On Thursday 5 September, the Northern Ireland Executive agreed a draft Programme for Government. The draft programme included nine key priorities including:

To provide more social, affordable and sustainable housing

Nicola McCrudden, CEO of Homeless Connect, said:

We are pleased that housing has rightly been included as a top priority for government. Homeless Connect and our partners in housing have been pressing for this for many years.

 

With the number of households with homelessness status rising above 30,000 in June, it is crucial that the Executive delivers increased supply of social and affordable housing.

 

This priority must be accompanied by sufficient resources if it is to make a real impact. The budget put forward for 2024/5 will only allow the Department for Communities to fund up to 600 new social housing new starts this year against a target of 2,000. This needs to reconsidered in the months ahead.

Homeless Connect will respond to the consultation on the draft programme when it is released in coming weeks.