Communities Minister unveils £6.7M plan to address NI homelessness

Almost £7 million has been pledged by Northern Ireland's Communities Minister to help prevent homelessness.

That's as Gordon Lyon said the government has to 'make a strategic shift' towards prevention.

It has been revealed from October 2023, to March 2024, 8,452 people in Northern Ireland presented as homelessness - that's according to Housing Executive statistics.

Mr Lyons told MLAs: "Firstly, following October monitoring, I am providing an additional £6.7 million pounds for the Housing Executive to prevent the risk of homelessness service closures and ensure that its statutory obligations can continue to be met.

"Secondly, many of our homelessness service providers have been operating on a month-to-month funding model, which has created too much uncertainty for this critical work that changes now. Today I can announce that this funding will be confirmed until the end of the year.

"And finally, I'm also pleased to announce that for the financial year 2025/2026 and moving forward, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, for the first time ever, will have their own specific funding allocation for homelessness prevention.

"The voluntary and community sector deserves this clarity, and I am sure members today will welcome this positive step in the right direction.

"We have to make the strategic shift to the prevention of homelessness. That is what I have said for some time. That remains my ambition, and the proposals that I have outlined today show my commitment to that."

Mr Lyons earlier stated that he would be bringing a housing supply strategy to the Executive "in the coming days".

He said: "The new strategy will provide a long-term framework for the actions required to increase supply and address the main barriers to progress.

"It recognises that transforming housing supply will require not only a collective response from the Executive but real collaboration that includes local government, community groups, the construction industry and financial bodies, and I will have a major announcement to make alongside this in the coming weeks.

"Increasing the range of affordable housing options is key to the prevention of homelessness."

Welcoming the announcement, Kellie Armstrong, Alliance MLA for Strangford said: "We're in support of this £6.7 million for the Housing Executive to help them to meet their statutory objectives.

"The uncertainty regarding funding and funding for those community organisations will end as their funding is confirmed until the end of the year and in 25/26 the Housing Executive will have their own specific homelessness prevention budget."

Mr Lyons added: "I just want to clarify that it's my intention that will not be just for 25/26 but moving forward, because I think we need to invest far more in homelessness prevention.

"We need to do the other things as well, but we need to do that now, and that needs to continue and I want that to be not just this year, but every year."