The Northern Ireland Assembly & Executive One Year On

The devolved Assembly and new Executive have been with us for a year. The programme for government and budget are now well in place, for better or worse, and the voluntary advice sector is beginning to grapple with their implications. Bob Stronge, Les Allamby and Janet Hunter analyse the impact of devolved government on the sector and on social and economic issues. Although all three writers express some concerns, they are also looking towards the future of local government with cautious optimism.

Advice NI - Real politics and social change

Bob Stronge, Advice NI Director, assesses the Programme for Government and the challenges ahead for the Executive.

It's early days, and not quite a year on, but real politics, it appears, is returning to Northern Ireland. Our Assembly members are at last grappling with local issues, which while often controversial, and at times unpalatable, need to be progressed if we are to achieve the desired outcomes contained in the Programme for Government (PFG) of a stable, fair and prosperous society.

It was always fairly clear that once the new devolved Assembly was established, many of the policies and programmes emanating from direct rule would be reviewed, repackaged and rebranded and this has largely proven to be the case. This was inevitable (and understandable to an extent) but many people, particularly in the voluntary and community sectors, have questioned whether such an approach, particularly in areas such as shared future and the anti-poverty strategy, is justified.

Remember, the development of these strategies involved extensive engagement with a range of stakeholders over many years and much good work was done. As such there is sense abroad that in revisiting these policies the new administration may throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. The hope is that government will take what is best from the old and make it even better and there are some reassuring noises being made in this direction.

There is much to commend in the PFG including the setting out of key principles, strategic priorities, cross cutting themes, key goals, actions and targets. Advice NI welcomes the references made to working towards the elimination of poverty, eradicating fuel poverty, combating rural social exclusion, preventing homelessness, a commitment to rolling out benefit uptake, delivering a sustainable advice network, reducing the gap in educational outcomes, increasing the employment rate and regenerating disadvantaged communities.

The challenge will be in finding the funding streams within the overall budget to progress these issues. Much of the focus of the PFG is on generating economic growth but government must also ensure that the benefits of such growth actually address the growing inequalities in our society. Trickle down economic theories do not work and are not enough to lessen the gap between those who ‘have’ and ‘have not’.

The Executive’s commitment to job creation and increasing employment opportunities is also to be welcomed but this will require an ‘anti-poverty lens’ to focus this work as otherwise many disadvantaged and excluded people will not be able to avail of these opportunities unless we get real increases in spending on areas such as childcare, work-ready programmes and health management programmes etc.

In its response to the PFG, Advice NI identified a range of issues that would need further attention if government is to bring about a fairer and more equal society. Some of these such as social security law reform remain largely outside the scope of the PFG but others including social exclusion and tackling poverty, particularly for the young and old, are within government’s grasp. Addressing these will require both realistic targets and meaningful interventions across the whole of government.

And there lies ‘the rub’: are eleven departments, some holding policies for change and others holding the levers, capable of striking effective integration across the PFG to deliver meaningful programmes for social change?

Law Centre (NI) - Putting down the roots for local democracy

Les Allamby, Law Centre (NI) director, looks at the impact of the new Assembly and Executive on socio-economic issues.

The Assembly is almost a year old and at first glance it is difficult to discern tangible achievements. A closer look, however, suggests some important roots have been put down that will ultimately show the difference an effective local Assembly can make to local accountability and democracy.

Many of the major issues have been dealt with by way of review or delayed even longer – water charges an example of the former and free personal care for older people an illustration of the latter. The review of water charges has helpfully moved into wider questions of ownership and accountability for the delivery of the service.

The emphasis in the Programme for Government on economic driven reform leaves social issues in its wake. Nonetheless the internal debate within the Executive between the draft budget and final document contained important advances for social housing. There was also an improvement in health, particularly on the mental health side, although there is still a sense that the extra money for health has arrived by way of a deft sleight of hand and may not actually materialise.

Agreeing a budget within the unlikely and, at times, uneasy coalition that is the Executive is an achievement in itself. The sight of politicians working together both in the Executive and in committees sends out an important leadership signal to communities on the ground and this should not be underestimated.

In addition, local democracy generates local debate. The first Private Members’ Bill from David McNarry seeks to remove the overlapping rule between Retirement Pension and Carer’s Allowance. At the very least, the Bill will provide a focus on the role of carers and the support they need (and often do not receive). This is occurring at a time when a national carers’ strategy is being produced for England and Wales where the social security implications will assuredly blow across the sea.

On child poverty and an anti-poverty strategy, there is an opportunity to focus on how we will get as close as possible to the 2010 target and meet the elimination of child poverty by 2020. In particular, there are specific local issues around the lack of affordable and flexible childcare which require a local response. It is telling that Jobs and Benefits Offices do not have access to a Northern Ireland-wide childcare database while trying to enhance their services to out of work lone parents.

On the wider anti-poverty strategy, it is difficult to see any initial impact one year on and developing a credible anti-poverty strategy marked by demonstrable achievements is a major challenge ahead for the Executive.

Assembly committees are beginning to find their feet again. The Welfare Reform Act and Pensions legislation passed with little change from the equivalent legislation in Britain. However, in other areas, a different approach may be taken, for example in the treatment of strategies for getting lone parents back into work where the lack of comprehensive childcare militates against the approach outlined in the recent Department for Work and Pensions Green Paper. The implementation of an advice and information strategy is in the Programme for Government and this also provides an opportunity for the Assembly to make a positive contribution to how services are delivered to those most in need of advice and support.

The challenges ahead for the Assembly and the Executive are matched by those facing the voluntary sector. It is now up to voluntary organisations to marshal their resources as effectively as possible to ensure the needs of the marginalised and disadvantaged are not overlooked in favour of powerful political and economic interests.

With devolution of criminal justice around the corner and legal aid and tribunal reform likely to be part of any new minister of justice’s in-tray, the impact of the Assembly on our lives and work is likely to increase over the next twelve months.

Housing Rights - No quick fix on housing problems

Janet Hunter, Housing Rights Service Director, is guardedly optimistic about the new Executive’s contribution to solving housing problems.

Like many others in the voluntary and community sector (and beyond), Housing Rights Service warmly welcomed the return of devolution in May last year –we looked forward to improved accessibility, enhanced accountability and to engaging with politicians who would understand better the needs of local people and work to develop policy and legislation tailored to meet their needs. But almost twelve months on, has the local Assembly really changed anything for people who are homeless and in housing need in Northern Ireland?

During this time, Housing Rights Service has dealt with over 13,000 enquiries from people experiencing acute housing problems. We are all too well aware that the housing context which the Assembly inherited presented real challenges: rapidly increasing house prices within the owner occupied sector; growing waiting lists for social housing; increasing levels of homelessness; rising numbers of repossessions; and an increased reliance on a, largely unregulated, burgeoning private rented sector. Margaret Ritchie, the Minister for Social Development wasted no time in recognising the challenge. She declared, shortly after coming into office, 'housing is my top priority' – a commitment which, to her credit, she has reiterated publicly on many occasions since.

When it came to the publication of the Executive’s first draft budget in the autumn, it appeared however that her level of commitment was not shared by, at least some of, her colleagues on the Executive. I read with incredulity that, despite the scale of our housing problem and a higher ratio of statutorily homeless people than any of our neighbouring countries within GB, the draft budget proposed, not more, but less investment and would lead inevitably to huge cuts in the publicly funded housing programme. During the ten week consultation period, there was a rare and concerted effort by all those with an interest in housing to highlight the woeful inadequacies of the proposed allocation and raise awareness of its adverse impact not only on housing conditions but also on the achievement of broader Executive objectives. When the final budget was announced at the end of January, it appeared that the arguments had been persuasive and, more significantly, that the members of the Executive had listened. In announcing the final budget, the Minister for Finance and Personnel acknowledged that the ‘consultation process was invaluable in helping us to refine our plans’ and expressed his view that the ‘final budget is better for it’.

Another £205m has been secured for capital investment in social and affordable housing over the next three years. It is not just the level of investment (in truth we would have liked more) but the guarantee of funding which is important – in previous years much of the investment in social housing has been provided through in year slippage – this uncertainty has made it difficult to plan effectively and to deliver the agreed level of new homes. It appears with the recent budget announcement that this uncertainty has been removed.

On a less positive note, cuts are still planned in the Department’s revenue budget and this poses a real threat to voluntary sector funding and in areas such as Supporting People which provide critical frontline services to many of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Having received the final funding allocation, the Minister announced her new housing agenda in the Assembly at the end of February. In this she made a number of important commitments. These included:

• building more social housing - a minimum of 5,250 in the next three years;
• extending the role of Co-ownership and securing affordable housing contributions from private developers;
• a new focus on ensuring home ownership is sustainable by bringing forward a not for profit Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

Those who still have little to applaud from the Assembly’s first year are people who are living in the private rented sector. Some of our worst housing conditions exist within this sector and to date there has been no official response to their plight. The presence of a local Assembly has however, at least, ensured that it is being considered - in October, a motion was proposed by Sinn Fein and subsequently passed by the Assembly requiring the DSD to consider the introduction of a mandatory registration scheme for all private sector landlords. Whilst there is, as yet, no formal outcome to these deliberations, this is a positive example of how our politicians can help to shape the local housing agenda.

So what’s the verdict? Have our dreams been realised or is hope fading fast? The official statistics still indicate high levels of homelessness and housing need and on the ground, nothing has really changed for our clients. It would be easy to conclude that the Assembly has not made any difference but my view is that it is infinitely premature to be delivering such a judgement. There is no quick fix to the acute problems of homelessness and housing need which exist in NI (this is partly to do with the scale of the problem but more to do with the complexity of the issue). It would be naïve and unrealistic to expect solutions overnight. We do still feel optimistic – the prospect for positive change is better and delivery of the new housing agenda undoubtedly will make a difference for some people who are in housing difficulties.

It is worth noting that this agenda cannot be delivered by Minister Ritchie’s department alone – it requires commitment and co-operation from others within the Executive. There is, to date, encouraging evidence of close working between her and Minister Arlene Foster who has responsibility for planning matters. Securing a similar level of commitment from all her Executive colleagues to resolve cross departmental issues will be critical in delivering lasting change for those who are homeless or in housing need.