Ms Angela Locke-Reilly:

The application process for housing is horrendous. Once of my tasks last year was to do research into housing and to look at the practical things we could do to support people. The number one thing that people said was that the application process is a nightmare. When I looked at the application I could not believe that it was over 25 pages. It is ridiculous to expect a person who has an intellectual disability to complete such a form and get all the documents together. It is an ableist system that puts up barriers to prevent people getting access to housing. Many people did not even know they were supposed to go on the housing list or could go on it. There seemed to be a lack of information for people. If people look for it, they will find it on different Government websites but that is not an option for some people. They need information to be more accessible to them.