AQW 49748/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 26/06/2026
Answered On Date: 02/07/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any targeted cost-of-living interventions his Department has in place for disabled households facing rising energy and essential costs, as highlighted in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's report, Disability and poverty in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

My Department is developing a Home Heating Oil Scheme with eligibility criteria that will target assistance to households in receipt of certain disability related benefits.

In the meantime, if an individual is experiencing an immediate crisis or emergency, including being unable to meet their daily essentials or energy costs, support may be available through the Discretionary Support Scheme, subject to eligibility and affordability conditions.