3rd December 1999

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A conference on social housing in Belfast is likely to hear fears for the future of the Housing Executive and worries about a major rise in the regional rates bill under the new Assembly and its Housing Minister Nigel Dodds.

The Conference, which will include contributions from the Executive, the DOE and speakers from Britain and the Republic, has been organised by the University of Ulster to discuss the many challenges that face social housing providers into the new millennium.

The University's senior lecturer in Housing Studies, Paddy Gray, says Mr Dodds will have a major task on his hands:

"It is widely accepted that per capita, Northern Ireland has had much higher funding than other regions in the UK due mainly to the Troubles. Indications are, however, that with the new Assembly assuming power, the margin of advantage will reduce.

"Public housing has already suffered in recent years with the budget continually being reduced and no prospect of increased money being made available. It is certain that the new Assembly is not going to pour money into the sector."

Mr Gray believes that one of the ways for raising funds is to allow the Executive to borrow finance from the private sector in the same way as housing associations can:

"This would be very attractive to the new Assembly which will more than likely assume a tight public spending budget for the next three years and which will probably be faced with pressure to make substantial increases to the regional rate bills, possibly at least 5% above inflation for each of the next three years, according to some sources.

"Mr Dodds will have some unavoidable and difficult decisions to make but this should present an opportunity to overhaul the way in which housing is delivered and managed in the province by allowing a new injection of funding without making serious changes to an organisation which has clearly demonstrated, through its success, a popularity that spans both communities in the province."

Mr Gray believes it is important that the new government of Northern Ireland provides local solutions for local people that are highly acceptable to both communities.

"After all housing was one of the main grievances of the civil rights movement at the beginning of the Troubles, and the Executive was set up to administer a fair and equitable social housing movement in the province.

"It would be highly ironic, therefore, for the first devolved administration in Northern Ireland to come into being since the setting up of the Executive 28 years ago, to seek to threaten its very existence as the major social landlord in Northern Ireland."

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk