Party manifesto commitments

Alliance Party

• is committed to a Single Equality Act.
• advocates a Green New Deal moving towards a target of 40% of Northern Ireland’s electricity to be generated from indigenous renewable sources.
• supports the creation of a Social Enterprise Equity Fund for start-up and growing social enterprises. Social enterprises should also be better able to access public procurement contracts.
• will support full implementation of the recommendations of the Bamford Review.
• supports measures to allow parents more flexibility around maternity and paternity leave.
•  will increase the winter fuel grant to reflect high energy prices, initiate a review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy and restore the link between pensions and the higher of earnings or prices.
• will push for the full implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), further development of Sure Start schemes in local areas and ensuring long-term funding.

DUP

• supports the third sector playing a larger role in the delivery of services.
• supports the development of a meaningful and constructive concordat between the Government and the third sector.
• calls for increased collaboration between Government and faith sector.
• will conduct an audit of the contribution of Northern Ireland's faith based community.
• will find means of providing funding to organisations which are opposed to applying for lottery funding.
• will seek increased opportunities for public sector workers to volunteer in order to mark the European Year for Volunteering.
• will collaborate on a community-wide basis to ensure continuation and sustainability of voluntary and community run services.

SDLP

• will ensure rural transportation networks provide for business and community needs.
• will fight for the increase of the winter fuel payment to £500.
• will push for the creation of a special Local Government administered hardship fund to provide direct assistance to households in dire need.
• will ensure access to Essential Skills, Apprenticeships and Lifelong Learning for all.
• will tackle the lack of appropriate independent and supported living opportunities for people with disabilities.
• will continue sustained lobbying for a strong Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
• will prioritise early intervention strategies.

Sinn Fein

• supports a new rural white paper with equality and all-island development as key elements
• supports the development of community farms/gardens.
• supports greater investment in community arts.
• will establish a cross-sectoral forum on the economy, bringing together trade unions, community and voluntary representatives, business leaders, politicians, the public sector.
• will sustain funding programmes which are centrally focused on tackling social exclusion and inequality at their core.
• supports a compact, memorandum of understanding between the state and the voluntary and community sector.   

UCUNF

• will establish a 'Work Programme' to be delivered through private and voluntary sector providers, which will be rewarded on a payment by results basis for getting people into sustainable work.
• will re-link the basic state pension to earnings.
• will endorse strengthening and supporting social enterprises to help deliver our public service reforms by creating a Big Society Bank, funded from unclaimed bank assets, to provide new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, social enterprises and other nongovernmental bodies.
• will reform Big Lottery Fund ensuring that 100% of Big Lottery Fund goes directly to the voluntary and community sector.
• supports a “right to bid” to run any community service instead of the state.
• Any petition that secures 100,000 signatures will be eligible for formal debate in Parliament.
• will support the funding of training of independent community organisers.

A copy of NICVA's voluntary and community sector manifesto can be viewed here.