AQW 9687/17-22
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford
Tabled Date: 04/11/2020
Answered On Date: 15/12/2020
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities what her Department is doing to fulfil the Executive's commitment to building a united and shared society through the Together: Building a United Community strategy.
Answer:
My Department is responsible for delivery of two of the headline actions under the T:BUC Strategy, the Uniting Communities through sport and creativity programme and the creation of 10 new shared neighbourhood developments. The Uniting Communities through sport and creativity programme consists of three elements, two of which are inextricably linked. The ‘Uniting Communities through Leadership’ engages young people aged 16-24 who are recruited to become Young Leaders and take part in a structured training programme with the aim of creating the next generation of community leaders. Running parallel to this is ‘Uniting Communities through Community Activity’ for young participants aged 11-16 that uses sport and creativity to build good relations. These elements of the programme involve delivery over a longer period in selected locations where community challenges exist. To date projects have been completed in the Falls and Village, the Colin and Eastside urban village areas of Belfast and a rural project in the Erne East area of Co Fermanagh. Part of the delivery model includes the ‘Uniting Communities by Building Capacity’ that awards funding through a Uniting Opportunities grant scheme which targets groups of marginalised young people. These shorter term projects help young people to better engage with their community by building their confidence, personal abilities, core skills and building good relations. Since 2017 the scheme has provided funding to 17 different organisations, delivering 30 projects, and engaging almost 1,000 of the most marginalised young people in society today. Delivery of the programme has been disrupted in 2020/21 due to COVID-19 restrictions. However the young leaders continue to train across delivery areas with the Uniting Ardoyne and Ballysillan project currently completing the final ‘Embedding Sustainability’ stage and the Uniting Derg project in Co Tyrone due to recommence activity in December 2020. The 10 T:BUC shared housing schemes have completed, and they are being supported through Advisory Groups which have been established to oversee the development and delivery of five-year Good Relations Plans. The Plans include ‘bonding’ projects/events which are delivered to the new shared housing residents, and ‘Bridging’ projects/events which are delivered between the shared housing residents and residents from the surrounding communities (within a five-mile radius of the shared schemes). The 10 T:BUC schemes have been the catalyst for further shared housing commitments in the (Draft) Programme for Government 2016-2021; badged as ‘Housing for All’. There are an additional 24 schemes under development, and the Department is liaising with the Housing Executive to bring additional schemes onto the 2020/21 Shared Housing Programme. This additionality has been made possible through funding received from the Fresh Start Agreement. As with the 10 T:BUC schemes, the ‘Housing for All’ schemes will be supported through the establishment of Advisory Groups and the development and delivery of five-year Good Relations Plans.
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