Gordon Lyons
East Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Implementing other recommendations will require further legislation that, I trust, will come in the next mandate, but I can confirm that 60 of the recommendations have already been separately addressed by either the Department or the commission. I hope that that answers his questions.”
“Yes, I do and am happy to share those. The issue has been raised in the Chamber and through Assembly questions. My position is that we want to make it simple and straightforward for people.”
“They also introduce greater flexibility in financial reporting, allowing requirements to be tailored more appropriately, reducing burdens on smaller organisations and ensuring that the system can adapt over time through secondary legislation.”
“If they want to constitute as a Northern Ireland-only charity, they are able to do that, if they believe that that will bring certain benefits.”
“That is similar to what we are trying to do with trustees. Even though you leave your position as a trustee or your position as someone who holds an office in a charity or who has employment in the office, the commissioner will still be able to make a determination that says, "Even though you have left, we are still making this order to t…”
“I do not believe that it was. That was maybe picked up wrong. We are happy to look at and explore that, but that is the information that I have on it. Again, we will have the Committee Stage of the legislation, so we can look into that then.”
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“There were already actions that others here were able to take if problems were encountered. In social housing, the complaints process with the landlord and the housing associations is available. The Department could take action. Of course, the legal route was also there, because we have the standards that they would have failed to keep. I believe that avenues were in place. However, additional changes were needed, which is why we are bringing in the Decent Homes Standard as well. <BR /> <BR />Those are routes that can be taken. However, if Members believe, and it is the will of the House today, that legislation replicates that and improves what is already in place, we are happy to do that.”
“Where we do not have equivalent protections that seem necessary to me, I will take action. That is why I am consulting on proposals to revise and enhance the Decent Homes Standard that applies to all social housing here. Some of the new proposals include an enhanced approach to damp and mould and the introduction of requirements to risk-assess and triage repairs for investigation, including time frames, with emergency and urgent repairs prioritised appropriately. If those proposals are supported through the consultation, it will also help to align Northern Ireland with the principles of that legislation in England. <BR /> <BR />I take issue when others say that nothing has been done on it. To begin with, we were in a different starting position from England.”
“That is distinct from the position in other jurisdictions in that it links the condition of the property to its impact on occupants' health. Environmental health officers in councils already have powers to address damp and serious disrepair by enforcing the statutory minimum fitness standard across all housing tenures.”
“<BR /> <BR />Compared with England, we have a much smaller social housing sector, consisting of the Housing Executive and a small number of housing associations, which are registered with my Department for that purpose as well as being registered charities. Therefore, we have good relationships with those providers and work with them to ensure that there is appropriate oversight and accountability. There are already measures and standards in place here that provide similar protections for tenants in Northern Ireland. Legislation here, specifically the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, includes the standard of fitness for housing in Northern Ireland and requires homes to be:”
“<BR /> <BR />My officials closely monitored Awaab's law as it progressed in England. I hope that this will answer some of the questions that Kellie Armstrong and others had. While that was monitored as it was progressing, I did not just wait; I took immediate action to ensure that people living in social homes were protected. We developed new damp and mould guidance that was issued to all social housing providers in January 2024. Since 2023-24, the Department, as the regulator, has undertaken periodic surveys to ensure that registered housing associations appropriately manage all cases of damp and mould in their stock and have policies and procedures in place to address damp and mould.”
“Building on that work, we will shortly launch a consultation on amendments to the underpinning landlord registration legislation, and a key proposal will be to require landlords to confirm compliance with fitness, safety and energy efficiency duties during registration, further strengthening enforcement and improving outcomes for tenants. <BR /> <BR />I hope that that goes some way to answering the queries that Cathy Mason had in regard to the work that I am doing and Mr Gildernew's queries as well. I will check with officials in the Department. This should all have been shared with the Member, through that Committee, multiple times. If that is not the case, something has gone wrong, but all that information should have been provided. I believe that it has, but we will check that out.”
“It is complex, cross-departmental work, but getting it right will deliver long-term benefits for tenants, including helping to reduce damp and mould and increasing thermal comfort. <BR /> <BR />I have also transferred responsibility for the landlord registration scheme to local councils. It is a significant step in raising standards and complements broader policy work on raising conditions in the private rented sector. Evidence indicates that registered landlords are more likely to meet their wider legal responsibilities.”
“<BR /> <BR />On that point, I assure Mr Carroll that this is not about the reclassification of the Housing Executive; it is to treat the Housing Executive in the way in which local authorities treat their housing arms in other parts of the UK. It is absolutely not about a reclassification. I hope that that provides some assurance to him, and I hope that he joins others in the Chamber in fighting for that change. <BR /> <BR />Moving on to the private rented sector, I am progressing a wider programme of reform to improve quality and strengthen standards. I have already introduced minimum fire and electrical safety standards, giving stronger protection for tenants, and improving energy efficiency is a key priority in the programme. Work is already under way to develop new minimum standards for the private rented sector.”
“Its homes, one of our most important public assets, are at increasing risk of significant deterioration and decline if urgent action is not taken. It has been confirmed that the treatment of Housing Executive borrowing will form part of negotiations with the UK Government on a new Northern Ireland fiscal framework. While that confirmation is welcome, a solution is needed urgently. That is one of my main priorities as Minister, and I continue to raise the borrowing issue at every possible opportunity. I urge the Government to provide the necessary approval so that the Housing Executive is permitted to borrow immediately without further delay.”
“<BR /> <BR />Since its launch in 2014, the outgoing affordable warmth scheme has invested over £140 million in improving the energy efficiency of over 31,000 private sector homes, helping low-income owner-occupied and private rented households across Northern Ireland to reduce heat loss, lower their fuel bills and live in warmer, healthier conditions. <BR />As the largest provider of social housing, the Housing Executive's landlord programme of energy efficiency or thermal improvement works for its housing stock continues. It has spent £42·71 million on energy efficiency or thermal improvement works to properties this year and has a planned spend of £41·75 million in 2026-27. <BR /> <BR />The Housing Executive has now reached a critical juncture.”
“<BR /> <BR />Work is progressing on the development of an initial action plan that will agree timelines, assign responsibilities and coordinate the steps needed to implement the first phase of the strategy. One of the main themes in the strategy is improving the energy efficiency of homes. It also includes a strategic action to launch an ambitious, long-term warm healthy homes fund that will seek to deliver increased investment over its first five years. It is anticipated that that fund will launch in 2027 and will continue to take a whole-house approach to retrofitting, delivering energy efficiency measures to the households on the lowest incomes. The final scheme design will be shaped by further public consultation, which will be published in the spring.”
“That is why, on 5 February, I launched the warm healthy homes strategy, which sets out a long-term cross-government approach to lifting households out of fuel poverty and ensuring that everyone in Northern Ireland lives in a warm, healthy home. The strategy reflects one of the most extensive engagement exercises undertaken by my Department. It has benefited from contributions from a broad range of individuals who know what it means to struggle to pay energy bills and from the organisations that support them. The focus is on improving energy efficiency for low-income and vulnerable households, raising housing standards and ensuring that those standards are properly measured. It also aims to protect consumers by improving access to reliable advice and better metering so that people can manage their energy use and bills.”
“This week, I find myself agreeing with the Member for West Belfast. We could go outside and check, but I do not think that the sky has fallen in. I completely agree with what he said about this being a serious issue. I do not think that anybody in the House who is in any way connected with their constituency could fail to recognise that the issue affects many people and increasingly so. <BR /> <BR />I make it clear to the House that I am committed to improving the quality and safety of our homes. That is a clear objective of the housing supply strategy, and I am taking forward several actions that are focused on ensuring that everyone, regardless of their tenure or the type of house in which they live, has a good-quality, safe and warm home.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank all Members for their contributions to the debate, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Last week, Mr Carroll said:”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. It is unfair of her to say that I am not interested in this issue, and she will find out more about that when I make my remarks. I am content to legislate if that is what the House wants. We can put in place legislation, however I am moving forward now. We are moving forward with the Decent Homes Standard to put those time frames in place. We are doing many other things that reflect what is in Awaab's Law. I am interested in getting things done now. If we want the legislative backup, we can have it, but it is wrong of her to say that I am not interested in the issue. That is unfair.”
“Further to that point of order, I am happy to write to the Member. I take the issue very seriously. If the Member has more specific questions that she wants to ask around it, I am happy to provide that information to her. A point has been made that we need to have more clarity on what happened last night and on other nights. I am happy to provide that to the Member, because it is a serious issue. I hope that she takes that in the spirit in which it is intended.”
“That work is ongoing. I do not have anything concrete for the Member, but I will write to him today with the latest update that we have, although it may not be complete.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. On a serious point, although I may not be getting support from others around the House for social housing targets, I remain committed to the targets because I understand how important it is that we build social housing and use all the levers at our disposal to do that. That is why I am making the housing association grants go further, and that is why I am looking at opportunities to better use public-sector land. I want to make sure that we build more homes. I hope that I have the support of other parties to do so.”
“For the first time ever, we have a Communities Committee that cannot even agree that it would like to see ring-fenced funding so that we can meet our social housing targets. That is my analysis, but I will let the public make up their own mind.”
“I have been a Member of the House for more than a decade, and, to answer the question directly and fairly, I do not think that I have seen a more dysfunctional Committee in all my time. We have a Chairman who cannot read letters, as was so brilliantly exposed by Pam Cameron; a Deputy Chairperson who thinks that money going to Ulster Scots is sectarian; and another Committee member who thinks that she is a legislative geek but caused the Committee to require a full U-turn on her daft proposal after it received legal advice. As I mentioned previously, in one meeting, the Committee mentioned 35 times a business case that does not exist. <BR /> <BR />For the first time —”
“That work has gone on through the cross-departmental working group. We fed information back to it, and we look forward to discussing that further. Ultimately, those conversations will need to take place at the Executive table as well.”
“Work on that continues. The consultation has closed and come back to Departments to consider. At that stage, it is for Departments to consider what additional measures can be put in place. However, I hope that the Departments will look at their priorities and at the additional measures so that we can make sure that we make a difference.”
“I have already set out my position. I said that I am happy to provide additional information to the House. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, but I gave a direct answer to her question. I will provide the additional information. She does not need to act like a child when it comes to that issue. I have been clear in saying to her that I will provide the additional information that is required. We will get to the bottom of that; we will provide that. I have a problem with her so-called scrutiny because she throws mud and does not really have any sensible questions to ask: it is always just attack, attack, attack from the Member, all the time. It is a serious issue. I have followed it up with the funding that it requires, and I will continue to do what I can to make sure that what we need is in place.”
“I fully accept that the severe weather emergency protocol is something that the Department follows. It is not a statutory requirement, but I have increased funding for the protocol, because I recognise its importance. I cannot speak to the confusion that the Member references, because I have been told that the protocol was in place yesterday evening and that it operated as intended. If I am wrong, I am more than happy to take back what I said and make sure that we do something about it. I have focused on the matter and made sure that we provided additional resources. I will continue to give those who deploy the protocol what they need and to provide any information that I can to help prevent any further confusion.”
“Scrutiny? There is no scrutiny from that Committee. It is a farce. At every single opportunity, it is a mess. The Committee mentioned a business case 35 times. There is no business case. Do we agree that ring-fenced money should be made available for social housing? I do, but those parties do not.”
“There is no business case. Do you not accept that?”
“The proposal was very simple and straightforward: do we believe that money for social housing should be ring-fenced? There is no business case.”
“All that I can say is that there are people in my Department who are paid to watch the Communities Committee. They probably need to be paid to watch it. I received a report of the session, and I watched some of it back. It surprises me that Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party did not take the opportunity to agree that the money should be ring-fenced. Any consideration of what I had said in previous meetings would have made Committee members aware that it is a very simple, straightforward proposal. At no time did I introduce the notion of a business case requirement, but, over the course of the meeting, the Chair introduced the idea that I had said that a business case was coming. It then became an accepted requirement, as the Committee's confused exchanges continued. It is fair to say that that Committee meeting was an absolute farce.”
“Absolutely. It is a peculiar attitude to take to social housing. That attitude was laid bare at the Communities Committee last week. I had presented a very sensible proposal, which was —.”
“The House will be aware that the Executive agreed targets for social housebuilding in the Programme for Government and the housing supply strategy. Historically, my Department has consistently received insufficient funding from the Department of Finance, and that has meant that we have not been able to meet those targets. I have put proposals to the Executive to have the full amount required for the social housing development programme ring-fenced at the start of the financial year. Doing that would ensure that we meet our targets and also that we spend the money in the best possible way. Building social homes is complex, and, too often, my Department has had to rely on capital allocations late in the year. That is not good enough any more, so proper funding allocations for targets must be agreed by all parties around the Executive table.”
“The Member is right: the issue is about housing supply, which is why it will be part of the housing supply strategy and the action plans. It should be incorporated into that rather than another stand-alone document. I am happy to update her on that when the action plans are agreed by the Executive.”
“I stand ready to work with Executive colleagues to tackle the issue.”
“Absolutely. You will see proposals coming forward in the action plans. Work is ongoing with other Departments. We are also conducting research on holiday lets, which are becoming a growing problem, according to some of the anecdotal evidence that we have. We need to do proper research on the issue. That is going on as we speak and will continue this year. I want to make sure that we deal with vacant properties. There is also an element of fraud involved. We will bring in new measures to crack down on that. <BR /> <BR />We are in a housing crisis. We need to make sure that we use the homes that we have and that they go to those who need them. That will be a bit of cross-departmental work. There will be a role for the Department for the Economy and the Department of Finance in relation to rates.”
“That is certainly the outcome that we all want to see. There seems to be some confusion around that, so if I can provide any clarity and additional information, I am happy to do so. I hope that the Member recognises my commitment to making sure that the protocol is stood up. <BR /> <BR />When I entered office, the budget in 2023-24 was £9,837. That has since increased to £51,523. I recognise that it is a serious issue, and I want to do everything that I can to make sure that support is provided. I am happy to provide that additional information for him.”
“The Housing Executive has informed me that SWEP was in place yesterday evening and operated as intended.”
“That is why I wanted to see some support in the three-year Budget, but it is not there. As always, we will look at some of the issues that are brought forward to see how we can help. I am certainly not making promises — we all understand the difficulties around it — but we need to support those who do so much to support the work of the Executive.”
“I am more than happy to work with other Departments in order to assist, but, ultimately, the Finance Minister is leading on that work. I again urge him to consider the matter urgently.”
“I recognise the concern that many across the community and voluntary sector have expressed. That is why I was surprised by the lack of reference to it in the Finance Minister's Budget. However, I will continue to discuss the issue with Executive colleagues so that we can explore solutions that will prevent some of the more detrimental impacts that the reduced Budgets proposed by the UK Government will have on community and voluntary organisations.”
“As the local growth fund will be administered directly by the UK Government, my Department is unable to assess in detail the impact of the potential loss of funding on the community and voluntary sector. Economic inactivity rates remain too high in Northern Ireland, but it is not an issue that my Department or one sector can address alone. However, I will continue to push for the importance of that to be recognised.”
“As I said in response to the Member's first question, officials are currently undertaking an analysis of that. We will be more than happy to share that data when we can.”
“Subject to the consent of the Assembly to the legislative consent motion, the universal credit two-child limit will be removed from April 2026. That represents a significant step in supporting low-income families and reducing child poverty in Northern Ireland. It is a change that I wholeheartedly welcome. Following the change, households that are currently affected by the two-child policy will see an increase in their underlying UC entitlement. That is expected to reduce any UC transitional element that may be in payment. My officials are undertaking analytical work to determine the specific impacts of the change.”
“One of the reasons why the Olympic legacy fund was put in place was to ensure that there would be funding streams available to sports clubs so that they could apply. Sport NI has now approved 37 projects across nine different sports and all 11 council areas, totalling £1 million. An additional 39 projects, with a total funding request of £1·2 million, were held in reserve, and I am pleased to confirm that I was able to provide an additional £1·2 million of capital funding to the programme through in-year easements to ensure that the fund could better meet those demands and maximise benefits to our sporting sector and local communities.”
“If that has come as a Barnett consequential, it has not come through to me. Unfortunately, that is often the case when it comes to the Department for Communities. Throughout the breadth of my portfolio, millions and millions of pounds every year do not make it to the Department, so I would be interested to find out more on that to see why that was not allocated.”
“The UK Government’s public tennis court refurbishment fund is available only in Great Britain. Therefore, no money from it was allocated to Northern Ireland.”
“It is a really positive move, because it means that, as so many Members in the Chamber often call for, there will be more money for the arts and culture. Let me go through some of the projects that have been funded. For the National Museums NI project 'The Stories of Us' there was £50,000 to tell the stories of people who left Ulster and their influence in the USA. Ulster University has received £50,000 for its project. Tourism NI has received £21,000 for experience development, because it sees value in this as well. Tourism Ireland is also investing significantly because it sees the benefit from this, as do many other groups and organisations. We will of course review all those and get feedback, and I will be happy to update the Member on that.”
“By the way, such things do not come about by mistake. The fact that the US Department of State recognises the importance of those contributions is testament to the work that has been done to raise the profile of those early Ulster settlers. People should welcome that. <BR /> <BR />I am glad that the SDLP sees that as an opportunity. It is unfortunate that we have not got Sinn Féin over the line on that yet. It is being very short-sighted in that regard; in fact, the Deputy Chair of the Communities Committee called some of the projects "vanity projects" and "sectarian" projects. That is very disappointing. I urge Sinn Féin to recognise that there is nothing to fear from Ulster Scots or from equality. I hope that it will reconsider its views and position on the matter.”
“I absolutely welcome that. I welcome working closely with Mr McCrossan on that. John Dunlap, at 10 years of age, left Strabane to go to the United States and made an incredible contribution there. I thank Mr McCrossan and Mr Tom Buchanan for their proposal. I have instructed officials to progress that work at pace. <BR /> <BR />I, too, welcome the comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his recent speech, in which he recognised the contribution by the:”
“<BR /> <BR />The Member mentioned, as many others have, the difference of opinion that some have with the current occupant of the White House. I take different views from the people who sit in the White House. I visited the White House when Joe Biden was president, after he oversaw the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that left another generation subjugated under the rule of the Taliban. I am sure that I strongly disagree with many US presidents on many points, but I am there to engage not just with the current Administration but with wider business leaders and those involved in culture and the arts. I will be proud to represent Northern Ireland and to show up, stand up and speak up for it. I wish that others would welcome that and do the same.”
“I say this to Mr O'Toole: get over it, OK? Some people out there are determined to highlight the fact that, yes, it is about the independence of the United States and that, of course, there were differences with Britain at that time. That is OK. We have gotten over that, and he should too. <BR /> <BR />I am trying to highlight the importance of the role played by those who left these shores — Ulster or whatever term the Member wants to use. I want to make sure that we highlight that. Doing so helps us to build links with the United States. It gives us another hook to make sure that people are interested. I am not ashamed about doing that not only because of the economic and tourism benefits that can come from it but because we are investing in cultural, arts and musical organisations. There is benefit to us in all of that.”
“The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen political, cultural, economic and community links, given the historical connections that exist between Northern Ireland and the United States. <BR /> <BR />I provided £426,000 to a wide range of partners and community organisations for projects that will commemorate and recognise the unique contribution that early settlers from Northern Ireland played in the foundation of the United States and will support and promote our culture, heritage and arts sectors as well as our tourism offering.”