THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2000 AT 2.00 PM IN ROOM 144, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present: Mr F Cobain (Chairman) Ms M Gildernew (Deputy Chairperson) Mr B Hutchinson Mr G Kelly Mr D McClarty Mr D O'Connor Mr E ONeill Mr J Tierney Mr S Wilson
Apologies: Sir John Gorman Mr M Robinson
In Attendance: Mr G Martin Mr D Harkin Mr L Hart Ms V Surplus
Mr Cobain took the Chair at 2.00 pm.
Private Session
1. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
2. Matters Arising
Agreed: The Committee considered and agreed the draft set of procedures for press conferences.
3. Subordinate Legislation
i. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee had considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.221 - The Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No.3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
ii. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.222 - The Income Support (General) and Jobseeker's Allowance (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
iii. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.245 - The Social Security (Personal Allowances for Children Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
iv. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.214 - The Social Security (Industrial Injuries) (Prescribed Diseases) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
v. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.251 - The Social Security (Therapeutic Earnings Limits) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
vi. Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule 2000 No.242 - The Social Security (Students and Income-Related Benefits Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
vii Question put and agreed to:
That the Social Development Committee has considered Statutory Rule2000 No.249 - The Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No.4) Regulations (NI) 2000 and has no objection to the Rule.
The Clerk will report immediately the Committee's consideration of the above- mentioned Rules to the Business Office for inclusion in the Assembly's Minutes of Proceedings.
Public Session
4. Departmental Budget Proposals: Presentation by the Minister
Panel Members: Mr Maurice Morrow, Minister for Social Development
Mr John Hunter, Permanent Secretary Mr Cliff Radcliffe, Deputy Secretary Mr Brian Davis, Departmental Official Mr Michael Sands, Departmental Official
The Chairman welcomed the Minister and the Departmental Officials to the meeting at 2.15 and the Minister spoke to the Departmental Spending Plans submitted under the Spending Review 2000. A summary of the main points is outlined below. There followed a question-and-answer session, which is summarised in Annex A.
The Minister welcomed the opportunity to address the Committee on the Department's Spending Review 2000 bids, and for the opportunity to take the mind of the Committee on the Department's future spending priorities. Given the importance he attached to the links between housing, social security, neighbourhood renewal, urban regeneration and health, social exclusion, educational attainment, and care in the Community, the Minister advised that the Department had bid for an increase in resources amounting to £360m over the next three years.
The Minister informed the Committee that the Welfare Reform and Modernisation programme formed the biggest single element in the SR 2000 bids. This would introduce initiatives, including Child Support reforms, pensions reforms, a new Jobseeker's Allowance process, new joined-up arrangements for people claiming a range of benefits, and the procurement of a Private Sector Partner to assist in designing new processes and IT. The Minister estimated that full implementation of the reforms would result in benefit savings in excess of £49m per annum.
The Minister also spoke of the importance of maintaining the existing level of service in Housing programmes, and consequently an additional £14m would be required to continue meeting basic housing needs over the next three years. Decent, affordable housing, the Minister said, had an important part to play in building communities and tackling the negative social and economic impact of social exclusion. The Minister explained that 10,000 affordable homes were needed to meet the existing backlog of needs, which itself was continuing to grow at a rate of 400 homes per year due to resourcing constraints in recent years. The Minister advised that to address this backlog over a ten-year period would require new-build investment through housing associations to increase by 50%.
The Minister further advised that overall housing investment in Northern Ireland was currently around £285m per annum and that if the needs identified across the whole housing stock were to be met, public sector investment would need to be increased by about 50% overall. However, the Minister stated that funding to meet all the needs was unlikely to be forthcoming in the current climate.
The Minister explained that housing over the last few years has had to face substantial reductions to its planning figures, and a ten-year capital improvement scheme was still running and would not be completed for at least another three years. Some 44, 000 unfit properties remain across Northern Ireland, 14,000 Housing Executive(HE) tenants without central heating, and another 10,000 HE homes needing major repairs. The Minister saw the Housing Bids as going a considerable way towards tackling this urgent need.
The Minister expressed disappointment at the recent statements made by the Committee on the issue of rent increases, particularly as he viewed the issue as not being as "black and white" as the statements suggested. He informed the Committee that there were a number of options that could be considered, each of which would directly impact on the HE's budget, as well as the local economy. The Minister reiterated that, as yet, no decision on rent increases had been made.
The Minister also expressed disappointment at the Committee's Press Release of 11 September regarding the HE's Replacement Programme, fuel poverty, loan charges, and private landlords. The Minister refuted claims that the Replacement Programme had been stopped due to lack of funding, and pointed out that 1775 revenue replacements were to be carried out this year to the HE's own properties.
On fuel poverty, the Minister advised that the HE had announced a new heating policy for its tenants, and that this policy would tackle fuel poverty by providing cost effective heating systems. In addition, to target fuel poverty, a revised Winter Fuel Payment of £150 would be paid to all pensioners. The Minister felt that this demonstrated that he was very aware of the fuel poverty situation and that steps had been taken to address the issue.
In relation to HE loan charges, the Minister considered that writing-off or reducing the debt needed the agreement of DFP and HM Treasury. Since this would create a significant loss of income for Treasury, this was not likely to be forthcoming, and, even if it were, the HE's budget would simply be reduced by the amount corresponding to the loan charges.
With reference to landlords, the Minister advised the Committee that under Articles 25 and 26 of the Rent (NI) Order 1978, his Department already prepares and maintains a register of rents payable under regulated and restricted tenancies of dwelling houses in the Private Rented Sector. In addition, he was proposing in the forthcoming Housing Bill to include a provision to transfer the monitoring responsibility to the HE.
The Minister went on to advise that the bids for Urban Regeneration and Community Development over the next three years would help the Department to move forward with regeneration in a number of deprived areas outside Belfast and Londonderry. It would also go some way towards redressing the cumulative loss of £57m to the urban regeneration baseline as a result of the previous Comprehensive Spending Review.
One of the main features of the new urban regeneration strategy was to bring together public service providers, communities and the private and voluntary sectors to tackle deprivation. The total Urban Regeneration and Community Development bids amount to £27.5m, and the Minister anticipated that Urban Regeneration programmes would continue to benefit from EU funding.
The Minister was anxious not only to hear the Committee's views on the Department's bids and priorities, but also to get the Committee's support during the critical period when programme allocations were being decided. The Department's programmes, the Minister emphasised, had a major role to play in supporting individuals and communities, and he firmly believed that they should be given the highest priority.
He also believed that both the Committee and Department had a common interest in rigorously attacking economic and social deprivation, and there was a need to act in partnership and maintain a co-operative approach to the important issues within the field of social development.
The Minister undertook to provide the Committee with the following:
- A report on the outcome of the Department's discussions with DFP and the NIO on the issue of SPED following the recent trouble on the Shankill
- A report on the resource implications for the HE as a result of the costs arising from the recent displacement of some 200 households in Belfast
- A Memorandum on the forthcoming Housing Bill
Mr Hutchinson, Mr Kelly and Mr McClarty left the meeting at 3.40 pm, 3.50 pm and 4.10 pm respectively.
The Chairman thanked the Minister and Officials for their briefing, and the panel left the meeting at 4.30pm.
Private Session
5. AOB
The Chairman advised the Committee that the Street Trading Bill, which had originally been expected to be introduced towards the end of October, has been brought forward. The Committee Stage is now expected to start in mid October.
6. Date and Time of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be at 2.00 pm on Thursday, 28 September 2000 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.
The meeting ended at 4.30 pm.
MR F COBAIN
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
September 2000
