Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer has pledged that a housing strategy will be put before Tynwald in March.

In February last year, the minister said the strategy would be put before Tynwald in 2019, but at this week’s sitting -12 months on - Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey), asked when parliament would finally get to see it.

Mr Hooper has been pressing over a long time for an updated version of the 2013 housing strategy to be put before Tynwald for endorsement.

Mr Harmer told Tynwald members: ’The affordable housing strategy has been drafted and, subject to unforeseen delays, will be laid before this honourable court in March.’

But Mr Hooper quickly seized upon an apparent change in tack on the content of the strategy.

’I note the minister slipped an additional word in there,’ he said. ’It is now an "affordable housing strategy".

’I am just curious as to why he feels that the Isle of Man should not actually be looking at housing of all types when we are looking at development across the island.’

He said the previous housing documents had dealt with the issue in a ’much broader’ context. He wanted to know how the government would respond to reported increases in demand faced by charities helping the homeless.

To move away from an ’holistic’ strategy would be ’disastrous’, he said.

Mr Harmer said his department ’does not have the vires (authority) to deliver an holistic strategy’.

But he added: ’I can reassure that we will be working - and are working - on a number of workstreams, in particular including the cold, hungry and homeless, young, vulnerable care leavers, public health and integrated services and victims of domestic abuse.’

He added: ’Although this is not part of this strategy or relates to the department we are working very much on the homelessness issue.

’It has not gone away but the department can only deliver a strategy that it is responsible for.’

He insisted there was ’loads of other work’ the DoI was doing, some in conjunction with other parts of government.

The minister said the department was carrying on the work of the 2013 strategy and the new strategy would form the ’next step’.

’It builds on that strategy.’

Affordable housing would cover social housing, he said.

Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas added that homelessness was being dealt with on a ’cross-government basis’.