APPENDIX 1
Memorandum submitted by The Equality Commission
for Northern Ireland
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Equality Commission ("the Commission")
is an independent body, established under the Northern Ireland
Act 1998, with responsibility for the legislation on equal pay,
sex discrimination, disability discrimination, fair employment
and treatment, race relations and the public sector statutory
duty. The aim of the Commission is to value and promote respect
for diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and achieve
equality of opportunity for all.
1.2 The Commission welcomes the opportunity
to provide evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
on housing, given its importance to the life of many of those
who are socially excluded. We made substantive comments on the
Housing (NI) Order 2003 and although not exclusively related to
the issues identified in your letter, the Commission feels that
they merit investigation.
1.3 The Commission's views relate to Traveller
accommodation, grants, house sales, introductory tenancies and
nuisance or annoyance to neighbours.
2. TRAVELLER
ACCOMMODATION
2.1 The Commission welcomes the move to
transfer existing Traveller sites to the responsibility of the
Northern Ireland Housing Executive. However, almost all of the
serviced sites inherited from local councils by the NIHE as a
result of the Housing Order (NI) 2003 were built to substandard
specifications and many of these are, in addition, badly run down.
2.2 None of the initiatives announced by
government to date have delivered a comprehensive programme of
accommodation for Travellers:
— The Final Report of the DOE Working
Party on Site Provision for Travelling People in Northern Ireland
(1984) recommended the completion of a Northern Ireland wide programme
of sites by 31 March 1987—nearly 17 years on this has still
not been achieved.
— The DOE Regional Development Strategy
for the Provision of Sites for Travellers over the period 1994-2000
set 10 targets for refurbishment or new build, but not one of
these was subsequently met, although over £1,000,000 was
wasted on the development and subsequent demolition (prior to
completion) of the Monagh Wood site by Belfast City Council.
— The small-scale pilot scheme announced
by Lord Dubs is still incomplete five years on.
2.3 We also have a number of other concerns
over Traveller accommodation, such as:
— DSD and NIHE should develop, with
the full participation of Travellers and their representatives'
clear proposals for the development of a Northern Ireland wide
programme of accommodation, including transit sites.
— It should be clearly stated that
resources will be made available to complete within a reasonable
specified timescale eg five years, a programme of accommodation
based on the existing population of Irish Travellers.
— A regular review (every five years)
of the adequacy of accommodation provision should be undertaken
to address further need and plans drawn up and implemented.
— We are also concerned that the recent
DSD proposals, based on legislation already in existence in GB
and Ireland to control unauthorised camping will negatively impact
on the Traveller community.
3. GRANTS
3.1 The Commission has a number of recommendations
on the issue of grants, both mandatory and discretionary:
— It is essential to ensure that Travellers
are not at a disadvantage by specifying that the term "dwelling"
and thus eligibility for grants, extends to Travellers.
— We welcome the retention of the mandatory
disabled facilities grant, but have concerns that the assessment
process by Occupational Therapy is long and cumbersome. These
delays negatively impact on disabled people and their families
and mean that people are living in accommodation that is unfit
and in many instances unsafe for the occupants.
4. HOUSE SALES
4.1 The Commission accepts that tenants
have a statutory right to buy their homes and that this includes
Registered Housing Association tenants. It is also essential that
disabled people have the same rights as anyone else to purchase
their home. We are however concerned that replacement of stock
for disabled people is available and that specialist accommodation
is replaced in order to maintain levels of suitable social rented
accommodation for those who need it.
5. INTRODUCTORY
TENANCIES
5.1 The Commission is concerned that the
introduction of "introductory tenancies" will have a
negative impact on the ability of specific groups to remain in
the social housing sector and that basic rights of new tenants
are eroded in this introductory period.
5.2 New tenants are more likely to be female
given the rise in lone parent households in Northern Ireland,
therefore impacting adversely on this vulnerable group.
5.3 Also the request for a review of a landlord's
decision for possession of a dwelling let under the introductory
scheme must be made by the tenant within 14 days from the date
of service of notice. This is problematic for a number of reasons:
— Without easy access to advice services
some groups would find it difficult to meet this time limit, for
example those in rural areas.
— People who are not fluent in English
and may not be quickly aware of the outcome of the notice.
— Can the information be provided within
the time frame in accessible formats, ie Braille, audio etc.
— People with mental ill health may
not recognise the urgency of the situation.
— Those with learning disabilities
are less likely to understand what is happening and take the necessary
course of action.
5.4 The Commission is also concerned that
regulations as to entitlement to representation at the review
hearing may breach the Human Rights Act by failure to provide
representation.
5.5 The Commission believes that this needs
to be backed up by a statutory code of practice for all social
landlords and the Courts to ensure that the grounds for repossession
are followed comprehensively and accurately. This will ensure
that certain groups are not excluded from attaining tenancies.
6. NUISANCE AND
ANNOYANCE
6.1 A court may grant an order for repossession
in the case of a secure tenancy to a social landlord on the grounds
of amongst others, nuisance or annoyance. This makes it possible
for a landlord to evict a tenant because she/he, anyone living
with her/him or a visitor is guilty of behaviour that is "likely
to cause offence".
6.2 The Commission is concerned that this
may impact negatively on a number of groups who may have no influence
over the conduct of a third party for example, women, and the
elderly or in the case of disability, certain behaviour being
misunderstood.
6.3 The Housing (NI) Order 2003 provides
for injunctions to be available in circumstances where there has
been "conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance".
The Commission is concerned to ensure that the terms "nuisance"
and/or "annoyance" will adequately cover racist harassment
and abuse. The Order needs to make it clear that racist harassment
or abuse constitutes "ill-treatment" and takes account
of the definition of a "racist incident" as contained
in the Macpherson report. [1]
6.4 The Commission believes that consideration
needs to be given for a statutory code of practice in this respect.
It is of vital importance that a person has the right to an independent
review or hearing. Furthermore all social landlords should have
written policies to deal with anti-social behaviour.
16 March 2004
1 Macpherson, W. (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
Report of an Inquiry by Sir William Macpherson of Cluny. London,
TSO. Back
| 
