Staff at Derry advice centre accuse local councillors of seeking to 'sow division' between advice providers

Staff at an advice centre in Derry have accused local councillors of seeking to 'sow division' between advice providers.

This follows the recent news that two out of the three government-funded advice centres in Derry are facing a reduction in their annual funding.

Advice NW and the Resource Centre in Derry (RCD), which is based in Carnhill, are to lose £24,000 and £11,000 respectively from their annual budgets if the funding cuts are implemented.

The third local advice provider, Dove House in the Bogside, is to receive an additional £35,000 in funding under the current proposals.

Funding for advice centres is provided by the Department of Communities and allocated locally based on a formula used by Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Several local councillors have raised concerns about the proposed funding cuts to the local advice sector.

However, in a statement to the Derry News yesterday, a spokesperson for Dove House said they were 'extremely disappointed' that some elected representatives have sought to 'misrepresent the current situation around council’s funding for advice providers by not disclosing the full background or context for the current scenario'.

“This has only added to the confusion and misinformation that is currently in the public domain on the issue,” the spokesperson said.

“At no stage did any of these elected representatives ask to meet Dove House management to discuss their concerns.

“Rather they have sought to sow division among advice providers instead of looking for solutions.”

The Dove House spokesperson said the organisation's management, staff and volunteers put the interests and well-being of the community they serve 'front and centre'.

“This is epitomised by the dedication and hard work of our Advice Services’ staff,” the spokesperson said.

“Despite cuts to our advice funding amounting to £104,000 over four years since 2017, our advice staff continued to work even harder and more diligently to meet the needs of those most in need of advice provision.

“When Dove House became aware that our advice services was to receive an increase in funding due to the council formula that has been used for a number of years but that Advice North West and Resource Centre, Carnhill were to be cut, we immediately informed Derry City and Strabane District Council that we did not wish to see any cuts to advice provision in the council area, particularly given the unique and unprecedented situation presented by the pandemic.

“However, it must be noted that the same formula was used in 2017 to cut Dove House Advice Services' funding by £26,000, representing 19% of our total advice services’ budget.

“This cut has remained with us up to this financial year, resulting in a total loss of £104,000 over the four-year period.

“As a result, our staff voluntarily agreed to cut their hours to avoid any potential redundancies.”

Same service

The Dove House spokesperson said their staff strived to ensure the same service for users, which 'effectively resulted in our employees working the same for less money'.

“Advice North West and Resource Centre Carnhill were the direct beneficiaries of our loss of funding due to the terms of the DCSDC funding formula.

“At the time of the initial cut in funding, Dove House met council officers to discuss the matter but were informed that the formula used had been agreed by all advice providers and could not be overturned.

“It has been noted by DCSDC that all three advice providers were working well collectively to meet the needs of local communities over recent years.

“It would be a retrograde step if this collective cooperation and collaboration were to flounder at this stage.

“We also note and concur with the remarks made by RCD Chairperson, Paddy McCarron that the current funding formula can result in the unintended consequence of advice providers 'competing' against each other. 

“This is not an ideal situation.

“However, the way to resolve this is through discussion between the Advice providers and council officers/members.

“We are ready to address the current situation in the hope that we can ideally arrive at a mutually beneficial consensus,” Dove House spokesperson concluded.