To ask the Minister for Communities what actions he will take to ensure Northern Ireland receives a fair allocation from the Household Support Fund allocated in the budget statement delivered on 6 March 2024.

Any Barnett Consequential provided to Northern Ireland from the Household Support Fund announced as part of the Budget Statement on 6 March will be unhypothcated.

I will, however, continue to clearly set out the case for increased funding for all the sectors my Department supports as part of the Executive discussions on the 2024-25 Budget, including Discretionary Support, which is the Northern Ireland equivalent of the Household Support fund. Therefore, I have bid for an additional £12.7m for Discretionary Support as part of the 2024-25 Budget exercise.