AQO 41/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 08/02/2024
Answered On Date: 20/02/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities whether he will increase funding for the Supporting People programme.

Answer:

The Supporting People Programme is a vital service given the invaluable support it provides to vulnerable people, enabling them to have a better quality of life, to live more independently and to maintain their tenancies.

I will ask my Department and NIHE to continue to engage with the sector through these challenging times to seek ways to ensure value for money. We must continue to ensure that the programme delivers real outcomes for service users – those most vulnerable in our society.

A key challenge for my Department is the ability of the NIHE to fund the Supporting People Programme given the current budget position. Approximately 70% of the budget goes towards payment of the Supporting People staff across 850 services.

The Executive will agree and set the 2024-25 Budget and once the outcome is known I will consider how best to allocate the Department’s budget against key priorities.

I am happy to confirm that the Supporting People Programme remains a priority for me.