Agenda and minutes

            An apology for inability to attend was received from Councillor McAteer.

            There were no declarations of interest.

            The information contained in the report associated with the following item is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following item as, due to the nature of the items, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            Members were also reminded that the content of ‘restricted’ reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as ‘confidential information’ and that no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development reminded the Committee that, at its meeting in November, 2025, it had agreed to invite the Minister for Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) to attend a future meeting to discuss the rationale for changes to the Housing Association Grant (HAG) and Total Cost Indicators (TCI) for the delivery of new social housing, which had been announced by the Minister in October, 2025. Accordingly, the Director advised that officials from the Department for Communities (DfC) and the NIHE were in attendance to outline the rationale for the changes and the potential impact on social housing delivery within the city. 

            The Director also reminded the Committee that, following its request in November, 2025, for a comprehensive assessment of the changes, work had been undertaken by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) to analyse the impact of the changes. She advised that the UUEPC analysis was currently being finalised and it was intended that it would be submitted to the Committee’s meeting in June. She provided a brief overview of the draft analysis report’s key points. The Director advised that the NIHE was leading a Subsidy Review by DfC and that it was proposed that the UUEPC analysis be forwarded to the NIHE by the end of May, as requested by the NIHE. It was reported that the analysis would help inform DfC’s review and ensure that the city’s unique delivery context was reflected. She advised the Committee that a Members’ workshop would be held, as previously agreed, with the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA) and the relevant Housing Associations to consider the UUEPC analysis and help understand the challenges which face the sector and what DfC’s Subsidy Review should address. She suggested that, following the Members’ workshop and the completion of DfC’s Subsidy Review, the Committee might wish to consider inviting officials to attend a future meeting to present the findings of the review.

            The Chairperson welcomed to the meeting Mr. David Polley, Director of Housing Supply Policy (DfC), Mr. Paul Price, Deputy Secretary, Housing and Sustainability Group (DfC), and Ms. Lynsay Magill, Head of Development Services, Land and Regeneration (NIHE).

            Mr. Price provided the Committee with background information on how the Department worked with partners to deliver the Social Housing Development Programme (SHDP), which was used by the Department to inform social housing funding investment decisions.

            Mr. Price reminded the Committee that, in October, 2025, the Minister had announced a number of changes to increase the delivery of new social homes across Northern Ireland. He explained that the grant paid to support social housing development was determined by two complex calculations, namely, the Total Cost Indicators (TCI), which was the assumed cost of building a new social home, and the Housing Association Grant (HAG) rate, which was the contribution made by the Department to Housing Associations for new social housing. He advised that, as part of the changes, the TCI benchmark costs had increased on average to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

            The Committee agreed that, in accordance with Standing Order 14, as the meeting had been held later than seven clear days before the meeting of the Council, the minutes of the meeting would be submitted to the Council on 1st June, 2026, for ratification.