AQW 53204/22-27 Written question to the Minister for Communities
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail whether multi-year funding arrangements for homelessness prevention projects through the Northern Ireland Housing Executive are included in the budget.
Asked by Kellie Armstrong MLA on 28 September 2026
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 28 September 2026
- Answer due by
- 13 October 2026
- Answered
- 13 October 202615 days after tabling
- Department
- Department for Communities
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The draft budget proposals for 2026/2030 reflected an extremely constrained budget position, falling substantially short of requirements to tackle homelessness over the budget period.
In the absence of an agreed budget, I have maintained ringfenced funding for Strategic Homelessness Prevention within the Housing Executive's interim allocation for 2026/27. While funding for Community Prevention and Support Initiatives is not ringfenced, it has been protected at the same level as 2025/26.
I also circulated an Executive paper seeking additional funding to ensure homelessness services, including community and strategic prevention initiatives, can be adequately and sustainably funded. Disappointingly, this has not been agreed.