AQW 17643/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 05/11/2024
Answered On Date: 29/11/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities for an update on all discussions held with the new UK Government regarding the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, given the cut-off date for current funding is 31st March 2025.

Answer:

Executive departments continue to engage and work collaboratively in seeking to secure the best possible outcomes for the people and sectors here.

The Finance and Communities Ministers met with the Minister for Local Growth Alex Norris MP on the 17th September 2024 to discuss the loss of EU funds and successor funding options and the role of the Executive.

The Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Growth (MHCLG) was pressed on the need for urgent clarification on successor funding particularly due to the recurrent cliff-edge faced by the Community and Voluntary Sector.

DoF are engaging regularly with MHCLG and are pressing for clarity on the allocations and interventions to be delivered for the SPF transition year and for early and full engagement on successor funding from 2026 onwards pressing for devolved design and delivery of any future fund.