1. Mr Blair asked the Minister for Communities what measures are being considered to meet social housing targets in rural areas. (AQO 612/22-27)

I am committed to ensuring the vitality and viability of our rural areas and to addressing rural housing need. One of my key priorities as Minister is the delivery of social housing.

The delivery of social housing in rural areas presents significant challenges and often requires different solutions from those that apply in urban areas. In an effort to address those issues, the Housing Executive, through its rural action plan, has shown its commitment to helping to address need and sustain local communities. In rural locations, the Housing Executive carries out housing needs tests to determine whether there is a hidden housing demand not evident from the waiting list, and it listens to requests from local elected representatives and community representatives. To assist housing associations in areas where it is difficult to secure sites, the Housing Executive also carries out site identification studies. That involves examining all underdeveloped lands within a settlement and seeks to identify potential sites for the future development of social housing.

Additionally, my Department has set up a steering group that includes representatives from my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Housing Executive and Land and Property Services. The overall aim of the steering group will be to explore the barriers to rural housing development and develop a plan to address them. Those barriers include land, grant, need, infrastructure and planning.

I thank the Minister for that reply. Will he outline how he is ensuring or, perhaps, working with others to ensure that social houses planned for rural areas will be energy-efficient?

That is important to me, because I also have responsibility for anti-poverty and fuel poverty issues, which go hand in hand. It is important that we make sure that all our homes are energy-efficient, whether they are in urban or rural areas. Not only does that help us to meet our climate change targets, but, more importantly, it helps people to stay warm and keep more of their money.

Have the Minister or the Department's steering group received an update from the Housing Executive in respect of the findings of the recent study that ran until 31 March by researchers at the University of Liverpool and University College London regarding the consistent missing of rural housing targets? If not, when does he expect to receive that information?

I am due to get the research paper to which the Member refers by the end of June; I have not received it yet. He is right to highlight that there have been significant difficulties in reaching the targets that have been set. Those targets have not been met for quite a few years: the information that I have is that, in the past five years, they have not been met at all. That is an issue of concern that we need to address.

It will be no surprise to the Minister that I am interested in housing need in rural areas. He referred to issues around hidden demand and to his ministerial engagement with stakeholders. What steps is the Minister taking to identify hidden demand, specifically in rural areas?

It comes as no surprise that the Member raises again, as she frequently does, the issue of the need for more housing in rural areas, particularly in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. She is right to highlight the issues around hidden demand, which are more prevalent in rural areas. To identify and address those issues, the Housing Executive carries out housing needs tests in selected rural areas every year. Each test is tailored to suit the designated area. That can involve community meetings, engagement with the local primary school and a public information event. The Housing Executive will also promote the test on social media and engage with community representatives and local politicians to ensure that the information reaches people who are in need of a home. Through those tests, the Housing Executive will work with rural communities to promote its range of housing services and encourage those in need of a home to come forward and register on our waiting list. If the Member knows a particular area that, she believes, needs to be highlighted, I encourage her to contact the Housing Executive about that.

Minister, what engagement is there between your Department and the Department for Infrastructure on the lack of capacity at NI Water, which is causing paralysis of development in many areas, including social housing?

The Member is right to raise infrastructure issues, and I have no doubt that those will come up again during Question Time, because one of the biggest drags that we face is not being able to progress with the building that we want to see. All of that will be part of the draft housing supply strategy, and I have committed to working with Executive colleagues to make sure that we get commitment and buy-in from other Ministers, including the Minister for Infrastructure, to make sure that those issues are addressed. Waste water and planning are also issues. If those issues are not resolved satisfactorily, it will make our housebuilding targets even more difficult to achieve not just in rural areas but across Northern Ireland.