17 December 2025
SDLP West Belfast councillor Paul Doherty has slammed Communities Minister Gordon Lyons failure to contribute to Belfast City Council’s Hardship Fund.
The Department for Communities provided council with £724,600 of funding for 2023/24 but failed to contribute last year.
After being contacted by council at the proposal of the SDLP, the Minister has confirmed no funding will be available for 2025/26.
Councillor Doherty said:
“At a time when we are seeing increased levels of poverty right across our city this is a shameful decision by the Communities Minister. People are crying out for help and while council will do everything it can to help, this is a continued failure by the Minister and his Executive colleagues to take poverty seriously.
“Through the last hardship fund the SDLP secured over half a million pounds to support children through school breakfast clubs. This allowed thousands of children to start their day with a healthy meal with all of the benefits that brings. This is just one project that will lose funding as a direct result of this decision.
“I see firsthand every day the impact that poverty has on communities. We have an anti-poverty strategy not worth the paper it’s written on, and community and voluntary groups are being asked to pick up the pieces. Council had requested a modest sum when it comes to the Executive’s Budget and people will suffer as a result of this decision.”