Minister’s speech at Housing Rights conference, Monday 14 September 2026

Date published: 16 September 2026

As I think many of you here will have heard me say before, it is vital that we make the strategic shift towards homelessness prevention. At a time when we are spending more than ever before on homelessness, we need to make sure that investment is actually improving outcomes for people, so I welcome today’s session. 

Since taking office, I have been clear on the need to increase access to suitable and affordable housing, protect support services and shift our approach from simply managing homelessness to preventing it.

I am pleased that we have made real progress.

As you know, housing is now a priority within the Programme for Government, and, alongside the Executive's Housing Supply Strategy, we now have a long-term framework for delivering a home for everyone, and, crucially, a clear focus on prevention and intervention.

It goes without saying that addressing homelessness requires increasing the supply of good quality, suitable and affordable homes across all tenures. I’m delighted that last year, I secured the largest ever investment in the Social Housing Development Programme. 

The £210 million programme delivered 1,765 new home starts, a 17% increase on the previous year, and 1,538 completions. Today, more than 6,000 social homes are under construction across Northern Ireland.

Alongside this investment in our social housing, I am also using Financial Transactions Capital to expand housing options through Affordable Rent with the first new homes offered to tenants last week. Not only do affordable rent homes offer a practical response to real housing pressures, but they expand opportunity, supporting aspiration and they will help more people access a quality home they can afford.

The £10 million Loan to Acquire Move-on Accommodation (LAMA) programme is helping local charities to provide secure homes for people moving on from hostel accommodation. Already £4 million has been allocated to two organisations to deliver around 40 homes and further applications are currently under consideration.

However, I recognise that not everyone is able to sustain an independent tenancy without support, and it is vital that supported accommodation remains available for those who need it.

The Supporting People programme is central to that effort. That is why despite significant budget pressures, I have increased funding from £72.8 million to approximately £84 million in 2025/26, to help sustain service delivery.  I have protected, as much as possible, ongoing investment in homelessness services. I have reduced budgets elsewhere in my Department to fund good quality temporary accommodation, to ensure that we prevent the placement of children in B&B accommodation – as happens at scale in elsewhere.  

But while these achievements are important, I know that building homes and funding services alone will not solve homelessness. We need to address the underlying causes and invest in upstream prevention to stop people from ever having to enter the homeless system, as well as helping them transition out of homelessness more quickly.

However, homelessness is not just a housing issue, and I can’t tackle it alone. Addressing the issues which contribute to homelessness takes a collective, whole-of-Government, joined-up approach.

That is why I welcomed the commitment in the Programme for Government to focus on the prevention of homelessness by working collaboratively.

As you are all too aware, the reasons for homelessness are varied and complex. Societal issues such as poverty, as well as life experiences, mental or physical health problems or substance misuse can put people under considerable strain and lead to a breakdown in relationships or a house no longer being suitable. 

What is clear is that being homeless makes each of these issues harder to solve. 

There is a need for partners across the Executive, particularly in Health and Justice, to come together to support homelessness prevention, whether through increased funding to mental health services, improved discharge protocols or other system reforms. 

Within Belfast we are already seeing what can be achieved when agencies work together to provide coordinated support for people with complex needs. Through the Complex Lives programme more than 230 people have been offered support and 74 people experiencing chronic or repeat homelessness are being supported to maintain a tenancy.

Last December, I was delighted to launch the New Foundations programme alongside the former Minister for Health. This innovative new model will help prevent young people leaving care from entering homelessness. 

I have already allocated over £9 million in capital to enable the Housing Executive to start buying properties to deliver this programme, and colleagues from Health are working to ensure the necessary wraparound support is available to ensure these young people are equipped to live independently.

As a result, the first four young people have been allocated a permanent home and further allocations are expected in coming weeks. I hope to have the opportunity to meet with some of these young people in coming months as they settle into their new homes.

I want to see more of this type of cross-government, partnership working and I will do whatever I can to help facilitate it. I have concluded this should mean fundamental, reform both in terms of our legislation and our systems. Piecemeal reforms are not enough. The need for this is documented in recent audit reports and I have heard the same message clearly and directly from many of you here in this room. 

My officials have been preparing to undertake a comprehensive and systemic review of our current homelessness legislation and operational delivery. I know some of you have been involved in those preparatory discussions and have helped shaped our thinking on how best to progress this vital work. I want to thank you for your openness and insight.

I have made a commitment to my Executive colleagues before the end of this month to present to them, for their agreement, proposals for a Homelessness Commission for Northern Ireland.

The Commission will consist of two independently Chaired panels. An Expert Panel will take forward a legislative review and make recommendations on all parts of our homelessness legislative framework with an objective to bring legislative change as soon as possible in the next mandate. This is similar to the approach taken recently in Scotland and Wales and the initial focus will be on the development of options for strengthening prevention. 

A separate Implementation Panel will progress a wider review of the homeless system and identify operational and institutional changes required to support legislative reform. This panel may make recommendations that can bring change and improvement quickly, without legislative reform. I am sure many of the conversations today will help inform that process.

I believe this work presents a real opportunity to set a clear path forward to address homelessness and ensure our legislative framework and operational practices reflect the reality of the challenges faced today. I look forward to the point, hopefully in early October, when I may share with all of you plans for the Homelessness Commission that have behind them cross-party support and an Executive mandate. 

In closing, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that good housing has on the lives and wellbeing of individuals and families. A good home is the foundation for everything. A secure home improves educational achievement, health and job prospects.

I am determined to do everything I can to improve outcomes and bring about the meaningful change that people need, want, and deserve.