First can I say that I welcome this debate on affordable housing.

Because helping to deliver affordable housing is the top of my priorities.  And the fact that this is being debated by the Assembly so soon after restoration tells me that it is top of the Assembly’s priorities too – and I am very glad of that.

Because if we are to succeed, it will take not only action by me, but also by my Executive colleagues and by this Assembly.  We will all need to row together if we are going to deliver.

That said, I recognise that the members of this Assembly – and particularly members of the Social Development Committee - will have their own ideas on affordable housing.  That’s why I welcome the many contributions to this debate – and will reflect on all of them.

Affordable housing is important for a decent quality of life.  

Yet in recent years Northern Ireland has experienced unprecedented increases in house values.   While there has been an element of “catching up” the rises have now exceeded all expectations.  

Last year prices increased by 37% - over three times the rate in the South.  The average house price in the North is now over £200,000.

Now that may be good news for existing homeowners but it is crippling first time buyers.  I know that they are being squeezed out of the market.  Young people are finding it ever harder to get on the property ladder.  That’s why their numbers are falling.  In 2001 60% of buyers were first time.  Last year it was just 33%.

Such an overheated market appears unsustainable.  Yet investors are still keen to buy up private property and land.  And that’s still pushing prices up – and impacting on the availability of land for social housing.

There are also worrying reports of landbanking – with some speculators holding back on developing land in order to push prices up yet further.  

This has caused real problems for housing associations – with land values doubling in the last 18 months.  Indeed, in many cases land is now approaching 50% of the cost of a new build house.  

Direct rule failed to find new funding to buy ever more expensive land for social housing.  The result is that this year – as things stand – we have funding to build approximately 611 new social houses – short even of the direct rule target of 1,500 new build social houses a year.  Yet at the same time, the numbers in housing stress are on the rise.  That’s unacceptable.

Against this background, Sir John Semple was commissioned to undertake an independent review into affordable housing in Northern Ireland in September.

His thoughtful report makes some points very clear.  First, there is no quick fix.  Market forces are powerful – and not easy to abate.  But second, there is a lot that can be done – and should be done by all of government together.  That’s why this recommendations don’t just address the Department of Social Development, but also matters such as:

-action by the Department of the Environment to speed up the planning service

-action by the Department of Regional Development to revise housing growth indicators

-funding by the Executive for more new build social housing.

I am currently considering the Semple report.  Its recommendations make sense to me and I want to take them forward.  They won’t solve the problem over night – nothing could.  But over time I believe that they will make a real difference.

That said, I would not pretend that I agree with every single recommendation.  For example, I have in the past made clear my difficulties with PPS 14 – and I cannot pretend to support it now.

But it would be wrong to think that we have just been considering the way ahead on Semple.

Other important initiatives are also already underway.

-The Advance Land Purchase initiative has been introduced to help Housing Associations secure land in advance for new build housing schemes.  So far, land had been acquired to facilitate the building of 618 homes in future years of the Development Programme.  

-Land to the value of approximately £76m has already been earmarked by the Housing Executive to be transferred to Housing Associations to service the development programme over the next five years.  

-In Belfast the North East Quarter regeneration scheme at Royal Avenue will include provision for affordable housing units within the heart of Belfast, funded by the developer, so that the benefits of city centre living can be enjoyed by people not in a position to afford the high cost of apartments at present.

-And I will soon bring forward proposals for the regeneration of the North West Quarter of the City Centre, including the neighbourhoods of Browns Square and Carrickhill.

-Meanwhile, an Advisory Panel comprising political, community and statutory representatives are overseeing production of the draft master plan for the redevelopment of the former Crumlin Road Gaol and Girdwood Army Barracks.   Now I don’t want to prejudice their deliberations, but clearly there is an opportunity for significant social and affordable housing there.

-In Derry, master plans have been drawn up for three sites by the urban regeneration company Ilex, by Derry City Council and by my Department.   Plans for the regeneration of the former Ministry of Defence lands at Clooney offer the possibility of providing affordable housing, alongside other educational, sport and leisure facilities.    My Department is currently in the process of transferring surplus land at two sites in the Greater Shantallow area to local housing associations for the provision of new social housing.   

-Outside Belfast and Derry my Department is engaged in, or will shortly commence master planning work in relation to a number of major mixed use development schemes.  In all of these, we will consider carefully the place which both affordable and social housing can play.  

This is all important.  But I am not for a minute pretending that it is enough.  And I want to go further.  But building new social housing requires new money.  To be blunt: give me the money and I will build the houses.

Because I want to get moving quickly, I have also asked my officials to do an audit of the lands held by the Department of Social Development and how they could be put to use to relieve the housing crisis.  That’s just a first step.  I believe that we need to audit whether and how public land held by other departments could be used.  

And I am keen to learn from the South too.  That is why I am currently arranging to go to Dublin to see for myself how they have made use of land swops and other measures there.

I am determined to begin work immediately to initiate short, medium and long term solutions to the growing Housing Affordability problem.  While my Department has lead responsibility for housing policy, the Semple review contains a considerable number of cross-cutting recommendations all with the objective of addressing the affordability question and many of the commitments and targets fall outside my Department’s remit.  

Given the cross departmental nature of these recommendations, I am taking proposals to the Executive this Thursday to establish an Inter Departmental Group – or taskforce - that will be responsible for responding to the Semple review and helping deliver affordability.

As Social Development Minister, I propose to chair this group and I want to invite senior officials from the Departments of Regional Development, Environment, Finance and Personnel, Employment and Learning and the Office of the First and deputy First Minister to join this group alongside officials from my own Department.

It is envisaged that this Interdepartmental Group would consider the recommendations in greater detail and focus effort on progressing those recommendations which are acceptable. It would also seek to develop programmes that have linkages with organisations outside central government, and establish a partnership approach to tackling affordability.

I also intend to set up an Expert Panel comprising academics and relevant experts from across the housing arena to provide specialist advice to the Interdepartmental Group.  So that we can be sure that we are getting it right.

Helping to deliver housing affordability is a massive challenge.  Market forces are, after all, not easily tamed.  But with firm action – and I stress proper funding – there is a lot that we can and must do – without of course plunging existing owners into the dangers of negative equity.

As I have said before, there is no quick fix.  But together we can make a difference.  And I look forward to doing just that with this Assembly and my Executive colleagues.