Mr. Robert Nicholson:

The overall cost is comprised of the initial development costs, the management and maintenance costs and then a level of return on the finance, if the Minister decides that is appropriate. There would have to be an open book policy, similar to what we have just gone through regarding the cost rental equity loan, CREL, where the providers demonstrate all their costs and those costs are then vetted, effectively. In the case of the CREL, that would be the Housing Agency, and these loans would be vetted for accuracy and maintained then over a long time. When we identify the total costs involved in a development, therefore, we can then see what is coming out the other end in respect of the number of units being made available and the level of rent which must be set in those units to repay those identified costs. It is really an open book scenario, where designation for cost rental requires the provision of proof that all regulations have been adhered to etc.

As I said, the equity aspect is more a longer-term element in respect of trying to harness the private sector after we get proof of concept for all the ongoing projects. It is effectively, though, a case of trying to set the scene for that to happen. We will learn the best way of doing this as we go through CREL and some of the Land Development Agency units. We are working with the European Investment Bank, EIB, now on some of this material, and a report is due relatively shortly on the optimum financing model for cost rental. Once we get these initial units up and running, that report will inform us about how best to structure the system to achieve an economy of scale in larger numbers over what we hope will be a relatively short time.