Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Accepted
Paragraph: 105
DLUHC consultation parameters incompatible with Northern Ireland Act and existing structures
Conclusion
The lack of consideration for the circumstances in which the Executive and its Officials in Northern Ireland operate is of even greater concern to us and speaks to an on- going theme we found throughout this inquiry regarding the extent of consultation carried out by the DLUHC with Devolved Governments and stakeholders. We heard that the parameters for engagement set out by the Department in their initial phase of consultation were not compatible with section 75 of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act. Officials from Northern Ireland told us that the Department did not use existing structures for engagement in Northern Ireland and, because their engagement was not in line with the 1998 Act, officials were at risk of legal proceedings if they did engage. We have not had a satisfactory explanation from the Department on this matter and this issue remains unresolved.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of Section 75 considerations for Northern Ireland. They state that for UKSPF, applicants must describe impacts and collect data on protected characteristics, and they will further embed these considerations. For the Levelling Up Fund, they explain that Memorandums of Understanding were used to ensure compliance with Section 75 principles and allow official engagement without legal risk.
Paragraph Reference:
105
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
DLUHC recognises the importance of giving due regard to the equalities considerations that apply in Northern Ireland. In designing funds and in making selection decisions, DLUHC have considered our public sector equality duties including relevant section 75 factors specific to Northern Ireland. For UKSPF, where DLUHC is leading delivery, all applicant organisations are required to describe how their project will impact on people with protected characteristics as part of project design and implementation. This is a specific legal requirement for public sector applicants. All project deliverers will also be asked, as part of the conditions of the award of funding, to collect information on the nine categories set out in section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. We will review this at plan level, which will help build a fuller evidence base as to the impact that UKSPF can have on all protected groups, especially those where evidence is currently more limited. Moreover, we anticipate that the majority of funding will be administered through a commissioning approach with arms-length bodies of the Northern Ireland Executive, and Northern Ireland councils. This will achieve greater alignment with existing structures, maximise efficiencies, as well as further embed section 75 considerations into UKSPF delivery. For the Levelling Up Fund, in both rounds of the Fund we have utilised a Memorandum of Understanding between DLUHC and the Northern Ireland Executive. These MoU’s accounted for the fact that, whilst DLUHC has not been designated under section 75, in relation to the Levelling Up Fund, DLUHC intended to comply with the principles set out in s.75, without prejudice to the fact that s.75 does not apply. This allowed Northern Ireland Executive officials to engage with the assessment process without risk of legal proceedings. Clearly there is a very significant challenge in seeking to deliver any further Levelling Up initiatives in Northern Ireland given the lack of a functioning Executive and Assembly. This clearly limits the scope for DLUHC to pursue our work in Northern Ireland – we continue to encourage the restoration of the institutions so that we can proceed with funding and other initiatives in cooperation with the Executive.