AQW 36643/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 02/12/2025
Answered On Date: 15/01/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any discussions he has had with (i) the Minister for Finance; and (ii) the Executive, to request any Barnett Consequential funding resulting from the energy support budget allocated in Great Britain, to help families living in fuel poverty in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

Tackling empty homes is a priority for my Department as part of its wider work to increase housing supply, support regeneration and improve outcomes for communities. My officials are taking forward work to identify potential policy interventions that could be utilised in Northern Ireland to bring vacant properties back into use.

My officials have engaged with their colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Department of Finance (DoF) in support of this work.