Recommendation 12

Tackling economic inactivity is one of the keys to economic growth. In Northern Ireland, this has been carried out largely by the community and voluntary sector using revenue funding. Under the forthcoming Local Growth Fund, the proportion of revenue funding will be severely curtailed due to a new 70–30 capital-revenue split. In our correspondence with the Government and in oral evidence from the NIO, we have not been given a justifiable reason for this new arrangement. We are concerned about the knock-on effect this will have on NI’s justice, social services and health systems. We are frustrated by the Government’s lack of movement on this issue, and believe the NIO has a duty to advocate better for organisations delivering economic activity programmes in NI. We are disappointed at the way the sector has been treated and the position in which organisations and recipients have been placed. This makes us question the effectiveness of the NIO in voicing the concerns of Northern Ireland in Whitehall. (Conclusion, Paragraph 72)