Deirdre Hargey
South Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“His double standards, including his condemnation of and opposition to equality and rights for our LGBTQ+ citizens, have caused real harm to others. The revelations about his double life expose the staggering hypocrisy of the DUP's moral facade. We need to know whether failing to act sooner left more vulnerable people at risk.”
“One week ago today, Jeffrey Donaldson was found guilty of 18 child sexual offences, including rape. That conviction was made possible only by the strength and resilience of the two victims who came forward and reported the abuse. Donaldson was an abuser. He abused children, but he also abused his position in politics and faith.”
“They now say that they knew about his behaviour, but, crucially, they did nothing to expose his inappropriate hypocrisy and double life. The 'Spotlight' programme and other reports have shown that senior members of the DUP — its most senior figures, including the then leader, Edwin Poots — were aware of serious issues and allegations abou…”
“It is therefore not credible to suggest that the intelligence agencies were blind to his compromised double standards and double life. <BR /> <BR />Those questions demand answers from the DUP leadership. They demand answers in the House from the deputy First Minister, who was closely associated with Donaldson.”
“It is clear that there is a huge disconnect between Whitehall and the reality that is being felt by people on the ground. A British Treasury policy that is managing decay, real-terms cuts and disastrous policy decisions such as Brexit or the funding of wars over public services comes on top of existing disparities between how public servi…”
“The answer is not the short-term fixes or cash injections that we have had in the past, which have allowed for the repeated Treasury script of record settlements and inability of the Executive to manage their finances — scripts that are often parroted in the Chamber.”
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“I thank Members for their contributions and the proposer for the amendments. I will also group the amendments according to their four effects, but I know that one has been taken out. <BR /> <BR />In general, I ask Members to reject the amendments, although I am sure that the Member who tabled them did so in a good spirit. They would have either no effect or would risk reducing the protections for tenants. That is the key thrust for me. This is not your normal private tenancies Bill. Obviously, I would bring a more comprehensive Bill; that is the first thing to say. I would want it to have the full scrutiny of the House and the Committee. However, as has been said over the past few weeks when I have been here bringing through emergency legislation or regulation changes, we are not in normal times.”
“Thanks very much everyone. I understand that today's measure should not become the norm. I would not advocate that at all, but I ask you to support the motion.”
“I hope that Members will support the motion on this occasion and take into account the real danger of evictions in the private rented sector that could increase homelessness and be a public health issue.”
“I thank the Assembly for the motion. Obviously, I firmly believe in due process for legislation that needs to pass through the Chamber and the Committee. However, we are not in normal times, as we are finding more and more with the Committee and the legislation that needs to come through. On this occasion, in a public health emergency, I ask for the suspension of those Standing Orders. In seeking your support, I ask specifically that the Standing Orders in the motion are suspended, removing Further Consideration Stage and suspending Standing Order 42(5) which states:”
“However, as was touched on, not all of this falls to my Department; in fact, not all of it falls to the Assembly. Again, that shows the huge constraints of being a devolved Administration and not holding our own fiscal levers. In the time ahead, we probably need to look at that and have a conversation about it.”
“In early February, I spoke in the Chamber about the sustainability of the Housing Executive, the need to invest in public housing and the resources that we need to do that. Without that income, we cannot reinvest. We cannot even maintain our existing stock. That hit the headlines in February as well. It is nice to say that you can do all of these things, but you need to look at whether you will make the situation worse at the other end of this. Those are some of the things that we have to look at. <BR /> <BR />We have introduced new measures relating to the housing benefit supplement. We are paying that at 100%. We are looking, of course, at discretionary support, and, where I could include students and others, I have done that within my remit.”
“I had wanted and intended to set out plans for how to grow our housing stock over this period, particularly to meet the demand in the areas of highest need. That has been stunted a bit because we are responding to the pandemic, but I want to bring forward proposals in the time ahead that will start a conversation about public housing. <BR /> <BR />The other issue that came up, as it has previously, was a rent freeze in the social rented sector. I err on the side of caution because over 70% of the income derived from rent comes from housing benefit. A freeze would freeze the money coming in via the block grant, meaning that we could not pay housing authority staff or maintain the stock.”
“I asked for the student hardship fund to be increased, and I know that she is proactively looking at that. She is better placed to respond on that than I am. We continue to meet. <BR /> <BR />The homelessness issue has come up. Over the past couple of weeks, the figures for street-based homelessness have been good, which must be welcomed. I agree that it should not take a pandemic to resolve such issues. I had wanted to look seriously at homelessness before the pandemic. There is also the issue of hidden homelessness. Thousands of families, including over 21,000, children, are sofa surfing or are in hostels. That feeds into the conversation about public housing: how we value it; should it get a massive investment programme as we go forward; and whether we see it as an essential public service to meet that need.”
“Even since then, when looking at Scotland, for example, the issue of domestic violence has been raised as an area that might need to be looked at as we draft any future extension to the Bill. All of those issues will be refined more clearly and then brought back here for agreement. <BR /> <BR />The student issue has come up many times. It is not within my remit. I am the Minister responsible for housing, but the contracts that have been made come under contract law, not housing law. I do not have responsibility for contract law. I have tried to look at everything that I can within my remit and competency, because I recognise the hardship that many students face. It is a common law issue and, therefore, is based in Westminster. I have engaged on the issue with the Department for the Economy and Minister Diane Dodds.”
“Two points about evictions were raised. Under the Scottish legislation, landlords seeking to return to live in their property will have to demonstrate in front of a judge that they have no other recourse or any other property to return to. We did not include that in the first 12 weeks because we do not want there to be a loophole for this to be abused in that period. We know that, as this runs on, there could be competing human rights that we need more time to consider. We just do not have the time to do all of that now, because we need to ensure that we move to stop evictions as quickly as we can. I will define those two areas further in the next couple of weeks, if we feel that the period has to be extended. This is based on legislation, and the Attorney General has been involved.”
“Scotland has adopted the same approach. The only difference is that they have brought in six months rather than 12 weeks. However, I have the ability, after those 12 weeks, to extend this for a further six months, if that needs to be done, in consultation with the Attorney General and others.”
“They cannot force somebody to pay arrears that they may accrue in this period within the next three or four months: it will take a longer time to do that. Again, for an eviction to proceed, a judge would have to look at what is reasonable and what is not. <BR /> <BR />The question was raised about Scotland's having a longer extension period. It comes down to a balancing of rights. I do not want to get caught up in a conversation about rights. They are important issues, but I want to ensure that we can protect people as quickly as possible. It would cause undue delay. As I said, if we do not get the Bill through on the timescale for Royal Assent now, it is possible that we would not move on it until after the summer. That is just too late. Evictions are already taking place. I need to move on the Bill now.”
“I know that that is a first. It shows the seriousness with which people will look at the issue. <BR /> <BR />We have spoken to LANI and there has been engagement with estate agents and others. Whilst some landlords may not agree with the Bill, people recognise the public health emergency that we are facing and that we have to protect tenants. The fact is that if a landlord were to make somebody homeless and put them out on the street, not only would that impact on the tenant but the landlord would not get a new tenant into their house in the interim. Therefore, I ask all landlords and letting agents to show compassion and flexibility on the issue. The guidance sets out clearly that they must show reasonableness with regard to repayments.”
“We are saying that there should be no evictions at this point. Even outside the legislation that is being brought forward, the guidance says that clearly. The guidance can then be used in court proceedings. It was touched on that a landlord cannot simply put somebody out: a landlord has to go through due process and legal proceedings. The judge can look at the guidance that has been issued by the Department when he or she deliberates on those issues, notwithstanding the fact that, at present, courts are not sitting for everyday hearings, and will not be over coming weeks. <BR /> <BR />Those are some of the issues. I wanted to move on the legislation. It is already taking a bit of time because it has to go through different hoops. I want to thank the Speaker's Office for allowing the two stages to be moved on the same day.”
“The concern is about the undue delay that it would cause to a bigger number of people who would, then, have those eviction notices looked at. When we have looked at other jurisdictions and devolved institutions, we have seen that they have moved in the same vein to look at the legislation from the point at which it reaches Royal Assent. It is the quickest way that we can find to do that. Of course, we will still look at other ways in which we can support people. <BR /> <BR />In the interim, I am conscious that people have already been issued with notices to quit. It is disgraceful that a landlord would do that in the current scenario and situation, when, clearly, the public health, political and community message is that people need to stay at home, and should stay at home, in order to save lives. That is why the guidance has been issued.”
“There have been a lot of questions asked and points raised. Again, I thank Members for that. We are using accelerated passage; it is not the normal timescale. I find that I say that every time I come into the Chamber, but that is obviously due to the circumstances that we are in and the way that I have had to respond to the public health emergency. <BR /> <BR />The concern around the legislation being retrospective is something that I have looked at, and it is an issue that I want to move on. The concern is the timescale, because there are implications of competing human rights, and there are arguments and debates about whether it is up to the Attorney General or others. We know that it would definitely be open to judicial review.”
“The legislation will help reduce unnecessary pressures on the healthcare, social care and local authority systems that are caused by homelessness. It will ensure that tenants are protected, particularly in these times, when their income stream may be vulnerable and they will be worried about their health and well-being and that of their loved ones.”
“<BR /> <BR />Due to the uncertainty surrounding how long the coronavirus pandemic might last, the Department wishes to protect tenants from eviction during the emergency period. That ends on 30 September 2020 and is considered a reasonable period of time. The Bill gives the Department discretion to specify a shorter or longer period for the end of the emergency period, by regulations and subject to negative resolution for up to two years. The legislation will mean that no renter in private accommodation will be forced out of their home during this difficult time.”
“The Bill has six substantive clauses and it temporarily modifies article 14 of the Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006 that prescribes the length of notice to quit period by reference to the duration of the tenancy. It applies a 12-week notice to quit period for all tenancies during the emergency period. The effect of that is that for tenancies of fewer than five years, the notice to quit period has been increased by eight weeks to 12 weeks. For tenancies that are between five and 10 years, the notice to quit period has been increased by four weeks to 12 weeks. For tenancies of more than 10 years, the notice to quit period remains the same. The Bill clarifies that the extension of the notice to quit period will only apply to landlords.”
“In these extraordinary times, where a number of people will temporarily struggle to pay their rent, through no fault of their own, they need certainty in the meantime that their homes are safe and that their landlords cannot move to evict them. The legislation will mean that no renter in private accommodation will be forced out of their home during this difficult time. This emergency legislation has urgent priority so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict tenants for a 12-week period and, as a result, no renter needs to be concerned about the threat of immediate eviction. <BR /> <BR />It might be helpful for Members if I take a few minutes to outline the Bill's key provisions.”
“As was stated earlier, the private rented sector has around 18% of the total housing stock, with approximately 134,000 properties. Private renters continue to be a group facing significant concerns and anxiety during this period, particularly due to the loss of employment. <BR /> <BR />There has been support to allow buy-to-let landlords to avail themselves of a three-month mortgage holiday, and I have announced that private renters can get assistance to pay their rent through universal credit and discretionary housing payments. There are also various economic support schemes, such as the furlough scheme, and those will take time to make payments. Tenants need to know that they cannot be evicted while waiting on those payments to be made.”
“Although social distancing, shielding of vulnerable people, self-isolation and quarantine are key ways to stop the spread of infectious diseases, vulnerable people who have been told by their GP to stay at home for the next three months to protect themselves, could get a letter through their door today, and some of them have, telling them to leave their home in four weeks' time. That is just unacceptable. The difficulties that it would cause them are unacceptable. The stress that it would cause them is unacceptable. The risk to their lives is completely unacceptable. <BR /> <BR />I consider the Bill necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to provide private tenants and renters with additional support during the COVID-19 period.”
“Thank you very much, and thank you to the Chamber, given the urgency of the unprecedented public health emergency. <BR /> <BR />The Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Bill responds to the coronavirus outbreak here. The public health advice is clear: stay at home, protect our key workers and save lives. Responding to the public health advice requires people to have a secure home to reduce the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, for themselves, their families and others. This is a fundamental necessity to allow the Government to properly manage the emergency situation.”
“I thank the Chair and the members of the Committee for their recognition of the need to expedite the Bill and for their support in seeking Assembly approval for accelerated passage. Members will have the opportunity to raise issues around the detail of the Bill during Second Stage. In the interim, I seek the support of the House for the use of the accelerated passage procedure. I look forward to hearing Members' comments.”
“The Bill is required as soon as possible in order for it to have any tangible benefit for those who are living in the private rented sector. That sector is the fastest-growing type of housing tenure, with around 18% of the total housing stock and approximately 134,000 properties. Without accelerated passage, there is a risk that the Bill will not be enacted before the summer recess. As I have said previously, that could cause an increase in homelessness, undue stress and worry for tenants. It would totally negate the reason for bringing the Bill were it to be passed after the worst of the crisis was over. <BR /> <BR />In accordance with Standing Order 42(3), I appeared before the Committee for Communities on 6 April to explain the need for accelerated passage for the Bill and to outline the consequences of it not being granted.”
“As Members will be aware, mortgage lenders have provided buy-to-let landlords and homeowners with the ability to apply for a three-month holiday on their repayments. The Bill intends to ensure that tenants in the private rented sector are also provided with some protections during the crisis. It will also reduce the movement of people between households, allowing shielding of vulnerable people, self-isolation and social distancing in line with the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations. <BR /> <BR />I will now explain to the Assembly, as required under Standing Order 42(4), why I am seeking accelerated passage and the consequences of it not being granted. I am asking Members to agree to accelerated passage of the Bill because the crisis has happened quickly and we need to respond.”
“I welcome the opportunity to address the Assembly on this motion. The use of accelerated passage is not something to be sought routinely, nor do I take it lightly. When taking forward draft legislation, my preference is to have full Committee procedure to enable clause-by-clause scrutiny of the resolution and of any issues there and then to the Committee's satisfaction. However, in the case of this proposed legislation and the current public health emergency, there are compelling grounds for a departure from the normal procedure and the use of accelerated passage. <BR /> <BR />The Bill is necessary in order to extend the notice to quit period from four to 12 weeks before the date at which it can take effect during this unprecedented public health emergency.”
“I want to bring more changes in looking at those issues, not just in the midst of this crisis, but looking at this more broadly. We are talking about discretionary support, now, in the context of COVID-19, but a review of discretionary support within the Department is ongoing. I will be bringing forward broader changes to reflect that in the time ahead. <BR /> <BR />I say again to Members: if you have suggestions or ideas, my door is always open. You do not have to wait until you are in the Chamber to come to me to make a point. You can always come to speak to me; I am more than willing to sit with anyone. If there is an unmet need, and we can change the system to respond to that, I am more than willing to engage with anyone to attempt to meet that need in the time ahead.”
“It is an extremely sensitive issue. I hope that there will be a conclusion to those discussions as soon as possible, and then that will be released. <BR /> <BR />There are other issues regarding broader welfare reform changes. As has been rehearsed, I am not a supporter. We can get into a broader political debate on the constitutional issues on the island, the fact that we are in power-sharing arrangements and that we get a block grant and do not have our own fiscal levers, but I do not think it helpful to get into all those issues today. <BR /> <BR />My remit, in bringing forward the legislation is to do all I can to protect the most vulnerable. I come from a working-class community and I am acutely aware of the issues within those communities.”
“No problem. We are willing to look at all options. The important thing is that the resource and need is met at the grassroots. Obviously, that would take different solutions in different areas, depending on the local need. That is the importance of working with councils, those organisations and individuals at the grassroots, to ensure that we are meeting that need. I am more than happy to look at all those issues in the time ahead. <BR /> <BR />The issue of charities is not directly related to discretionary support, but I thought I would answer it. Obviously, additional moneys will be coming in. My officials are in discussion with Finance as to how we best support charities in this period. In particular, there will need to be attention given to hospices, so that those who have end-of-life caring responsibilities are supported.”
“There was a restriction on the religious groups, for example, which could apply to that fund because CFNI do not fund religious organisations. We have tried to look at flexibilities that we can build in. DAERA put funding towards that, particularly in rural communities. That is something that we continue to work on.”
“That is on the understanding that safeguarding and protecting procedures will have to be in place. <BR /> <BR />The amount of activism has been unbelievable. Not surprising, but unbelievable. Church groups, Gaelic clubs, rugby clubs, football teams, or just residents of a street getting together and really looking after one another. That has been really good, and I imagine, and hope, that that will continue beyond this crisis. How we support that type of activism at the grassroots will be important. As we develop strategies around anti-poverty and tackling inequality, we want to be able to rely on those people to work with us in the time ahead. We will be looking at that. <BR /> <BR />I worked with the AERA Minister on the initial funding that we put through Community Foundation NI (CFNI).”
“I know that work has been done and they will be looking at how we can support the sector as we move through the crisis and out at the other end. Indeed, we are looking at that, but I moved quickly in March to ensure that we paid their grants upfront. I did all I could, and used the economic levers in my Department, to make it easier for people to avail themselves of those grants, ensuring that cash flow could continue. However, no doubt, there will be a job of work beyond this. <BR /> <BR />I will look at the issue of unconstituted groups to see what we can do. Money from the COVID community support fund has primarily gone through the local councils. Maybe there are flexibilities that can be looked at. Perhaps, if it is not financial transactions, some of the services or resources could work with those groups.”
“<BR /> <BR />We will continue to update the Committee and the Chamber on those next steps, as we start to move through that. I am committed to going back to the Committee and having engagement with it. I meet Paula, the Chair, or speak to her on the phone weekly, and we spoke yesterday. I am keen that any written questions from the Committee are responded to as quickly as possible, because it is a fast-changing situation and I see the importance of updating the Committee and the Chamber. <BR /> <BR />The issue of the community and voluntary sector is an important one. As somebody who is a community activist herself, I see that. We have established the community and voluntary sector emergencies leadership group, which includes regional organisations such as NICVA and those at the grassroots such as neighbourhood renewal areas.”
“The COVID community helpline, for example, is being managed by Advice NI, with many of the independent advice organisations that, again, are going above and beyond their normal duties to respond to the health emergency that we all find ourselves in. <BR /> <BR />There is an issue about those who have come onto the social security system and where they go to next. What will come of the unfolding situation? Indeed, as well as responding to the direct emergency and trying to deal with people in the here and now, staff in our security team have already started to put plans in place to look at interim, next steps and what we need to do beyond that and, importantly, at trying to get people back into the job market, particularly those who can move quickly enough.”
“It is important that it is not just a one-off grant. Applying for the grant is not limited to three times. You can apply for this grant more than once, on multiple occasions, if you are in crisis and display that you are in crisis and need the help and support. <BR /> <BR />There is also regular contact with the independent advice sector. There are weekly engagements with them, because they know. Obviously, we do not want anyone not to have the information about the support. We are trying to get the information out there as much as possible, through our own jobs and benefits work and, importantly, through working with the independent advice sector. Again, I commend that sector's work.”
“Looking at £1 million in financial support has to be taken in that wider context. I think that we are putting the money here, through discretionary support, to those at the bottom end and the coalface who really need it the most. If we can de-risk or give social security protections to business, we can certainly do it for those who are most vulnerable and need it the most. <BR /> <BR />It was touched on again and again, and I read this in the Assembly a couple of weeks ago: students can avail themselves of this. That is because I have declared this an emergency. That, therefore, allows students to be included. Again, from that meeting, I asked for that to be communicated to the unions, over the last couple of weeks, as well. <BR /> <BR />The criterion for this part on COVID is that it is for those in crisis.”
“There is now also an online application, so that people can fill in and return the application online. <BR /> <BR />All the new changes have been introduced over the last couple of weeks, and, indeed, the online application form is available on nidirect as well. <BR /> <BR />I go back to the financing. Those who were in employment or self-employed can avail themselves of this. I will look into the communications issue more broadly, but particularly for those who maybe have not interfaced with the social security system before. I will look to see what we can do about ensuring that people in the business community also have the relevant information, where they now have to engage. <BR /> <BR />We have seen social security measures introduced to the business community, as well, of up to £400 million in support so far.”
“As for the process itself, discretionary support is a manual system, and that is one of the difficulties — information has to be physically put in manually. In some ways, that slows it up. We have redirected staff in the Department. Again, I touched on that a couple of times at the Committee and in the Chamber. We have come away from other duties around collecting other payments and stuff and have redirected people into universal credit, in particular, because of the massive influx of over 50,000 new applications. We have also redirected people into discretionary support. <BR /> <BR />We have broken down the processes that are needed, so that not everybody needs to have the full training in discretionary support. We have broken down how the process is managed to ensure that we are speeding up the processing times.”
“So, this is kept under constant review. <BR /> <BR />I will echo the words of those in the Chamber who have thanked the staff. We have one of those people here — not to redden David's face — who, amongst others, went above and beyond. In fairness, they normally do because they really believe in meeting the needs of people at the grassroots. Therefore, I just want to reiterate those words about our essential front-line staff who are delivering essential front-line services. The public have seen that, as have those people who are availing themselves of the support.”
“There are a couple of issues that have been picked up, all of which are important. First, the issue of finance, which I covered a couple of times in Committee and during a ministerial statement a couple of weeks ago. There was an underspend, initially, in contingency fund arrangements that we had within the Department. Therefore, the contingency fund, along with a bid of £5 million that we have made to the Department of Finance for this financial year, means at this point we are confident that we can meet the need that is there and there are mechanisms in place. This is a discretionary grant and it will be monitored on a regular basis by our staff. I have a weekly meeting with social security staff to ensure our staff resources, to make sure we are protecting those most in need and to make sure that the system is functioning.”
“I believe that this approach is preferable, and it will increase the income threshold to £20,405 from 1 April 2020. It will more closely align to the £20,000 benefit cap level, while retaining the link with the national minimum wage. The effect of this will be that any future increase in the national minimum wage will automatically result in an increase in the income threshold. The introduction of this amendment to discretionary support, alongside changes introduced recently, will undoubtedly maximise the emergency financial support available to people on low incomes, and I firmly believe that it is the right approach to take at this time.”
“However, I will seek to allay concerns that some Members may have that we are allowing unrestricted access to grant payments that may be seen by some as a drain on public-sector finances. I can provide an assurance that, while these regulations will mean that more people will be eligible for discretionary support, that does not mean that they will receive payments. This scheme is there to provide emergency support in a time of crisis for an individual or any member of their immediate family. These conditions must still be met before a payment will be issued. <BR /> <BR />The legislation that Members are asked to approve today will amend the formula update to calculate the annual income threshold. Rather than using the current calculation of 40 hours per week over 52 weeks, it will be changed to 45 hours per week over 52 weeks.”
“I am therefore proposing that the annual income threshold be increased to more closely align with the level of £20,000. In the crisis that we are all facing, this means that more people on low incomes will be able to access emergency financial support. This will include the new living expenses grant for people affected by COVID-19 that the Assembly recently approved. <BR /> <BR />The new income threshold is considered to be appropriate as it is the maximum level of benefits that the Department will normally pay. Aligning discretionary support to this amount will mean that more people in receipt of income-related benefits will be able to access emergency support.”
“This means that people in low-paid employment may be eligible to receive support. The amount of income received must be below the annual income threshold, which is a prescribed amount set with reference to the national minimum wage's over-25 rate and automatically adjusted whenever the rate increases. Under the existing legislation, the income threshold increased to £18,137 from 1 April this year. However, even with the planned increase, the annual income threshold will be below the level of the benefit cap for couples or people with children, which is £20,000. That means that many people, particularly families, who have their total benefits reduced by the benefit cap, cannot receive help from discretionary support, which is unacceptable.”
“I have previously explained that I am determined that my Department will do everything that it can to help people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been advised to self-isolate. This includes considering further amendments to the discretionary support scheme that will have immediate benefit and can be introduced quickly. The amendment that I am bringing forward today in the Discretionary Support (Amendment No. 2) (COVID-19) Regulations 2020 will achieve these aims. It is a relatively straightforward amendment that will immediately allow more people on low incomes, including people who are subsisting on social security benefits, to access discretionary support. <BR /> <BR />Entitlement to discretionary support is determined by the level of income that a person has.”
“I can advise that almost 1,300 living expenses grants for COVID-19, for approximately £219,000, have already been issued. That indicates £175,000 awarded to more than 1,000 households in the week ending 17 April; indeed, in the past month, my Department has awarded over £1 million in emergency financial support to more than 5,000 households.”
“The regulations are brought in under article 135 of the Welfare Reform (NI) Order 2015. They will amend the Discretionary Support Regulations 2016. <BR /> <BR />As Members will be aware, my Department recently introduced enhancements to the discretionary support scheme. They included the introduction of a new living expenses grant payment to help people who find themselves in a crisis situation as a result of COVID-19. I am pleased to advise that my Department has moved quickly to introduce that new element of discretionary support. The first living expenses grants for people affected by COVID-19 were made on 25 March. That was a day after the amendment to the regulations was approved. I thank Members for moving so quickly to ensure that support could be provided to vulnerable people.”
“I beg to introduce the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Bill [NIA 04/17-22], which is a Bill to make emergency modifications in connection with coronavirus in relation to notices to quit to be given by landlords of private tenancies.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I wish to inform the Assembly that discussions are ongoing and are continuing with my Executive colleagues. There is support for these proposals, and those discussions are continuing, including with all of the Executive colleagues and the First Minister and deputy First Minister. I will continue to progress this and will hopefully bring this to the Assembly next Tuesday.”