AQW 28721/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 26/01/2022
Answered On Date: 03/02/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance to detail what steps he is taking to ensure community groups, currently eligible for EU funding, do not miss out on the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Answer:

There has been minimal information shared by the British Government on the Shared Prosperity Fund. We have been excluded from the policy development and design of the fund, which is likely to be delivered centrally by Whitehall, bypassing the Executive and transferring spending power from our Assembly and Executive to Whitehall.

I have been consistently seeking clarity from the British Government on replacement funding and I have met and engaged with several groups impacted by this issue and I am giving voice to their concerns in my engagement with Whitehall on this matter.

I am working to try and secure a substantive and meaningful role for the Executive in the design and delivery of the Shared Prosperity fund to ensure that it delivers effectively for all of our citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.

It is clear no longer having access to EU Funds and the lack of detail on replacements will impact these groups negatively and there is little we can do to mitigate that impact as long as the British Government continue to withhold replacement funding.