AQW 13374/22-27

Ms Sian Mulholland
Alliance Party
North Antrim

Tabled Date: 13/06/2024
Answered On Date: 08/07/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to provide a timeline detailing the work completed in the development of an anti-poverty strategy.

Answer:

Initial work on development of the Anti-Poverty Strategy began in Autumn 2020 with the agreement of the Executive to a Co-design process. Following this, in late 2020, an Expert Advisory Panel, Co-design Group and Cross Departmental Working Group were established to take this work forward.

The Expert Advisory Panel prepared a report with detailed recommendations and shared this the Department. This report was then published on the Department’s website in March 2021.

During this period the Cross Departmental group, consisting of officials from across the NICS also met on a monthly basis to discuss work ongoing in this area.

The Co-design Group, made up of members of the voluntary and community sectors, undertook discussions in relation to the Expert Panel’s recommendations during 2021, and provided the Department with a written position paper in February 2022. An initial draft of a Strategy was presented to the then Minister in October 2022.

Addressing poverty in all its forms has been a key priority for me since the restoration of the Executive in February 2024 and I am committed to delivering long-term, sustainable solutions to poverty for our communities right across Northern Ireland through the implementation of a robust Anti-poverty Strategy.

I am currently considering the next steps to be taken in relation to the Executive Anti-Poverty Strategy. Final decisions on the content and implementation of the Anti-Poverty Strategy will be at the Executive’s discretion.