Barnardo’s Northern Ireland are calling for an ambitious budget that provides wrap-around care and support for children, young people, and families across Northern Ireland and we welcome the opportunity to provide our views on the draft Budget 2026-2026/7.
Our response is shaped by our 2024-2027 strategy, which prioritises children being safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful. Agreeing a multi-year budget is an important opportunity to take a strategic look at all aspects of public spending, including service delivery, workforce, and reform. Barnardo’s NI calls for an ambitious budget that provides wrap-around care and support for children, young people and families. At present the draft budget lacks the vision and detail to truly change the effectiveness of public services and the experiences of children and young people access to services.
Our response is focused on the following key areas; early intervention; child poverty; commissioning of services; mental health services; children’s social care; care leavers and special educational needs and disability support.
Policy and influencing in Northern Ireland
We have first-hand experience of the issues faced by children and young people across Northern Ireland. We use that experience to campaign for change and influence government to achieve better outcomes for more children.
Barnardo's Northern Ireland
We all want to feel safe, happy, healthy and hopeful. Right now, too many children, young people and families in Northern Ireland don’t feel like this. We’re here to make sure your family, and children and young people across Northern Ireland have somewhere they feel they belong.
Consultation response on the Probation Board Northern Ireland's Corporate Plan 2026-2029
Barnardo's Northern Ireland fed back on the Probation Board’s Corporate Plan for 2026-2029. Our Parenting Matters service works in partnership with the NI Prison Service to provide parenting programmes and support in all four prison establishments and from 2015 to 2025, we delivered parenting programmes to parents and expectant parents on behalf of PBNI.