Northlands funding cut prompts Council to write to Health Minister and The Executive Office

At this month’s Health and Community Committee meeting Sinn Féin councillor Sandra Duffy proposed that council write to Minister Mike Nesbitt, to express concern about the loss in funding and ask that it be reconsidered.

She also proposed that officers contact the Centre to “discuss the impact this may have on services”.

Councillor Duffy noted that addiction services in the district were already stretched, while there were “many issues within our communities” around addiction and mental health.

“The two come hand in hand,” she added. “And that is why it is really important that we have these services.

“We have talked about the need for more and adequate services, so I think that that has just led us to be really shocked at this decision around the Northlands Centre.

“We need more services [and] funding coming into this area, not less.”

SDLP councillor Rory Farrell amended the proposal asking that council also writes to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, and invite representatives of Northlands Centre to present a deputation to the Committee.

Councillor Farrell said the Northlands Centre was a “vital service” and this was an “absolutely disgraceful decision”.

“People are struggling with addiction and the investment should be increased not stripped away,” he argued. “And it should be worth noting that the Programme for Government, which sets out the priorities and the plans for TEO, was 120 pages and didn’t mention addiction once. That’s an absolute disgrace.”

“We support the letter going to the Health Minister but what we have to recognise is that this is an issue for the entire Executive [and] tackling addiction should be a priority, so we would suggest that that letter goes to the First and Deputy First Ministers as well.”

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said he had spoken with Northlands Centre representatives about the “devastating cut”, while UUP Alderman Derek Hussey supported the proposal and noted that his party members had contacted Mr Nesbitt, who plans to visit the Centre to “consider the situation that has evolved”.

Alderman Hussey noted: “The assessment of application for funding was not done through the Health Department it was run by NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action), so there are questions as to what has really happened and why Northlands [are] in the situation they find themselves in.

“I can assure colleagues that our grouping shares the concerns expressed in Chamber and we followed it up directly with the Minister, [who] is aware of the scenario and plans to visit the city and look into that particular issue.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.