To ask the Minister of Education what engagement he has had with Executive colleagues in relation to securing additional funding for youth work delivery, in light of recent civil unrest.

My officials attended a roundtable discussion on 7 July with the First Minister and deputy First Minister to discuss the recent civil unrest.

(ii) In response to recent civil unrest The Education Authority (EA) activated its Major Emergency Plan arrangements for education settings and youth provision.

Throughout the period of unrest, the EA has engaged with schools in the Ballymena area and wider school community and has fully participated in the multi-agency coordination structures led by the PSNI to represent schools and youth provision.

The EA’s Intercultural Education Service (IES) is providing advice, guidance and support to schools both around child and family support issues and teaching, learning and curriculum resources. Social Workers and Teachers from IES are helping schools engage with families and children who have been displaced or impacted by the unrest. The IES and other EA services are working with schools to plan for a return-to-work support plan from late August onwards to help schools deal with any additional wellbeing needs and reintegration support requests.

TEO has advised that relevant agencies worked collectively and at pace in response and officials will maintain the positive coordination and engagement established as we move from response to recovery.

TEO has taken responsibility for chairing the Community Confidence Group (CCG) which was set up by the PSNI in response to the recent unrest. The role of this group will be to examine how all agencies and partners work together to enable recovery in the areas affected by the violence.

In the longer term, focus will be on how racism and hate can be tackled as part of TEO’s wider good relations policies. This includes in the development of the new approach to Racial Equality and in the implementation of the Refugee Integration Strategy.

To inform development of the strategic approach, officials are working to develop engagement sessions with the Education Authority, aimed at children and young people, that focus on racial equality and early intervention strategies

The Planned Interventions Programme continues to fund crucial activity to engage those young people most at risk of entering the youth justice system and/or paramilitary recruitment. Through the provision of positive alternatives for our young people, it seeks to mitigate the impacts anti-social behaviour can have on community tensions and in turn good relations.

In 2024/25, TEO allocated £400k to the delivery of PIP for 2024/25. DE allocated an additional £300k funding to PIP (for 2024/25 only) to enable funding of a total of 122 groups.

Education continues to face unavoidable cost pressures and rising service demands, associated with delivering statutory and policy obligations, which the current 2025-26 budget allocation will not fully address. Education currently faces an overspend of c£348m for 2025-26 for inescapable pressures and pre-committed pressures alone.

The Department of Finance has advised departments that no additional in-year funding will be provided by HM Treasury. In light of this and given that sufficient funding is not currently available to meet all pressures identified for 2025-26, reallocating funding to provide additional resources to youth work delivery will simply increase Education’s forecast overspend. However, should additional Executive funds become available in the future for youth work, I am confident that further youth work interventions would be a worthwhile investment, including in tackling civil unrest issues and promoting good relations.

(iv) The Department of Education will continue to work, hand in hand with the Education Authority, the Youth Service, PSNI and local representatives to minimise the disruption and trauma for children impacted by the unrest and to support children in returning to school as needed.