Anxiety and Job Losses Loom Over Funding Changes
The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (Nicva) has reported widespread "anxiety and upset" among voluntary and community sector staff who face potential job losses due to a funding cliff-edge taking effect this week.
Approximately 64 organisations are at risk of job cuts as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is replaced by the Local Growth Fund on 1 April. The UKSPF had succeeded EU funding that ended following Brexit. Under the new Local Growth Fund, day-to-day funding available to groups in Northern Ireland will decrease from £25 million per year to just over £9 million.
Nicva warned that this change will result in a "dismantling of community-level expertise" across Northern Ireland, which it believes will not be restored.
What is Changing?
The Local Growth Fund, introduced by Westminster and overseen by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, represents a significant shift in how funding is allocated.
While the Shared Prosperity Fund consisted of three quarters resource funding, the Local Growth Fund reduces resource funding to one third, allocating the majority towards capital projects instead. This shift directly impacts employment within the sector.
Celine McStravick, chief executive of Nicva, described the proposed changes as a "sledgehammer" to services supported by the funding in Northern Ireland, including training and employability schemes.
"We were promised there would be a bespoke programme to respond to local needs, but there has been nothing of the sort," McStravick said.
She estimated that up to 400 redundancies could result from these plans. Some staff, facing uncertainty, have already received redundancy notices and are scheduled to finish work on Tuesday, 31 March.
McStravick expressed concern that the sector is being used as "collateral" in a broader dispute over funding between London and Stormont.
Government Response
The government has faced pressure from the Stormont Executive and the voluntary and community sector to reverse the funding model change from the new 70:30 split. However, it has stated that it cannot alter this arrangement but acknowledges the impact on Northern Ireland projects.
Last week, Secretary of State Hilary Benn reiterated his view that the executive should allocate some of the additional Treasury funding for the next financial year to help mitigate the effects.
Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Benn said:
"With the considerable additional resources that have been made available to the Northern Ireland Executive, it is open to them to make a contribution so that the economic inactivity programmes which we all value can continue."
To bridge the funding gap, approximately £15.8 million would be required for 2026/27.
Potential Executive Intervention
The executive's financial situation is precarious, and this funding challenge arises amid ongoing difficulties in agreeing on a multi-year budget.
Political parties have criticized the government for shifting a problem it did not create onto the executive to resolve.
Finance Minister John O'Dowd met with government representatives about the issue in October and has since insisted that Westminster must honor its commitments to maintain post-Brexit funding streams.
A Stormont source indicated that the executive "could not afford to bail out the government" given its already limited resources.
Perspectives from Affected Charities and Groups
Include Youth, an organisation supporting young people in or formerly in care homes with employment assistance, expressed grave concern.
"We are often the last resort for our young people and we are horrified that we may have to turn our backs on them at a time in their lives that it is needed the most," said chief executive Diane Hill.
"These funding cuts really do demonstrate the lack of value of young people within society," she added.
Other organisations, including Action Mental Health, acknowledged that while the executive did not cause the crisis, it must "step up" to resolve the issue if Westminster does not intervene at the last moment.
The Equality Commission emphasized that Northern Ireland cannot afford reductions to the already limited budgets for critical and often life-changing work, which supports disabled individuals reliant on specialist employment assistance.
