20 June 2002
PRIVATE FINANCE HAS BOOSTED HOUSE BUILDING BY 30PC - DODDS
The financial services industry continues to play a vital role in housing across all sectors and tenures and its contribution cannot be understated, the Minister for Social Development, Nigel Dodds, MP MLA, said today.
The Minister was speaking at the annual lunch of the Council of Mortgage lenders held at the Culloden Hotel.
"Private finance totaling almost £100m over the past three years has allowed us to provide considerably more new homes for rent– around 30pc – than we could have ever have done using public sector alone. This plays a vital role in our housing effort and towards our objective of providing safe, high-quality homes for all.
"But the issue that I hear most about as Minister with responsibility for housing is affordability. There have already been two Assembly debates on the subject. For many years we had some of the most affordable housing in the United Kingdom but this situation has changed dramatically in the last five years."
The Minister explained that in recognition of this he had, in the last financial year, made additional funding of approximately £5M available to meet growing demand for the Co-Ownership scheme which provides an opportunity for low income families to become homeowners through an equity sharing scheme.
He also paid tribute to the way in which the financial services industry has become more customer orientated. The Minister said: "The financial services industry has shown clearly its ability to react to the changing demands of borrowers and provide them with a flexible product tailored to meet their individual needs and ever-changing circumstances. For this reason many young couples, who might have thought that home ownership was not possible for them, are now finding that finance packages are available which suit their personal situation."
The Minister, in conclusion, reaffirmed his support for public sector /private sector partnerships, which, he said, have already achieved great success.
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