AQW 15137/22-27

Miss Michelle McIlveen
Democratic Unionist Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 16/09/2024
Answered On Date: 30/09/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities whether he will provide additional support to the Warm Homes Scheme to help mitigate the impact of the cut in the winter fuel allowance.

Answer:

I have allocated an opening budget of £7.175m for the Affordable Warmth Scheme (AWS) to cover £5.2m of approvals carried forward and £1.975m for new approvals.

The Equality Impact Assessment consultation on the Department’s budget closed on 3 September 2024. My officials are reviewing the responses from the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) on Budget 2024-25 and any areas identified as requiring mitigations will be considered. Once all the responses have been analysed, a final decision report will be drafted for publication. This will be provided to the Executive (via DoF), to support the Executive’s consideration of equality during the in-year monitoring rounds.