Northern Ireland Assembly

Go raibh maith agat, Mr Speaker. I thank Alex Maskey for bringing to our attention job losses in West Belfast as a whole. He did not specify whether he was talking about Nationalist areas or Unionist areas; only Alex Attwood did that. West Belfast includes Twinbrook and Poleglass, which I represent.

The job losses will have a negative impact on West Belfast and further afield. Alex Maskey pointed out that there will be other effects. None of us should be under any illusion about why community structures and groups were set up in areas such as West Belfast. They were set up because councils failed to deliver the services they were supposed to deliver for the communities they claimed to represent.

We all agree that community groups provide a valued service. They have played a big part in the lives of all communities and helped them grow by adopting a bottom-up approach and providing services designed by the people. The lack of mainstream funding has been hidden by European funding which is supposed to be additional but is not. It has replaced mainstream funding, and that is wrong.

We debated a motion on skill shortages earlier. Tomorrow the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety will consider a report on teenage pregnancies and the need to educate young people to enable them to make better judgements. The report points out that rates of teenage parenthood are highest in areas of social deprivation and says that there is a need to target intervention on such areas, working in partnership with local communities. It also says that many community- based programmes receive only short-term funding and that if they are to be successful, they must be properly funded.

We need to look at the greater impact job losses will have in West Belfast. As Mr Maskey said, not only is there an impact on a person who loses his job, but other areas suffer too. Crèche facilities will go, people will find it harder to return to work and after-school clubs will disappear, which will have a negative impact on the children. Women's groups will no longer exist, while welfare advice, advice to the elderly and the homeless, whose problems were mentioned earlier, and youth provision will be things of the past. We need a joined-up approach. We can examine the Peace I and Peace II money.

The Minister is here, and I appreciate his staying for this debate, as he sat through the last one. I thank him for that.

As statistics show, the delay in Peace II money is forcing more job losses. Mr Maskey and Mr Attwood referred to these statistics. We need to lobby for mainstream funding for community groups, workers, projects and running costs. We should develop a proper wage structure to bring employees out of low-paid jobs. We must ensure that there is a real and active commitment to targeting social need and equality. As Mr Maskey said, we need a strategic approach to sustain the community sector, and we should show our appreciation to all there for their vision and commitment to creating change.

Go raibh maith agat.

I would like to thank Mr Maskey for initiating this important debate on the Adjournment. I also appreciate the presence of the Minister for Social Development. The Assembly, through the Executive and the Department for Social Development, must secure funding and develop a meaningful strategy for the voluntary and community sector in all areas of need though this debate is specifically about West Belfast, which includes a fair part of the Shankill territory as well as Nationalist West Belfast.

Many of the problems started when the ACE scheme and community workshops were run down. Why is there a crisis in funding jobs? As has been said, it is because there is no effective strategy to account for the community sector. I agree with the West Belfast Economic Forum that the voluntary activity unit in the Department must say exactly what groups will be affected by the rationalisation measures.

Many groups in West Belfast do not get mainstream funding from the Department for Social Development. The community sector should have a greater input into civic, political, social, cultural and economic matters. There is a major problem with gap funding, and bridging funding may be being applied selectively rather than liberally, although I hope, that that is not so. There is concern, and who will have the ability, integrity and authority to sort it out? I am not referring directly to the Minister.

As the then MP for West Belfast I met with Baroness Denton when she was Minister of Economic Development. I told her that in West Belfast, LEDU, the IDB and Making Belfast Work were all doing work, as were community trusts like North and West and that young people were coming to the area to do doctoral theses. There were many activities but no co-ordination. Mr Maskey has asked the Minister to undertake an impact assessment of the job losses. Perhaps the answer lies there.

There has been no co-ordination with jobs over the years, and that includes education, for a number of factors are involved. There is a large percentage of young people in West Belfast, so if you are talking about jobs you have to consider education. Whether they come from the Falls Road or the Shankill Road, five-year- olds starting school in that constituency are generally at a great disadvantage compared to children from more privileged homes or areas where people have good jobs. It is important to realise that a child's IQ is not just inherited. Of course there are important genetic factors, but a child is also influenced by his home and environment from the moment he is born. Children in areas of social disadvantage are disadvantaged themselves by the age of five, and this has long term effects.

Much reference has been made to the many community efforts, and I will mention two in passing. Meánscoil Feirste almost went under because of the viability of numbers question. The community, the parents, the staff, Fergus O'Hare, the principal, and I were involved at the time. The then Minister, Michael Ancram, turned it down for funding, and it was the Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew, who eventually gave it some support. I can recall the massive battle fought by the community.

Youth at Risk was another important community effort. Funding came from the Government and the European Union. I had some involvement because of my medical work. One could only be impressed by those people who were considered to be dropouts, young people who no one seemed to want and with very low esteem, sandwiched between the security forces and the paramilitaries. The results of the Youth at Risk programme were outstanding. I was emotionally moved when I met many of them later - once at a function in Andersonstown and on another occasion in the Markets area. The programme was stopped, but people like Jimmy Quinn played outstanding roles in it.

Targeting social need is central to the Assembly, and I wonder if community and voluntary groups will have any part in developing proposals for implementing the interdepartmental strategy document. Additionality must underpin the relationship with EU funding bodies, and all dealing with EU funds must be transparent, open for public scrutiny and accountable to the European Commission.

I again congratulate Mr Maskey for bringing this subject to Assembly. My support for the principles is total, and I support his point about impact assessment. Perhaps the Minister will address that.

I am aware of the contribution made by the voluntary and community sector in West Belfast and Northern Ireland generally. It provides valuable services and is a significant employer, with a workforce of about 25,000 across the Province. This is an important debate for West Belfast, but it is relevant to all of Northern Ireland, especially to areas of high social need, of which West Belfast is one.

I met with the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) last week, and I have regular contact with a wide range of other voluntary and community groups, so I am aware of the real concerns in the sector about the impact of changing funding programmes.

Much funding for the sector is time limited, and we await final agreement on the outcome of the Peace II negotiations. European funding accounts for about one third of the total financial support for the voluntary and community sector in West Belfast, and I suspect that that level of dependence is similar in other parts of Northern Ireland.

While economic renewal is likely to be a priority under the new programme, the detailed parameters of Peace II are not yet agreed. Since the new funding programmes are meant to be finalised, it may be premature to identify any specific impact the changes will have. However, priorities change, and there is no guarantee that projects funded under Peace I will be supported automatically under Peace II. The project managers know this, having been made aware of the time-limited nature of the programme when they applied for funding in the first instance.

There are short-term difficulties and longer-term issues to be addressed too. Since it is taking longer than was envisaged to agree the mechanisms for disbursing Peace II and transitional Objective I programme funding, many valuable community projects face a gap between two funding programmes. My Department anticipated these difficulties and secured £4 million, in two tranches, to assist a wide range of projects and the people employed by them to continue their valuable work until the end of March 2001. This funding was shared with other Departments and funders to protect key projects.

The funding has benefited projects throughout Northern Ireland, including many in West Belfast. The Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust (NIVT) alone processed 29 applications from West Belfast for gap funding and provided almost £185,000 to secure the continuity of 23 posts until the end of March.

The West Belfast team of the Belfast Regeneration Office (BRO) has tried to maintain the community infrastructure in West Belfast, as other BRO teams have done in other parts of the city. In discussions with applicants, they have said that they will focus support on key organisations and posts. By "key" I mean organisations that provide a co-ordinating or broad service, for instance local forums. Key posts are ones that are central to an operation, such as managers and co-ordinators.

It is expected that these organisations will assist and support other groups that the BRO may not be able to support. I understand that this approach has been well received in West Belfast and that the BRO team has been able to meet, to varying degrees, the majority of requests made. The BRO teams in West Belfast and elsewhere have also met with other funders and statutory bodies to try to get them to provide support or match a contribution from a team, thus extending the funding period.

There is no complacency on our part about the problem. However, in the longer term the viability of many projects and the jobs they created will depend whether they become sustainable by generating their own income - a difficult, though not impossible, task. It will also depend on their ability to demonstrate their worth to funding bodies and to secure mainstream support for their activities.

Many groups have embarked on imaginative ways of generating finance through delivering services, sub-letting premises, amalgamation with other groups or restructuring. I welcome those moves. This proactive approach towards long-term sustainability by the voluntary and community sector will be a defining factor in the level of protection and development that can be achieved.

Despite this, there may well be further difficulties for some projects after the current gap funding initiatives end - from April 2001. I have asked my officials to review the situation urgently and consider what further action may be necessary. I am convinced of the need to provide continued support for the community and its infrastructure.

Let me say something about core infrastructure. The Department for Social Development is very aware of the importance of having an effective infrastructure to enable effective participation in addressing social need and social disadvantage. For the last round of gap funding we identified a number of criteria for eligibility for support. One was that an applicant group had a strategic role in relation to other groups, and another was the extent of the adverse impact on the community if a project ended. It seems to me that strategic support for the infrastructure is key and likely to inform our thinking on priorities for new EU funding under both the transitional Objective 1 and Peace II programmes.

I want briefly to identify my Department's longer-term approach to supporting and developing the voluntary and community sector. We have focused on putting in place structures and funding strategies to help support the sector so that it remains strong, vibrant and able to help Government meet their objectives, particularly in areas of greatest social need.

The Department for Social Development's actions will be driven by the need to ensure that when resources are scarce, they are targeted towards the right organisations in areas of greatest social need so that we achieve the best possible results. It is no secret that I have particular concerns about areas where the community infrastructure is weak. My Department consulted extensively on the Harbison Report, which examined the future funding of the voluntary and community sector. I cannot emphasis strongly enough the importance that the Department attaches to a more strategic and coherent approach to funding in the longer term. I expect to make an announcement shortly on the district councils' community services programme following the Department's review of that programme.

We are also working to strengthen and cement relationships with the voluntary and community sector right across the Government and in Departments and agencies, and we will continue to conduct our discussions with the sector in an open and constructive manner and in a spirit of partnership through such important vehicles as the Joint Government Voluntary and Community Sector Forum.

Following consultation, and as agreed by the Executive when they endorsed the compact between the Government and the voluntary and community sector in February 2000, the Department is co-ordinating work on a new strategy that will encompass all aspects of government. The result will be a plan setting out actions that Departments will take over the next three years to support the sector.

We are pragmatic and recognise that a substantial part of the sector's contribution will continue to be through volunteering. We want to build lasting change by creating new volunteering opportunities, and not just where volunteering has traditionally been strong. NICVA says that there are over 79,000 volunteers, but despite this huge resource, some face barriers to volunteering that we want removed.

My Department is now implementing the Active Community Initiative action plan. Additional funds have been secured to enhance volunteering opportunities for those who wish to help shape their communities through voluntary action. It is designed to have an impact on areas of disadvantage.

In closing, the future of the voluntary and community sector must be a major concern for all. Its work has made, and will continue to make, a vibrant and dynamic contribution to society. Northern Ireland owes much to it, but we cannot duck the difficulties we face, and I do not want to minimise them. However, my Department is working hard to provide some protection.

All Departments must examine their budgets carefully to see if the programmes delivered through short-term funding can be sustained. The voluntary sector must examine options for rationalisation and collaboration to reduce costs and identify priorities. Shortly, the Joint Government Voluntary and Community Sector Forum, which my Department chairs jointly with the sector, will be working with the sector and the Government to see how these difficulties can be addressed and we can enable the sector to continue to make a dynamic contribution in West Belfast and Northern Ireland generally.

I want to address some of the other points raised during the debate if time is on my side.

Time is not on the Minister's side, but those Members who have dutifully stayed on deserve some response. Perhaps the Minister will be as concise as possible.

A number of important points were raised by Members. Mr Speaker, I am at the mercy of your ruling. If I am not able to address such points, I will address them in writing to the Members concerned.

One very salient point was raised by Alex Attwood. It concerned the need for a strategy for the community and voluntary sector in West Belfast and elsewhere. Last year my Department, through its Voluntary Activity Unit (VAU), published the Harbison Report on funding.

That report contained important recommendations, which I will headline. A more strategic, co-ordinated approach to funding and the appointment of the Minister for Social Development to champion it were suggested. There was no lack of commitment from me or my Department. The integration of the VAU into an activity community unit was proposed, as were more information sharing between funders, the mapping of voluntary and community sector infrastructure, the establishment of a common database for funding, an integrated approach to development, the consolidation of delivery mechanisms, a task force to consider the diversification of funding and a clear definition of sustainability. It is an important report that I draw to Members' attention.

Sue Ramsey mentioned the failure of councils to support communities. I can confirm that that was reflected in the findings of the review of the district council communities that the Department published. Proposals will be brought forward shortly on the role of councils in this regard. I hope that these comments go some way towards reassuring people that we are neither complacent nor negligent of our duties, and we want to record our appreciation of the voluntary sector, an important part of society.

Dr Hendron asked which groups would be affected by rationalisation. There is no planned process for rationalisation. We have to do all we can to protect the community sector. I understand that the motion specifically refers to West Belfast, but I am referring to the community as a whole.

Mr Speaker, you are looking at me, and I suspect that you are trying to tell me that my time is up. If I have missed any salient points, I will write to the individuals concerned.

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