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| Friday 12 April 2002 Housing Waiting List Mr Sammy Wilson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail, by constituency, the number of people (a) on the housing waiting list in each of the last 5 years; (b) waiting for transfer; and (c) waiting for accommodation for the elderly. (AQW 2643/01) Mr Dodds: The Housing Executive does not maintain records on a constituency basis, however, the information is available by district council area, and is shown in the tables below. Figures from 1999/00 include applicants for housing association tenancies. WAITING LIST APPLICANTS
TRANSFER APPLICANTS
ELDERLY APPLICANTS
ELDERLY TRANSFER APPLICANTS
Warm Homes Scheme Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister for Social Development, pursuant to AQW 2246/01, what efforts has he made to encourage applications from areas such as East Antrim, which have had a low up-take of the Warm Homes Scheme to date. (AQW 2663/01) Mr Dodds: The Warm Homes Scheme is marketed through an established network of housing, health, social service and voluntary/ community organisations. The development of this effective referral procedure is a model of collaborative working across traditional sectoral boundaries and facilitates the effective targeting of efforts and resources at those in greatest need. Despite the marketing of the Warm Homes Scheme, its uptake in the East Antrim area is lower than average. Local publicity, which is being arranged, will raise the profile of the Scheme. Warm Homes Scheme Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister for Social Development, pursuant to AQW 2246/01, to account for the variation by constituencies in the number of applications to the Warm Homes Scheme. (AQW 2664/01) Mr Dodds: The Warm Homes Scheme is demand led and is not funded on a constituency basis. Funding is provided to the scheme manager who responds to requests from individual clients for the installation of energy efficiency measures in their properties. Substantive linkages with organisations in the health and non-governmental sectors have been established under the Warm Homes Scheme to ensure effective targeting of social need and marketing of the Scheme. Uptake of the scheme is monitored to ensure equality in uptake, and to highlight where selective marketing may be required. Housing Bill : Impact on Students Mr Eamonn ONeill asked the Minister for Social Development what impact he anticipates the Housing Bill will have on students living in rented accommodation. (AQO 1087/01) Mr Dodds: The Housing Bill includes provisions aimed at improving conditions in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO). At present, because of a legal technicality, student accommodation does not come within the definition of a HMO. The new Housing Bill therefore includes provisions which will address this and ensure that student accommodation will be subject to the same registration and inspection process as all other Housing in Multiple Occupation. Standards of Accommodation Mr Mark Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of families who are currently residing in 'inappropriate temporary accommodation'. (AQW 2702/01) Mr Dodds: Since there is no agreed definition of "inappropriate temporary accommodation", statistics are not available. In placing households into temporary accommodation, the Housing Executive tries to make the most appropriate placement possible, given all of the circumstances of each case. Considerations include placing people in their own locality unless requested otherwise in accommodation of suitable size and condition. In the first instance, the Housing Executive considers the use of its own stock. If this is unavailable the voluntary sector is used and finally, as a last resort, the private sector. All properties in the private sector used by the Housing Executive are inspected in terms of the standards of accommodation. The Housing Executive is currently developing a standards manual for both the physical condition and management of all types of temporary accommodation. This was a key recommendation emerging from the Housing Executive’s recent Homelessness Strategy and Services Review. Other Review proposals include the reduction in Bed & Breakfast usage by 50%, development of floating support initiatives, provision of 250 new units of temporary accommodation and 180 units of accommodation with support and the evaluation of outreach services with a view to expanding them. Families in Temporary Accommodation Mr Mark Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many families awaiting housing allocation are currently living in temporary accommodation, broken down by local district. (AQW 2703/01) Mr Dodds: The table below sets out the information at the end of February 2002, by Housing Executive district office, summarised by the respective Housing Executive area.
Housing Executive Grants Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Minister for Social Development what help is available to householders to improve the quality of their housing stock, specifically privately owned rural housing in West Tyrone. (AQO 1069/01) Mr Dodds: Help is available through the range of grants administered by the Housing Executive. Principally, Renovation Grant or Replacement Grant is to remedy unfitness, Minor Works Assistance is for smaller scale work, Repairs Grant is to address disrepair, Disabled Facilities Grant is to assist with adaptations to meet the needs of disabled people. The external fabric of terraced properties can be improved by Group Repair. In addition those who qualify under the Warm Homes Scheme may be eligible for a range of measures designed to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Translation Facilities Mr Eugene McMenamin asked the Assembly Commission to make a statement on the lack of simultaneous translation facilities for MLAs during Assembly debates, in relation to the commitment made in the Good Friday Agreement under Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity to 'take resolute action to promote the (Irish) language'. (AQW 2523/01) The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mrs E Bell): Currently only the Speaker and the Clerks at table have access to simultaneous translation facilities to ensure that proceedings of the Assembly are conducted in accordance with Standing Orders. During the period of the Shadow Assembly, the Commission received a report setting out options for the provision of translation facilities both in the Assembly Chamber and Committee Rooms. If the Assembly, on the basis of a recommendation either from the Committee on Procedures or the Business Committee, decide that translation facilities should be made available to Members, the Commission will be happy to revisit its earlier research to determine the most appropriate option for extending the current translation facilities. External Link Disclaimer: The Northern Ireland Assembly does not exercise any editorial control over the websites listed above and therefore cannot be held responsible for the information, products or services contained therein. |