Funding worth more than £57m is being withheld from Northern Ireland by the UK government department because of Stormont’s suspension. The Department of Levelling Up has held back three funding streams from allocation. The Northern Ireland Department of Finance has said this is due to the absence of a power-sharing government. Two additional funding pots, such as the Long-Term Plan for Towns and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, have also been put on hold. The latter was established to take over EU funding eradicated after Brexit. The former aims to support towns across the UK.
The total funding from the three sources is estimated to be more than £57m, the Department of Finance says. It includes around £30m from the Levelling Up Fund and £27m from part of the Shared Prosperity Fund. The Long-Term Plan for Towns aims to provide an “endowment-style fund” of £20m to towns that require special assistance. However, towns in Northern Ireland have not been recognized as requiring such help yet.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance explained that “Three separate funds have been paused with the reason cited by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities being the absence of the executive.” She said the department had worked with Levelling Up officials to ensure funding continued in the absence of an executive and that it is “seeking clarity” on the “change in approach.” Officials from the Department of Levelling Up have not commented on the issue yet.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has called for the reconstitution of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions. They have been blocking their restoration in opposition to trade barriers between North Ireland and Great Britain after Brexit. The DUP rejected the decision, terming it “economic blackmail.” On Monday, the Department for Levelling Up stated it had not given any funds to Northern Ireland “at this time” owing to the suspension of the devolved government of Stormont
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