The Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Frances Burton (DUP), has highlighted the plight of distressed constituents having to wait for weeks to get the help they desperately need.
The Clogher Valley DEA representative made her comment at the January 15 Development meeting of the local authority, in light of an agenda item providing an update on the Department for Communities’ Debt Advice Programme, as well as the Poverty Programme which is being spearheaded by the Council, along with Save the Children and the Southern and Northern Health and Social Care Trusts.
The agenda item states: “In November, 2024, the Department for Communities (DfC) commenced a new partner programme with the Council on Integrated Debt Advice.
“The total funding allocation for 2024/25 was £105,828, as non-recurrent funding.
“The objective of the fund is to improve the uptake of free, independent, regulated debt advice through a collaborative partnership approach.
“The procured delivery agent for the programme is STEP NI.
“Additional DfC Integrated Debt Advice Programme funding has been received from DfC for £34,011.50.
“It is proposed to purchase £24,000 of additional debt provision from the current delivery agent at the agreed procured rate through our Procurement Department, and to allocate the remaining funding to Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to provide the CAP debt management process through an integrated partnership approach.
“Members will be aware that the Council has partnered with Save the Children and the Southern and Northern Health Trusts over the last few years, on the Supporting Families with Young Children in Poverty programme.
“The aim of the programme is to provide support for essential items such as household furniture, as well as educational resources.
“The scheme has been fully expanded this year due to need and demand. It is proposed to fund the continuation of the programme to a value of £15,000 within the existing poverty budget.”
Council Chair, Councillor Frances Burton, asked at the January 15 meeting: “Will this money be for additional staff?
“I am in regular contact with the office from time to time, but there seems to be an awful waiting list, and you’re talking weeks [when] somebody [might be] in dire straits and with so much mental health problems in our Mid Ulster area.
“Sometimes I worry about it, whenever you’re trying to get somebody to seek professional advice, and then if they ring and they’re put back for that length of time, I’m just wondering, is it even something they’d consider to prioritise, or how do they know who’s needing immediate attention?”
In response, Head of Community Development, Claire Linney, said: “With regard to advice, it’s just that the demand is outstripping supply.
“We have the new advice contract out, but the money hasn’t gone up in terms of the need, so the waiting list is just getting slightly longer.
“We have been working very closely with DfC, but there is no more funding coming from DfC.
“The only other alternative is, if we do have a real need we might have to look at Council support, but we have maxed out in terms of the level of advisors, and the need is growing all the time, unfortunately.
“The Debt Advice is a separate programme from DfC, and it’s what they call non-recurring funding.
“So, it doesn’t come annually; it’s sporadic, and it can be based on when there is potential savings, and then it can get reallocated.
“That’s why the funding comes mid-year, and it comes in small elements. It actually is for supporting debt.
“The two elements we’ve got there is general debt advice, how to get out of debt, and then the second one is where we’re going to work with the CAP programme.
“But obviously, it’s limited in how many people we can take on. That’s where they manage your debt for you.
“There is a very strong triage system now, and one of the things they try to do is prioritise people who are in crisis, and then people who are potentially at the stage where there’s a 14-day turnaround in relation to their benefits being cut off.
“They are trying to prioritise those who are time-bound or very vulnerable and in crisis, as best they can.
“But I do appreciate the demand is really high.”
Councillor Dominic Molloy (Sinn Féin, Dungannon DEA) echoed Councillor Burton’s comments regarding the need to assist constituents in crisis.
He said: “I have to agree with Councillor Burton regarding debt advice.
“There’s a raft of issues that are already there in terms of debt advice and people in dire straits, and anything that we can do to get that turned around quicker and faster, and to see people sooner, all the better.”
