AQW 22549/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 13/02/2025
Answered On Date: 26/03/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail the targets and measures taken by his Department since it was formed as a result of the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, to achieve the intentions of the Child Poverty Act 2010.

Answer:

The responsibility for producing and reporting on a Child Poverty Strategy arose from the Child Poverty Act 2010. This was amended and renamed as the Life Chances Act 2010 following the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. The legislative responsibility under the Child Poverty/Life Chances Act expired in 2020.

DfC’s responsibility was to review the Strategy every three years and to report on it annually. Annual reports were collated and published throughout the life span of the Strategy. Annual reports for the last two years of the Strategy are available at the following links https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/dfc-child-poverty-annual-report-2021-2022.pdf and https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/dfc-child-poverty-annual-report-2020-2021.pdf

The Executive’s Child Poverty Strategy 2016 was laid before the Assembly on 16 March 2016. On 8 July 2020, it was agreed to extend the term of the Child Poverty Strategy 2016-2019 until May 2022.