To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail any assessment her Department has made of (i) the impact of Transformation funding on housing developments delayed due to wastewater capacity constraints; and (ii) how this is informing plans to increase wastewater infrastructure capacity in areas where housing demand is highest.

I have secured £15 million from the Public Sector Transformation Fund during the four-year period from 2025/26 to 2028/29, to develop and deliver a pilot project that will use nature-based solutions to help transform our urban drainage systems, the implementation of which will help reduce the pressure on our constrained drainage and wastewater infrastructure.

(i) While not directly designed to release additional capacity for properties to connect to the sewerage network, this project should demonstrate the effectiveness of sustainable drainage measures in managing surface water flows in the urban area, helping to reduce flood risk and improve water quality, and therefore have a contributory effect on alleviating the stress on the wastewater system.

(ii) Since October 2024, my predecessor and I have provided an additional £30million of additional capital funding allocations to NI Water which have unlocked wastewater capacity for over 5,300 properties across the North. My Department is continuing to work collaboratively with DAERA, DFC, NI Water and the NI Housing Executive to identify and enable the unlocking of wastewater capacity in areas of housing need, thereby contributing to the aims and objectives of the of the Executive’s Housing Supply Strategy.