Mr. Peter Tyndall:

I will come back in on the housing issue, if I may. It is a difficult topic. Some members will know that in the distant past, I worked in social housing. It is an area to which I have a particular sensitivity. Affordable rented housing, and social housing in particular, is in general short supply. I know through the rest of my work that we get many complaints about waiting lists. Oftentimes, people do not get the property not because they do not deserve it but simply because the pressure is such that other people had greater needs than they had. There is a real problem in that regard. How one avoids creating resentment was one of our concerns about the original sets of proposals that emerged from the review of direct provision. Having a separate capital stream to purchase and make property available has the virtue of, at least, not forcing people into competition for scarce social rented housing. From that point of view, it is a good proposal.

As members will be well aware, the issue in all of these things is about delivery. We will continue to monitor progress in terms of producing the regular reports and in the course of our work. For instance, as I stated, we will be keeping an eye to make sure that emergency accommodation is phased out sooner rather than later. We have already seen that some of the least suitable centres are no longer being used. We will try to stay on top of these issues. The Government has many competing priorities. Due to the breadth of my jurisdiction, I am well aware of the various competing priorities for public funding, but I am hopeful that, as we are able to bring a particular focus on this issue, we will be able to monitor progress over time and will see genuine progress. I look forward to the day when everyone seeking protection here has access to own-door accommodation. I hope that will happen sooner rather than later.