AQW 2372/22-27 – Housing waiting list in Mid Ulster

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Communities (i) how many families are on the housing waiting list in Mid Ulster; and (ii) what is the average waiting time to be housed.

Minister for Communities: The Housing Executive has provided the following information.

The table below sets out the numbers on the housing waiting list in Mid Ulster as at 31 March 2022 and the number of months on waiting list for Mid Ulster.

Table 1: Waiting List (WL) as at 31/03/22 at Mid Ulster Local Government District (LGD) by Household Type and Mean & Median Months on the WL as 31/03/22.
Local Government District	Household Type	No.	Mean Months on the WL as at 31/03/22	Median Months on the WL as at 31/03/22
Mid Ulster	Elderly	250	60.4	38.0
	Large Adult	81	58.4	40.0
	Large Family	196	41.7	31.0
	Single	886	33.6	20.0
	Small Adult	126	46.2	35.0
	Small Family	619	36.5	25.0
	Total	2158	39.9	25.0

Notes:

Waiting List data is a snapshot of the waiting list as it was on the last day of the specified quarter, in this case 31/03/22.

When a question of “average waiting times” or “average points” is asked Mean and Median averages are provided. Reasons for this include:

The Mean is the arithmetic average and as a statistic can often be unreliable, having been skewed by significant outliers i.e. applicants who have been on the waiting list for a number of years.

This degree of skewing makes the arithmetic average, the Mean, unreliable. Therefore, following expert advice on this matter a methodology that utilises the Median (a measure of central tendency) as a more reliable indicator in relation to Waiting Lists and Allocations is also provided.

ENDS