Bias warning over Northern public housing

The British government was warned today that its long-term aim of transferring responsibility for public housing in Northern Ireland to seven local ‘super councils’ was fraught with political danger.

There was no way of ensuring no sectarian bias in housing allocation among councils that would be either under nationalist or unionist domination, ministers were told.

Announcing a cull of unelected quangos and public bodies, Northern Secretary Peter Hain signalled he was keen on transferring housing responsibility to local councils at some time in the future.

But he said the Housing Executive would remain with only some of its non-core functions transferred to councils after local government reorganisation in 2009.

However he said it was the British government’s belief that housing was essentially a local issue and ministers would consider the transfer of housing to local government at a future date, once the new councils had been “bedded in”.

Nationalists have long expressed concerns that such a move could recreate the sectarianism in housing allocation that played a part in the creation of the civil unrest that preceded the start of the Troubles in 1969.

SDLP local government spokesman Tommy Gallagher said Mr Hain’s plans to transfer sensitive services to super-councils were “fraught with political danger”.

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone Assembly member said: “It is dangerous in the extreme to even suggest returning powers of housing allocation at some point in the future, as we all know that sectarianism is alive and well in certain councils.”

Talk of legislative guarantees flew in the face of facts, he said.

“Nowhere in the world are there guarantees or safeguards against a political majority which chooses to abuse powers.” he added.

He said the super-council plan showed Mr Hain knew very little about how the divided society in the North worked. Proposals for transferring housing powers with undue haste “shows he is prepared to risk our shared future for short-term political convenience”.

Sinn Féin was equally concerned about any transfer of housing to locally elected representatives.

South Belfast MLA Alex Maskey said while there was a strong argument for councils to have a greater role in housing it would be “a long time before nationalists will trust unionists with powers of housing provision or allocation”.

The chairman of the Housing Executive welcomed its retained role in dealing with public housing.

Brian Rowntree said Mr Hain had acknowledged the political sensitivities that still existed around housing.

“We agree with the analysis that housing functions should only be considered for transfer once the new councils have bedded in.

“The new arrangements need to protect the progress that has been made in delivering fair housing.”