AQW 12281/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 18/12/2020
Answered On Date: 07/01/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities how she plans to fund vital employment support services for people with disabilities, given the UK Government is limiting the purposes for what the Shared Prosperity Fund can be used.

Answer:

The Department for Communities (DfC) currently provides match funding to 14 disability projects in the European Social Fund Programme 2014 -2020.

In order to consider the future policy and delivery options, DfE have established a project in collaboration with DfC to consider options and develop details of potential ESF succession arrangements. Whilst progress is being made on the project, the timetable for the development of a successor programme and securing the necessary funding is an extremely challenging one.

The Department of Finance leads the response to the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) on behalf of the Executive