Copyright belfastlive
A Sinn Féin councillor has stated if the Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons can “find a million on marching bands he can spend a million on those struggling” in Belfast. The remarks were made by Councillor Ryan Murphy during an exchange at City Hall at the monthly meeting of the full Belfast City Council , which was held on Monday and provoked a flinty reply from DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting, who defended party colleague. The exchange came during an item on the million pound Belfast Hardship Fund, which Sinn Féin were demanding should be restored to its former standing. After cuts from the Stormont department last year, the council has less than a tenth of the usual amount to help alleviate the impact of poverty and the cost-of-living on vulnerable people across the city. READ MORE: Belfast City Hall will fly the Palestinian flag after councillors vote READ MORE: Paul Givan: Belfast Council votes no confidence in Education Minister after parties storm out during meeting Councillor Murphy said a £1.1million Arts Council musical instruments funding programme at the Communities department was a “vanity project” for Minister Lyons, and argued the same amount should be spent on the cost-of-living crisis in Belfast. In the event, all parties agreed to the Sinn Féin proposal, which was for the council to write to the Stormont department for the hardship grant fund to be restored to its full amount since its inception three years ago. Last year Stormont ended a £1 million fund to the council and the city for those finding difficulties heating their homes. The £1million Hardship Programme, created after coronavirus > Covid to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, was initially funded and delivered by the council in 2022/23, while in the 2023/2024 year it was fully funded by the Stormont Department for Communities. In 2024-25 the Hardship Programme raised £1.1million, despite the announcement by the Stormont department to end funding. The department’s permanent secretary said in September 2024: "In this challenging context the Department is currently unable to provide any hardship funding for 2024/25, and it would not be possible to consider a recurrent funding model at this time.” At last month’s meeting of the Belfast Council Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, councillors were told by officials that City Hall only had £75,000 for the development and delivery of a Hardship Programme in 2025/26 - less than a tenth of the previous budgets. Last month Minister Lyon announced the latest round of the Arts Council musical instruments funding. From the £1.1 million programme, 94 local marching bands were awarded a total of £819,405. Alongside the 94 marching bands, 12 professional and non-professional performing groups were awarded £134,928 and 28 professional musicians received £148,667. The DUP said on its official facebook account: “This is DUP delivery in action, supporting the marching bands which play a vital role in our communities. Our bands promote musical talent, teamwork and pride in local areas, while bringing people together and giving young people a positive focus.” At the meeting of the full council at City Hall this week, Sinn Féin Councillor Ryan Murphy said: “A brief snapshot of (the Hardship Programme) shows over 140 schools supported with their breakfast clubs, family support hubs supporting 1,062 families, Trussell Trust foodbanks being able to support over 5,500 individuals, the Warm Well Connected winter warmth programme, and a whole range of other initiatives. “And sadly, for the upcoming financial year, we are looking at only having a budget of £75,000. That will go towards the family support hubs, and we are happy that it will, but we have been left in a very difficult position. “It is very similar to what happened with the Belfast Citywide Tribunal Service, where the Department for Communities established that, and left the council to carry the can in terms of providing the additional funding that they failed to provide, year in, year out. “Our antennae were up when they made the same proposal when it came to the Neighbourhood Renewal Advice Service funding, where they told us they were looking for the council to administer that over the next two years, but with no commitment or guarantee of funding in the long term.” He added: “The Hardship Programme is a real lifeline for people within the city of Belfast, who are being provided at a time when many are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Minister Lyons has faced criticism in recent months over his proposed Anti-Poverty Strategy. “Many of those based in the sector are pointing out it doesn’t have enough actions in it, and it doesn’t have the outcomes to measure them by. This (programme) would be an opportunity for the department to provide that much needed funding, to go out there and help those people facing poverty. “Unfortunately that has not been forthcoming from the department. I am hoping when we write to the Minister on this, requesting that the department does step in and provide the funding as they did in the first year, they will find it. “If Minister Lyons can find the guts of a million pounds to fund marching bands, which for me is no more than a vanity project for his party, then he should be able to find a million pounds to support those who are struggling the most with the cost of living crisis in this city.” DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting said: “We are supportive of writing to the minister asking for extra support. But I want to point out it was not a vanity project for our party, and there were actually GAA bands and republican bands that may get funding out of that. (Sinn Féin) may want to check before they bring up that issue.” The chamber unanimously agreed that the council write to the Minister for Communities to outline concerns for future support for the Hardship Programme and request that funding was provided by the department. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter
