Extra funding for decent homes work
The decent homes programme in Northern Ireland has received a £6 million funding boost.
Housing minister Margaret Ritchie announced the additional funding for kitchen replacements and new heating systems in around 1,500 Housing Executive homes last week.
‘The extra money has been made possible by sound budgetary management,’ she said.
‘This is a great outcome for the thousands of construction sector workers who depend on this work for their livelihoods and the tenants who are getting their houses upgraded.’
Last year the executive looked set to miss its decent homes target because of a £200 million shortfall in its budget. This was due to a sharp drop in income from capital receipts, which had nearly dried up entirely.
A spokesperson for the executive said that in addition to capital receipts improving, the government had allocated additional funding to the maintenance programme.
Last week Ms Ritchie also approved a 1.9 per cent rent increase for executive tenants in 2010/11.
She said: ‘I am determined to meet the needs of tenants by keeping the rent increase to a minimum while seeking to provide the necessary additional funding for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s maintenance programmes.’
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment