Social Workers meet with Finance Minister to discuss an audit of the costs of poverty

Representatives of the British Association of Social Workers Northern Ireland (BASW NI) have met with Minister of Finance, Dr Caoimhe Archibald, to highlight the severe impacts poverty has on public services and seek an audit of the total costs associated with poverty.

Speaking after the meeting, Professor Davy Hayes, Chair of BASW NI said: “Social workers witness, first-hand, the impacts of poverty on many children, families, and individuals across our society—it is a major factor in contributing to problems which require intervention from social services. Close to one in five people in Northern Ireland live in poverty and the situation is worst for children, with one in four of our children now growing up in poverty.”

During the meeting, BASW NI outlined the consequences of poverty for NI Executive Departments including Health, Education, Communities, Justice and the Economy. Attention was drawn to the UK-wide Child Welfare Inequalities project published in 2020 which highlights the impacts of economic inequality on children’s social work services. It found that children living in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland are four times more likely to become looked after by social services than those in the most affluent areas.

To ensure Northern Ireland public finances are used prudently, it is essential that Government knows the total costs to public services associated with poverty. BASW NI is therefore calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to undertake an audit of these costs, with work jointly led by the Department of Finance and the Department for Communities.

Speaking about the need for an audit of poverty, Professor Hayes said: “So often we are told that it is too expensive to reduce poverty. However, BASW NI is clear, it is simply too costly not to act. In 2024 the NI Audit Office published research indicating the cost of child poverty in Northern Ireland is between £825m and £1bn per year. Add to this the Department of Health’s estimation that health inequalities cost Northern Ireland up to £1.7bn per annum.

“Today we called on the Finance Minister to commission a comprehensive audit of the total cost of poverty to public services and for the Northern Ireland Executive to use the information to target and resource interventions to drive down rates of poverty in the region.

“The impacts, both in human and financial terms, are too great for further delays in action.”

Contact:

Andy McClenaghan, BASW NI Public Affairs, Policy and Communications Lead

07702 517560 / a.mcclenaghan@basw.co.uk