McGlone Raises Concern at Pressure on Family Fund

SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone has raised concern at the pressure on the Family Fund following funding cuts to the programme. Mr McGlone accompanied a group of parents of disabled children to a meeting with the Health Minister last week to discuss the problem. The Family Fund is a registered charity that provides practical help to families with severely disabled children under the age of 16. Although in Northern Ireland the Fund received the same amount of funding in 2012/13 as it did in 2011/12, this is a reduction of 11.25% from the level of funding in 2010/11.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr McGlone said, “The Family Fund provides vital assistance to the families of some of the most vulnerable people in our society. The devolved administrations play an important part in supporting the Fund and enabling them to provide that help.

“Despite this the level of funding in the north was cut by 11.25% in 2011/12 and has remained at this lower level for the current year.

“A number of local parents of disabled children have contacted my office in recent weeks detailing the problems they have been having getting the help they need to cope in often difficult circumstances.

“The most common problem they have been encountering is a straight-forward lack of available funds.

“I accompanied local parents of disabled children to the meeting with the Health Minister to allow them to tell the minister directly about the problems they are having.

“The minister has agreed to review the budget for the Family Fund. He will also be contacting Health Trusts to find out where they should be meeting their responsibilities to provide the required support for families with disabled children.

“This would ease the pressure on the Family Fund and allow them to use the available funding to provide additional assistance over and above what the Health Service should have in place.

“I will be keeping in contact with the families to ensure they get the help they need and continuing to lobby the minister to reverse the cuts to the Family Fund.”

ENDS