2. Ms Ferguson asked the Minister for Communities when the housing supply strategy will be published. (AQO 613/22-27)

As I said at a Communities Committee meeting in April and at the all-party group on homelessness in May, I am reviewing the housing supply strategy. I will take that forward as quickly as possible, and I am working on it now. I have also been working closely with my officials to update the strategy to ensure that it remains accurate and aligns with current policy. Doing that has emphasised that addressing the issues that are impacting housing supply is outside the gift of any one Department. We need to make sure that we have a collaborative approach across the Executive to deliver the houses that are so badly required.

This needs to be a whole-Executive strategy, so I have written to my ministerial colleagues in the Departments of Finance, Health, Infrastructure and Economy. Those Departments have key strategic remits, and I need them to buy into the strategy. I plan to meet those Ministers — I have my first meeting organised with the Minister of Finance — to seek their support for the approach set out in the strategy and their commitment to deliver the necessary actions to make the transformational change that is required. Once that work is finished, I will bring a finalised strategy to the Executive for their consideration and approval as quickly as I can. I want this to be a priority for the Executive, and I want the funds in place to back that up.

Thank you, Minister, for your answer. We recognise — I think that everyone in the Assembly does — that the £15 million that has been allocated to new-build social homes will allow only up to 400 new-build social starts in 2024-25. I know that you met a number of housing associations last week, and I welcome that. That is a reduction of well over 1,000 homes, and it is not where we need to be. I welcome the update that you have given on your liaison with all Departments. Where would you say we are in relation to housing being a priority in the Programme for Government?

First of all, I will say that it has been a disappointing last number of weeks with budget allocations. I accept that no Minister in any Department is happy with the budget that they have received. I am particularly disappointed with the budget that we have because, frankly, starting 400 social homes this year is not good enough and is not where we need to be. I want to make sure that that changes, and I will do everything that I can to make sure that we increase that number. I will work with Executive colleagues to highlight that and to make sure that we get back to where we need to be.

I was pleased to meet the housing associations last week. They expressed their frustration, but we had a good conversation about the way forward as well. I assure the Member that I will do everything in my power to ensure that we continue to invest in social homes and make the most of the funds that we have.

Thank you, Minister, for the information on the housing supply strategy. Can you tell the House what plans you have to allow the Housing Executive to, once again, enter the home-building market and to re-profile its finances to ensure that it can do that successfully?

Minister, before you reply, I remind Members to speak through the Chair. You are not the only one, Mr Dickson; it is happening on numerous occasions. I remind Members to address the Speaker and ask the Minister a question through the Speaker.

When I first came into office, this was one of the first things that I raised with officials, because we are not in a good enough place right now when it comes to housing. I fear that we will be dealing with constrained budgets for the foreseeable future, and the status quo just is not acceptable. We need to do things differently. We are exploring options. Last week, there was a useful Innovation Lab meeting, and I look forward to getting a read-out from that.

There are not many real game changers in this place, but one that we can have for Northern Ireland is the transformation of the Housing Executive's borrowing powers. That would be good for two reasons. The first is that it would be able to build more social homes. The second is that it would be able to renovate or refurbish social homes as well. At this point, we are in real danger of allowing some of our existing stock to simply become uninhabitable. I absolutely want to see that change.

I have been pressing Executive colleagues. Obviously, it will require engagement with the Treasury, and it is not appropriate for any Department other than the Department of Finance to do that, but, from discussions with Executive colleagues, I believe that there is cross-party support to see that change, because, ultimately, it will allow us to build more homes and to make a real change and difference to people's lives. That is what we should be here to do.

Has the Minister made clear to the Finance Minister and Executive colleagues in no uncertain terms the impact that the Budget would have on his Department's ability to deliver social housing, in particular?

Yes, I did so in my engagement with the Finance Minister prior to the Budget's being set. In conversations with Ministers, I made clear the impact that that would have. I am not sure whether I gave an exact number for the impact that it would have on housebuilding, but it was always clear that a constrained capital budget would impact on housebuilding, given that the majority of my capital budget is and always has been spent on building houses.

I understand that there are pressures in every Department. I would like to have had more money. We have to work together. We have to do the best that we can with what we have. It underlines the need for us to ensure that we get that fair funding agreement with the Treasury. In the meantime, I will do the best that I can with what I have. I will also look at novel options that may be available to us to enable us to increase the supply of housing.