AQW 50849/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 03/09/2026
Answered On Date: 14/09/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any support his Department gives to community groups to train volunteers.

Answer:

My Department supports community groups to train volunteers through the Volunteering Infrastructure Support Programme; this funds volunteer support organisations to provide training and development opportunities for volunteers and organisations that engage volunteers.

My Department provided funding of £727,000 in 2025-26 to support volunteer recruitment, training and development within local communities through seven Volunteer Centres across Northern Ireland.

The Department also provides wider support to communities through ‘People and Place: A Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal’; in 2025-26, this supported community activity and volunteering, including 340,842 volunteer hours with an estimated value of £4.3 million.