Department Officials Recalled Before Assembly Committee This Week Over ‘Wholly Inadequate’ Update

Departmental officials are being recalled before an Assembly Committee this week and have been told to be ready to give ‘substantive and detailed’ answers about their handling of the Child Poverty Strategy.

Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Daniel McCrossan MLA wrote to the Department for Communities (DfC) in February about a ‘wholly inadequate’ update it had provided on the work of the Strategy.

At his request, Departmental officials are due to provide a briefing to the Committee at its meeting on Thursday (12 March).

Daniel McCrossan explained: “At our meeting in mid-February, we considered correspondence sent to us by DfC. This was an official government reply to recommendations we made in a PAC report published in November 2024 on ‘Child Poverty in Northern Ireland’.

“In that DfC correspondence, there is little evidence of any urgency in addressing an issue which the Committee, and indeed the Department, have previously called a matter of critical public importance. It is a wholly inadequate response to the serious concerns we raised and the numerous recommendations we set out.

“Child poverty is not an abstract policy issue — it affects thousands of children and families across Northern Ireland every day. For many households, it means going without basic essentials, facing financial stress and living with ongoing uncertainty.

“For that reason I wrote to Emer Morelli, the Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities, requesting that officials give oral evidence to the Committee again.

“In our report in Autumn 2024, we described the Department for Communities’ handling of the Child Poverty Strategy as a ‘catalogue of failures’. We gave an extensive list of the Strategy’s shortcomings along with numerous recommendations we wanted to see reflected in a new cross-departmental plan to tackle child poverty.”

While the Committee noted the majority of its recommendations had been formally accepted by DfC, it expressed concern that progress had been limited. Just two of the Committee’s 11 recommendations are recorded as complete.

The Chair added: “The other nine recommendations are marked as ‘ongoing’ but the actions listed as being taken are vague and lack meaningful timelines.

“Of particular concern is the Department’s reliance on the absence of an agreed Executive strategy as justification for limited progress.  DfC doesn’t explain what actions can, and should, be progressed in the interim.

“Children experiencing poverty cannot wait for processes to conclude,” Mr McCrossan added. “The Committee expects the Department to demonstrate what actions are being taken now to make a tangible difference to families’ lives.

“We don’t accept that progress on such a significant societal issue can remain largely static pending wider strategic developments.

“We will be seeking substantive and detailed answers from officials. Where further clarification is required, we will continue to pursue it.”

Ends

For media enquiries please contact Felicity Templeton, Assembly Communications team on 07977 635930 felicity.templeton@niassembly.gov.uk

Notes to editors

• On Thursday 12 March, between 2.05pm and 4.00pm, the Committee will hear from Department for Communities officials, Emer Morelli (Interim Accounting Officer); John McCord, Director of Central Policy Division; and Cherrie Arnold, Interim Deputy Secretary for the Work & Health Group.
• You can find more information in the Business Diary here.
• You can read the PAC report on child poverty, published in November 2024 here and the corresponding news release here.