NICCY warns cuts to community led funding risks serious harm to young people across Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) has expressed serious concern following confirmation of the UK Government’s Local Growth Fund plans to deliver a 64% reduction in funding for Northern Ireland’s community‑led programmes, alongside a shift to a 30% revenue / 70% capital funding split.

This decision represents a reduction in funding from £25 million to £9.2 million in 2026 for the voluntary and community sector and is expected to have a direct and damaging impact on children and young people, particularly those facing poverty, exclusion and complex life circumstances.

Organisations who support children living in difficult circumstances will now have to face the challenging decision of redundancies, sourcing alternative means of funding, or close their doors to the communities that desperately need their help.

Youth‑focused partnerships such as YouthStart, supports over 1,500 young people every year, play a critical role in helping young people into education, training and employment. These services are not peripheral; they form a central part of Northern Ireland’s early intervention and prevention infrastructure.

NICCY is concerned that decisions of this scale appear to have been taken without sufficient consideration of their likely impact on children and young people, including:

• Increased pressure on mental health and safeguarding services.
• Rising risk of disengagement from education and training.
• Higher long‑term costs to public services.
• Reduced labour market participation among young people.

Evidence consistently shows that failing to invest early increases demand later, shifting pressure onto already overstretched statutory services.

The scale of the impact is significant:

• 24,000 beneficiaries
• 64 community organisations
• 400 skilled youth and community workers are now at risk, with organisations already being forced to plan for redundancies and service closures.

NICCY is calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to urgently engage with the UK Government to:

• Challenge the scale of funding reductions.
• Seek a reversal of the 30/70 revenue‑capital split, which is not suited to youth and early‑intervention services.
• Explore contingency funding options to protect essential services for children and young people.

Under the Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, NICCY has a statutory duty to advise government authorities on how decisions impact on children’s rights and best interests. As such the Commissioner has written to the Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, to seek his intervention.

Commissioner Chris Quinn said: Young people should not pay the price for funding decisions that fail to take their needs and long‑term outcomes into account.

 

Voluntary services are a lifeline for young people who need the emotional and physical support to improve their futures. Outreach in action empowers young people to grab opportunities that will give them a fresh start, and the validation to experience life free from stigma, barriers and inequality.

 

Sustained investment in early intervention is not optional; it is essential to protecting children’s rights and to the future social and economic wellbeing of Northern Ireland.”

NICCY are standing alongside our voluntary sector allies to call for funding cuts to be reversed. To protect the lives of children and young people that rely deeply on services that offer them support, development and aid within their community.

We support the campaign #NICantWait, a collective of voluntary organisations that are acting against the decision for crippling cuts to the community and voluntary sector.

#NICantWait urge you to use your voice towards the NI Executive to protect services that are vital to communities across Northern Ireland.

Act now:

• To challenge this decision with the UK Government
• Ask for a reversal of the 30 revenue 70 capital split
• To consider a contingency funding package to protect essential youth services for those young people that need it most.

Follow #NICantWait for more updates and show your support.