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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Development Trusts NI, which serves as a network and advocate for community organisations, said it welcomed the opportunity presented by the LGF to support long-term, place-based economic development in Northern Ireland.

"To deliver on its objectives, the LGF must be governed and delivered through genuine partnership with organisations already rooted in local communities," it said.

Sean Hanna, chief services officer of NOW Group - a social enterprise dedicated to supporting neurodiverse people and people with learning difficulties in securing jobs with a future - said the organisation had lost about £1.5m in funding since April.

"That has seen significant redundancies for us as a business, so we have had to make up to 40 staff redundant," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra,

"Annually, as a business we would have supported around 2,500 adults who have learning disabilities and those with neurodiverse conditions, and unfortunately we have had to remove 600 individuals from our books."

Hanna said the impact on them and other groups had been incredibly difficult, and he was concerned about how continued reductions in funding would impact some of the most vulnerable people in society.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other allocations include:

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

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

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

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

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

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