Finance minister John O'Dowd reveals how Executive will spend cash it wanted to give community sector
John O’Dowd has announced how the Executive will divvy out cash that all of the Stormont parties wanted to spend on employment and inclusion schemes run by community and voluntary sector (CVS) groups.
The Sinn Fein finance minister says that £27.4 million Local Growth Funding will be used to boost regional growth, support businesses, regenerate communities and improve connectivity.
Minister O’Dowd said the investment will “deliver tangible benefits for communities, businesses and our agricultural sector” across Northern Ireland.
The UK government has prioritised capital projects, allocating cash to back up a strategic shift away from employability schemes run by charities and community groups.
“It will support entrepreneurs, start-ups and social enterprises to grow and thrive, while funding for community regeneration will help transform vacant and underused assets, improve access to employment and skills opportunities, and strengthen the social economy.
“Investment in agricultural innovation will boost productivity and help our rural sector while improvements to transport and connectivity will make it easier for people and businesses to access opportunities and participate in economic growth”, Mr O’Dowd said.
The allocations are as follows:
- £13.292m to Department for the Economy to support investment in innovation, start-up and business development, and support social enterprise development.
- £7.068m to Department for Communities to improve community infrastructure, regenerate vacant and underused assets, enhance access to employment and skills opportunities, and support social enterprises.
- £3.82m to Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to support innovation and productivity within the agricultural sector.
- £3.249m to Department for Infrastructure for investment in transport and connectivity improvements.
The Minister added: “While my Executive colleagues and I urged the British Government to reconsider its decision to impose a capital-heavy profile, Westminster confirmed that the funding profile would remain unchanged.
“The entire handling by the British Government on this Fund put us in a position which was far from ideal. However, to make the best use of the available funding, the Executive has now agreed capital allocations from the Local Growth Fund for 2026-27. A co-design process, involving the community and voluntary sector alongside other key stakeholders, has begun to shape the delivery of the Local Growth Fund in 2027/28 and 2028/29.
“I will continue to argue that funding priorities should be determined by locally elected Ministers, not Westminster. I will also continue to make the case that the overall funding package falls short of previous EU Funding and breaches former British Government commitments that we would not be left financially worse off following Brexit.”