There has been much anticipation about an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Northern Ireland and a draft Strategy is now out for consultation. This is important given rising poverty levels in Northern Ireland and the need for a long-term plan to address the issues driving poverty. There have been concerns about the draft Strategy reported in the media and whether it will be able to make a real difference to poverty levels in Northern Ireland. It is therefore vital that there is consideration given to what is contained in the draft Strategy. Siobhán is currently holding focus group discussions on what is contained in the draft Strategy and what women would like to see in it that would make a difference in their lives.
An Anti-Poverty Strategy Group has been formed and is made up of former members of the Anti-Poverty Co-Design Group who worked alongside the Department for Communities to co-design the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy building on the work of the Expert Advisory Panel and their report. The Co-Design group developed its own paper of recommendations and have updated these recently. We support these recommendations and encourage those who are responding to the consultation to include these recommendations in their responses:
The deadline for comments is Friday 19th September 2025 and it is available on the Department for Communities website here:
https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-ni-executive-anti-poverty-strategy
