Page 29 - 244192_BIC_AnRpt2013_WEB

British-Irish Council – Annual Report – 2012
28
Housing (Led by the Northern Ireland Executive)
Meeting the housing needs of citizens in these islands is a challenge faced by all Council
Member Administrations. Accordingly, the Council, at the Summit in Cardiff in 2009,
established the Housing work sector with the Northern Ireland Executive as Lead Member
Administration.
The work sector has focused on sharing information, knowledge and best practice between
Member Administrations on a number of areas including, supply and allocation of social
housing, housing benefit issues and affordable housing.
This has been particularly beneficial to Member Administrations given the volatility in the
housing market in the wake of the global economic downturn. Officials in the Council’s
Housing work sector have met to discuss arrangements for the next Council Housing
Ministerial meeting. During those discussions common issues of concern emerged including
the need to stimulate the housing supply.
It has been proposed, subject to Ministerial agreement, that the theme of the Ministerial
Plenary should be “Housing Supply: The Opportunities and Challenges”.
This will allow jurisdictions to share their experiences of developing policy to increase housing
supply and to learn from each other on possible alternative ways to overcome obstacles such as
availability of land or new forms of funding. It is hoped that a leading academic will deliver a
presentation at the Ministerial meeting.
The Ministerial Meeting will be held in the second half of 2013.