Stormont budget: Community groups face 'slap in the face', says charity

Organisations in Northern Ireland's poorest areas face "a slap on the face" over budget delays, a charity says.

Community groups delivering a range of services have been told their funding can only be confirmed until 30 June.

The groups, who work in the 10% most deprived council wards, received about £19m in funding from the Department for Communities (DfC) in 2021/22.

According to the DfC, that funding supports up to 630 jobs.

Briege Arthurs from Forward South Partnership (FSP), which helps people in Belfast get food, fuel, education, said groups like hers were "the backbone of our communities".

"I think it's a bit of a slap on the face actually to receive a letter saying we can't be guaranteed funding after June," she added.

A Stormont budget for 2023/24 has not yet been set in the absence of an Executive by the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.

But there have been warnings that departments face making large cuts.

There are 36 schemes called "neighbourhood renewal partnerships" across Northern Ireland, operating in the most deprived council areas.

Neighbourhood renewal is funded by DfC and that funding pays for staff and activities in more than 100 community groups and organisations who work together in the partnerships.

For instance one neighbourhood partnership in south-west Belfast is delivered by five groups, including Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT) and Windsor Women's Centre.

But a letter from DfC's permanent secretary Colum Boyle to all of the groups said that DfC was only able to confirm their 2023/24 funding up until the 30 June 2023.

"I appreciate that this situation provides significant challenges and frustration for organisations and their staff who receive funding from our programmes," the letter said.

"I hope you will understand why this allocation cannot be interpreted as an assurance as to the level of funding available for the remainder of 2023/24, given the absence of clarity on the overall budget settlement for the department."

Mr Boyle also wrote that the funded organisations delivered "critical services to the most vulnerable".

The Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT) works in the Donegall Road and Village areas of south Belfast.

It uses the DfC funding for training to help more people find work, schemes for pensioners, mental health support, youth services and help for people in the area with housing problems.

The director of GVRT Sarah Bowden said that it also ran a "community fridge" to help local residents access food.

"They don't need vouchers, they don't need any criteria to be able to access it," Ms Bowden said.

But 11 staff from GVRT who deliver a range of services to the community do not know if there will be funding for their jobs in three months.

"Staff are on protective notice until the 30 June with no security, and communities are in fear of the loss of vital services," said Ms Bowden.

Joe Duffy from the West Belfast Partnership Board (WBPB) said the situation was the same for organisations in the west of the city who received neighbourhood renewal funding.

He said they deliver schemes across education, health, regeneration, building relationships and civic and community pride.

"Neighbourhood renewal is the seed funding that enables those organisations to survive, and that would lead to other sources of funding and other projects," Mr Duffy said.

"There's an absolutely huge impact to this uncertainty."

Briege Arthurs has the same concerns for groups in areas like the Markets, Lower Ormeau and Donegall Pass.

"Our organisations will be delivering locally, supporting people to get food, fuel, education," she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said that it was "appreciative of the uncertainty faced by those working in the delivery of Neighbourhood Renewal programmes, and it is hoped that over the coming weeks the department will be able to confirm its annual funding budget".

"Officials from the Department will continue to be available to engage with and support organisations as we seek to help to sustain services and posts that are critical to the local communities and to those most in need of support and advice."