AQW 36644/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 02/12/2025
Answered On Date: 09/01/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any steps he is taking to ensure (i) the Housing First model will be incorporated into his Department’s homelessness prevention policy; and (ii) that suitable investment will be provided in the multi-year budget.

Answer:

The Housing First model is incorporated in the Housing Executive Homelessness Strategy 2022-27, available via https://www.nihe.gov.uk/getattachment/73313718-aa0e-4aae-b122-6573dcab88c7/Ending-Homelessness-Together-Homelessness-Strategy-2022-27.pdf. The Housing Executive has recently published a report ‘Housing First Feasibility Study: Expansion of Services in Northern Ireland’, which is available via https://www.nihe.gov.uk/getattachment/6820a1fd-f47e-4119-812b-bdd639b68c62/Housing-First-Feasibility-Study-December-2025.pdf.

Work on budget profiling beyond 2025 / 26 is continuing, and funding remains to be confirmed.

I will continue to make the case for increased funding for Housing and Homelessness prevention.