Northern Ireland's community sector pleads for funding intervention amid fears over 1,700 jobs​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Northern Ireland's community sector has pleaded for the Government to intervene in a "funding crisis for vital services".
By Rebecca Black, PA
Published 14th Mar 2023, 11:50 BST
Updated 14th Mar 2023, 15:00 BST
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Representatives of 1,000 community groups are staging a demonstration in east Belfast as 1,700 face redundancy. They said the community sector feels abandoned in the political crisis in Northern Ireland and the civil servants left running departments.

The Stormont Assembly has been in flux for more than a year while the DUP refuses to take part until its concerns around Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol are addressed.

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The Community Sector Peer Group, NICVA, CO3 and the NI Union of Supported Employment gathered to make their point at Skainos on Tuesday. They said a 60% cut in funding has left dozens of community sector organisations facing closure within weeks, and 1,700 staff employed by 67 groups have been put on notice of redundancy.

Rev. Andrew Irvine, Chair, Community Sector Peer Group, at the Skainos Centre in east Belfast. Northern Ireland's community sector has pleaded for the Government to intervene in a "funding crisis for vital services". Representatives of 1,000 community groups are staging a demonstration in east Belfast as 1,700 face redundancyRev. Andrew Irvine, Chair, Community Sector Peer Group, at the Skainos Centre in east Belfast. Northern Ireland's community sector has pleaded for the Government to intervene in a "funding crisis for vital services". Representatives of 1,000 community groups are staging a demonstration in east Belfast as 1,700 face redundancy
Rev. Andrew Irvine, Chair, Community Sector Peer Group, at the Skainos Centre in east Belfast. Northern Ireland's community sector has pleaded for the Government to intervene in a "funding crisis for vital services". Representatives of 1,000 community groups are staging a demonstration in east Belfast as 1,700 face redundancy

Funding previously provided by the European Social Fund (ESF) finishes at the end of March and has not been replaced in full by either Westminster or Stormont. The groups have contended that to date, local departments have declined to fully replace the £13 million they previously provided whilst the UK Government's new UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides only a partial replacement for the current ESF programme.

A cross-party pledge signed by 65 MLAs is now urging Stormont departments to step in to help save services. Rev Andrew Irvine, chair of the Community Sector Peer Group and chief executive of East Belfast Mission, described the situation as a "scandal".

"Despite years of forewarning both Westminster and Stormont have decided by their inaction to decimate services which help disadvantaged people get off benefits and into employment. It's a case of saving pennies now only to spend pounds later," he said. "While Westminster has shown some flexibility with funding, the lack of purposeful engagement from our local departments has been extremely disappointing.

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"Given that these departments have a statutory duty to provide employability services, I struggle to understand why they are prepared to let these services and jobs disappear. These are 1,700 real jobs providing critical services but also around £40m in salaries for the local economy. We're grateful for the overwhelming support from local parties, but with just weeks of funding left it's fair to say that the community sector feels abandoned by the political process and civil servants in London and Belfast."

Celine McStravick, NICVA's chief executive, said the services have a track record of delivering, and it has taken years for the sector to build up the expertise.

"If a manufacturing firm threatened to close with the loss of 1,700 jobs because of a Government decision, there would be a public outcry," she said. "Our groups feel, however, that their jobs and the services they provide are expendable. Report after report has demonstrated the community sector's major economic contribution to Northern Ireland; we need Government to start nurturing rather than undermining the sector. At the end of the day, we help provide the services that keep Northern Ireland running, we're not a 'nice to have' - we're essential."

A Department for the Economy spokesperson responded saying: "The Department is very well aware of and empathises with the concerns of the entire sector currently supported under the NI European Social Fund (ESF) Programme.

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"However, the UK Government was due to fully replace EU Structural Funds through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) and has made clear that the decisions made and allocations to projects from that Fund will be made solely by the UK Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). ESF funding support was due to end in 2022, but the Department for the Economy extended that support to March 2023 to avoid the cliff edge and give DLUHC time to put replacement funding in place.

"We have been clear with providers that we have no ability to finance this activity beyond that point."

See also:

Gary's victory - now the DG must give the licence payers the same freedom to turn off the BBC

Ruth Dudley Edwards: Northern Ireland could prosper in future under Windsor Framework, which is the last thing that Sinn Fein needs

Related topics:Northern IrelandUK GovernmentRepresentativesDUP