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Housing (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 20 November be approved. The noble Lord said: My Lords, this is the first of two orders which I shall bring before the House today, both of which started life under the devolved Assembly in Northern Ireland when it was sitting. The purpose of the draft Housing (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order is to transfer responsibility for the management of the social housing development programme from the Department for Social Development to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. I shall comment briefly on the provisions in the order and say a few words about the rationale behind it. It will enable the transfer of responsibility for the management of the social housing development programme from the Department for Social Development to the executive. The principal reason for the transfer is to provide greater public transparency and accountability by separating the operational and strategic responsibilities. The case for the Department for Social Development divesting itself of operational and direct management functions to concentrate on its legislative, policy and strategic responsibilities goes with the flow of current government thinking and practice. The transfer of the function to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will place the management of the social housing development programme at the centre of the full range of housing programmes where performance is measured according to a set of key performance indicators. The order carries through the recommendations emanating from two major inquiries into social housing in Northern Ireland. The first was conducted by the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Social Development Committee and the second by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster. In addition, it is supported by similar policy initiatives emerging from Great Britain and Europe. The order has been developed through consultation with political representatives, including district councils, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the voluntary and community sectors in Northern Ireland. I am pleased to report that it received widespread support. In the light of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s existing role in managing a large stock of social housing, and to integrate the social housing development programme with the other operational areas in which it plays a role, it is by far the organisation best equipped to oversee the management of this core housing programme. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 20 November be approved.—(Lord Rooker.)