Community and Voluntary Sector: Funding Cuts

Private Members' Business – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 12:00 pm on 18 May 2015.

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Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker 12:00, 18 May 2015

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30 minutes for the debate. The proposer will have 10 minutes in which to propose the motion and 10 minutes in which to make a winding-up speech. All other Members who are called to speak will have five minutes.

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

I beg to move

That this Assembly notes the important role of the community and voluntary sector across Northern Ireland in providing effective, efficient and value for money front-line services; accepts that, as a consequence of the 2015-16 Budget, decisions are being made by individual Executive Departments with no consideration of the impact on these services or the effect that they will have on the vulnerable in society; further notes that the ambiguity surrounding the European social fund has also forced many organisations to reduce their staff and their operations; and calls on the Executive to act in a coordinated manner to ensure that the sector and its organisations receive the required level of support and funding allocations.

The motion is not about political point-scoring in any way; rather, it is about trying to raise the real concern in our voluntary and community sector at the minute that a lack of apparent coordination across different Departments and organisations is leaving it without the support or recognition that it feels that it warrants. The work that it does should be realised. It was summed up by an email that I received this morning — I know that other Members did as well — from a gentleman from my constituency who works in the voluntary and community sector. I will read it out, because it sums up the feeling behind the motion.

He said:

"I've been involved in working and volunteering in the community and voluntary sector for almost 20 years. In that time, I have come to see some of the phenomenal work that is achieved by people with a passion for helping those in need. At a time when things are getting harder for many in society, regrettably, it seems that those who are in a position for help are in fact the ones who bear the brunt of the cuts. The uncertainty within the sector is having a profound effect on people's well-being and motivation. This should not be. As I sit on a number of other committees and working groups, I hear on a regular basis how the community and voluntary sector are supporting their colleagues in health, education, etc. Any further cuts to the community and voluntary sector will have a knock-on effect to these services also. It is generally recognised that the community and voluntary sector delivers services that have significant benefits that far offset the costs involved. In closing, I have no doubt that the Assembly will agree with the motion; however, it is positive affirmation through the action that people want to see, not mere platitudes."

I think, Mr Speaker, that that sums up why we have brought the motion at this time. It is to give that voice to the voluntary and community sector and to show that there is a willingness in the House, the Committees, the Departments and the ministerial team to show that the community and voluntary sector is being and will be recognised for the valuable work that it does.

It was Gandhi, I think, who is alleged to have said that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable. That is part of the phrasing we used in our motion. I think that the House has to realise the recognition that we give to those who support the most vulnerable in our society. It reflects a concordat that was signed between the voluntary and community sector and the Northern Ireland Government, albeit in the last mandate.

I think one of the things that brings it home and that again sums up the frustration that the organisations and individuals in the voluntary and community sector feel is that covered in point 4 of the concordat, which lays out the foundation for a partnership based on mutual trust and respect. That is why I ask the Minister today, through the motion, to try to work with his ministerial colleagues, Members and the voluntary and community sector to try to re-engage with a community and a sector that feels that some of that mutual trust and respect has been lost. Many of the organisations now feel that they are being seen as the low-hanging financial fruit within the budget lines and that they are easier cut off. That is because their voices will not be heard or because three job losses in a small voluntary and community organisation, or four in another somewhere else, will not be as significant as the loss of 100 or 80 jobs or have the overall impact that a large number of job losses has.

It is about the cumulative effect that the voluntary and community sector is feeling at this time and the desire to see that there is a recognition and realisation within the Executive and in this place that the services that it is delivering are vital to Northern Ireland society at this time. Many of the services that it is providing are the preventative services that do not put strains and stresses on the reduced budgets that are coming into our corporate services within health, justice and education.

Some of the examples that many Members are well aware of and that they have raised at numerous times with many Ministers are those in the early years sector, from where £2 million has been cut. It is the voluntary early years services that are suffering the most, and those voluntary organisations are often in the areas that are in most social deprivation and need.

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

I will, yes.

Photo of John Dallat John Dallat Social Democratic and Labour Party

Just on the very point that Mr Swann is speaking on, Lifestart was one of those programmes that gave hope to families with children with special needs that their children might well leave school being able to write and to have basic skills. Does the Member agree that that programme, and others in the voluntary sector, was the key to pointing to real equality in Northern Ireland between not Protestants and Catholics but people who had what they needed and others who did not?

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

I fully agree with Mr Dallat. I think that is why we are bringing the motion. Many of those organisations that are working across all sectors in Northern Ireland have seen a small amount of money lost that was enabling them to do the work that they did. They were also levering money from other funding streams, other Departments and from outside, such as European money. That money enabled them to do their work and prevented additional costs being put into our corporate services in, as I said, education and health, as well as in the justice sector. The work that NIACRO did through the European social fund (ESF) in preventative justice has now been lost as well.

So it is putting additional burdens on the justice system.

A large swathe of organisations that help those not in education, employment or training (NEET) are looking at cuts to their core funding, which puts an additional strain on our colleges, schools and wider society. When those young people have no motivation and nowhere to go, the rest of society and the diversionary services, including the police, are left to pick up the costs. There is a large section of work.

In the Minister's replies at Question Time — I think that it was last week or the week before— he showed what I believe is an understanding of what these organisations want and need. However, they do not see a collegiate approach by our Executive to small cuts in funding for one Department that have knock-on effects to another. A recent example that the Committee for Employment and Learning saw was the Bytes Project, which is delivering a vital service in the IT sector across all Departments for young people not in education, employment or training. Its main funder was the Youth Council, but the Department for Employment and Learning made up part of the funding. It was rumoured that the Department was going to reduce its funding, so the Youth Council was looking at its funding. It looked as though that organisation was in jeopardy because of a careless phrase or an inappropriate email. Luckily, the Minister for Employment and Learning changed that decision, which has allowed the Youth Council to put in work. That, however, may be a temporary solution to allow it to prepare an exit strategy.

Among the things that many organisations told us about were the lack of time given by and communication from Departments or the Civil Service that would not allow for an exit strategy or alternatives to be put in place. Take the Pathways to Success EMA. Two days before its funding was due to cease, it received a letter stating that funding would no longer be in place. It was not able to prepare the young people or put other measures in place to support them. It comes down not only to communication between civil servants and the community sector but to a communication problem between Departments about the knock-on effects.

There has been a lot of talk out there about the decimation of the voluntary and community sector. Decimation is a 10% cut. The voluntary and community sector faces far more than a 10% cut. Many in the sector would be happy if they faced a cut of only 10%. I am not building up the Minister just because he is here, but I know that he has an understanding of the work that these organisations do on the ground. I am glad that he is here to represent the Executive in responding to the motion. The voluntary and community sector is looking for a bit of honesty, respect and wider communication. NICVA met OFMDFM two weeks ago, but it is about respect across all Departments and in the Civil Service. In some but not all cases, such small amounts are involved that Ministers may not be aware of the cuts and their knock-on effect on some voluntary and community organisations.

As for the European social fund, I could go on for the length of another debate —

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

Your time is almost up.

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

— and I am sure that that sentiment would be repeated by many Members round the House today. I thank the Minister for coming to the debate and ask Members to support not just the motion but the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland.

Photo of Sammy Douglas Sammy Douglas DUP

I speak as a fairly new member of the Committee for Social Development. I think that I have been on it for 14 minutes.

[Laughter.]

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

You are as knowledgeable as the Minister, then.

Photo of Sammy Douglas Sammy Douglas DUP

Yes. As somebody said, I am just as knowledgeable as the Minister.

[Laughter.]

I have been involved in the community and voluntary sector since the 1970s, and I certainly welcome the motion. I got involved in community and voluntary work by accident in the 1970s. During the conflict, I worked with prisoners, ex-prisoners and members of my community. For the past 25 years, I have been involved in community and voluntary activity in east Belfast. So, I have a bit of experience, and I certainly empathise with the fears expressed by many of the groups that they will lose out. Ultimately, some will collapse. I pay tribute to organisations such as the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, which has raised the profile of these groups and informed us of exactly what is happening, as have other groups.

The voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland is an integral part of the economy. It not only provides employment but works with those from disadvantaged backgrounds, provides support to those who wish to change their life and helps them to fulfil their potential. The organic growth of projects and the ability to be responsive to needs of its communities mean that the voluntary and community sector can often be more responsive than Departments or government officials when it comes to working at a local level. Last week, I was cycling along the Newtownards Road and passed the Ballymac Centre. At 9.15 pm on a Sunday night, young youth workers were there working on a voluntary basis with some of the most disadvantaged people in our communities. I pay tribute to those people, who work day in, day out in the most disadvantaged communities. As I said, there is a real fear that groups could lose out and disband as a result of this.

I got an email last Friday. I welcome some of the comments from the Chair of the Committee for Employment and Learning. Like him, I got a letter from Greenway Women's Centre. Let me read it out:

"Dear Sammy, I am writing both as a concerned constituent and on behalf of my organisation about the effects of the cuts on the community and voluntary sector, in particular the women's centres, groups and organisations. As a director of Greenway Women's Group, I am aware that Ministers and Departments are under intense pressure to cut money."

There is recognition that things are difficult. Groups out there realise that they are going through times of austerity. It goes on to say:

"I understand that, as a society, we all have to face considerable restraints. However, it is our opinion —"

I agree with this.

" — that cuts to the community and voluntary sector as a whole are unfair and disproportionate, and we write to urge you to consider the impact that this will have on our local community."

That is a big message to us all. There is a sense that we need to do something about this urgently.

Photo of Robin Newton Robin Newton DUP

I thank the Member for giving way. Will he agree with me that government cannot, on its own, deliver all the services that the community requires and that, if we do not have a volunteering approach and an innovative and cost-effective approach, society as a whole will lose out through the cuts to this budget in particular?

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member has an extra minute.

Photo of Sammy Douglas Sammy Douglas DUP

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Member for his intervention. I certainly agree with him. One of the groups that I am sure he is thinking about is Bloomfield Community Association on Hyndford Street, which has been involved for many years. I am sure that you are aware, Mr Speaker, that Van Morrison is from that street. That group is working tirelessly day in, day out, and it has a real fear that it will go out of existence.

Photo of William Humphrey William Humphrey DUP

I thank the Member for giving way. Given the point that his colleague from East Belfast made about a joined-up approach, will he agree with me that it is vital that the councils, as they now have a greater resource, work in collaboration with the Assembly and the community and voluntary sector to deliver a lot of these services?

Photo of Sammy Douglas Sammy Douglas DUP

I thank the Member for his intervention. I certainly agree with that. As our current Prime Minister says, "We're all in this together". We are all in this together, and we need to work together to ensure that these groups survive and exist in the future.

As I said, these groups were about throughout the conflict. Many of the groups, the women, young men and others, held their communities together at times when Northern Ireland was falling apart. Last Thursday, when I was at the count, people from the Dee Street playgroup came to see me. The playgroup has been going since the 1970s, and there is a threat to its funding from the Department of Education. I met the Minister of Education, and he has empathy with those groups. I understand the cuts that he is facing, but we need to work together to ensure that the most vulnerable groups in our society get a fair hearing and an opportunity to put their proposals to us so that we can help and support them.

I know that the Minister will reply later, but I just want to pay tribute to him. As my colleague said earlier, he gets it when it comes to the community and voluntary sector. He was out with us recently on the Newtownards Road, and the work that he is doing in supporting some of our most disadvantaged people in society is very encouraging. I welcome the motion and encourage all Members to support it.

Photo of Bronwyn McGahan Bronwyn McGahan Sinn Féin 12:30, 18 May 2015

Go raibh maith agat. I support the motion and thank the Members who brought it forward to the House. I want to say at this stage that I will not be taking any interventions. The newly elected Tory Government in London are wedded to austerity. That presents severe challenges to society and citizens in the North of Ireland. Cuts to our block grant by David Cameron's cabinet of millionaires are having drastic consequences for many of our constituents.

Only last week, I received detailed correspondence from a cross-community playgroup in Benburb, County Tyrone, which is most concerned about its operational plans for the next few years and the number of places it can offer, given the cuts that are being made in early years funding. That, in turn, will effectively curb the playgroup's essential fundraising efforts, with cuts to places ensuring a smaller pool of parents and carers to draw from for active support. I have also been lobbied by parents of children attending the Woodland Adventure playgroup in Augher, who have the same issues and who make an important contribution to the rural community in Augher. Those are just two of our much-valued community and voluntary groups that have been in contact with my constituency office regarding concerns on the effective delivery of much-needed services in local communities across Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Tory cuts to our block grant are putting a massive strain on our community and voluntary organisations and groups. In many areas, rural and urban, that is having a negative effect by setting back much good work that has been progressed to tackle societal and economic disadvantage, as well as groundbreaking attempts to tackle social isolation faced by disadvantaged and marginalised groups.

On the back of David Cameron's election speeches, we await more destructive cuts to the North's budget and to the social welfare system, as well as a referendum that could remove the North from the European Union, with obvious negative effects for all the people of this island. As part of its election manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged to cut another £30 billion, with £12 billion of that impacting on welfare, including child benefit.

We are only just coming out of a period when strong representation had to be made to the Minister for Employment and Learning regarding decisions on whether to allocate much-needed European social fund moneys to community and voluntary organisations and groups such as the First Steps women's centre in Dungannon, which has a strong record of delivering quality training programmes for women from across south Tyrone, which, in turn, boosts their confidence and self-esteem and encourages their return to the labour market.

Sinn Féin's immediate focus is to work with others to confront these challenges. The outcome of the recent Westminster election presents enormous dangers to Ireland, North and South. During their first five years in office, the Tories, under Cameron, largely disconnected from the peace process and our political institutions. When they did engage, it was almost entirely in a negative way, creating significant difficulties for the Executive and cutting huge amounts of funding from the block grant.

So, what happens next? All the parties in the Executive and the Assembly need to urgently develop a common approach to address the challenges presented by the new Tory Government, especially their attacks on public services and jobs, as well as the good work carried out by our community and voluntary sector, which we pay tribute to today.

Martin McGuinness has taken the first step; he has called on all the Assembly parties to unite against austerity and to seek the additional powers from London to grow the economy. That will be the battlefield for the next term of British Tory rule. Equality, not austerity, is Sinn Féin's way forward.

Photo of Seán Rogers Seán Rogers Social Democratic and Labour Party

The community and voluntary sector makes an extremely important contribution in its efforts to deliver front-line services. The stringent cuts to that sector are one of the reasons why our Minister has consistently voted against the Budget. The cuts to the community and voluntary organisations are unfair and disproportionate, with little, if any, evidence of an assessment of the impact of the cuts. The cuts come at a terrible cost. We are trying to address the problems that arise for people relying on the services provided by the sector. This is not just an issue for the sector that the Executive can wash their hands off. Many of those cuts directly contradict Executive policy and will cost the Executive in the long term as they struggle to meet the targets that they have set.

For example, there is the Delivering Social Change project, and I remind the House of the objectives of that framework: a sustained reduction in poverty and associated issues across all ages; and an improvement in children and young people's health, well-being and life opportunities. How can the programme work with community and voluntary organisations to tackle social problems within communities if the sector faces wipeout? From a strategic point of view, that is completely illogical.

To make matters worse, cuts in early years and Sure Start programmes will, despite promises, hit front-line services. Right across our constituencies, groups such as the Dunnaman Children's Centre on the Scrogg Road in Kilkeel in my area make a real difference to children, families and the community at large. Less funding means fewer staff means less support and — something that the Minister was very strong on in his previous role as Chair of the Education Committee — less early intervention for our children, increasing the problems of numeracy and literacy and, indeed, social skills in our schools.

Take, for example, the view of the Newry Confederation of Community Groups, which is a subregional community development organisation that provides support to a large number of local community and voluntary sector groups throughout the area. It has its finger on the pulse, and it is confirming that a continual and disproportionate level of cuts has been applied to the community and voluntary sector to date.

Mr Douglas talked about women's organisations. Women's centres, groups and organisations deliver a wide range of front-line services to the most disadvantaged in the community. However, in order to deliver those services, they must secure different packages of funding from up to eight Departments. Each of those Departments and, in turn, their agencies, has imposed cuts of varying degrees to their budgets. The cumulative effect of all those cuts on organisations will result in the withdrawal of services, including the training and education budget for women, which includes childcare provision; and the support for additional childcare staff and additional staff that enables crèches to take referrals from social services to place vulnerable children in need of care. That knock-on cumulative effect will really hit front-line services.

Photo of Alban Maginness Alban Maginness Social Democratic and Labour Party

The Member, quite rightly, raises questions about early years and women's services. However, there is another crucial service, and that is the one carried out by NIACRO in relation to the resettlement of offenders. NIACRO's cut is in the region of 33% — £1·4 million — and the loss of European funding is very significant. That means less-safe communities; that means that ex-offenders are less likely to gain employment, and there is a huge social deficit in that.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member has an extra minute.

Photo of Seán Rogers Seán Rogers Social Democratic and Labour Party

I thank the Member for his intervention. I agree fully with him. Furthermore, those groups and projects are not only suffering because of red-marker cuts; they bear the brunt of departmental inefficiencies. We talk about European social funds and the unspent money there that must be returned. From community education to women's centres, thousands of people rely on and benefit from the vital services that the community and voluntary sector delivers. That unspent money has an enormous knock-on effect for the people employed by those organisations and those who avail themselves of them.

Organisations are experiencing delays in funding from DEL due to the fact that the EU Commission has suspended its funding for the third time due to auditing processes. The Minister must address that urgently. It is unacceptable that moneys that those projects and organisations depend on are not materialising due to inefficiencies. That is something that, one assumes, could be easily rectified.

I urge the Executive to recognise the vital work that the community and voluntary sector does. Whilst it has shown itself capable of doing more with less, it is approaching breaking point. Many of the Executive's own policy priorities and targets will not be met without the support of the community and voluntary sector.

Community and voluntary organisations across Northern Ireland provide a lifeline for local people. We need the delivery of local services in our communities to ensure the health and well-being of those most in need and that our children have the right start in life and access to all opportunities.

As the proposer of the motion said, it is positive action, not platitudes, that we need.

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

I welcome this debate. As one who worked for many years in the community and voluntary sector, I stress its importance as part of our society and a key provider of services.

In many respects, it is more efficient and effective in interventions on the ground and in the delivery of specific services than government would be directly. That is recognised in a concordat between the sector and the Executive, although it could probably go further.

I sympathise with the frustrations being expressed by the sector in relation to budget cuts. I also recognise the concerns that the sector is disproportionately bearing the brunt of cuts and the cumulative effect of cuts from various sources. An example of that is the Ballynafeigh Community Development Association in my constituency.

Photo of Chris Lyttle Chris Lyttle Alliance

I thank the Member for giving way. She spoke about the cumulative impact of cuts. Would she agree that the Executive must be more strategic in budgeting and that Departments must communicate with one another to be more aware of the scale of that cumulative impact of departmental cuts on individual organisations?

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Absolutely. I totally agree.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member has an extra minute.

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Thank you. There has not been a very strategic approach taken by the Executive, in particular by the DUP and Sinn Féin, to decision-making, coordination and budget setting. However, it is important that we do not generalise and say that all Ministers have taken the same approach or made similar decisions that have impacted on the voluntary and community sector. I know that the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Employment and Learning value the sector and rely on it for core aspects of the aims and objectives of their Departments.

However, counterproductive actions have been taken by others. Cutting early years funding entails that the most crucial intervention — at the beginning of education — is undermined, as others alluded to. In education, everything seems to get sacrificed rather than dealing with a segregated system. While I appreciate the large-scale cuts to the budget of the Department of the Environment, I question the rationale of 100% cuts being passed on to many environmental NGOs. Although, under pressure, the Minister has somewhat reversed his position, it will not be until the end of June that many groups will receive clarity on funding. It was also very much a top-down approach, with little consultation with partners in the sector.

There is a focus in this debate on the European social fund. The fund has not experienced a cut. In fact, the current funding round is bigger than before. However, it is under greater pressure due to cuts elsewhere.

The current round was 1·8 times oversubscribed. Also, due to cuts in spending in other Departments and issues around the formation of the new councils, there may be problems with organisations securing match funding.

Secondly, the funding is allocated under an open and competitive process. No organisation should have gone into the process with an automatic expectation of funding. Inevitably, this competitive process means that some organisations will be funded and others may not.

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

I appreciate the points that the Member is making on behalf of the Minister. Like me, she has sat through many presentations from ESF organisations to the Employment and Learning Committee which have been expressing that this is not the case. They say that the problem is with the openness and transparency of the application process and with the appeals and scoring mechanisms. There is nothing that the Member has said that has not been taken into account, but there is an awful lot more around the ESF application process that is leaving organisations frustrated.

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Surely. I was about to say that timings of the process are inevitably difficult. The Northern Ireland operational programme was approved by the European Commission in December 2014, and we were one of the first regions across the EU to obtain that approval. Decisions to allocate funding to 65 projects were made before the end of March, allowing for continuity from 1 April, where relevant. Sixty-eight projects have been funded, which amounts to £112 million over three years.

Photo of Robin Swann Robin Swann UUP

Will the Member give way again?

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

No, sorry. I am running out of time.

Sixty of the projects are related to the community and voluntary sector. That funding will support over 10,000 young people who are not in education, employment or training, over 7,000 people with disabilities, almost 25,000 people who are unemployed or economically inactive, and it will help over 2,000 families in need.

Photo of Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Treasury), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Education)

I do not want to go through the long list of organisations in my constituency that have been affected by the reductions to their budgets. Needless to say, whether it is Bookstart, which helps with early literacy, or Good Morning Carrickfergus, Good Morning Larne and Good Morning Newtownabbey, which help people who are isolated by giving them some contact on a daily basis with those who check on their well being, or community transport, all of them have been affected.

I want to make something very clear at the start. I know that Sinn Féin and the SDLP especially love to put all of this at the door of Tory cuts, but let us look at some of the facts. The £900,000 cut to the arts budget is half the amount of money that we lose each day in Northern Ireland because of the ideological position adopted by Sinn Féin and the SDLP to welfare reform. All of the money that has been lost in early years amounts to one day's repayment to Westminster that we must make as a result of the intransigence on the other side of this House on welfare reform. So, before we start putting the blame on somebody else, let us start looking at the problems that we cause ourselves because of the ideological positions that have been adopted by two parties that have buried their heads in the economic sands and will not recognise the damage they are doing to a lot of the voluntary sector.

The whole budgetary process, where Ministers are advised by civil servants on how and where reductions in budgets need to be made, is biased against those who are outside the statutory sector. It is very unlikely that Ministers are going to receive advice from civil servants that funding to core departmental services should be cut, regardless of whether they are less or more efficient or effective than some of the services created by outside bodies. Ministers are not going to get that kind of advice, and so we get a disproportionate impact, and that is across Departments.

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Will the Member give way?

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Will you agree that the voluntary and community sector is seen as an easy target and a lazy option for cuts?

Photo of Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Treasury), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Education)

Very often, it is seen that way, and I will give you an example. The DRD budget was cut by 5%, yet community transport got a whack of 37%. The Education budget was reduced by, I think, 2%, yet early years got a reduction of nearly 50%. It is an easy option.

Photo of Claire Sugden Claire Sugden Independent

Will the Member agree that, although it is based on the advice of civil servants, the buck does stop with Ministers and that all Ministers are responsible for making these cuts? I agree with Ms Lo that the community and voluntary sector has been an easy target in this.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member has an extra minute.

Photo of Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Treasury), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Education)

Of course the responsibility stops with the Minister at the end of the day, but I am trying to show that the budgetary process is biased towards keeping money within Departments rather than looking at whether other organisations deliver the services more effectively, more efficiently, more cheaply, more flexibly and everything else. I believe that we should be keeping on top of Ministers about that issue through questions in the Assembly and through Committees.

It is one thing to rant and rave about these reductions, but what are the kinds of things that we can do? We cannot magic money out of thin air. If it is not there, it is not there. That is why I believe that the first thing that we ought to be doing is challenging some of the budget cuts — even budget cuts made by Ministers from our own parties. It is disappointing that Anna Lo, for example, feels that she has to defend her own two Ministers. Her own two Ministers are as guilty of this as the Ministers in all other parties. Indeed, the motion has been presented by the Ulster Unionists, and the Minister from that party is as guilty as Ministers in other parties. Sometimes, as Back-Benchers, we need to be able to challenge this.

Secondly, we should be looking for alternative forms of money. It will be difficult to get more money from the block grant, but there are new and innovative ways. There is the social investment bond, which I know that the current and previous Ministers of Finance were looking at, whereby we bring in private money along with public money. There are huge business organisations that are queuing up to give money into a social investment bond, and I think that the Assembly does need to look at alternative forms of finance when it comes to this.

The last thing it that there should be an honest assessment of the value of organisations outside the statutory sector, whether those are voluntary, community or whatever. Lastly, some Ministers need to look at their priorities, and I have to say that I find it very difficult that, at a time when we are trying to improve literacy, things like Bookstart are closed down by the Minister of Education while he opens a school in Dungiven for 14 youngsters. All of that money would have paid for the whole of the Bookstart programme.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member's time is up.

Photo of Alex Maskey Alex Maskey Sinn Féin

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. It is a bit unfortunate that, following on from the rest of the very positive contributions, we have now had two Members who have introduced discordant notes into the debate. I would have thought that this was an opportunity for all of us to put our colours to the mast in supporting the community and voluntary sector in its quest to have some certainty and stability around future funding. Obviously, in some cases, there are funding deficits in the very near future, which have resulted in the closure of a number of very important and key projects in our community.

In the first instance, I will say, as my colleague Bronwyn McGahan said, that we support the motion. We do not necessarily agree with everything in the motion, but we certainly agree with the substance and the general intentions of it. I do not think that it goes far enough because, first of all, it does not address the problem. I think that, if we are to solve any of these issues, we have to address the core problem, and I think that the motion falls short of that. As I said, we support the motion, because it does give us an opportunity to raise this on behalf of those in the community and voluntary sector and the communities that they work for, represent and, very often, work in. It is important that, generally speaking, we keep the motion and the debate as positive and constructive as possible, because what we are trying to do is to support the community organisations that are trying their level best, sometimes through very challenging circumstances, to provide essential services in a range of communities that are very often, but not always, disadvantaged.

Ms Lo made a point in defence of her Ministers. That is fair enough, but, if she wants to bring that note into the debate, I will have to say that one of her Ministers, Mr Farry, took a unilateral and arbitrary decision on the funding of teacher training colleges. It was a disgraceful and a purely political and ideological decision, and I told him that in a meeting I had with him.

I do not want to stand here and namecheck every organisation in my constituency and nor do I want to identify individual Ministers, because I think that there is a range of problems. However, just for the record, our party's ministerial team, led by Martin McGuinness, met NICVA recently to hear its concerns, which we share. Obviously, all MLAs from all parties have been working to defend organisations, often in their own constituency but not always just on that selfish constituency interest basis, rather on a wider, regional basis and beyond. Flowing from that, there were discussions in the Executive. The Executive, to their credit, have appointed the two junior Ministers to hold discussions with NICVA and examine what the cumulative effect of the cuts across all Departments will be. The starting point has to be that having a cocktail of funding from different Departments creates a cumulative impact for the better. Clearly, if local organisations can draw money from one Department or another, they can often do a lot more, thus getting a bigger bang for their buck in local communities.

I look forward to the report from the junior Ministers and the Executive's consideration of it. I hope that the Executive come up with firm recommendations on how to go forward with funding for the community and voluntary sector. The sector has to be able to move away from constantly chasing a cocktail of funding, which often makes the organisations unstable, as the staff and members who deliver the services have to devote a lot of their time and energy to seeking funding.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

Will the Member give way?

Photo of Alex Maskey Alex Maskey Sinn Féin

No. Sorry. Seeking a cocktail of funding takes an awful lot of their time and energy away from the delivery of services. I therefore hope that the Executive are able to come up with a fundamentally changed environment for those organisations, because the community and voluntary sector faces very significant challenges, as a result of budget cuts but also the transfer of powers to local government. There is a lot of uncertainty and instability in the sector.

I have been speaking to Mervyn Storey since he took up office, and I want to place it on record that there is one Minister — I do not want to comment on all the others, because I have not directly engaged with them as I have with this Minister — who has, in my view, endeavoured to take a broader view of the impact of the cuts and did his best to make sure that they were minimised. I have no doubt that he has not been able to satisfy many organisations and that we will do battle with him in the time ahead.

The Assembly has to address the core problem, which is cuts, cuts and more cuts from London. The welfare part of that is an insignificant, small amount when set against the rest of the cuts to the block grant. Therefore, any penny spent thus far by the Executive to support welfare recipients is in the pocket —

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

Thank you. I call Mr Sydney Anderson.

Photo of Alex Maskey Alex Maskey Sinn Féin

— of welfare claimants. It is not going into some black hole in London.

Photo of Sydney Anderson Sydney Anderson DUP

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the debate and support the motion. It covers a wide range of funding sources and Departments, and I look forward to my colleague the Minister for Social Development responding on behalf of the Executive.

As an MLA, I am all too aware of the extremely valuable contribution made by the voluntary and community sector to the quality of life of many in Northern Ireland. I could cite many examples of front-line services provided by the sector that are now under severe threat due to cuts. Our Prime Minister, David Cameron, has been an ardent supporter of the vision of the Big Society, which aims to empower local communities to encourage voluntary and community groups to play an ever-increasing role in our society. That is a commendable idea, but we are now witnessing severe financial pressures on the sector, and those pressures are not only stifling its potential growth but threatening its ability to deliver existing services. No one in the sector that I know of is pleading for special treatment; indeed, they accept that cuts are inevitable in the current financial climate. However, with regard to the European social fund, there is a feeling in the community that cuts are not always made fairly or consistently. That leads to much discontent.

As a member of the Employment and Learning Committee, I want to focus briefly on the second part of the motion, which draws specific attention to the confusion surrounding the European social fund. We face something of an administrative and bureaucratic mess, and, in my view, there is no justification or excuse for such a mess. Back in February this year, my party colleague Diane Dodds MEP highlighted problems and inconsistencies over applications for the European social fund, a fund that is such a help to community, voluntary and women's groups. Across the sector there was a sense of injustice. It seemed that some applications were being rejected on what appeared to be very flimsy grounds, while others appeared to be treated more favourably.

I appreciate that European-funded schemes can be extremely bureaucratic, but there is really no excuse for the Department for Employment and Learning's poor handling of applications. I do not have time to go into all the details, but there are many failings that left reputable groups in a state of confusion. Many of those groups presented to the Committee. Some were shocked to be told that their paperwork had not been properly completed, and, to cap it all, the subsequent appeal process seems to have been poorly managed. All that has led to a massive loss of confidence in the sector. It has jeopardised jobs and the delivery of much-needed skills and personal development training to disengaged and disadvantaged sections of our community.

I may be wrong, but I am not sure whether the Employment Minister has openly acknowledged his Department's failings in the matter. I note what Ms Lo said when she focused on the ESF, in the sense that it was oversubscribed with funding applications, but I believe that that was maybe an attempt to deflect attention away from the Employment and Learning Minister. I think that the Chair hit on it when he said that it was all about the openness and transparency of the process, rather than the oversubscribing. Indeed, I note that, at the Employment and Learning Committee on 29 April, the Minister took issue with Ms Sugden when she suggested that the process was flawed. Last week in the Chamber during questions for oral answer, the Minister dealt with four questions on the issue in one answer, but I do not really think that he addressed the failings of the process.

ESF is a vital and valuable funding stream that can help in the development of better jobs and a range of vital skills. It opens doors for many who would otherwise struggle. It provides opportunities for people, often young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, to obtain skills that enable them to compete in the job market and therefore helps to stimulate economic growth. All those are key targets of the Executive and of DEL in particular.

Photo of Sammy Douglas Sammy Douglas DUP 1:00, 18 May 2015

I thank the Member for giving way. He mentioned ESF. All research shows that the early years programme is a valuable programme that makes a major impact. Does he agree that it will be disastrous for those groups across Northern Ireland if that fund finishes in August?

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member has an extra minute.

Photo of Sydney Anderson Sydney Anderson DUP

I thank the Member for that intervention. I certainly agree that that would be a devastating blow for those groups, the children and their families. It would be a great loss to them and their communities going forward if that funding was to cease.

We must maximise the ESF's potential and not end up, as we have done, in a spider's web of bureaucratic confusion. Confidence in the integrity of the ESF has been damaged and must be repaired. I know that the process is now complete, but the Employment Minister and his officials must engage in an assessment of what went wrong so that lessons can and should be learned, we can get back on track and everyone, including the Minister for Employment and Learning, as well as other Ministers and Departments, works and supports each other in ensuring that community and voluntary groups do not suffer any loss or can minimise the loss of funding.

Photo of Alban Maginness Alban Maginness Social Democratic and Labour Party

I think that the motion is very balanced. Mr Swann and his colleagues are attempting to create room for manoeuvre in the Executive rather than allocating blame and, as it were, over-criticising individual Ministers for their decisions. They are also highlighting the ambiguity surrounding the European social fund, which has had a very negative effect on many community and voluntary organisations in relation to staff reductions and, indeed, their operations. It is an attempt to ask the Executive to bring about a more coordinated approach to funding and the disproportionate impact that those cuts are having on the community and voluntary sector. The arts sector, for example, accounts for 0·6% of the overall Budget, yet we see the devastating and disproportionate impact that the cuts have had on arts organisations across Northern Ireland. That cannot be right.

I would prefer to concentrate on the impact that the cuts have had on women's centres throughout Northern Ireland. The Training for Women Network (TWN) is one of Northern Ireland's largest networks promoting women's training and development. Almost half of the applications to the European social fund by those organisations were rejected at the first phase of the process: 98% of women's sector funding applications were rejected at the very first stage of the process. That translated into a loss of 35 full-time jobs, 100 part-time jobs and over 2,400 training places. That is very disturbing, and it could lead to the total wipeout of the training and education services provided by the women's sector. That is not just one hit. Add that to the Education Minister's cuts to the vital early years — colleagues mentioned those — and the disproportionate detrimental effect on women is exacerbated.

The Minister for Social Development will be relieved to know that I am seeking clarification from the Minister for Employment and Learning and asking him to explain how his attempts to create a level playing field have benefited the private sector. Many of the private companies that were successful in securing funding have contacted TWN's partners to recruit participants. Imagine that. The Minister needs to explain how those groups were awarded funding without demonstrating that they could reach those groups. The Minister should also address the issue of formal freedom of information requests being ignored by the managing authority. The Minister really has to take that into account.

I take some of the points that Mr Wilson made, although he made them in a very adversarial manner. We do need an overall rain check on different Departments. It is not all down to budget cuts.

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Will the Member give way?

Photo of Anna Lo Anna Lo Alliance

Does the Member accept that that is not a funding cut? It is an EU programme with an open and competitive process.

Photo of Alban Maginness Alban Maginness Social Democratic and Labour Party

I accept that, and the way in which it has been managed has been criticised right across the Assembly today. The weight of criticism is such that I think that the Minister really needs to reconsider what has been happening with that.

Photo of Dolores Kelly Dolores Kelly Social Democratic and Labour Party

I thank the Member for giving way. I paraphrase your comments and Mr Wilson's comments about all Executive Ministers having a more collaborative approach to community and voluntary sector funding and looking at the outcome of that so that we have a more holistic approach to supporting those projects that do sterling work in areas that are most in need.

Photo of Alban Maginness Alban Maginness Social Democratic and Labour Party

Indeed, and I accept that point. To be fair to Mr Swann and his colleagues, the motion states:

"the Executive to act in a coordinated manner to ensure that the sector and its organisations receive the required level of support and funding allocations."

It is a balanced motion that is fair to all Departments and to the Executive, but it asks the Executive to look at the issue again.

The TWN has also experienced delays in receiving funding to the sum of £400,000, which has been owed since March 2014. This is the third delay of the ESF because of the Department's audit process, and it has had a detrimental knock-on effect on funded projects. Small organisations that have had no money for a number of months have been put into a desperate situation. They are struggling to pay inland revenue and pension payments, and, consequently, face fines and overdraft costs that DEL does not cover. These organisations do vital work and projects cannot sustain without this funding. This is why I support calls for an emergency fund to be set up and put in place to allow a six-month extension —

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

The Member's time is almost up.

Photo of Alban Maginness Alban Maginness Social Democratic and Labour Party

— to allow these projects to finish what they started. Without staff in place, DEL would have to hand back up to £6 million of EU funding. There is a risk here of a cost to government and a very real human cost.

Photo of Thomas Buchanan Thomas Buchanan DUP

I apologise for not being here for the earlier part of the debate. I was caught up in another event. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. The community and voluntary sector across Northern Ireland is the lifeblood of the Province. Those organisations play a strategic role in their respective communities, yet it is so easy for Departments to cut and hack at their funding without due care and consideration, and without thinking through the implications for the organisations and the people who use them.

The community and voluntary sector, through a small amount of funding, is able to provide an invaluable service for those in most need, especially in isolated rural areas. We are all well aware that Departments have suffered funding cuts and that they have to live within their budgets. Nobody is denying that. However, it appears that the community and voluntary sector is the easy target. They are the people being targeted by Departments. I believe that Ministers could look within their own Department to see whether funding could be cut from other areas without having the same knock-on effect, but it appears that some Ministers and Departments are prepared to take the easy option and cut where it will hurt the most.

Of course, there is an added problem here. We are being fined £2 million weekly because Sinn Féin failed to honour its commitment to the Stormont House Agreement and sign up to welfare reform. That situation costs the Executive £2 million a week, friend. It costs £2 million a week — maybe we should say it again so that Sinn Féin gets to understand how much its failure to honour its commitment is costing the Executive. Sinn Féin, of course, is using this as a smokescreen in a sense. It is saying that it will not sign up because it is protecting the most vulnerable. Friend, who is being affected today by the community and voluntary sector cuts? It is the most vulnerable in society.

I want to focus very briefly on three areas that I have been lobbied on. One is early years. It takes £2 million to run early years. Of course, that £2 million cut is having a serious effect on early years and the services provided for young and preschool children. That cut came about without prior notification, engagement or consultation by the Department. What effect will it have? It will mean the loss of a local service in 153 communities in the most disadvantaged parts of Northern Ireland; a loss of 177 jobs, mainly among women and focused in areas of disadvantage; a loss of 2,500 early childhood places that were directly benefiting from the fund, including places for the most vulnerable children, and so on and so forth.

A Minister can build a school for 15 Irish-language pupils at a cost of millions of pounds while taking £2 million from early years, where it would have the most benefit for our children, and, of course, the most benefit for education as they move forward. Let us remember that the early years service picks up on autistic disorders, speech and language therapy and all of that, which, in turn, saves the Department money in the longer term.

We also have the issue of £60 million being cut from transport. What is that doing? It is affecting Easilink, especially in west Tyrone, where, again, the most vulnerable in society are being affected. Some £190,000 has been taken from the Easilink service in west Tyrone. The elderly are being affected, as are the disabled and those with learning difficulties as the transport services that take them to the places they need to go are being cut.

The ESF funding —

Photo of Thomas Buchanan Thomas Buchanan DUP

— has been mentioned. The Minister for Employment and Learning needs to take a close look at that issue.

Photo of Steven Agnew Steven Agnew Green

Having worked in the community and voluntary sector, specifically on homelessness, I am keenly aware of the services that are provided and the efficiency of those services. When you bring in the help of volunteers, you can stretch resources that bit further. Undoubtedly, the cuts are counter-strategic. Many Members who have spoken made the point about early years provision, and I echo that.

I am glad that a bit of tension was created in the debate. I do not agree with some of the comments that Sammy Wilson made, but I certainly agree that there is a political debate to be had. This debate ran the risk of turning into, "Good things are good and bad things are bad. The community sector is good and the cuts to it are bad." The reality is that the cuts are the result of political choices that are being made by the governing parties in Northern Ireland. Yes, we have to face the reality of Tory cuts, but there is also the reality of the self-implemented cuts that are being made by the Northern Ireland Government.

We often hear parties here boasting that they have kept rates down and that this is a low-tax economy. When you make that boast, you have to recognise that you also boast that you are happy to starve services of resources, to implement cuts, and to give tax breaks, often to those who can afford to pay more and to the wealthiest in our society. When you do that, you are saying that you are happy to accept cuts that will impact on the community and voluntary services that the most vulnerable in our community rely on.

The most stark example is the consensus across the five parties of the Northern Ireland Government on the implementation of further cuts through the reduction in corporation tax. Everyone who supports that policy and says that it will be good for our economy should go to each of the community and voluntary sector bodies that will, again, be the most vulnerable to those cuts because, as has been pointed out, they are seen as the easy target. They should go to those sectors and say, "Here is why £300 million-plus of extra cuts per year is a good idea. Here is why the loss of your services is acceptable so that we can implement a massive tax break for big business. Here is why, despite the fact that we trumpet being the most successful region of the UK in bringing in foreign direct investment, our income gap with the rest of the UK is increasing and we are in a worse position than other UK regions."

I will give way to Mr Wilson.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

Before you do that, we are running out of time, and I have to go to the Minister at 1.20 pm. It is your decision whether you want to give way.

Photo of Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Treasury), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Education)

I will be brief. Does the Member accept that these reductions are nothing to do with the introduction of corporation tax, which is at least three years down the line? To argue that they are a consequence of the devolution of corporation tax is totally false.

Photo of Steven Agnew Steven Agnew Green

My argument is that further cuts will have to be made if we reduce corporation tax to the level that is proposed and that the community and voluntary sector will be most at risk. The decision to freeze rates, the decision to cut air passenger duty and the decision not to introduce water charges are all political decisions that have consequences. We had a 100% cut to our Budget. We did not seek in any way to raise revenue with the powers that we have. I agree that austerity is the number one cause of the problems we are facing, but the reality is that the Northern Ireland Government have chosen to add further austerity through these tax freezes, tax breaks and funding cuts.

As has been pointed out, the community and voluntary sector is not looking for special dispensation, but what has been clear, and what has been echoed throughout this debate, is that there has not been an evaluation-based approach. We have not cut the services that were performing least well; we have cut the services that were easier to cut. We have to produce a new Budget. We have had emergency Budget after emergency Budget through the funding rounds and the one-year Budget. We need a long-term Budget that sets out a strategic vision, and, where cuts have to be made when they are not self-imposed, they should be based on evaluation and not on top-slicing.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

I thank the Members for tabling the motion. I listened with interest to all the contributions, and I want to set out a number of issues that are, for me, key as I respond to the debate. In doing so, I want to set out my vision of the relationship between my Department and the voluntary and community sector; the approach that we had to the 2015-16 Budget round; the relationship between government in Northern Ireland and the community and voluntary sector; and, I think most importantly, how we might best move forward.

I take the point made by a number of contributors: that those who watch the debate today will not really be interested in the platitudes and words about commending everybody but in how we will address a very serious situation. We can look at many organisations, and reference has been made to issues in early years and with community transport. I know of issues from my constituency, with organisations like Can Can Recycling in Ballymoney and the Greenlight Gateway project, and other matters around community transport. Another issue that has been raised with me in recent days, which is being pursued by the Education Minister, is that of the long-term future of the Youth Council and its voluntary activities. That raises serious concerns about the whole issue of volunteering, which is something that we all value and we all see the huge benefits to society that flow from it.

My response today will primarily draw on the experience of my Department during the 2015-16 Budget and the decision-making processes that we followed. It is also based on my responsibility as lead Minister for relationships between government and the voluntary and community sector. I am sure that you will understand that I am unable to respond and provide any information on allocation policies and processes followed by other Departments, but I will come back to that point as I continue, following on from some correspondence that we recently forwarded to OFMDFM.

As Minister for Social Development, I fully recognise the significant contribution that the voluntary and community sector makes to civic society in Northern Ireland. I want to see a strong, vibrant, enterprising and sustainable sector within the community. I think that that is also emerging out of these recent days, but that is also the aim and objective of many of the organisations in the community and voluntary sector. Where changes can be made and where effective collaboration can be brought forward, I believe that the voluntary and community sector has proved in the past, and will continue to prove in the future, that it is more than capable of being able to address that issue. However, when it is faced with a funding crisis, it makes it much more difficult for the sector to be able to progress other issues that it would like to.

I remain committed, as does my Department, to working closely with the sector as it provides support to the most vulnerable in society and ensures continued access to much needed services.

I welcome the representatives of NICVA in the Public Gallery. They know that this is something that I have said to them and to many organisations that I have met as a Member and since becoming Minister. There is a challenge for the Executive: if the organisations that are in real financial difficulties go out of existence, who picks up the services that were delivered by those organisations?

I spent some time in Ballycastle in my constituency just last week and saw first-hand the work of the Greenlight Gateway project. As Chairperson of the Committee for Employment and Learning, the proposer of the motion will know about that project. The reality is that the cost of the service that will now have to be picked up by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and others is more than what is currently being provided for by that organisation. That raises serious issues for us all when we talk about prudence and best value for money.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

Yes, I will.

Photo of Fra McCann Fra McCann Sinn Féin

You highlighted one of the big problems that has been there for many years: how we look at the worth of the community and voluntary sector and about the attitude that prevails in many Departments. We have to have that debate because many of us who have been involved in the community sector understand and appreciate the wealth of talent and work that goes on in communities. However, that is lost on Departments when they look at that type of work and, with the stroke of a pen, wipe away years of work in helping people in communities.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

That is the case. I wish, however, that when Ministers make those decisions they would always be consistent in the outworking of the results of their decisions. The Hansard report of this debate will be made available to my ministerial colleagues. As I will explain in a moment or two, I am committed to ensuring that the Executive give due diligence and attention to the issue.

During my time in office I have met voluntary and community sector representatives regularly to discuss the implications of Budget cuts to the sector. I heard their concerns first-hand when I attended the February joint forum meeting between government and the voluntary and community sector. It would be untrue to maintain a position that the strain on public finances in 2015-16 has not had a significant impact on the financial relationships between government and the sector. With that in mind, I instructed my officials to ensure that, where possible, during the Budget allocation process, resource allocations across the Department would be prioritised, transparent, accountable and evidence-based. The outworking of this has meant that, in determining the 2015-16 Budget allocation, my Department sought to minimise the impact on the wider voluntary and community sector by prioritising, as far as possible, funding to support the sustainability of the sector and to maintain support for key services such as generalist advice services, neighbourhood renewal, Supporting People, volunteering and childcare.

Before I turn to the issue of relationships between government and the voluntary and community sector, I want to reiterate the process that I use in my Department. For the first time, I have come to look at the issue of how a Minister deals with the point that was made by my colleague, Sammy Wilson. We are enveloped by a considerable number of officials who come to us, day and daily, with a raft of issues, and it would be very easy to take the normal trend of those briefings. However, I ensured that we not only looked at my budget priorities and at all the issues of accountability, but, looking at some of the budget streams in particular, we ensured that we cross-referenced them with other offices in the Department to ensure that we had done the best possible task that we could. We were in very difficult circumstances where we made decisions knowing that we had lost a considerable amount of our starting point in the allocation of our budget in the first place.

Coming back to the issue of relationships between the Government and the voluntary and community sector, I strongly believe that the Government are working with the voluntary and community sector in partnership. We will strengthen that relationship as we move forward on managing these issues.

Photo of Maeve McLaughlin Maeve McLaughlin Sinn Féin 1:30, 18 May 2015

Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for giving way. In relation to that relationship between the community and voluntary sector and the Government here, would the Minister consider lobbying his Executive colleagues, particularly in Finance and Personnel and Enterprise, Trade and Investment, on the introduction of the Social Value Act into the North of Ireland?

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

That has been discussed along with a number of issues. I am going to come on to the discussions I have been engaged in with my ministerial colleagues in the Executive in a minute.

I am conscious of time, but I want to come to the issue of the concordat. It has been referred to, and I just want to make sure that Members know what it is. Here we have a copy of it. We can let everybody see that all Ministers signed up to a process and a concordat. I consider that the concordat between the Northern Ireland Government and the voluntary and community sector is the formal shared vision of the partnership and reflects the commitment to work in partnership in building a participative, peaceful, equitable and inclusive community. However, I think that all Ministers and Departments would do well to revisit the concordat to see how they have engaged in its delivery.

The concordat very clearly and transparently lays the foundation for partnership working. The joint forum, with membership drawn from the voluntary and community sector and the public sector, provides structured and managed opportunities for increased collaborative working and joined-up action in areas of mutual interest such as outcomes-focused funding, addressing excessive bureaucracy, procurement, policy development and development of best practice. Surely, those are the areas that organisations want us to be engaged in and the discussions they want us to be involved in. As we have said, all Departments, including my own, are signatories to the concordat. I feel confident that the approach followed by my Department in the 2015-16 Budget allocation process was consistent with the values and principles contained in the concordat.

From the motion, and the debate that has taken place on it, I believe that there is a clear recognition of the need for closer collaboration in our partnership working. We need to ensure that unintended consequences resulting from our decision-making processes are minimised. My colleague Sammy Wilson referred to the impact we have seen in relation to DRD and community transport, for example. We have all been lobbied on that issue because of the serious consequences it has across a whole raft of other elements of government services, particularly in rural communities.

I want to bring the House up to date in relation to the fact that the joint forum held a single-issue meeting on Friday past that focused on the cuts to the sector. To ensure that my Department is clearly sighted on the issues being raised by the sector representatives, I asked senior officials from the Department to attend and hear at first hand the detail being raised. The concordat will be successful with real commitment across the public and voluntary and community sectors. I would like to underline the importance of Departments complying with the values and principles.

Let me move on to the discussions with the First Minister and deputy First Minister. After recent discussions with voluntary and community representatives, I wrote to OFMDFM to offer my Department's assistance to the overview being undertaken by OFMDFM junior Ministers on budget decisions across Departments.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

Would the Minister accept that the late decision-making process that has pertained in Northern Ireland for a number of years particularly, and adversely, affects the community and voluntary sector and that that sector is there for last-minute savings and that its value is not being regarded appropriately?

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

We always have this issue in relation to budgets and the mechanisms that we use. It has been discussed in the House a number of times. We have embarked on the overview. Given that NICVA raised the issue with OFMDFM and it was raised at the Executive, I subsequently met representatives from NICVA, and I will continue to have that engagement with OFMDFM junior Ministers. All those issues need to be looked at.

I also want to raise the issue that I raised without prejudice in correspondence with OFMDFM: the possibility of developing some form of transition assistance for the voluntary and community sector as it adapts to transformed funding arrangements. Here is where we have to be honest. It has been raised for different reasons. It was interesting that one Member opposite did not want to take any interventions; that was because it was clearly an attack on the Government at Westminster and the cuts that are going to come. There will be reduced moneys in the future. We have to find a way to manage that.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

That is why, as Minister for Social Development with responsibility for welfare reform, I find it difficult to stand in front of this desk today —

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

— and talk about vulnerable communities when I realise that, because people have not fulfilled —

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

— to conclude and wind up.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

— we are in a far bigger financial crisis.

Photo of Mitchel McLaughlin Mitchel McLaughlin Speaker

Another Member has the Floor.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

I declare my involvement and interest in a number of groups: I am chair of the Carrickfergus children and young people's locality group; I am a committee member of Horizon Sure Start; I am a Boys' Brigade officer; I am treasurer of Carrickfergus community drugs and alcohol advisory group; and I am on the Carrickfergus road safety committee. Those of us who are aware of things on the ground learn lessons and get to see things from different sides, so let me very clearly put it on record that I value greatly the role of the voluntary and community sector. Frequently, it reaches vulnerable individuals and gets solutions that the statutory sector cannot. We all have to recognise that. It also often carries out preventative work that, all too often, is not valued to the degree and extent that it should be. I think that virtually all Members have recognised the important role that the community and voluntary sector plays, but financial outcomes in the process have not been delivered.

It is important that we recognise that, for volunteers to work, there needs to be a degree of support. It may be simply by ensuring that they have the necessary training so that they can carry out their contribution in a safe and protected manner. It may be simply by ensuring that there is appropriate insurance cover, because, sometimes, without it, volunteers cannot work, because they put themselves and their group at risk. It is important that that little bit of seed money is looked at very carefully to ensure that it is provided.

When I look at my constituency in recent times, I am very encouraged by the work of Ledcom in its community development activity in the Craigy Hill area and in its educational outreach in a number of areas in Larne and Carrickfergus that was successfully reaching individuals whom, previously, the statutory organisations, including the further education colleges, failed to reach. Without the involvement of the community and voluntary sector, government objectives were not achievable. I think, too, of how the women's forum in Carrick has played a very constructive role working with Women's Aid to give confidence back to individuals who may have suffered so that they can start to attend education courses. Again, however, funding has been cut. What for the future? I do not know. Frequently, the burden will fall on statutory agencies that are already overstretched.

My colleague Robin Swann highlighted the apparent lack of appreciation by the Executive of the community and voluntary sector. At the moment, the community and voluntary sector certainly feels that the outcomes of the budgetary process mean that its work is not being valued. Although I welcome the Minister saying that the Department will take a fresh look at this, the current status is that the work of the community and voluntary sector has not been valued to the extent that it should be.

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

Will the Member give way?

Photo of Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey DUP

Here is the point that I have found difficult when listening to the debate: it seemed as though it is an issue for everybody, as long as it was not their Minister's issue. Is the Member saying that every Member, irrespective of party affiliation, should collectively say that every Minister has to sign up to and deliver on the concordat and ensure that we do something across the piece? Is that what the Member is saying? I know that the Member who proposed the motion tried to ensure that that was the case, but let us have clarity around the issue.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

I have no difficulty with that. All Ministers need to look at how funding has been allocated and value the important work that the community and voluntary sector carries out.

One thing jumped out at me when I learned more about what happened with NIACRO and European social funding. We have DEL bringing an abrupt end to the service that was provided. Meanwhile, the justice system — like DEL, it has an Alliance Minister — did not know how to react and suddenly pick up the pieces. Where was the transition? Where was the planning? Where was the recognition of the valuable work that was being carried out to help resettle offenders, to lessen the likelihood of reoffending and to lessen the likelihood of them coming back into the justice system and bringing about pain in our community, which will potentially suffer criminal activity should those people not be reincorporated into society? There are also the additional costs to the justice system, the courts and the prisons. Therefore, it is vital that such gaps do not happen. We need to look carefully at our processes to ensure that that does not happen again.

It has also been highlighted by the community and voluntary sector that some of the processes that have been put in will work against it, with it having to work at risk. Of course, they do not have the financial backing to work at risk, and that potentially excludes much of the good work that has happened in the past. They do not have a pool of funding to set aside should they not be able to achieve all the objectives that may be set for them by Departments. That may, of course, be tackled by the private sector, but, again, will the private sector be able to attract the necessary people to courses to achieve their objectives? I suggest that the community sector is best placed to reach many of the vulnerable members of our community.

Sammy Wilson blamed everything on welfare reform. I think he said that the cut to the arts budget was equivalent to a day and a half of welfare reform fines and the cut to early years funding was equivalent to two days of welfare reform fines. That is a viable comparison. We have to accept that choices are being made.

I am astounded at the approach taken by Bronwyn McGahan, who is no lot in the Chamber. In her speech, she said that this was all the Tories' fault. We are a devolved Assembly. We have to take decisions based on the hand that is given to us, and we must take decisions to try to better our community. Frankly, why are you involved in politics if you are going to blame somebody else for everything? We have to be responsible for ourselves, and we have to operate within our Budget.

Steven Agnew said that he wished to raise taxes to raise additional money to fill some of the voids. At least that is a mechanism that would work. Again, there are choices to be made there, but I wonder whether, in the long term, some of them could end up adversely affecting more people, because, if we do not ensure that we have more people working and contributing, there are huge risks of there being even more vulnerable people in our community.

Photo of Steven Agnew Steven Agnew Green

I thank the Member for giving way and for his comments on my contribution. The point that I make is that we can raise taxes only if they are progressive; that is, if they fall heaviest on those who can afford them, not on the most vulnerable. Otherwise — the Member is right — they would be counterproductive to what we are trying to achieve.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

Yes. It was also said during the debate that we could not magic money. That is very true. We have our Budget, and we have to live with it or raise additional moneys in whatever manner we wish to agree on.

Photo of Chris Lyttle Chris Lyttle Alliance 1:45, 18 May 2015

I thank the Member for giving way. Given his last comments, will he put forward suggestions about where additional money can come from to meet some of the gaps that our community and voluntary sector is suffering?

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

Like the Member, I have been encouraging welfare reform to be moved along. That would remove some of the difficulties of huge and mounting fines, which will increase. I also recognise that huge administrative burdens will ultimately arrive when the old computer system eventually crashes. That is one very easy way of dealing with it.

It is important that we try to improve the choices that we have. I welcome the Minister's suggestion that it is important to work in partnership with the community and voluntary sector and the fact that he quoted the concordat. However, Minister, I again highlight that that is not what the community and voluntary sector feels at this time.

I suggest that our Budget process results in very late decision-making with no real discussion about the knock-on effects of a draft Budget and how it will pan out on the ground, and it leaves little room to readjust, manoeuvre and change. Making decisions very late gives organisations no notice of change. We have no transition funds. I certainly welcome the suggestion that there should be a transition fund of some sort to try to stop that happening in the future. That would be welcome. It is important that we look at our process to ensure that the community and voluntary sector's contribution is recognised. I suspect that civil servants do not currently recognise the true value and the cross-cutting nature of much of the work that the sector does in the budgetary process and therefore one Department can easily cut funding to the community and voluntary sector at the expense of many others.

Photo of Roy Beggs Roy Beggs UUP

I ask you to support the motion.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That this Assembly notes the important role of the community and voluntary sector across Northern Ireland in providing effective, efficient and value for money front-line services; accepts that, as a consequence of the 2015-16 Budget, decisions are being made by individual Executive Departments with no consideration of the impact on these services or the effect that they will have on the vulnerable in society; further notes that the ambiguity surrounding the European social fund has also forced many organisations to reduce their staff and their operations; and calls on the Executive to act in a coordinated manner to ensure that the sector and its organisations receive the required level of support and funding allocations.