Barnardo’s NI is the largest children’s charity in Northern Ireland. The vast majority of our services are funded by statutory agencies. We deliver work commissioned by a wide range of government departments and government agencies such as the Public Health Agency, Health and Social Care Trusts, and the Education Authority. These services cover a wide range of areas from refugee support, to child bereavement, Sure Start, fostering and adoption, and community partnership work.
As our response details, the situation in relation to the funding and delivery of public services has been deteriorating over recent years, with a lack of long-term budgets, and lack of investment in early intervention and prevention. As a result, the current economic and political context in Northern Ireland has added further pressure to a system already at breaking point. Northern Ireland’s public services are now in a precarious position where many services are unsure whether they will be open in three months’ time. We need action to address this situation immediately; otherwise it will be the children, families, and communities of Northern Ireland that bear the consequences.