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Volunteers say they are 'alarmed' by funding gap after growth fund decision

John Campbell,Economics and business editor, BBC News NIand
Adam Mandeville,BBC News NI
BBC A woman with long brown hair and glasses looks at the camera. She is wearing a maroon top and is standing next to a brown door.BBC
Jenny Potter is director of policy and insight at Nicva

Members of the local voluntary sector have described the allocation of funding by the Local Growth Fund (LGF) as "alarming".

The LFG is a UK government scheme which replaces money which previously came to Northern Ireland from the EU.

The government has changed the focus of the fund away from the day-to-day operations of voluntary groups and towards infrastructure spending.

Finance Minister John O'Dowd has defended the controversial £39m economic growth fund saying the money will go into "job creation".

O'Dowd said Stormont will be putting "£30 million" into "job creation, infrastructure and broader infrastructure".

However, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (Nicva) said the LGF is leading to significant redundancies across the sector.

Jenny Potter, director of policy and insight at Nicva, said the cut to the LGF has resulted in a 64% cut to the voluntary and community sector for Northern Ireland.

"Since 1 April, we have 282 redundancies reported to us by organisations that have been effected," she said.

And those most in need of help are also losing out.

"Our survey shows that 7,000 fewer people are receiving support from these programmes as a result of this funding cut."

Although Potter said she hoped the capital funding would be availed of, she added that "there's no point having lovely new buildings if there's no staff".

A woman with auburn hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing glasses and is standing next to a wooden desk with computer monitors on it.
Elaine Campbell is the director of Mencap Northern Ireland

Elaine Campbell, who is the director of learning disability charity Mencap Northern Ireland, said the LGF is "really important" for the organisation.

"We haven't necessarily seen enough action from our local politicians to make sure that they are looking to fill that funding gap," she said.

She said there are concerns around the shift toward capital funding.

"If we have infrastructure and assets, and no services and no resources to fund services, it's really not clear how programmes will continue to run."

Campbell added: "We are alarmed, and the public should know this is an alarming situation."

She said a funding gap would mean redundancies and the end of some programmes, which would impact "thousands and thousands of people".

PA Media John O'Dowd has short grey hair and a grey and ginger beard. He is wearing a dark suit, blue shirt and red and green patterned tie. He is standing in front of a blue blurred background.PA Media
John O'Dowd said the executive agreed a "package" with Westminster on the economic growth fund

Speaking on Tuesday, O'Dowd said it would have been much better if the executive had been allowed to make decisions on where the funding was spent from the very start.

He added that the executive has put a "package together in communication and conjunction with the British Government".

"We need to move forward from there," said O'Dowd.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the executive "made the best of an imperfect job" and that O'Dowd "done a decent job with the parameters which he was placed in".

'Tangible benefits'

The LGF consists of almost £12m in day-to-day spending and £27.4m for infrastructure or capital projects.

That £27.4m is being spent via Stormont departments, with the biggest allocation of £13m going to the Department for the Economy.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said it would be used for projects that target innovation, business start-ups and social enterprises.

That includes £7.1m for Invest NI to help businesses with innovation projects and to undertake early-stage design work for its Mandeville industrial estate in Craigavon.

Other allocations include:

  • £7m to the Department for Communities for projects including town centre renewal and regenerating vacant properties
  • £3.8m to the Department of Agriculture to support innovation and sustainability in agriculture
  • £3.2m to the Department for Infrastructure for investment in transport and connectivity improvements

Finance Minister John O'Dowd said the money would deliver "tangible benefits" but that "the entire handling by the British government on this fund put us in a position which was far from ideal".

He said he would continue to argue that in future "priorities should be determined by locally elected ministers, not Westminster".

East Londonderry assembly member Claire Sugden said while the capital investment was welcome, it did not replace the funding community organisations have lost.

"Resource funding pays the staff who support vulnerable people, run employability programmes, tackle isolation and help families through difficult circumstances," she said.

"Without it, services may be reduced, experienced staff could be lost and people will have fewer places to turn for help."