To ask the Minister for the Economy what he is doing to support higher education students that were accepted by Queen's University for halls of residence accomodation, and then subsequently told that Queen's was unable to provide accommodation, resulting in those students facing up to 20% increase in accommodation costs through private providers.

While my Department is responsible for higher education policy in relation to teaching and research in Northern Ireland, student accommodation, whether it is university halls of residence or private rental housing, is a matter between the individual student and their landlord.

University-managed student accommodation is a commercial activity for universities, and it is up to them to assess and meet demand.

I understand that Queen’s University has been trying to source alternative accommodation options to meet the additional demand for this academic year, and that they have been trying to encourage students to avail of accommodation options, other than university-managed halls of residence.