Specialist Care and Assistance Facilities
HIA Inquiry · Report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry · Issued 20 January 2017 · Addressed to: Victims and Survivors Service
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Sufficient funds should be made available by government on a ring-fenced basis for a fixed period of ten years, subject to a review after five years, to establish dedicated specialist facilities in Belfast, Derry and, if necessary, at other suitable locations across Northern Ireland to provide: (a) general counselling services for those who have suffered abuse as children in residential institutions in Northern Ireland, supported by appropriate links to the health service and to other relevant housing, education and employment services; and (b) practical help with literacy and numeracy, education, employment, housing and benefits advice tailored to the needs of individual victims of institutional abuse.
HIA Inquiry, Report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry · 20 Jan 2017 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019 provided for ring-fenced funding for specialist support services.
- No published assessment of whether the full range of specialist facilities specified in the recommendation is available across all locations in Northern Ireland, including those beyond Belfast and Derry, has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●Victims and Survivors Service
No formal government response published.
Victims and Survivors Service · 5 Nov 2019 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 5 Nov 2019 The Victims and Survivors Service launched dedicated support on 1 December 2020, offering caseworker support, counselling, complementary therapies, disability aids, persistent pain management and social and welfare support. Services are available in Belfast, Derry and other locations across Northern Ireland. Ongoing delivery. Source →
- 1 Dec 2020 · Victims and Survivors Service (NI) On 1 December 2020, the Victims and Survivors Service (VSS) launched a new service dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of survivors of Historical Institutional Abuse, in partnership with WAVE Trauma Centre and Advice NI. View source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.