Social Investment Fund: Criticism over spending of £80m scheme

In 2016, calls for an independent review of the fund were voted down in the assembly

There has been criticism of a Stormont fund set up to tackle deprivation after it emerged just over half of the money allocated to it has been spent.

The Social Investment Fund (SIF) was set up by the previous Stormont Executive in 2011, with £80m investment to be spent over four years.

However, the total spend up to the end of February 2018 has been £45.2m.

The Executive Office said its focus is not on "how quickly" the money is spent but on how it is "making a difference".

The details came to light after the Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt wrote to the head of the civil service in Northern Ireland, David Sterling.

'Failure'

A response sent from the Executive Office to Mr Nesbitt, which has been seen by BBC News NI, said all funding had now been allocated and that the end date for delivery of the programme is now expected to be March 2020.

Mr Nesbitt, however, said he believed the Executive Office had proven itself "incapable of spending money" and criticised the five-year overrun of the fund.

He accused the fund of being a "failure" and called for an investigation into why it has taken longer than expected for the £80m to be allocated and spent.

In a statement, the Executive Office said its focus is "not on how much we spend and how quickly we spend but rather on the difference SIF is making in local communities".

It added that money has been committed to 68 projects across Northern Ireland from improving employability, reducing fuel poverty to education and early years initiatives.

The Social Investment Fund has been the subject of controversy in the past, after it emerged in 2016 that a group linked to the Ulster Defence Association- Charter NI - had received £1.7m of public money from the fund.

Charter NI, a community-based organisation in east Belfast, was awarded a controversial grant of 1.7m

At the time, the opposition parties at Stormont called for an independent inquiry into the fund, but the proposal was blocked by the DUP and Sinn Féin, who said the scheme was fully above board.

'Secrecy and cronyism'

Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw said it appeared that her party's concerns around SIF had been well founded.

"The implementation and operation of SIF has been characterised by secrecy and cronyism, enabling and empowering a new level of community gatekeepers instead of tackling the deprivation it was meant to," she said.

"Those groups supporting marginalised communities are still starved of funding, all while millions remain tied up."