Department of Health funding cuts to eviscerate community groups throughout province

Cuts to NI’s Department of Health funding to community and voluntary groups will push some to the very brink, Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI), an umbrella group for several organisations, which champion the welfare of children across the province, has said.

The dire warning came as it was announced that over 60 community groups across the province have been told by the government department that their annual funding is being cut – a circumstance that could perhaps be mitigated if politicians returned to the Assembly to allow Ministers to make budgetary decisions and also a consequence of the end of European Union funding.

A letter from the department's permanent secretary Peter May said the decision was taken "with great regret and reluctance".

The department launched a consultation on its budget savings plans earlier this week.

May said the health service is currently facing unfunded spending pressures of £472m, of which £375m relates to a pay claim matching NHS England.

As part of the savings, the Department of Health (DoH) plans to cut £1.8m from its core grant funding scheme this year.

It provides funding of between £5,000 and £200,000 to 62 organisations in the community and voluntary sector which deliver frontline services in health.

But the planned DoH reduction will effectively cut the scheme's budget for 2023/24 in half.

That cut has been passed on to the 62 organisations, who have now been told they will only get funding for six months until September rather than a full year as expected.

The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (which oversees 30 other organisations), Relate NI, which provides counselling and support to NI couples each year, and many other vital community and voluntary bodies such as the Fostering Network Northern Ireland which provide much needed to support to people that eases some of the health service’s burden all stand to be impacted by the decision.

Some previously lost out when European Union funding was replaced by UK government funding.