Latest news with #StAndrewsAgreement
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-poverty strategy to be signed off after 18 years
Stormont ministers are expected to agree the Northern Ireland Executive's first-ever draft strategy to tackle poverty later on Thursday, BBC News NI understands. In March, Stormont's Executive Committee was found in breach of its legal obligation to adopt the strategy by a court ruling. The anti-poverty strategy was first committed to 18 years ago with the aim of reducing social exclusion and deprivation. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons submitted a draft paper to ministers for consideration about six weeks ago. The minister previously described the document as a "realistic" but long-term plan to tackle poverty. It must be signed off by ministers before it can go out for public consultation. It will then return to the executive for any final changes to be considered before Stormont departments can begin to implement it. Recent figures from the Department for Communities (DfC) suggest about 22% of children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty. The figures also indicate that about 23% of children are in relative poverty and about 20% are in absolute poverty. The anti-poverty strategy is a requirement inserted into the Northern Ireland Act, following the St Andrews Agreement in 2006. There have been multiple court orders and legal challenges made as no strategy has ever been implemented in Northern Ireland. In January, judgment was reserved in a recent legal challenge brought against Stormont for "failing to adopt" an anti-poverty strategy for Northern Ireland. Two months later at the High Court in Belfast, Stormont's Executive Committee was found in breach of its legal obligation to adopt a strategy. Trása Canavan from Barnados and a member of the Anti-Poverty Strategy Group said: "Unfortunately we haven't had any sight of this document." "We haven't had any engagement with, either as individual organisations or as the anti-poverty strategy group, the minister or his officials on the development of the draft strategy," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme. "You know this group did a huge amount of work throughout the course of the 2021, 2022 and subsequent years to input into a co-design process and then develop our own paper recommendations, which was nearly 100 pages. "So there is a huge amount of work that has gone on and that we shared with the department. "We really hoped that would have informed the draft but I can't tell you what's in it because we haven't been engaged in the process of the development of this paper." There are two main measurements of low income used by the government, absolute poverty and relative poverty. Income is counted as the money a household has to spend after housing costs are taken into account. Absolute poverty measures how many people this year cannot afford a set standard of living. The Department for Work and Pensions at Westminster currently defines it based on the living standard an average income could buy in the year ending in March 2011. If your income is 40% below this, after adjusting for rising prices since then, you are classed as living in absolute poverty. Relative poverty is the number of people whose income is 40% below the average income today. An individual is considered to be in relative poverty if they are living in a household with an income below 60% of the typical UK income. This is a measure of whether those in the lowest income households are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the population as a whole. Anti-poverty strategy to be considered by ministers Stormont found in breach of duty on anti-poverty Long term plan needed to tackle child poverty - minister
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Stormont: Anti-poverty strategy to be considered by ministers
A long-delayed draft anti-poverty strategy will be sent to executive ministers on Monday for consideration, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has this month, Stormont's executive committee was found in breach of its legal obligation to adopt the strategy by a court ruling. The strategy was first committed to 18 years ago in an effort to tackle poverty, social exclusion and had previously said he would bring the document to the executive by the end of March. On Monday, SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan pressed the minister to spell out when the public would see it and feel the benefits of minister replied that it would depend on the strategy being signed off with approval from other executive parties."I think it's important that the strategy is flexible... first and foremost this will provide the framework for the way forward to make sure we're putting in place policies that make a difference," he added. Earlier this month, Lyons said he believed the anti-poverty strategy was a "realistic" but long-term plan to tackle made the comments after figures from the Department for Communities (DfC) suggested about 22% of children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty. What is the anti-poverty strategy? The anti-poverty strategy is a requirement inserted into the Northern Ireland Act, following the St Andrews Agreement in have been multiple court orders and legal challenges made as no strategy has been implemented in Northern January, judgement was reserved in a recent legal challenge brought against Stormont for "failing to adopt" an anti-poverty strategy for Northern March, Stormont's Executive Committee was found in breach of its legal obligation to adopt a strategy at the Royal Courts of Justice. How is poverty measured? There are two main measurements of low income used by the government. Income is counted as the money a household has to spend after housing costs are taken into poverty measures how many people this year cannot afford a set standard of living. The Department for Work and Pensions currently defines it based on the living standard an average income could buy in the year ending in March 2011. If your income is 40% below this, after adjusting for rising prices since then, you are classed as living in absolute poverty is the number of people whose income is 40% below the average income individual is considered to be in relative poverty if they are living in a household with an income below 60% of the typical UK is a measure of whether those in the lowest income households are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the population as a whole.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Child Poverty: 'Long term plan needed', Gordon Lyons says
The minister for communities believes an anti-poverty strategy due to be published in April from his department is a "realistic" but long-term plan to tackle poverty. Gordon Lyons made the comments after figures from the Department for Communities (DfC) suggested about 22% of children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty. The figures also indicate that about 23% of children are in relative poverty and about 20% are in absolute poverty. The Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland, Chris Quinn, said these figures show a "failure" in the UK government and NI executive safeguarding children and their rights to "social and economical help" and "action is needed now". What did figures show? The DfC figures indicate that about 104,000 children (23%) are in relative poverty, a decrease of the 24% estimate in 2022/23. But about 90,000 children (20%) are in absolute poverty, which is an increase of the 19% estimate in 2022/23. The figures use two main measures of living standards: relative poverty and absolute poverty. Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons said he believes the strategy due to be published is "something that's realistic" which "will require a long term plan". "This will deal with the root causes of poverty ... and it will be a long term strategy ... this isn't about tinkering around the edges, poverty comes from some fundamental issues that people face ... there aren't any short term fixes," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster said people in NI have been waiting for this strategy "since 1998" and he has "made it a priority". "I want a strategy that works and actually delivers for the people of Northern Ireland and actually has the by in of executive colleagues already. I'm not putting down something in front of them that is going to be different or fresh from what they've actually seen. Everybody has bought into this," he added. Mr Quinn said: "This is absolutely scandalous. We are waiting the publication of an anti poverty strategy ... we need action.""We need more (money), we need Westminster to make up for a lot of lost time here and also we need to use the money that we have better," he added. Ursula O'Hare from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said child poverty is "not a new problem" but it isn't being dealt with. "There was an opportunity, I think a missed opportunity in the Programme For Government (PFG) to have set poverty eradication as a key executive priority. That opportunity was missed but the anti-poverty strategy ... gives a fresh chance for the executive to really focus on what we can do early."She added that the executive need to work together and be "ambitious for the better". "Change is possible ... it's about departments working together. Setting a very clear beacon that as a society, as an executive." What is the anti-poverty strategy? The anti-poverty strategy is a requirement inserted into the Northern Ireland Act, following the St Andrews Agreement in 2006. There have been multiple court orders and legal challenges made as no strategy has been implemented in Northern Ireland. Judgement was reserved in a recent legal challenge brought against Stormont for "failing to adopt" an anti-poverty strategy for Northern Ireland. How is poverty measured? There are two main measurements of low income used by the government. Income is counted as the money a household has to spend after housing costs are taken into poverty measures how many people this year cannot afford a set standard of living. The Department for Work and Pensions currently defines it based on the living standard an average income could buy in the year ending in March 2011. If your income is 40% below this, after adjusting for rising prices since then, you are classed as living in absolute poverty is the number of people whose income is 40% below the average income today. An individual is considered to be in relative poverty if they are living in a household with an income below 60% of the typical UK is a measure of whether those in the lowest income households are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the population as a whole.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Anti-poverty: Stormont in legal breach over strategy
Stormont's Executive Committee has been found in breach of its legal obligation to adopt an anti-poverty strategy at the Royal Courts of strategy was first committed to 18 years ago in an effort to tackle poverty, social exclusion and human rights group, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), took the case against the Stormont Executive, the communities minister and the first and deputy first judge said there was no evidence that the communities minister or the first and deputy first ministers were in breach of their duties. The court heard while the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons had "abandoned" work done for the strategy, it did not amount to a "deliberate attempt to thwart" publication of the anti-poverty strategy. Una Boyd KC, representing the human rights group, said while the judgement had not gone entirely their way, it was a "significant victory"."What is very important about the outcome is it reiterates that an anti-poverty strategy isn't a policy decision, it isn't something that's nice to have. "It's a legal obligation, and that legal obligation simply has not been filled."The court heard a timeline of the delays in adopting the anti-poverty strategy, which was included in the Northern Ireland Act following the St Andrews Agreement in 2006. The case, brought by the CAJ, is also supported by members of the Equality Coalition including Unison, Barnardo's NI and the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Murphy, from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said the outcome showed there was a "malaise affecting decision making" at Stormont."Poverty is widespread across our community," he said. "On top of all of that, it's affecting people who are never affected by poverty before." John Patrick Clayton, from Unison, was involved in the design of the anti-poverty strategy and he said the delay in adopting the strategy was frustrating."Poverty is an urgent issue," he said."It would have made a difference in people's day-to-day lives. "I should say we haven't seen the content of the executive draft strategy so it's hard in the abstract to say specifically what the executive might have done that would have made a difference. "But there's a whole range of things that had been recommended previously."He said this includes recommendations to introduce a new child payment, building on the model that is used in Scotland."We had advocated within my own union for the introduction of universal free school meals so there are measures there that could make a tangible difference in people's lives," he added.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judgment reserved in anti-poverty strategy challenge
Judgment has been reserved in a legal challenge brought against Stormont for "failing to adopt" an anti-poverty strategy for Northern Ireland. The human rights group, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), has claimed that ministers have failed to put in place a programme to alleviate poverty. The challenge is directed against the Department for Communities and the Executive Office, along with the first and deputy first ministers. A lawyer representing the human rights group, Karen Quinlivan KC, described the case "as an attack on the lack of an anti-poverty strategy". A spokesperson for the Department for Communities said that a strategy is currently in development. Ms Quinlivan said it had been a decade since the High Court previously held that the Executive committee was "in breach of its duty" to adopt a programme to deal with poverty. She added: "It is frankly appalling that that breach had never been rectified." The court heard the requirement to adopt an anti-poverty strategy was inserted into the Northern Ireland Act, following the St Andrews Agreement in 2006. The case, brought by the CAJ, is also supported by members of the Equality Coalition including Unison, Barnardo's NI and the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network. A lawyer representing the different departments argued the current legal duty to adopt a strategy only commenced when the current Executive was formed in February 2024. He added that progress is now being made to ensure any legal obligations are met. The judge, Mr Justice Humphreys, reserved judgment until a later date. Speaking outside court the director of the CAJ, Daniel Holder, said he was concerned the current Assembly mandate would expire without an anti-poverty strategy in place. He said: "There are a whole series of measures that were recommended for Stormont to pick up within an anti-poverty strategy on issues like child poverty, child payments, the establishment of a child poverty commission... None of that is in place. "We are a full year on from the Executive being re-established and we are still without an anti-poverty strategy with those elements in it." Emma Cassidy, senior engagement lead for Public Interest Litigation Support, which is supporting CAJ, said the group was "challenging nearly two decades of delay". She said she hoped the court would "compel" politicians to take action. "We are still in the grips of a cost of living - or cost of survival – crisis and there's no plan of how this is going to be sorted out," she said. "It sounds bizarre if it wasn't so serious." John Patrick Clayton from Unison described a strategy as "absolutely vital". He said he hoped today was an "important step" towards it being taken forward by the Executive. He added that tackling poverty needs "to be collectively taken forward by the executive as a whole" and a "strategy is the right way to do that". A spokesperson for the Department for Communities said that the Northern Ireland Executive Anti-Poverty Strategy, which is currently in development, "will aim to mitigate impacts, reduce the risk of falling into poverty and support people in exiting poverty". The spokesperson continued: "It will set out a cross-departmental commitment to a joined-up, long term approach to addressing poverty and the department is currently engaging with colleagues across all other departments to refine the draft strategy and the action plan that will underpin it with a view to a paper being presented to the Executive in the coming weeks." The spokesperson said the department "continues to provide support and a wide range of services to those in need". Benefits entitlement can be checked through the Make the Call service.
