On 25 April, the Equality Coalition gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Communities on the Anti-Poverty Strategy. Daniel Holder (CAJ), John-Patrick Clayton (UNISON), Becca Bor (Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network) and Trása Canavan (Barnardo’s) represented the Coalition. They spoke about the duty to adopt an Anti-Poverty Strategy, judicial reviews of the Northern Ireland Executive and the 2020-2022 Mandate to present. The Committee agreed to:
1. Send a letter to the Department for Communities and to the Executive expressing Committee concerns around the delay in bringing forward an Anti-Poverty Strategy, to ask what the reasons are for the delay and to ask for the Department’s view on the risk of potential legal action in relation to the continued failure to bring forward a strategy in line with its statutory obligation.
2. Send a letter to all Departments to ask if they have taken poverty into account when considering their budgets and to ask if they have liaised with the Minister for Communities on the need to introduce an antipoverty strategy as soon as possible.
Here is our written evidence.
To watch the oral evidence session (2:22:50), click here
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