To ask the Minister for Communities, pursuant to AQW 15965/17-22, for an estimate of the number of Housing Executive houses in East Antrim requiring remedial work; and the timescale and projected costs.

Any figures provided at constituency level are to be considered as indicative estimates only.

Approximately 60% of the properties surveyed in East Antrim had cavity wall insulation installations that were non-compliant with modern industry standards because there were found to be voids or debris in the cavity. Although the Housing Executive’s data on the construction of all of its stock is not comprehensive, we estimate that if this 60% is extrapolated, it would represent some 1,860 of the likely cavity wall constructed properties in East Antrim. Applying average cavity wall insulation replacement rates for different types of properties suggests that a programme to address these properties would cost in the order of £3.9-£4.7 million.

The timescale for delivering such a programme is not known at this time. The intention is to implement a cavity wall insulation remediation/replacement programme for all cavity wall stock as part of the Housing Executive’s future Energy Strategy.

In the interim, the Housing Executive intends to address instances where the condition of cavity wall insulation is having a detrimental impact on the structure of a property. It is currently identifying and investigating such instances with a view to addressing these, either through its response maintenance service (where they are single or small numbers of properties) or a programme of planned schemes (where there may be an estate-wide issue).