NICVA Policy and Public Affairs Update March 2025

As we head into a new financial year, advocating for the value, and values of, our sector as a crucial pillar of civil society will be more important than ever. Below is a summary of our policy work in 2025 so far as we seek to represent, convene, build the capacity of, and gather insight from, our sector. 

1) Representing

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  2) The Joint Forum 

NICVA is joint secretariat of The Joint Government and Voluntary Sector Forum which held its full first meeting of the new term in late January. Read more about this first meeting here. 

The Joint Forum recently commenced its new three-year term (Dec 2024 – March 2027) and in support of this, membership of the Voluntary and Community Sector Panel (VCS Panel) was refreshed, with the appointment and induction of thirteen new voluntary and community sector representatives to the panel.  

The Forum will progress implementation of the ‘Partnership Agreement between the Voluntary and Community Sector and Northern Ireland Executive’ and ‘Fair Funding Principles and Ways of Working’, developed by the Forum in its previous term and which is now being progressed for agreement and endorsement by the NI Executive.  

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  3) Civil Society Covenant 

NICVA has been engaging with sister organisations in England, Scotland and Wales regarding the Civil Society Covenant which sets out the terms of a new relationship through high level principles for an effective long-term partnership between government and civil society.  
 
The Joint Forum was joined by representatives from the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sports ( DCMS) who are leading on the delivery of the Civil Society Covenant Framework across the UK to discuss how can best ensure connectivity and complementarity with work to deliver the Partnership Agreement in Northern Ireland.  
 

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  4) Economic Inclusion 

NICVA plays a leading role informing and influencing policy on the role of the VCS in addressing economic inactivity, building a more inclusive labour market, and more specifically - the continuation of projects supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. In late January we met and continue to engage with the Department for the Economy on the role of the VCS within the Department’s Sub-Regional Economic Plan.  
 
Our Economic Inactivity Steering Group met in late January to hear from members on the impact of uncertainty regarding the future of long-term strategy and investment in this work. A representative from the Department of Finance provided an update on arrangements for NI project commission for delivery post-2026. 
 
The next meeting of the Economic Inclusion Working Group is scheduled for Tuesday 6 May from 10am to 11am online and is open to any VCS organization with an interest in this area. 

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  5) All-party Group on the Voluntary and Community Sector  

This All-Party Group provides a platform to advocate for the future role and sustainability of our sector and provide meaningful opportunities to engage directly with local MLAs on a collaborative basis. The January meeting included a briefing and Q&A with the Minister for Communities. Dates have been set for the rest of 2025. The next APG on 25 March will focus on core funding and the role of the VCS in delivery of the Programme for Government. You can register your attendance here. 

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  6) Windsor Framework Implementation 

NICVA met with Lord Carlile, Chair of the Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee, at the end of January to discuss how the agreement and implementation of the Protocol/Windsor Framework has affected the voluntary sector. We are keen to convene a conversation with groups who are directly affected by out implementation of these arrangements. 

7) Convening 

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  8) Department of Health Core Grant Funding 

The unprecedented demand for this scheme undermines our sector's ability to support the health system at a time of unprecedented pressure. Many organisations were left disappointed at the funding process. Following an urgent VCS meeting convened by NICVA last week, our Chief Executive Celine met with the Health Minister on Monday where it was agreed that the funding pot is too small to support the range of voluntary and community organisations that contribute to health and social care outcomes.  
 
The Minister has committed to allocating more funding if it becomes available. NICVA will take this opportunity to explore how to further improve the grant programme before it is launched again in the Autumn. 

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  9) Storm Éowyn Emergency Response 

During Storm Éowyn and in the aftermath, many organisations in our sector opened their facilities where possible, played a vital role identifying vulnerable individuals, and provided direct support to those most in need. NICVA organised a meeting of key VCS community response organisations to gather reflections on partnership-working across our sector, local councils and Stormont departments to inform a recommendations paper for the NI Executive. 

10) Capacity-Building 

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  11) Community Faiths Forum 

Our Community Faiths Forum encourages and facilitates multi-faith dialogue around issues of poverty, disadvantage and social inclusion. It is holding an event on 2 April Celebrating Faith-based Community Work in Northern Ireland and it’s important and distinctive place in influencing policy. 

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  12) Assembly Insider 

This weekly email bulletin provides information on the work of the Northern Ireland Assembly and in particular the issues which are of interest to the voluntary and community sector. You can subscribe to Assembly Insider here. 

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  13) VCS Policy Community 

NICVA will shortly be launching a new initiative to support an active VCS Policy Community for people our sector interested in coming together to network, share information, and explore deeper collaboration on common policy concerns.  

14) Gathering Insight  

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  15) Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs)  

NICVA continues to press both UK and NI Governments on the impact of the UK Government's planned increase in Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on the voluntary and community sector.  

The sector’s unique role in the delivery of many vital areas of public sector delivery means that future public sector grants and contract arrangements must be fully reflective of these increased costs.  

We followed with interest the recent proposed amendments to the National Insurance Contributions Bill brought forward via the House of Lords on Tuesday 25 February which included exemptions for small charities (those with an annual revenue of less than £1 million), and for those voluntary and community sector organisations providing health, social and hospice care or transport services for children with special educational needs or disabilities from the upcoming rise.  
 
If agreed by UK Government these amendments would mean exempted employers would continue to pay NICs contributions at the current rate. The NICs Bill will proceed to a third reading in the House of Lords next month. Via the debate a review of the impact of NICs increases on certain sectors, including the voluntary and community sector within six months of implementation was also proposed along with an increase in Employers Allowance for Childcare providers from £10,500 to £20,000.   

You can view the amendments proposed here, and a record of the House of Lords debate here. 

Whilst this acknowledgement of the impact on the sector is welcomed, we will continue to press both Governments on the need for protections to prevent further unsustainable financial pressures on our sector.  

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  16) Reflections on the Programme for Government  

The NI Executive has agreed a Programme for Government from 2024-2027. You can read our reflections on the final document and a wider reflective piece from our Chief Executive on where we go from here. While there is an acknowledgment of the VCS as a key partner in delivering essential services, we must be treated fairly – with concrete action and measurable progress on sustainable funding models.  
 

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  17) Draft Budget Consultation   

The 2025-26 Draft Budget was announced by the Finance Minister on the 19th December 2024. The budget provides the Draft Resource and Capital investment funding allocations to government departments for the 2025-26 period. 

The draft budget is currently out for public consultation, closing on 13 March. NICVA is hosting an online engagement session with senior officials from the Department of Finance on Friday 7 March at 12pm. You can register here.  

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  18) Raising the age of participation in education – Engagement Event 

In December 2023 the Independent Review of Education panel published a set of recommendations for education reform. One recommendation was to raise the age of participation in education to 18 within two years. 
 
The Department of Education would like to hear views from the voluntary and community sector on how to take this policy issue forward. We have arranged an online engagement event on 11 March at 10.00am. You can register here. 

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  19) Child Poverty Taskforce.

 
Finally, NICVA worked with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to gather child poverty experts from across our sector for a roundtable meeting with representatives from the UK Government’s Child Poverty Taskforce. The role of the taskforce is to oversee the development and publication of an ambitious cross-government child poverty strategy to reduce and alleviate child poverty. 

 
For further information on any of the areas covered in this article please contact NICVA’s Director of Policy and Insight Jonny Currie at [email protected] or our Policy Development Officer Kathy Maguire at [email protected].