Today’s announcement that the Northern Ireland Executive has agreed a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy is a long-overdue but important milestone. For nearly two decades, there has been a legal obligation under the Northern Ireland Act (as amended by the St Andrews Agreement) to bring forward a strategy to address poverty, social exclusion, and patterns of deprivation based on objective need.
This duty remained unfulfilled for years. Child poverty in Northern Ireland has persisted stubbornly, with nearly one in five children living in relative poverty. Both the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee have sharply criticised previous efforts, highlighting a lack of measurable targets, poor coordination across departments, insufficient community involvement, and a failure to direct resources effectively.
Those failings have left local government, the voluntary sector, and frontline organisations to fill the void as best they can. The publication of a regional strategy is therefore welcome—but its value will depend entirely on how it is implemented.
Cross-Party Action in Antrim and Newtownabbey
While waiting for the regional strategy to emerge, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has taken decisive local action and should be in good shape to collaborate meaningfully with the Stormont department.
Earlier this year, councillors from across the political spectrum supported the creation of a cross-party Anti-Poverty Steering Group, which is now actively overseeing the development and delivery of the council’s own Anti-Poverty Strategy.
This local strategy is a live, working document—designed to evolve in response to community needs and evidence on the ground.
The council is undertaking a detailed mapping of anti-poverty interventions across the borough.
This includes identifying:
Where services are currently effective?
Where there is duplication or overlap?
Where provision is missing altogether?
This mapping work is essential to avoid siloed working, ensure better resource use, and create a shared understanding of support across agencies.
Improving Coordination and Communication
A key focus is strengthening how different departments—such as community planning, sustainability, and economic development—work together internally, and how council connects with community-based support. Clear referral pathways, joined-up working, and active signposting are being prioritised.
Sustaining What Already Works
Practical initiatives such as the borough-wide school uniform support scheme, the Christmas toy initiative, and local food redistribution partnerships are already making an impact and are now being embedded within the broader strategy to ensure they are supported and developed further.
What Must Happen Next
The Stormont strategy must now move swiftly from paper to delivery. If it is to succeed where previous efforts have failed, it must include:
Measurable targets
Clear funding commitments
Mechanisms for accountability
A central role for local councils and communities in delivery
Local government may not hold the levers for welfare, education, or housing—but it is embedded in the everyday realities of people’s lives. Councils can convene, coordinate, and collaborate. When given the mandate and the resources, they can lead.
Undoubtedly stakeholders across Antrim and Newtownabbey will now study the Executive’s proposals in detail and respond constructively to the consultation. The council’s own strategy will continue to move forward—driven by shared purpose, cross-party consensus, and the contributions of those working every day to support residents in need.
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