The Housing Executive

The current news features the problems of housing affordability and the recent problems people are facing in the mortgage market. We have said in past years that we need to deliver a choice of housing options covering social renting, private renting, and home ownership. While the problems of access to mortgages for private housing persist, we no longer have enough social sector homes to cater for the needs of those who have not been able to secure a mortgage.

In housing we face difficult years ahead. The Programme for Government has set targets for housing but the funding provided will need to be increased if we are to reach those goals. The Minister has also set a very clear and new housing agenda which we will need to support and deliver in the years ahead. We will work with Government and stakeholders to identify options to meet these targets.

The Programme for Government requires us to reduce our staffing and administrative costs by 5% in each of the next three years. This means we will have to deliver a reduction of around 450 staff over this period. Our Modernising Services Programme will help us to manage this process, but it does present challenges for the organisation and our staff. In the period ahead we will also have to look at how we work with the new local government arrangements arising from the Review of Public Administration.

We have already begun discussions with stakeholders and particularly with staff and their unions to find the best ways to tackle these issues.

The years ahead are challenging, but we are confident that we and our staff together will deliver the very best housing services possible within the resources available.