UK Shared Prosperity Fund Statement

At a time when official statistics show drug-related deaths have increased by 46% and alcohol-specific deaths by 48% in Northern Ireland since 2015, government decisions on employability funding matter more than ever.

The NISRA evidence is clear. People who are unemployed, economically inactive, living with poor mental health, disability, or low qualifications face a significantly higher risk of drug- and alcohol-related death. These are the same people employment services are working with every day, 24,000 people every year!

Against this backdrop, the current approach to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is deeply concerning. Short-term, fragmented funding decisions risk undermining precisely the services that the evidence shows are preventative not optional.

Start360NI is applying to UKSPF not because the system works well, but because our responsibility is to the people we support. We cannot stand by while funding structures move in one direction and the evidence and lived experience point clearly in another.

Employability, mental health and addiction cannot be treated as separate issues. If UKSPF is to meet its stated purpose of reducing inequality and improving life chances, it must support integrated, trauma-informed employment pathways that reflect the reality people are living with.

The data is not ambiguous. These deaths are patterned, predictable and preventable. Decisions taken now will determine whether UKSPF becomes part of the solution or part of the problem.

#NICantWait #EconomicInactivity #ValueOfTheSector
NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action)
CO3 Chief Officers 3rd Sector

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