To ask the Minister of Education whether an equality impact assessment was carried out prior to the announcement of significant cuts to his Department's Early Years Fund.

The Executive’s Budget has been reduced by the Westminster Government by £1.5bn over the last five years. As a direct result of this reduction there is significantly reduced money to spend on frontline services such as Education. I have taken every action possible to protect Education funding and those frontline services within the Department of Education’s (DE) remit, however, it is simply impossible to protect everything.

The Early Years Fund was intended to help sustain certain early childhood services in areas of greatest need which were facing difficulties when Peace II funding ended. The DFP Review of the Early Years Fund (2013) found that the Fund, which is administered by Early Years – the Organisation for Young Children, has effectively remained as a “closed” Fund since introduced by DHSSPS in 2004. It is therefore not equitable to allow it to continue in its current form as only currently funded groups can apply to receive support.

The reduction in funding for the Early Years Fund was subject to an equality screening exercise, which was published on the Department’s website.