News

The Department for Communities has launched a 12-week public consultation on funding for the Employment Support Scheme.

A consultation on proposed changes to Section 19 of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) relating to the requirements for employers to publish information on the pay of male and female employees has been launched by the Department for Communities.

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA, has announced the appointment of Mrs Suzanne McCoy as a Member to the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Architecture and the Built Environment for Northern Ireland. This appointment is from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2028.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced his plan for the allocation of £17 million from the Executive to mitigate the impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP).

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has visited the Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum. As part of the visits, Minister Lyons viewed the latest exhibit in the impressive transport collection.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed the launch of a new Defence Heritage Record, a comprehensive resource detailing over 4,500 sites constructed across Northern Ireland in response to World War One and Two as well as the Cold War.

Over £62 million in additional benefits has been generated in 2023/24 by a Department for Communities service which helps people access entitlements they have not been claiming.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons MLA has announced the appointment of Mr Ciaran Lavelle as the Interim Chair of the Historic Monuments Council (HMC). The appointment is from 1 November 2024 until a permanent Chair is in place.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons MLA has announced £1.3m for an Integrated Advice Partnership Fund to be administered by local councils.

A consultation on proposals to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay has been added to the Department for Communities website.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has commended the links between Northern Ireland and the USA, as preparations for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence continue.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has visited Larne Library to help highlight the benefits of reading more as part of this year’s Book Week NI.

Communities Minister Lyons attended a celebration event in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to mark four Moravian Church settlements being designated as a UNESCO transnational Cultural World Heritage Site.

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA, has appointed Mr Mark McBride as the Chair of NILGOSC from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2028. Mr McBride previously served as an Independent Member on the Committee from 1 May 2019 to 30 April 2023.

Over 1,000 new jobs are to be created in the Department for Communities (DfC) as part of an expansion in service delivery for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Sports Minister Gordon Lyons has announced additional funding for grassroots sports clubs after a remarkable summer of success at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Economy Minister Conor Murphy have officially opened the newly refurbished library in Ballymoney.

As part of National Sporting Heritage Day (Monday 30 September), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has launched a new guide to sporting records publication.

There are a limited number of tickets remaining for people to book their place at a homecoming Paris Celebration Event for Northern Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons MLA has announced funding worth almost £7m for a transformational Public Realm Scheme in Strabane Town Centre.