Funding for new NW addiction treatment centre can progress in absence of Executive

Derry's Northlands has welcomed Secretary of State’s confirmation that funding for new addiction treatment centre “can happen” even in the absence of an Executive

Chris Heaton-Harris, confirmed in the House of Commons that funding for Northlands’ proposed new Addiction Treatment Centre in Derry can be provided in the absence of a Stormont Executive.

The confirmation came in response to a question from the MP for Foyle, Colum Eastwood, today, as Mr Heaton-Harris moved the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Bill. 

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood suggested that the funding promised for Northlands, Magee University and Brandywell Stadium in the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ agreement was not considered “controversial” and that the projects “should be able to get funded even when we do not have ministers in the Executive”.

The Secretary of State responded that Mr Eastwood was “quite right” and that all these things could happen “simultaneously or separately and at different speeds”.

Welcoming the comments, the Head of Treatment at Northlands, Tommy Canning, said: “It is positive to see the pressing need for the funding for Northlands’ proposed new Centre of Excellence being raised once again in the House of Commons, this time with the Secretary of State.

"We are encouraged by Mr Heaton-Harris’s positive response in relation to ensuring that there are no barriers to accessing funding in the absence of an Executive.

This afternoon I got a confirmation from the Northern Ireland SoS that commitments to fund the Northlands Centre, Magee University and Brandywell Stadium can all happen without Executive Ministers in place in Stormont.

The British govt must now put its money where its mouth is. pic.twitter.com/OA8Q1hcdSZ

— Colum Eastwood (@columeastwood) November 29, 2022

“We in Northlands are determined and committed to advancing our plan for a new centre here in the Northwest that can support individuals and families right across Northern Ireland.

“With more positive news from London, we continue to engage with the Department of Health and partners here to get the funding needed ‘in the bank’ and the state-of-the-art centre built.”