AQW 8707/16-21
Ms Carla Lockhart
Democratic Unionist Party
Upper Bann
Tabled Date: 07/12/2016
Answered On Date: 16/12/2016
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities for her assessment on the creation of an advice portal for families with children and young people with disabilities, to advise them of the benefits and financial help available.
Answer:
The Department’s strategy for the provision of generalist advice across seeks to ensure that good quality advice services are available to those who need them, that such services are readily available and to increasing and promoting the use of high quality digital and telephony services as key delivery channels. In 2016/17 the Department allocated £1.6M to councils to support frontline independent advice services across Northern Ireland. The eleven local councils provided an additional £1.9M. This joint funding supports face to face, telephone and online advice services for families, including those with children and young people with disabilities, on a wide range of issues including benefits. In September 2016 I announced further funding of £2.5M to provide face to face and telephone services to advise and support people affected by welfare changes. NI Direct provides online information about benefits and other sources of financial help or support for citizens. NI Direct is updated regularly to ensure the information available is current. My officials engage with councils and the advice sector to ensure that the services provided meet the needs of clients. The Department has no plans for a portal for a specific group.
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