- 18/06/2025
Anti-Poverty Strategy met with lukewarm response from some Derry campaigners
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00:00For too long, there has been no joined-up cross-departmental approach to tackling the
00:04problem of poverty within our society. This will soon change. I am pleased to announce
00:11that following the Executive's agreement of a draft version of the Anti-Poverty Strategy,
00:15today we will see the launch of a public consultation to allow the public to have an opportunity
00:19to comment on the plans we have developed. When I took office, I made it clear that one
00:25of my priorities would be tackling poverty. After a legacy of delay in taking this work
00:30forward, I wanted to work at pace to develop a strategy which could help make a meaningful
00:35difference to those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage in our society. For me, it was
00:42essential that we developed a strategy that was not only practical, but was also sustainable
00:47and deliverable. Rather than making promises that couldn't have been kept, I and my Executive
00:52colleagues have worked to develop a strategy which we will make progress against and can
00:58and will make a difference to people's lives. This strategy is the culmination of considerable
01:03hard work, collaboration and co-design. I want to thank all those stakeholders, in particular
01:10the members of the Anti-Poverty Co-Design Group, who have worked with my department in providing
01:15their input. We often hear about the silo approach in government, but I know that ministers and officials
01:21across the executive departments have worked together on the draft in a spirit of co-operation
01:28and collective ownership. Our approach not only looks at helping to raise people's incomes
01:34in the short term, important though that is, it is equally essential that we identify and
01:39address the root causes of poverty, supporting people to address some of the key issues in their
01:45lives. For example, ensuring they have the opportunity to achieve in education, that they are supported
01:52to address physical and mental health issues, and can access a range of opportunities to find
01:57well-paid and meaningful employment. It is for that reason that our Agreed Anti-Poverty Strategy
02:04focuses on three key pillars on which we must focus our collective efforts if we want to see
02:11meaningful change. The three pillars are aiming to minimise the risk of people falling into
02:17poverty, helping minimise the impacts of poverty on people's lives, and working with people
02:23to help them exit poverty. This approach is an important step forward, and it is the right
02:28one given the scale of the problem we are facing. It is only through addressing these areas together
02:35that we will be able to tackle poverty in a manner which will allow for continual improvement moving
02:40forward. We have also recognised the cyclical nature of poverty. For example, poor health or
02:46poor educational outcomes can be both impacts of poverty and causes of poverty. The publication
02:54of this strategy will not mark the finish of the Executive's work in relation to tackling poverty,
03:01but rather it marks the next important step in an ongoing process.
03:07Even in the absence of a strategy, I and my Executive colleagues have taken forward work
03:11aimed at helping those suffering from socio-economic disadvantage. While some of our critics have
03:17spent their time naysaying and critiquing, we have been delivering. This was recognised in
03:22the Executive's Programme for Government, which included a range of actions designed to help
03:27some of the most disadvantaged in our society. For example, developing a growing and competitive
03:32economy and cutting health waiting times. My own department has also helped and supported
03:37those in society who most need assistance. Whether it was extending welfare mitigations,
03:43getting more people signed up to the benefits that they deserve through the Make the Call service,
03:47or improving affording housing availability with the delivery of the housing supply strategy.
03:53And this work will keep moving forward. Within my department, I have committed to a range
03:59of new actions within the strategy. These include the delivery of a fuel poverty strategy and developing
04:05a new people and place strategic framework. Other colleagues are taking similar steps. For example,
04:11the Minister for Education has committed to taking forward legislation on ensuring school uniforms are
04:17affordable. And also agreed that a budget of £23 million will be available in 2526 to provide a 15%
04:26childcare subsidy for working parents eligible for tax-free childcare. I will also continue to engage
04:33with colleagues in Westminster to address issues around welfare reform and lobbying for the repeal of the
04:39two-child limit. That's not to say that this strategy is more of the same. All of this work now sits for the
04:46first time in an integrated framework allowing us as an executive to effectively monitor, coordinate and
04:54deliver real-world impacts. Poverty is not a problem the executive can solve in isolation. Rather, it will
05:03require government, public bodies, voluntary and community organisations, communities, families and
05:10individuals all working together to make a meaningful and lasting change to our society. And this is why
05:17this statement to the Assembly is so important. This public consultation provides an opportunity for all
05:24areas of society to comment on the draft anti-poverty strategy and highlight any areas they feel could be
05:31strengthened further. We are keen to hear new ideas or innovative approaches as to how we should take this
05:37work forward. The consultation will be a significant engagement with society and we will treat all
05:44contributions to it seriously and thoughtfully. I would also highlight that to allow people time to
05:50consider and respond we are going beyond the normal eight and 12-week time frames for public consultation.
05:57I have asked officials to allow a 14-week period of consultation. It will open today and continue until mid-September.
06:04The public consultation on the draft anti-poverty strategy is a significant step forward in how
06:11the executive addresses the problem of socio-economic disadvantage in our society.
06:17Final publication later in the year will not mark the end of the cooperation and coordination between
06:23departments that has been a feature of the strategy's development. Instead, it will mark the starting
06:29point for all departments to move to implementation with commitment and a focus on delivery. In closing,
06:37let me say this. I recognise and understand the concern that the absence of this document has had
06:44for many people for many years. Today, I am taking action and doing something about that. Not because I want to
06:53publish a document in order to simply tick a box. But I want us to have a joined-up, coordinated plan
06:59to tackle poverty. Why? Because I see it every day. I witness it in the lives of people in East Antrim that
07:08I am privileged to represent and beyond and we should want to make them better. The pensioner struggling with
07:16rising heating costs. The mother juggling the costs of school uniforms and sports gear with all of the other
07:22essentials. A father not knowing how he will afford yet another increase in rent. A child whose ambitions and
07:32potential are not fully realised. We are talking about people, their wellbeing, their health and their futures.
07:40That is why we need a strategy that will help us make progress in tackling one of the most pressing
07:47issues we face. Therefore, I commend this statement to the House.
07:52Dr Egan.
07:53Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am tempted to ask, is this it? After almost two decades, we have seen levels of poverty
08:02spiral. After a so-called co-design process, we have seen the expertise, the empathy,
08:09and the input of the sector left on the cubbing room floor. After a court case that found this
08:15executive in breach of its duty to publish an anti-poverty strategy, does the minister agree
08:21that this underwhelming document does not just call into question the executive's ability to tackle
08:27poverty, but its appetite and ambition to do so as well? Minister. No, absolutely not. The member is
08:34wrong on every point that he has made. It has been 17 years that we have been waiting for this document,
08:40and after 17 months in office, I have been able to bring this forward. Let me address in particular
08:45one of the issues that he raised in relation to the co-design group. He said that it's on the cutting
08:50room floor. That's absolute nonsense. The co-design group raised period poverty as an issue which we
08:57have tackled in this document. The co-design group identified the need to address fuel poverty,
09:03which we'll be bringing forward as part of this strategy. The co-design group identified the need
09:07to make school attendance cost neutral, and Paul Given is taking forward work to do just that. The
09:14RAISE programme will raise achievement to reduce educational advantage and legislation is being
09:18worked on to ensure affordable school uniforms. The co-design group asked that mitigation payments be
09:25extended.
09:26They
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