Allister Presses Poots on Family Planning Funding
22 July 2011
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“As a result of a Written Question to the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, I have established that the DHSSPS has provided a total of £608,626 to the Family Planning Association over the last five years. An additional £773,779 was provided to the FPA by the Health and Social Care sector.
“It is noticeable that there has been a large increase in funding to the Family Planning Association in recent years.
“The contrast when it comes to the funding of pro-life groups is stark. The Department has provided funding to a single pro-life group and over the same period they have received just £137,601, under £30,000 a year.
“There have long been concerns about some of the activities of the Family Planning Association. For example, in a sector entitled “Working with people and communities across Northern Ireland” in their 2009 Annual Report the FPA stated: “Our job is to give support and information to help them [i.e. mothers] decide whether to continue with the pregnancy, have an abortion or choose adoption”.
“I have written to the Minister asking him to review the allocation of public money to the Family Planning Association and asking him if he believes its activity is consistent with the law in Northern Ireland pertaining to abortion.”
Note to editors:
Mr Allister’s question and the Minister’s reply were as follows:
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how much money his Department, either directly or indirectly has provided to the Family Planning Association in each of the last five years; and (ii) to detail all pro-life groups which have received funding from his Department in each of the last five years and the amount they received.
(i) My Department has provided funding to the Family Planning Association (NI) in each of the last five years as follows:
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11
£89,188 £91,418 £136,667 £153,723 £137,630
In addition, I am advised that funding provided from the HSC sector to the Family Planning Association (NI) for the same period is as follows:
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/101 2010/11
£16,506 £29,208 £25,859 £317,886 £384,320
1 Note: Funding provided by the Public Health Agency to FPA(NI) is included from 09/10 onwards; funding to the FPA(NI) from the Health Promotion Agency prior to April 2009 is not included in the above table as this is not available.
(ii) My Department has provided funding to one pro-life group, Life(NI), in each of the last five years as follows:
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11
£25,644 £26,285 £30,442 £27,615 £27,615
