Assembly Roundup: February 2016

A round up of some of the housing and home related questions asked in the Assembly in February.

Advice Services for Welfare Reform

To ask the Minister for Social Development for an update on the allocation of funding for advice services in advance of the Welfare Reform Bill receiving Royal Assent. Mr Trevor Lunn  (APNI - Lagan Valley) AQO 9705/11-16

The Welfare Reform Mitigations Working Group Report contains proposals for additional services from the advice sector to support the implementation of welfare reform.The report indicates that £8million would be required over 4 years. Currently there is no funding allocated. This will be a matter for the NI Executive and will be discussed at the appropriate monitoring round.

Home Heating Schemes and Fuel Poverty

To ask the Minister for Social Development whether he has any plans to (i) increase the qualifying annual household income threshold for the Affordable Warmth Scheme; and (ii) take exceptional circumstances into consideration. Mr Andy Allen  (UUP - East Belfast) AQW 54565/11-16

The qualification criteria for the Affordable Warmth Scheme were determined following a public consultation on proposals between 17 February and 9 May 2014. In the consultation, it was proposed to set the household income eligibility level for the Affordable Warmth Scheme at £16,190 (free schools meal limit). The findings of the first Affordable Warmth pilot “An Area Based Approach to Finding Households Most in Need” reported that half of the households surveyed had an annual income of less than £12,000 and two thirds of them had an annual income of less than £16,000.

Following responses received from the public consultation my Department decided that the annual household income level should be set at £20,000. In reaching this figure my Department considered the 2012/13 Family Resources Survey which showed that 39% of Northern Ireland households had an income less than £400 per week; meaning that those households severely affected by fuel poverty would be unlikely to have an annual income greater than £20,000.

There is no provision within the Affordable WarmthScheme to take exceptional circumstances into account. My Department will review the Affordable Warmth Scheme, including the qualification criteria, after one full year of operation to ensure that those households most impacted by fuel poverty continue to be assisted. Work to plan for that review is underway and the results are expected to be available in summer 2016.
The Information provided in this response is governed by the Principles and Protocols of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. This is enforced by UK Statistics Authority.

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the energy efficiency and boiler replacement schemes available for domestic and business energy user. Mr Gordon Dunne  (DUP - North Down) AQO 9707/11-16

My Department’s Affordable Warmth Scheme targets low income households which are considered to be most at risk of fuel poverty. The scheme offers a range of energy efficiency measures including cavity and loft insulation, new heating systems and if needed replacement windows.

My Department also funds the Boiler Replacement Scheme which is open to owner occupiers whose annual household income is less than £40,000 and who have an old inefficient boiler at least 15 years old. A householder can receive a grant of up to £1,000 to help with replacing an old inefficient boiler with a more energy efficient condensing oil or gas boiler.

The Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP) provides a range of schemes to improve the energy efficiency of both domestic and non-domestic properties.

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail what assessment his Department has made of the levels of fuel poverty in North Down. [Priority Written] Mr Steven Agnew (GPNI - North Down)AQW 54549/11-16

Fuel Poverty in Northern Ireland is measured through the Northern Ireland House Conditions Survey. The last survey was completed in 2011 and identified that 42% of households in Northern Ireland were in fuel poverty. This was based on the definition that a household needed to spend 10% or more of its income to adequately heat and light their home.

When developing the Affordable Warmth Scheme my Department worked with the Ulster University to develop an algorithm to identify fuel poverty prevalence. The House Conditions Survey was used to support the development of the algorithm. The Housing Executive is currently developing its plans to undertake a House Conditions Survey later this year. This new data will be used to assess fuel poverty at council level.

At 31 January 2016 the Housing Executive had issued 371 approvals amounting to the value of almost £1.3M to improve the energy efficiency of households in Ards & North Down Council area.

The average approval per household amounts to around £3,500. Energy efficiency measures include new/replacement heating systems, insulation (cavity wall and loft) and replacement windows.

The Information provided in this response is governed by the Principles and Protocols of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. This is enforced by UK Statistics Authority.

To ask the Minister for Social Development why Disability Living Allowance is considered as household income when applying to the new Affordable Warmth Scheme given that the benefit is to assist those with disabilities to help with additional costs because of their disability; and for his assessment of whether its inclusion towards the total household income unfairly discriminates against people with disabilities when applying for this scheme. Mrs Jo-Anne Dobson (UUP - Upper Bann) AQW 54415/11-16

When calculating a householder’s total income for the Affordable Warmth Scheme all regular household income is used to determine eligibility. This means that benefits such as Disability Living Allowance are included and treated as income.

The income threshold for the Affordable Warmth Scheme is annual income must be less than £20,000 and this was set following a public consultation exercise which took place between 17th February and 9th May 2014. The income threshold for the Affordable Warmth Scheme was initially proposed as £16,190 (free school meals limit),however, following the public consultation it was raised to£20,000.

The Affordable Warmth pilot which was carried out in 2012 evidenced that low income households not on benefit are affected by fuel poverty. Half of the households surveyed had an annual income of less than £12,000. The Affordable Warmth Scheme actively identifies targets and assists those households in the most severe or extreme fuel poverty and includes households within the income qualification threshold.

According to the Family Resources Survey 2013/14, 39% of Northern Ireland households have an income of less than £400 per week. Households with people who are disabled or chronically ill and on a low income are included in the Affordable Warmth Scheme. My Department screened this policy before it was introduced and the result of that screening was that there will be a minor positive impact for people with disabilities on low income as they will be included within the scheme.

My Department will be carrying out a review of the Affordable Warmth Scheme after one full year of operation, that review is currently being developed. Part of the review will be to examine the qualifying conditions for eligibility to the scheme and look at what is treated as income.

New Build Houses

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of planned new build houses, broken down by (a) the year they are to commence; and (b) their location.  Mr Andy Allen  (UUP - East Belfast) AQW 53784/11-16

The total number of social housing schemes programmed as part of Social Housing Development Programme (SHDP) 2016/17 to 2018/19 and Parliament Constituency is (presented in this table).

You may however, wish to note that programmed schemes may be lost or slip to future programme years for a variety of reasons relating to e.g. site acquisition / achieving Planning Permission. Additional schemes may also be added to the SHDP through the purchase of Existing Satisfactory / Off-the-shelf properties in-year, and through the annual housing association bidding round / programme formulation (which is currently underway).