Committee for Communities: 2022 - 2027 Mandate
2026 Research Papers
Below you will find details of Research Publications which have been prepared by the Assembly's Research and Information Service (RaISe) for the Committee for Communities in 2026.
Review of Costs: Housing (Amendment) Bill
- Date: 29/09/2026
Seeking to support Northern Ireland Assembly scrutiny, this Review of Costs addresses key potential “public purse” implications arising from the Housing (Amendment) Bill, if enacted and implemented as introduced. The Bill seeks to amend the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988; extending the statutory period in which a person can be considered ‘threatened with homelessness’ from the current 28 days to 60 days and extending the statutory period in which the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s statutory prevention and relief duties would apply.
Housing (Amendment) Bill NIAR 270-2026
- Date: 29/09/2026
This Bill paper provides an overview of the Housing (Amendment) Bill as introduced to the Assembly on 30 June 2026. This paper is complemented by NIAR 248-2026 which deals with the potential cost implications of the Bill.
Executive Programme Funds
- Date: 29/06/2026
This briefing note follows a request from the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Communities on the effectiveness of the previous Executive Programme Funds in relation to their impact on Children and Young People and improving Cross-Departmental working and stakeholder engagement.
Sign Language Legislation: Translation costs and enforcement mechanisms
- Date: 16/02/2026
In response to a Communities Committee information request, this briefing note outlines the enforcement and compliance mechanisms in the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 and Welsh translation cost considerations under the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill 2025.
Comparing Direct Payments, Vouchers and Support Schemes for sign language interpretation
- Date: 16/02/2026
This briefing paper provides a comparison of publicly funded sign language interpretation supports for social activities in England, Ireland and Finland with Northern Ireland. It is intended to support the Communities Committee in its scrutiny of the Sign Language Bill (Northern Ireland) 2025.
