Deirdre Hargey, Minister of Communities, answers Members questions on 13 April 2021.
Read the Official Report (Hansard) – https://lk.nia.fyi/4A2Q
Each of the questions answered have been chaptered in the video to help you find them more easily.
Chapters / Questions
00:00 – Gambling Regulations
1. Mr Frew asked the Minister for Communities, following her Department’s public consultation on the regulation of gambling that closed on 21 February 2020, for an update on the intended way forward on gambling regulations. (AQO 1849/17-22)
04:13 – Centenary of Northern Ireland
2. Mr Buckley asked the Minister for Communities for an update on the plans in place in recognition of the centenary of Northern Ireland. (AQO 1850/17-22)
16:57 – Housing Waiting List: North Lurgan
3. Mr O’Dowd asked the Minister for Communities what action the Housing Executive is taking to address the growing waiting list for housing in north Lurgan. (AQO 1851/17-22)
25:08 – COVID-19 Charities Fund: Allocations
4. Mr McAleer asked the Minister for Communities for an update on the allocations she has made through the COVID-19 charities fund. (AQO 1852/17-22)
Topical Questions
31:38 – Subregional Stadia Programme for Soccer: Funding Update
T1. Mr Lyttle asked the Minister for Communities, after wishing the Northern Ireland women’s football team every success in tonight’s Euro 2022 second leg play-off against Ukraine, which will bring a historic victory and a major tournament qualification for the green and white army, for an update on funding for the subregional stadia programme for soccer. (AQT 1171/17-22)
35:32 – Sports Clubs: COVID Relief Funding
T2. Mr K Buchanan asked the Minister for Communities for an update on her plan to support the over 70 sports clubs with bars and restaurants that were either not eligible for the localised restrictions support scheme (LRSS) or the COVID restrictions business support scheme (CRBSS) or, indeed, missed out on the sports sustainability fund because they were waiting on clarification about their LRSS application, before they are no longer sustainable. (AQT 1172/17-22)
36:27 – Housing: Out-of-district Placements
T3. Mr Durkan asked the Minister for Communities to explain the policy and practice behind housing placements, given that although he fully appreciates the efforts made and challenges faced by the Housing Executive to ensure that everyone here has a roof over their head, particularly over the past year, there is a growing concern in his constituency, which her party colleagues will bear out, not about the number of people from other districts being placed in temporary and emergency housing in Derry but, sadly, the nature of some of those people, with a number of offences having been committed, including a sexual attack on a girl last week by people from elsewhere who have been placed in housing in Derry. (AQT 1173/17-22)
39:41 – Arts Funding: Regional Inequalities
T4. Ms Anderson asked the Minister for Communities how she intends to tackle regional inequalities in the allocation of arts funding across the North. (AQT 1174/17-22)
42:23 – Riverine Project: Update
T5. Mr Gildernew asked the Minister for Communities for an update on the new Riverine community project in Strabane and Lifford. (AQT 1175/17-22)
45:11 – Independent Advice Sector: Appeals
T6. Miss Woods asked the Minister for Communities, given that she will be aware of the impact that budget cuts in the independent advice sector will have on people who are vulnerable, in poverty or who have mental health issues, to outline whether her Department has conducted an impact assessment on the number of appeals that are awaiting a hearing. (AQT 1176/17-22)