To ask the Minister for Employment and Learning, in light of the budgetary constraints within his Department, what funding protection will continue for voluntary and community organisations which are involved in delivering public services, or in meeting the Programme for Government 11/15 objectives.

The Departmental Draft Budget for 2015-16 was published on the Department’s website on 4 December 2014 for consultation. The document can be accessed at http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/consultation-zone/del-draft-budget-2015-16.htm.

There is a total cash reduction to the Department’s resource budget of £117m, comparing 2015-16 to the budget of 2014-15, which is 14.8% of the 2014-15 baseline. The level of cuts being proposed is unprecedented and this will have far reaching and deep implications across the provision of the Department and its Arms Length Bodies.

No services in the Department are currently protected and all areas of spending will be considered for potential reductions. The Department had already identified a range of options to begin to address the anticipated pressures in 2015-16 and a list of initial potential reductions totalling £33m is included in the Draft Budget document. The Department will seek to act as strategically as possible, which means trying to protect, first and foremost, those areas that are most relevant to the economy, as well as looking to those services that are provided to those who are most vulnerable.