Speaking alongside colleagues and service users gathered at Stormont, Celine McStravick NICVA Chief Executive said,
“As the collective voice of the voluntary and community sector, NICVA has long championed the essential role that community organisations play in supporting people, strengthening communities, and driving inclusive economic growth.
Yet today, we are being pushed to breaking point. This is neither accidental nor unavoidable.
The UK Government’s decision to reduce annual revenue funding of the Local Growth Fund from £25 million to £9.2 million from April 2026 means people with complex health, wellbeing, and employability needs losing trusted support when they need it most.
It means skilled staff leaving the sector, taking with them experience and relationships that cannot be quickly replaced. Once lost, this capacity does not simply return.
Organisations delivering proven outcomes are being pushed to the edge with weeks’ notice and no transition, while being told that responsibility lies “elsewhere” or that processes “take time.”
We already lag behind the rest of the UK in access to key programmes. That should alarm anyone who cares about fairness, prevention, and value for public money.
This is not special pleading - it is about protecting the infrastructure that underpins health, employability, and community stability. If these services fall, the cost will simply reappear elsewhere: in crisis responses, overstretched public services, and lives pushed further from opportunity.
This moment still allows for different choices to be made, but that window is closing quickly. This is not the time for words or platitudes. It is the time for action.”
NICVA and the Economic Inactivity Coalition are calling on the UK Government and the Executive to immediately:
- Reverse this unjust allocation model.
- Protect existing services through 2026/27 for planning and service continuity for participants.
- Commit to genuinely co-designed and sustainable funding that reflects Northern Ireland’s needs.
