BREXIT and the subsequent loss of EU funding is having a direct impact on groups who were making use of European funds to provide vital services across the North which previously received  £54.8 million per annum from Europe.

Many groups across sectors from employability and training to the securing and preservation of heritage and archaeological sites, have been reliant on funding from the EU. A lot of this funding was scheduled to stop following Brexit, but due to the pandemic this was postponed, with funding only beginning to run out in 2023.

The British government established the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), part of its  ‘levelling up’ agenda, claiming funding which previously came from the EU would now come from the British government. This was to be processed by the British government’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

However, the funds promised by the British government have been well below the previous EU funding, leaving some community organisations facing cutbacks or closure.

One of the groups caught up in the funding controversy is the NOW Group which works with people with learning disabilities and autism. Through the European Social Fund project Verve, NOW trained and supported people towards achieving employment. 

EMPLOYMENT: NOW have helped people into jobs in a wide range of sectors, from hospitality, to banking, to the civil service
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EMPLOYMENT: NOW have helped people into jobs in a wide range of sectors, from hospitality, to banking, to the civil service

In North and West Belfast NOW have helped applicants into 43 jobs in a wide range of employers including in their social enterprise cafés such as Loaf on Grosvenor Road and Bobbin, the café at Belfast City Hall. Applicants have gone on to find jobs in Homebase, DHL, Danske Bank, the civil service and Hendersons in Mallusk.

NOW Group has had to reapply for funding from the British government for a significantly smaller amount.

Sean Hanna, Programme Manager of NOW Group, said they've been dependent on EU funding for the last twenty years and that it has helped the organisation find employment for many young people over that period.

“The money being made available by the British government through the UKSPF won’t be enough to service the whole sector. At the minute in Northern Ireland, the EU are funding 53 separate projects, which costs £54.8m, but year one of the Shared Prosperity Fund is only £39m. There’s a shortfall there which means groups will have to potentially cut back on their projects. Indeed, some groups may miss out on funding altogether.

“Within NOW, we’re having a greater impact than ever Things are really good in terms of achieving our goals and our targets. We’re in a weird position at the moment where we’re doing really well but it’s now looking like we won’t be able to continue that success due to a lack of funding.

“At the moment we have around 2,000 adults with learning disabilities or who are neurodivergent on our books. We’re helping them not only to get into jobs, but to get them into jobs with a high retention rate, meaning those who are hired through NOW go on to stay long-term in their employment and are given the chance to embark upon a successful future.”

SUCCESS: NOW have helped 43 neurodiverse people in North & West Belfast find secure employment, and also allowed others to gain important qualifications and skills
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SUCCESS: NOW have helped 43 neurodiverse people in North & West Belfast find secure employment, and also allowed others to gain important qualifications and skills

The NOW spokesman said someone has to explain who will now cater for this cohort of disabled citizens: “Our big question now is, if we don’t have funding, what will happen to the people who are with us at the moment? Where will they go?

“There are roughly five months of funding for the project remaining. For the funding we receive, our output has been phenomenal. Some of the returns we’ve got include a 40 per cent output with our job scheme, and our target was 21 per cent. In another contract, our output was to be 14.4 per cent, we’re currently doing 93 per cent. 

“Without this funding, and with the continuing impact of the after effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, and with the big reduction in the amount of money available through the UKSPF fund, we’re going to not have enough money to maintain and continue to build our organisation.”

Sean said information will hopefully be made available next week on how to begin applying for the funding through the UKSPF, but so far there have been no details given out by the British government.

The difficulties NOW and other groups are facing has been compounded by the non-functioning Executive at Stormont. Due to the DUP’s boycott of the institutions there has been no support or guidance for the many groups who are now entering a period of uncertainty regarding their futures. 

In total, the Employability and Training sector across the North comprises around 1,700 staff and 18,000 service users.