions to the merger proposal, from the recent consultation process, through extensive correspondence from many interested parties and through meeting the Committee for Employment and Learning. The University of Ulster is responsible for decisions regarding course provision and location. The university has advised that no students currently enrolled in courses of study will have to relocate to another campus.

However, in light of the anticipated benefits that the merger will bring to the hotel and catering industry in Northern Ireland - such as the establishment of a world-class centre of excellence; increased numbers of well-trained undergraduates; increased research and development opportunities for the industry; and the creation of two additional professorial chairs - I will approve the merger. Departmental officials will shortly advance the necessary administrative order to give effect to my decision from 1 August. The strong tradition that both institutions have in supporting the development of the Northern Ireland hotel and catering industry will be maintained and enhanced by the merger.

I thank the Minister for her answer and congratulate her on the decision. I can think of many reasons for that decision, though I might be accused of bias. Will the Minister outline what organisations supported the merger and why they did so?

A number of key organisations representative of the tourism, hospitality and catering industry in Northern Ireland responded positively to the merger proposal. They included the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Tourism Training Trust, the Food and Drink Training Council, the retail licence trade and the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation. Those organisations concurred that the merger would allow the current high standards of delivery to remain undiluted and so enhance the calibre of staff entering the industry. They also felt that the merger would lead to continued close industrial links, the provision of high-quality research and consultancy facilities, an improvement in management productivity and support of the overall development and performance of the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

I note the Minister's response and her positive decision in relation to the merger and the establishment of a centre of excellence. However, can the Minister indicate what policy will be put in place to ensure complementarity between existing further education centres of excellence and the new higher education centre of excellence? What steps will be taken to avoid the potential impact on foundation degree courses on hospitality and catering provided in further education colleges?

It is hoped that the existing centre of excellence at Newry and Kilkeel Institute of Further and Higher Education and the creation of a centre of excellence at Portrush will encourage working together. The Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education did not receive an award, but it was highly commended. The detail of the policy will be down to the university and the college.

The Minister has said twice this afternoon that the location of the merger at Portrush is an internal matter for the University of Ulster. Does the merger have public expenditure implications such as one-off costs for relocation or change of building, or an adjustment in the Department's budget allocated to higher education relative to further education?

I will provide details and figures to the Member in writing. I do recollect that the issue was raised during my visit to the Committee. The Department felt that there was probably not a huge financial difference between the various options available.

There is great disappointment today, considering the extent of respondents' opposition to the merger, the many concerns and issues that were raised through the consultation period and the opposition of the Committee. One wonders how the decision could be justified. I know that I speak on behalf of my Committee Colleagues when I ask whether the Minister will encourage further consultation with the university about location, or come to the Committee to further explain the decision.

I may have missed part of the question.

Will there be consultation with the university about location?

The decision on location is entirely for the university - it is not my decision. My decision is only on the merger, and I made it having regard to extensive consultation and correspondence and meeting the Committee and taking its concerns on board. I am aware that the Committee was divided on the matter, and this was a difficult decision for it. However, I am confident that I have made the right decision.

Is the Minister aware that potential students were informed in January 2002 that the course was moving to the Portrush area? Given the widespread opposition to the controversial move and the concerns expressed over the long-term viability of the facility and its new location, what steps will the Minister put in place to prevent such a serious situation developing? If potential students were to vote with their feet after this decision, it could have a disastrous impact on our hospitality industry.

I do not know the date on which students were made aware of the possibility of the transfer. Students who are currently at Jordanstown have been reassured that they will finish their course there. It was for two reasons that I did not seriously consider the opposition to the merger. First, due to a drop in the level of applications to university, a negative impact on the hospitality and catering industry was anticipated - and there was a decline in the number of well-trained personnel entering the industry. There has been insignificant change in the number of applicants for this year. There have been approximately 1,000 applicants for about 155 places. My second reason for the move of the university provision from its current location was a lack of management development opportunities for existing employees. I also recognised the ability of the Portrush area to provide part-time employment opportunities for students.

The majority of the work content of the course is likely to take place in the United States and Europe, rather than in local hotels and catering establishments. Students will make their own decisions as regards part-time work.

I hope that I have answered all the Member's questions.

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5.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail why students from the Republic of Ireland are not entitled to PhD funding when they are entitled to attend universities in Northern Ireland.

(AQO 1691/01)

European Union nationals attending higher education institutions in the United Kingdom are entitled, under EU law, to receive education on the same basis as their UK counterparts. They are entitled to have their tuition fees paid, but not to receive loans or maintenance grants, because the student's national Government are responsible for providing that support. That applies to every student outside Northern Ireland.

Many students from the South who attend university in the North cannot receive a grant. The reason given is that they live outside the jurisdiction. A student who wishes to carry out a PhD after completing a degree course in the North cannot receive funding. When students carry out a year's placement outside the UK, they must continue to pay compulsory fees enforced by the British Government and remain registered at their university, but they are classed as being resident outside Northern Ireland. Does the Minister intend to address that issue?

There may be a facility for providing a maintenance grant to students who have lived in Northern Ireland for more than three years, but I need to check the matter. I do not know whether a student who completes a placement outside Northern Ireland is entitled to receive a grant - that could depend on the personal circumstances. I do not believe that such students would be entitled, but I will check the matter.

I am not sure whether I understood the question correctly.

I would not dream of trying to clarify that for the Minister. I was somewhat of the same difficulty as she.

Would the Minister acknowledge that -

Order. Mr Beggs is being called for his first question.

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6.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to outline any implications that the results of the research assessment exercise for the Northern Ireland university departments, published in December 2001, may have for research funding.

(AQO 1682/01)

It was not so much a supplementary question as trying it on.

I welcome the universities' much improved performance in the recent research assessment exercise. The results have enabled my Department to allocate selectively, on the basis of quality, the available mainstream research funds to both universities. The budget for 2002-03 has already been set. However, in recognition of the challenges set by the universities' performance, I am exploring the possibility of securing some additional research funding for this year.

Mr Beggs may now ask his supplementary question.

Does the Minister appreciate the universities' frustration that, having invested heavily in updating their measured research output, they have not yet received additional funding as a reward for their efforts?

I appreciate the universities' expectation of additional funding. However, in addition to mainstream research funding of £26·65 million for 2002-03, my Department will sustain its funding of the support programme for university research and will commence funding of the science research infrastructure fund - about £7 million over the two-year period, 2002-04. Both funding streams are designed to improve research infrastructure at the universities and build on research of international excellence.

My Department has, however, bid for Executive programme funds to secure funding for a second support programme for university research. We have also bid under the reinvestment and reform initiative launched recently by the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister for university research capital infrastructure funding. I hope that the Department will receive good news about that in the near future.

I listened carefully to what the Minister said in response to the supplementary question - that she is hopeful for future funding. Would she agree that, given the excellence of universities in Northern Ireland - especially the University of Ulster, which obtained two five-star awards and a gold star award for research assessment - it is important that Northern Ireland stays at the cutting edge?

The Minister noted that there has been a cut of 4% in the current year. In GB there has been an increase of 9%. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has added a further £30 million to research facilities for universities. There has been an increase of £25 million in Scotland. Additional funding of IR£560 million has been allocated in the Republic of Ireland, for the years 2001-2005. If Northern Ireland is to be the spearhead, as it has been in many areas of tactical research, then funding must be provided - even in these difficult times of scarce general resources.

I agree with what the Member has said. Indeed, adequate funding for research is a priority for my Department. I hope that we will receive good news in tomorrow's announcement. I am aware of the increase of £30 million for the Department for Education and Skills in England. However, that funding was not new; it had been provided to the Higher Education Funding Council for England from within the existing baseline.

I do not see Mr McMenamin at his place. Therefore, I call Mr Doherty.

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9.

asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if she is seeking to learn from models of excellence outside Northern Ireland in relation to provision in the further education system.

(AQO 1667/01)

I am currently undertaking major reconsideration of the further education strategy and wish to learn from models of excellence in the provision of further education outside Northern Ireland, including the Republic of Ireland and the United States.

Are any other areas of provision in the further education system being examined?

There are several reasons for the reconsideration of the further education strategy. The Committee for Employment and Learning report on education and training for industry recommended that the Department produce an explicit further education strategy. My Department has gathered considerable data and analysis on provision for 16- to 19-year-olds, which will be fed into the work. Incorporation of further education is now four years' old. Both positive and negative feedback have been received on its success. The Department thought that it was timely to examine it.

The Department is presently engaged on a research programme to identify areas of excellence and to examine essential skills provision throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It is also examining developments in the UK to identify best practice in the funding, planning and management of education and training, particularly for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Will the review of the further education strategy planned for later this year take into account the further education system in other parts of the United Kingdom?

I shall have to ask the Minister to reply in writing, as the time for questions to the Minister for Employment and Learning is now up.

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1.

asked the Minister for Social Development (a) if the Housing Executive has guidelines for the removal of sectarian graffiti or paramilitary murals from its properties; and (b) if these guidelines are enforced.

(AQO 1673/01)

The Minister for Social Development (Mr Dodds): There are no formal guidelines as such. Sectarian graffiti and paramilitary murals are removed where the Housing Executive considers that any intervention will be effective and that the safety of those involved will not be endangered. The Housing Executive seeks to work with communities to remove offensive material.

Can the Minister inform the House of the criteria used to define when the safety of workers may be at risk? Does his Department take a different view from other Departments? He might like to raise the matter with the Executive. Ministers seem to be responding differently, and the Northern Ireland Office frequently has to be called in where departmental officials refuse to do this work.

The Minister may wish to reflect on the issue, given that last year £10 million from his budget had to be spent on rehousing tenants of Housing Executive and other properties after they were intimidated from their homes. Would it not be better to take preventative action and remove sectarian graffiti from walls as soon as possible?

The sum of £10 million relates to the scheme for the purchase of evacuated dwellings (SPED) and does not apply to Housing Executive tenants, but only to homeowners. It is wrong to say that cleaning up paramilitary murals and graffiti will stop the problems of intimidation or people being threatened into leaving their homes. Intimidation of tenants and forcing people from their homes is reprehensible and wrong, but it often happens even where there is no display of paramilitary flags or symbols. It is wrong to make that link.

My officials are assiduous in trying to deal with that problem. However, in many cases, the issue comes down to workers who think that their lives may be in danger and who are subject to threats and intimidation. We must have regard to that. There has been some limited success with intervention, but that can only happen where it will be effective and where the safety of workers will not be endangered.

The Housing Executive does not simply adopt a reactive approach to its own properties, but proactively tries to limit the opportunity for graffiti and murals by not leaving gable walls exposed and using house types and designs that have doors and windows in end gables, for instance. At a local level, district managers have tried to work with local communities by providing paint and equipment to facilitate local communities in removing murals and graffiti. That has been successful in some areas of my own constituency.

What is the legal position regarding the removal of graffiti?

The Member sits on my local district council, so he will know that district councils have some powers under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 to have graffiti removed from property. Councils can then go to the owners of that property for reimbursement. Certain criteria are set out concerning whether, in the opinion of the council, the graffiti is detrimental to the amenity of the area or of any land in the district. There are also legal powers under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

However, we are all aware that it can take time to enforce planning regulations. Graffiti is designated as an advertisement under the terms of the 1991 Order, and procedures are in place in respect of the display of such advertisements. It is a matter for the planning authorities, and it is outside the remit of my Department.

Members will agree that this is a sensitive and difficult subject. The Assembly asked the Executive last year to set up an interdepartmental working group, comprising an officer from each Department, the Roads Service and other agencies, to tackle the problem of graffiti. Does the Minister agree that, had the Executive done as they were asked, he might have had more success and support from other Departments in tackling the problem? Perhaps the Minister will raise that at the next meeting of the Executive.

The Member was talking sense until that last bit. It is necessary to acknowledge the sensitivity of the situation, and he did that. It is all very well for people to speak of such issues in the Chamber, but we must take account of reality and the situation in which people find themselves. We recognise the difficulties.

It is not a matter only for the Minister for Social Development, because the issue involves planning and matters relating to the Department for Regional Development. I note with interest that the suggested solution is the setting-up of another committee. I sometimes wonder whether politicians who suggest such solutions live in the real world. Another committee is not needed; what is needed is for the agencies on the ground to work with local communities, politicians and others to make progress.

Good work has been done, for example in parts of Newtownabbey, where people have worked to put some murals with a historic background into estates rather than those of a sectarian or political nature. That is the sort of work that is needed. The setting-up of another committee will not take us very far.

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2.

asked the Minister for Social Development to outline his plans for developing housing for life.

(AQO 1678/01)

The move to community care and the increasing demand for adaptations to assist people to remain in their own homes have highlighted the limitations inherent in the existing housing stock. Lifetime homes are seen as one way of addressing the problem. They incorporate features to make the living space more flexible, convenient, safe and accessible in the event of the temporary or permanent disablement of any household member.

In 1997, the Department of the Environment adopted the principles of lifetime homes for the social housing programme in Northern Ireland. In 1998, the grant payable to registered housing associations was adjusted to provide additional funding to support the lifetime homes standard. From April 2001, my Department made it a requirement for housing associations to build all new general-needs housing to those standards. My Department is unique in the United Kingdom in continuing to provide financial support in Northern Ireland for the provision of lifetime homes in the public sector.

I thank the Minister for his very positive response. I am sure that he will agree that access is a fundamental right. Does he agree that, as far as is humanly possible, all public sector homes should have obstacle-free entry for wheelchair users?

The building regulations were amended in 2001 to require the provision of improved access for people with disabilities to visit relatives and friends in their homes. Since the requirement was put in place for all new build housing in the Northern Ireland public sector to be built to that standard, together with the financial support from the Department for Social Development, around 2,500 lifetime homes have been provided.

In relation to lifetime homes provided for owner occupation as opposed to the public sector, the position is that standards can be achieved only through the building regulations. The responsibility lies with the Department of Finance and Personnel, and the matter should be taken up with it.

Is the Minister aware of a recent report on the matter? If so, will its recommendations be accepted?

With other Members, I attended the successful launch in the Building of the report to which the Member refers. It is a joint report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Chartered Institute of Housing that highlights the different building standards that operate in the public and private sectors in the Province. The object of the launch and the report was to stimulate debate on that issue. I welcome the fact that such issues are raised in the Assembly. The hon Member for Strangford, Iris Robinson, recently asked a question on the issue. We should move to a situation in which all newly built houses in Northern Ireland are built to the same standards. However, as private sector housing is a matter for the Department of Finance and Personnel, Members should pursue that matter with that Department.

Question 3 stands in the name of Mr Sam Foster, but he is not in his place.

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4.

asked the Minister for Social Development to outline, in each of the past five years: (a) the number of people waiting for cases to be heard at a(i) disability living allowance tribunal; (ii) incapacity benefit tribunal; and (b) the average waiting time for each case to be heard at each tribunal.

(AQO 1663/01)

Given the complexity of the requested information and the amount of time that I would need to read out the answer, I have provided the Member with the relevant details and a copy has been placed in the Assembly Library. Since the introduction of new decision-making and appeals legislation in 1999, the number of people who wish to appeal has continued to rise, as has the number of cleared cases. A range of measures has been introduced to improve the speed with which appeals are processed. There are currently 446 appeals with the disability living allowance branch, and 231 are with the incapacity benefits branch and are to be submitted to the appeals service. There are a further 4,669 disability living allowance components and 762 incapacity appeals awaiting a decision from the appeals service.

I thank the Minister for the correspondence that I received. The Minister of Finance and Personnel's statement on the June monitoring round referred to an extra £600,000 for the appeals service. How will that money be used to clear the backlog of claims?

Additional funding of £400,000 in 2001-02 and £150,000 for 2002-03 was allocated to the appeals service, which enabled it to recruit five permanent and 15 casual staff, and to increase the number of cases heard. The successful bid and the resources that were secured in the June monitoring round - some £600,000 - will ensure that the number of hearings arranged during 2002-03 will increase to approximately 25,200. That will substantially reduce the number of outstanding appeals and the time taken to clear them, which I am sure that the House will welcome.

Are more people waiting for their cases to be heard in certain areas of the Province? Will the Minister provide Members with figures for areas that turn down more people than other areas do? If the Minister does not have those figures to hand, will he send them to Members?

I do not have figures that show the geographical breakdown. I shall send Mr Shannon as much information as possible.

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5.

asked the Minister for Social Development for his assessment of the sustainability of community groups representing deprived areas in the post-Peace II period.

(AQO 1693/01)

The voluntary and community sectors play an invaluable role in service delivery, capacity building and community development in deprived communities. I am aware of the financial difficulties, as a result of changes to funding programmes, that many community and voluntary organisations that work in such areas already experience.

However, it is too early to provide a definitive assessment of the impact that the cessation of Peace II programme funding will have on the voluntary and community sectors, but my Department has put procedures in place to enable such assessments to be completed. They will inform Government policy in supporting the voluntary and community sectors post-Peace II.

I am sure the Minister agrees that much more must be done. Will he outline what progress has been made in implementing the findings of the Harbinson review, which considered sustaining the community and voluntary sectors in the post-Peace II era?

The Member can rest assured that work is under way on the post-Peace II evaluation. It is early days, but work continues and the matter will be pursued. The Harbinson Report, which was published by an interdepartmental group in April 2000, is a consultation document on funding for the voluntary and community sectors, and it contains several key recommendations. I am sure that the Member is aware that the main recommendations were: to develop performance indicators for voluntary community-based activity; to undertake work on community infrastructure, particularly in identifying and addressing weak community infrastructure; to develop a database of Government and other funding for the voluntary and community sectors; to establish a forum for funders of the voluntary and community sectors; and to establish a task force to identify action to develop the medium- and long-term sustainability of those sectors. Sustainability is fundamental, and one of the report's key recommendations was the establishment of a task force. The task force's terms of reference are being assessed, and we hope to establish it as quickly as possible. Indeed, I held discussions on that very matter today.

The Minister has rightly pointed out the possible effect that the loss of Peace II money will have on the community and voluntary sectors. How soon can he give us an assessment of that effect? We have had Peace I and Peace II funding, but does the Minister believe that it is desirable for community groups to be entirely dependent on that funding? If European money dried up, many of those organisations would go to the wall. Does the Minister agree that longer-term, sustainable funding should be introduced to ensure that those groups do not lurch from one crisis to another, crises that are caused by the difficulty of obtaining European funding?

That issue is crucial for many community and voluntary sector groups. When I meet representatives of those organisations, long-term sustainability and core funding are continually raised. Those people spend much of their energies, talents and efforts not in delivering the services that they exist to deliver but in filling in forms and chasing funding. Those tasks distract them from their real work. The Harbinson Report is important because it identified that as a key issue. We will establish a task force to ascertain what can be done to ensure that people do not have to engage in such activity almost full-time at certain times of the funding cycle. It is unacceptable that people should have to depend on ad hoc funding for vital work.

I pay tribute to the work of the community and voluntary sector, which adds enormous value to, and complements, the work of Government in delivering real benefits to people.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Although I thank the Minister for his answer to Mr Wells's question, I note that he has acknowledged the key work done particularly by women's groups and others who failed to get gap funding or further funding. Will he give direction to those people? Where can they go in order to continue the added-value work that they have been doing?

Gap funding has been a major issue because of the delay in some of the European programmes coming on stream. Gap funding arrangements introduced in 2001 have had to be extended. That has caused difficulties for many groups.

I know that a Member has tabled a question on the issue and, with due deference to that Member, I will answer the question in due course.

Sir John Gorman is not in his place for question 6, so I will call Ms Armitage.

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7.

asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the implications for the Housing Executive in areas where it has sold more properties than it now owns.

(AQO 1672/01)

The house sales policy can have various implications. For example, it helps to address affordability issues in certain areas by providing access to low-cost home ownership. It removes the ongoing property maintenance and improvement costs from the Housing Executive and has the potential to reduce the supply of available accommodation for re-let.

Although the highest levels of house sales tend to be in stable areas, with low levels of turnover for re-let, the impact on re-lets tends to be minimal initially and is felt only gradually over the long term. House sales policy can also have implications for the new build programme, depending on supply and demand factors, and can have an implication for staffing levels in local Housing Executive offices.

In an area I know well, the Housing Executive has sold 255 dwellings, leaving just 220 houses to let. In that area, the Housing Executive has now sold more houses than it owns. House sales continue at 17 to 18 each year, and there are 180 to 190 applicants. How does the Minister plan to deal with that situation? There is no new build programme because the land is not available or affordable in the area. The Housing Executive is the main provider of homes, so will the current situation continue until there is no hope of a young couple ever renting a house in the area they want? The Housing Executive has a responsibility to rent houses as well as sell them.

As the Member will know, the Housing Executive no longer builds new houses - that is a matter for housing associations. The house sales scheme has been an important entry point into the housing market. By the end of April, just under 95,000 tenants had bought their homes from the Housing Executive. Owning a home is an investment, and it is also an investment in local communities and has helped to create confidence and stability in local estates.

It is impossible for people to say, as the majority do, "I agree with the policy of the right-to-buy" and then say that problems arise in certain areas. We cannot apply the policy selectively; equality considerations mean that the policy must apply across the Province or not at all.

I hope that Members will agree that overall, people are very satisfied with the policy. People have voted with their feet - I was going to say that people have voted with their wallets - for this policy. The housing Bill extends the right to buy to housing association tenants, in addition to Housing Executive tenants. I am conscious of the issues that the hon Member raised concerning the area that she represents. We must balance those considerations. I am aware that high land prices in certain parts of the Province militate against the Housing Executive identifying land for social housing.

Where need is demonstrated, the Housing Executive considers new build. The principal means of assessing housing need is the waiting list. If it increases in an area as a consequence of a falling number of re-lets, the Housing Executive will consider introducing new social housing schemes to the programme, after it has assessed a range of other indicators such as availability in the private sector.

I thank the Minister for elucidating the problem. The house sales programme has been very successful, so much so that the pool of affordable social housing has decreased dramatically. As a consequence, people who are trying to take the first step on the housing ladder find it difficult to acquire social housing from the housing association. I agree with the Minister that one of the fundamental problems is land acquisition and the cost of land in areas that are under pressure. I suggest that the Department for Social Development, the Department of the Environment and its Planning Service, and senior policy officers from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive get around the table and think of a way to address the problems of acquiring housing in areas of high demand and the impossible costs that are pushing low-cost housing out of all reckoning.

I thank the Member for his suggestion. He has raised the issue before. This is a difficult matter, as many of the issues fall within the remit of the planning authorities. I am always happy to talk to planning officials, as I do regularly, wearing a number of different hats - sometimes to greater effect than others. I will consider the matter and his suggestion. There is a limit to which the Department can intervene, given the cost of land prices. The Member will be aware that the Department for Social Development has provided funds to the co-ownership scheme to enable people to take their first step on the home-ownership ladder.

With regard to the sale of houses and the subsequent shortage of social housing for renting, generally, the tenants who avail of the house sale schemes would remain as tenants of those houses, even if they were not sold to them. Therefore, those houses would not be available for re-let anyway. The numbers on the waiting list and the length of time that people have to wait are influenced by several factors, such as the number of re-lets becoming available, the newbuild programme, demand in particular areas, and tenants' areas of choice.

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