AQW 53204/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 28/09/2026
Answered On Date: 13/10/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail whether multi-year funding arrangements for homelessness prevention projects through the Northern Ireland Housing Executive are included in the budget.

Answer:

The draft budget proposals for 2026/2030 reflected an extremely constrained budget position, falling substantially short of requirements to tackle homelessness over the budget period.

In the absence of an agreed budget, I have maintained ringfenced funding for Strategic Homelessness Prevention within the Housing Executive's interim allocation for 2026/27. While funding for Community Prevention and Support Initiatives is not ringfenced, it has been protected at the same level as 2025/26.

I also circulated an Executive paper seeking additional funding to ensure homelessness services, including community and strategic prevention initiatives, can be adequately and sustainably funded. Disappointingly, this has not been agreed.