Debate contribution: Voluntary and Community Sector Funding

Debate contribution by Mr Harry Harvey on 5 May 2026.

MLA: Mr Harry Harvey
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 5 May 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Voluntary and Community Sector Funding
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5525085

Text

I join others across the Chamber to voice my continued dissatisfaction with the Government in relation to their handling of the local growth fund. Since the issue came to the fore, DUP representatives in every constituency have been working with local community and voluntary sector organisations to highlight the damage being caused as a result of decisions taken by the Government on the delivery of the local growth fund. I pay tribute to the deputy First Minister and other Executive colleagues who have continued to highlight that issue with the Government. Northern Ireland's community and voluntary sector comprises some of the brightest and best that we have to offer. We see tremendous individuals who go above and beyond to support our community and those who are most in need. Those organisations plug gaps that are not filled by the public sector and deliver invaluable front-line services across health, well-being, economic development and skills growth. As has already been stated, it is a testament to the impact that the Shared Prosperity Fund has had in recent years. Across Northern Ireland, 23,000 individuals have benefited since 2023. Public services are unimaginably stretched. The prospect of additional need, which was previously met by voluntary and community organisations, moving to front-line public services is of major concern. There is insufficient capacity in our existing statutory services to replace the loss of those programmes. Further reduced access to support will only prove to be detrimental to the most vulnerable and allow individuals to fall through the gaps that are no longer filled by such programmes. So many providers remain in the dark as to the practical outworkings and impacts that those changes will have on their body. If the Government fail to listen to the House and the sector more widely, then, at the very least, organisations deserve clarity on when funding will be forthcoming and on how the fund will be administered. The engagement of the previous Government was severely lacking. The present Government have continued in that vein. We want to see that remedied urgently. The needs and priorities of future projects under the local growth fund must align with the Executive's agreed plans and priorities. If we are to see demonstrable benefit flowing from interventions, it is vital that they are joined up and evidence-led, with a clear link to the specific needs of communities across Northern Ireland. The provision of a more meaningful role for the devolved nations and the shaping of future programmes will reduce duplication and ensure that the fund continues to achieve what the UK SPF achieved in the past and plug those service delivery gaps across healthcare and other relevant sectors. That can be achieved whilst retaining a national focus and approach to the provision of greater economic and social cohesion across all four regions, with an awareness of regional need being incorporated in the delivery of the fund. I thank all those organisations that, despite the current funding and programme ambiguity that surrounds their future, continue to support communities and individuals across Northern Ireland.
I thank the groups in my constituency that, like so many others, desperately seek clarity about their future.
The focus must remain on the UK Government to follow through on their previous promises and resource the local growth fund properly. My party's priority focus will be on continuing to use all possible avenues to advocate for our exceptional community and voluntary sector.

570 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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