New Blog: An Anti-Poverty Strategy for Northern Ireland 2025-35

Our thoughts on the Anti-Poverty Strategy.

On Monday 15th September 2025, on behalf of Law Centre NI, I published our response to the Northern Ireland Executive’s draft Anti-Poverty Strategy 2025–35.  

Our response is clear: this strategy, in its current form, is grossly inadequate and not fit for purpose. We fear it will fail to meet the scale of the challenge needed to eradicate poverty. Its shortcomings are evident—it lacks ambition, measurable frameworks, and essential components necessary for any successful Strategy. This version, as it stands, will not serve as a blueprint to eliminate poverty across Northern Ireland. 

Key Areas

Our response outlines key areas of concern, with evidence-based recommendations grounded in our legal, policy, and sectoral work to date: 

• The Advice Sector: Must receive sufficient investment to provide specialist, independent, accurate, and timely support across NI; 

• Welfare Mitigations and Discretionary Support: The safety net below the safety net must be adequately resourced and extended indefinitely to support those living in poverty; 

• Child Poverty: Children must be protected and able to grow up in a society where poverty and its harmful impacts are alleviated; 

• Migrants and Poverty: The Executive must commit strategically to reducing poverty and its impacts for migrants across NI; 

• Employment: There must be high-quality, suitable, and accessible job opportunities, with specific measures to protect individual rights. 

On behalf of Law Centre NI, I have engaged proactively in the consultation process, to ensure that an effective, efficient and sustainable Strategy is delivered by the Executive. As convenor of the Cliff Edge Coalition and member of the Anti-Poverty Strategy Group, I have heard firsthand, about sector concerns and the importance of a collaborative approach. To highlight our response, I have engaged extensively with elected representatives to discuss our response in detail.

Getting it Right: Why NI Needs a Fit-for-Purpose Anti-Poverty Strategy

LCNI believe an Anti-Poverty Strategy for NI must be delivered—but it is crucial that it is the right Strategy. Poverty violates human dignity and undermines the enjoyment of all other rights. Freedom from poverty should be treated as a foundational right, and if this Strategy fails to address poverty adequately, it will act as a barrier to the realization of other fundamental rights for the people of NI. We remain committed to ongoing engagement with elected representatives, officials, and colleagues across the sector, confident that together we can help shape a Strategy that is truly fit for purpose. 

For more information on LCNI’s Anti-Poverty work, please contact me, Holly Knox, Policy and Community Engagement Officer, via email at holly.knox@lawcentreni.org.