Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to designate his Department under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 with respect to its activities in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver for all the people of Northern Ireland. Whilst DLUHC is not designated under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 it is committed to carrying out its functions in line with its obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and with due regard to the considerations set out in Section 75.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what representations his Department has received for matched funding to support projects currently funded by the European Social Fund in Northern Ireland during the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Government is currently engaging with the Northern Ireland Executive at an official level regarding the concerns raised by some Northern Ireland stakeholders around programmes currently running under the European Social Fund.
UK-wide funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will ramp up to at least match receipts from EU structural funds in Northern Ireland. which on average reached around £1.5 billion per year. Spending Review 2021 fulfils this commitment, with the announcement of over £2.6 billion for the UKSPF over the next three years.
The Government will publish further details on the fund in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to allocate matched funding to projects currently supported by the European Social Fund in Northern Ireland during the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Government is currently engaging with the Northern Ireland Executive at an official level regarding the concerns raised by some Northern Ireland stakeholders around programmes currently running under the European Social Fund.
UK-wide funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will ramp up to at least match receipts from EU structural funds in Northern Ireland. which on average reached around £1.5 billion per year. Spending Review 2021 fulfils this commitment, with the announcement of over £2.6 billion for the UKSPF over the next three years.
The Government will publish further details on the fund in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will set out any differences in assessment criteria for bids to the different Levelling Up funds in Northern Ireland compared to elsewhere in the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government awarded nearly £50 million in funding to Northern Ireland as part of the first round of the Levelling Up Fund and a further £300k in funding from the Community Ownership Fund
The following week we announced 31 successful Community Renewal Fund projects in Northern Ireland, totalling nearly £12.4 million.
Community Ownership Fund assessment criteria was the same in every country of the UK. The assessment criteria for Levelling Up Fund and Community Renewal Fund, including the different criteria used in Northern Ireland, are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to manage the period between the European Social Fund-funded projects in Northern Ireland and the commencement of Shared Prosperity Fund-supported projects to help ensure that there are no gaps in funding and to reduce potential risk of redundancies for jobs dependent on that funding.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
At Spending Review 2021, the Government announced over £2.6 billion for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
We are ensuring that domestic UK-wide funding will at least match EU receipts, reaching around £1.5 billion a year in 2024-25 when EU funding ceases, while also providing for a smooth transition onto the new, domestic regime.
The Government will publish further details on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what structures or processes are in place to ensure that the application of the Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland is aligned to policies of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The UK Government will continue to engage the devolved administrations and local partners as we develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We have committed that the devolved administrations will be represented on the governance structures for the Fund. The Government will publish further details on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timetable is for opening applications to the Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
At Spending Review 2021, the Government announced over £2.6 billion for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with funding ramping up to £1.5 billion in 2024/25.
The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local areas on the future of local growth funding and of providing clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The Government will publish further details on the fund in due course.