To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any action his Department is taking to prevent lengthy delays in approvals for applications made to the Affordable Warmth Scheme, particularly for pensioners and other vulnerable applicants.

I committed £7.5m to the Affordable Warmth Scheme this year covering £5m of committed approvals from last year and £2.5m for new approvals this year meaning approximately 570 new approvals can be issued by NIHE. I requested additional funding for the Affordable Warmth Scheme in the June Monitoring Round; however, that bid was not met. The Housing Executive prioritise eligible applications in line with criteria, as agreed with my Department, prioritising those households without an operational heating system. I will continue to press for additional funding for this important scheme through the monitoring round process.