Guidance

Northern Ireland Partnership Group meeting notes 19 May 2025

Updated 13 November 2025

UKSPF Partnership Group

19 May 1.15pm- 2pm

Invest NI Offices Belfast

Members attending

Name	Organisation	Sector
Chris Taylor (chair)	MHCLG	UK government
Valerie McConville	CO3	Voluntary & community
Adrian McCreesh	SOLACE (Mid Ulster District)	Local government
Celine McStravick	NICVA	Voluntary & community
Cathy Keenan (representing John Walsh)	SOLACE (Belfast City Council)	Local government
Luke Sunerton	NIO	UK government

Observers attending

Laura McDonald

Dept for Finance

NI Executive

Sheldon Loughlin

Dept for Finance

NI Executive

Secretariat

The meeting was supported by MHCLG staff – Rebekah Bleakley, Chris Moore, Karis Hewitt.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Professor Sir Ian Greer (Queens University Belfast), John Walsh (represented by Cathy Keenan) and Suzanne Wylie, Christine Robinson (MHCLG)

1. Chair’s welcome

The Chair welcomed members and nominees to the fourteenth UKSPF Northern Ireland Partnership Group and welcomed the two representatives from the Department of Finance as observers.

2. Update since the last meeting

MHCLG officials provided an update on activities undertaken since the last meeting, including:

• approval of all UKSPF project funding for 2025-2026, totalling £45m for 18 projects
• the attendance at a number of events and conferences
• 2025-26 project workshop for all UKSPF lead deliverers, and
• the commencement of project initiation meetings for all UKSPF projects.

3. Debrief and forward look

MHCLG officials provided the Partnership Group with an update on the 2023-2025 budget position:

• £103.3m was spent by 43 projects against a revised allocation of £104.25m, and representing 99% of the available allocation.
• In aggregate, this funding helped:
  • 26,800 people move towards work,
  • 16,900 people get better with numbers,
  • to expand the business base by support for almost 5,000 businesses,
  • almost 7,000 people to explore starting a business
  • the creation of 2,750 jobs
  • to improve communities across NI through investment in creating or improving 50,000m2 of green and blue space, 59km of cycleways or paths and 17,500m2 of public realm.

MHCLG officials updated members on how project performance will be managed this year with quantitative reports required every three months looking at spend, outputs and outcomes.

Members noted the intention to take corrective steps in conjunction to project deliverers, where projects are under-delivering against plan after June 2025. This may be followed by decommitment where delivery remains behind plan during the second quarter. This would enable the redistribution of this funding to alternative and/or better performing projects.

4. AOB

Members noted a recent news article raising concerns regarding the UKSPF payment schedule, raised by organisations delivering support to economically inactive people.

Members noted that MHCLG officials have engaged with relevant projects as part of project initiation processes for 2025-26, and that

• payments will ordinarily be made on a six-monthly cycle following receipt of satisfactory year end and six-monthly reports and external assurance, as published, and as set out in funding agreements,
• this replicates the payment timeline for 2023 and 2024 without change,
• the first 2025-26 payments to those projects that have completed all reporting and assurance requirements will be paid before the end of May 2025.

No further action was required.

5. Date of next meeting

Members agreed that the next meeting will be scheduled for late summer.

If required, MHCLG officials will schedule an additional meeting following the spending review.