5. Ms McLaughlin asked the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline any engagement he has had with local councils in relation to funding issues associated with the Dilapidation Bill. (AQO 3706/22-27)

I met local government representatives recently to discuss a variety of issues around the Dilapidation Bill. My officials have maintained regular and extensive contact with council officials throughout the Bill's progress. I have consistently highlighted the fact that no discrete funding has been provided in respect of the Bill. The powers within it are discretionary, giving councils the flexibility to avail themselves of those powers as resources permit.

Thank you, Minister. Most councillors whom I speak to want to use the powers that are contained in the Bill, but they are worried about the cost to ratepayers. What can you do to reassure them on that issue?

Thank you, Sinéad. The Dilapidation Bill will consolidate and modernise outdated Victorian legislation in order to help regenerate our cities, towns and villages by giving councils the powers to better tackle the issue of dilapidation. There has been significant engagement with local government, and I thank them for that constructive relationship. The Bill includes discretionary powers equivalent to those that are now long-established in Great Britain and in Ireland. We have met council representatives on a number of occasions and, pursuant to those meetings, we have agreed to table a number of amendments to the Bill.

The Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs conducted an extended Committee Stage on the Bill and engaged with local government in that regard. I emphasise that the Bill's powers are discretionary. The Bill does not impose new statutory duties or financial burdens on councils. We intend to publish statutory guidance, giving greater clarity than exists at present. We will continue to work with local government on the development of that guidance.

Minister, given the absence of clarity on funding for councils, do you not accept that the Bill risks being legislatively sound but financially undeliverable by councils?

As I have outlined, the Bill's powers are discretionary. It is really important to have a wider perspective on the matter. Where there are dilapidated buildings in neighbourhoods, towns, villages and cities, that takes them potentially off the rates base and makes it less likely that people will invest in the area. It is in district councils' interests, therefore, that the legislation is used so that buildings can be refurbished and brought back into use and that neighbourhoods are not blighted by dilapidation. We are seeking to give councils those discretionary powers so that they can use them. Obviously, when councils consider the use of those powers, they will consider whether they will get the cost recovery associated with that. The legislation puts additional methods in place to allow them to do that.

I thank the AERA Committee for its scrutiny of the Bill and for its engagement with local government. The Bill will be a good piece of legislation for councils to use in order to address the issue of dilapidated buildings across our constituencies, which many Members have raised.

Dilapidation is a major issue that damages our high streets and holds back economic growth and regeneration. I thank the Minister for joining me in Dromore, in my area, to see the regeneration that could take place there. How will the Bill empower councils to tackle dilapidation in the wider community?

Thank you, David. It was good to be in your Constituency to see what the potential power of the Bill could be. The Bill is an example of what the House should be doing, which is enabling people to do good for their local communities. Most of the powers that are available to councils currently are from the Victorian era and are geographically fragmented, so councils tend to make little or no use of them. The Dilapidation Bill will consolidate and enhance those powers, drawing on the successful use of legislation in other jurisdictions, which will ensure that we tackle dilapidation at an earlier stage. Currently, councils have limited powers in this area, but the Bill will provide them with the necessary discretionary powers to take steps, if they wish, to require buildings or land to be cleaned up where their condition adversely affects the amenity of the area.

Minister, you said that there would be no financial burden on councils in carrying out their scrutiny and actions. I represent an area with lots of small villages. In many cases, there are buildings in a severe state of dilapidation. Can you assure me that, in the exercise of the councils' duties, the weighting given to those small villages will be equal to that of the larger conurbations?

The Member is correct to raise that issue. Alongside the Bill, there will be statutory guidance on the exercise of the powers. It is important that we understand that dilapidation affects not just cities and towns but villages. The Bill will give discretionary powers to councils, and it is important that councils actively consider them. We can intervene at an early stage to ensure that that situation does not emerge. Across Northern Ireland, we have seen too many neighbourhoods where one dilapidated building leads to a second and then a third. That is why it is important to intervene. Hopefully, the guidance will give people assurance on the exercise of the powers.