AQW 6493/22-27

Miss Nuala McAllister
Alliance Party
North Belfast

Tabled Date: 14/02/2024
Answered On Date: 28/02/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department carried out an Equality Impact Assessment on the proposed £30 million cuts to mental health, carers and cancer support that is managed through Community Foundation NI.

Answer:

The Mental Health, Cancer Charities and Carers Support Funds, administered and managed by the Community Foundation NI (CFNI), were established using unspent Covid-19 monies. The funds were one-off, non-recurring funds for a period of three years, from April 2021 to March 2024. The monies allocated to all three funds are now exhausted.

Due to the financial situation which the Department continues to face, there is no budget to extend these funds and they will end, as planned.

As a result, no Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken. However, CFNI is to provide a robust evaluation of the outcome of the funds to the Department before the end of March 2024.