Civil Society Partnership Milestones for NI and the wider UK
NICVA welcomed two key milestones for the relationship between government and civil society: the UK-wide Civil Society Covenant and the NI Partnership Agreement.
The Northern Ireland Executive has endorsed the new Partnership Agreement between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector in Northern Ireland, developed through the Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector Joint Forum.
As joint Secretariat to the Forum, NICVA has played a key role in supporting the development of the Agreement from the outset, working closely with both the sector and government to help bring it to fruition.
You can read more about the Partnership Agreement, including its Fair Funding Principles and Ways of Working here.
Simultaneously, the UK Government has launched the Civil Society Covenant, a bold new framework for partnership with civil society aimed at addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing communities today.
The Department for Communities prepares regulations for charity registration threshold
The Department for Communities has published its response to the registration threshold consultation which closed for responses in August 2024.
NICVA welcomes the announcement that the Department is developing regulations for the introduction of a £20k income and £100k asset charity registration threshold. The regulations are anticipated to be introduced in autumn 2025, with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland beginning the deregistration of those applicable charities who no longer wish to be registered in the later stages of 2026. The report, background information, and NICVA’s response can be found here.
NICVA Joins Civil Society Groups in urging NI Executive to withdraw draft Anti-Poverty Strategy, citing it as ‘Unfit for Purpose”
NICVA was one of 50 + signatories to a recent letter, coordinated by the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network (NIAPN), addressed to NI Executive Ministers. The letter, endorsed by a broad coalition of civil society organisations and groups, calls for the withdrawal of the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy currently out for public consultation.
It outlines that the strategy fails to meet the basic criteria of a reasonable and effective anti-poverty strategy and is therefore not fit for purpose.
The letter was developed following a civil society workshop hosted by NIAPN at NICVA on Thursday 26 June, where sector representatives discussed their collective response to the draft strategy.
Fair Funding & Lotteries for Communities
In June NICVA hosted an engagement session on the Lotteries for Communities Private Members Bill being taking forward by Sian Mulholland MLA. The Bill aims to introduce legislation that allows large society lotteries to operate in Northern Ireland.
The consultation focuses on large society lotteries, as opposed to existing small society lotteries which should play a key role in raising substantial funds for good causes through the sale of tickets to the public. You can read NICVA’s briefing paper here.
Beyond UKSPF - Economic Inclusion and the role of the voluntary and community sector
NICVA continues to advocate for the unique value of VCS organisations delivering economic inactivity projects, and in June introduced a key messages paper in support of continued VCS-led delivery of support for those furthest from the labour market.
On 24 June NICVA attended a workshop organised by the Department of Finance on the Local Growth Fund – the successor to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Securing confirmation that the UK Local Growth Fund will support a regional Northern Ireland programme that provides tailored interventions for those furthest from the labour market and which builds on the voluntary and community sector's proven ability to tackle economic inactivity remains a key policy priority for NICVA.
We continue to convene meetings of the Economic Inactivity Working Group.
In August, we launched our NI Can’t Wait campaign, calling for urgent clarity on the next steps for delivering the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland. The campaign highlights the serious impact that further delays in decision-making by the UK Government could have on services and the people who rely on them.
As part of our continued campaigning on this issue NICVA’s Chief Executive Celine McStravick and a delegation of representatives from the Economic Inactivity Coalition recently met with NI Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald to discuss the urgent need for clarity on administration of the fund for Northern Ireland, the role of the NI Executive regarding and the unique contribution of our sector to the 'Good Jobs' agenda and the economy more broadly.
Please contact [email protected] for more information on the Economic Inactivity Working Group.
Spending Review Briefing
NICVA provided an overview of key details arising from the UK Spending Review in early June.
Assembly Insider
NICVA’s weekly "Assembly Insider" bulletin continues to offer accessible updates on Assembly business, helping organisations track legislation and debates that affect the voluntary and community sector. The Assembly is currently in recess until September.
For further information on any of the areas covered in this update, please contact:
- Jonny Currie, Director of Policy and Insight: [email protected]
- Kathy Maguire, Policy Development Officer: [email protected]
