Results 1-20 of 1,551 for speaker:Nelson McCausland

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Queen’s Parade, Bangor (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: The Department has put its full weight behind this.  There is a real commitment to see the project through to completion because this has been a blight on the front of Bangor.  As the Member will know, it is now a much more attractive location with the new pods are in place.  I had the opportunity to go down there the other day to meet some of the artists who are in residence,...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Landlords: Registration (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: First, let me emphasise the importance of having a landlord registration system to assist with the regulation of an ever-growing private rented sector.  I remain committed to driving up standards in that sector.  I informed the Assembly on 15 January 2013 that it was intended that a landlord registration system would be ready by the summer.  Although there may be some slippage,...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Landlords: Registration (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: I will indicate my intention —

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Landlords: Registration (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: I will indicate my intention to ensure that the officials who are taking that forward do it with the maximum alacrity, and I can you assure that, when we talk about the summer, it is definitely the summer of 2013 and not any other.  It will be done as quickly as possible.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Landlords: Registration (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: No final decision has been made on who the registrar will be, and it is possible that the matter may be tied to the direct payment of housing costs to landlords under welfare reform.  My Department is considering whether we can make use of the information collected for the landlord register to facilitate the direct payment of universal credit housing components to landlords.  Work...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Landlords: Registration (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: The issues that are being taken forward are complex.  The civil servants who are working on the issues are working hard, but, as with most things in life, it is always difficult to predict exactly, down to the weeks or days, how long it will take to complete a piece of work.  I am sure that the Member, in all his years in business and other areas of life, will have his own...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Empty Homes Strategy (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: It is my intention to publish the empty homes strategy and action plan in the coming weeks and to be in a position to give details on the steps that will be taken to bring empty homes back into use.  I am determined to maximise all opportunities to meet housing need, reduce blight and tackle antisocial behaviour.  Therefore, I want to pursue a comprehensive approach to tackling...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Empty Homes Strategy (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: Tackling the issue of empty homes has a number of benefits.  Clearly, it has the benefit of providing another home for an individual or for a family.  Often, it removes blight, blight that can often attract antisocial behaviour, and there is a cost associated with dealing with that.  It may be that a garden becomes littered, and people have to come in and clear it out. ...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Empty Homes Strategy (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: A range of approaches are being looked at.  Last year, we carried out a pilot exercise in Fortwilliam in north Belfast and on the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast.  It had limited success, but it did provide a number of lessons that have been invaluable in trying to shape the strategy and the action plan.  In some circumstances, it turned out that properties that were...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Empty Homes Strategy (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: One of the major challenges in all of this remains the issue of reliable data about the location and ownership of empty homes.  The Department is working with Land and Property Services, and data received to date on the number of vacant properties in each council area is being analysed.  Officials are in the process of preparing a business case so that Land and Property Services is...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Empty Homes Strategy (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: In my constituency at the moment, eight empty homes that belonged to the Housing Executive are being handed over to a housing association to redevelop with new homes.  There is a range of approaches in the action plan that I will be happy to share with the Member in the near future. The necessary steps to fix empty homes are these: we need reliable data; we have to raise awareness; we...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Queen’s Parade, Bangor (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: My Department has agreed to purchase landholdings at Queen’s Parade assembled by the developer, Karl Greenfarm Properties Ltd.  The contract of sale was signed on 25 March 2013 and is due to complete in May.  Following completion of the sale, my Department will commence the process of drawing up detailed plans, securing planning permission and assembling the remaining...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Queen’s Parade, Bangor (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: I can see the writing appearing in due course in a local publication. The Bangor town centre master plan proposed that a major development scheme in the Queen's Parade area was needed to regenerate Bangor town centre.  Schemes of that size and ambition are complex and challenging to deliver.  A number of key steps need to be taken, the first of which is to assemble the site. ...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Boiler Replacement Scheme (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: Since the launch of the boiler replacement scheme in September 2012, 14,184 application forms have been received.  The Housing Executive has processed 14,084 of those applications.  That has resulted in boiler installer forms being issued to all those applicants; 8,771 applicants have completed and returned their installer forms, and 7,884 approvals have been issued to have boiler...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Boiler Replacement Scheme (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: I notice that the Member says that there has been a dramatic improvement.  We should welcome that, as I am sure he does; indeed, he indicated that he does.  The improvement indicates that the scheme is actually now working really well.  It only started back in the autumn.  We are a limited period of time into it.  There is a lead-in time.  It is now delivering...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Boiler Replacement Scheme (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: It is one of a number of initiatives that we need to take forward to address fuel poverty.  Addressing fuel poverty can be taken through in a number of ways, but one in particular is energy efficiency.  Alongside that is the energy efficiency of homes, including insulation and double glazing.  There are a number of initiatives that we are working on and taking forward. ...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Boiler Replacement Scheme (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: We estimate that almost 800 local installers have had installation work from the scheme to date.  Those tend to be smaller firms, and they are spread across Northern Ireland.  The work that is coming from this has been of great benefit, therefore, to local businesses.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Boiler Replacement Scheme (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: When approval is given, it is anticipated that someone will get the work commissioned and completed within a period of about three months.  Sometimes, it is much quicker than that.  For some folk, it may take a little bit longer.  Once the work has been completed and the bill submitted, the payment time is around three weeks, which is in advance of the normal payment time of...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Northern Ireland Housing Executive: Restructuring (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: Since my statement to the Assembly on 26 February, the exploration of the proposals by my officials and me has begun in earnest.  The programme team, encompassing staff from my Department, the Housing Executive and the Strategic Investment Board, has begun work on the proposals.  I met the programme board on 18 April.  Programme planning is under way, and governance structures...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Oral Answers to Questions: Northern Ireland Housing Executive: Restructuring (30 April 2013)

Nelson McCausland: I think that NIPSA is not entirely clear on the fact that the economics involved are more complex than they first appear.  The focus should be on the longer-term economic benefits that can be realised through the introduction of landlords in a housing association model that is free to obtain to funding from a variety of sources.  Benefits include local landlords working from within...