Impact of #BREXIT on equality groups in Northern Ireland
We know that BREXIT has impacted the lives of many and particularly equality groups.
New Horizons research published and launched in June 2025, led by Dr Eve Hepburn FRSA with support from Lewis Bloss and Hannah Jeffery for the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland reveals the real-world impact of Brexit on equality groups across NI:
On 31st March 2023, EU funding provided to community groups in Northern Ireland through the European Social Fund (ESF) came to an end, three years after the UK’s official exit from the European Union in January 2020.
For many third sector groups in NI, the weeks leading up to this date felt like they were approaching a cliff-edge, as they anxiously awaited confirmation of whether they would receive funding under the UK Government’s ESF-successor fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) – or whether they would face a dramatic cut in their income, forcing them to cut staff and services for those they support.
For decades, EU funding had played a key role in supporting organisations aiming to reduce inequalities and promote social inclusion amongst equality groups in NI, including young people, women and people with disabilities. In 2022-23, for example, over £41m was allocated via the ESF to 65 projects across NI, including 22 projects aimed primarily at supporting people with disabilities, 20 targeted at young people, and five focussing on women. The 2019 Conservative Manifesto, meanwhile, pledged that new UK funding after Brexit would at minimum fully match the size of funding previously provided through EU funds such as the ESF.
Over several months of research in summer and autumn 2024, for a project commissioned by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI), we found that in reality, the transition from EU to UK funding in NI had substantial negative impacts for equality groups in NI. In particular, organisations we spoke to reported significant reductions in funding (of up to 50%) compared to what they received through the ESF, and having to target projects to fit a narrower funding criteria related to economic inactivity, excluding many individuals who they had previously been able to support under the broader social inclusion focus of EU funding.
In addition, the March 2023 ‘cliff-edge’ had disastrous impacts for many organisations, creating significant anxiety and stress and contributing to the loss of staff who sought greater job security elsewhere. Many organisations who were successful in receiving UK funding on 31st March 2023 nonetheless had to make staff redundant due to receiving less funding than they did while in the EU; while others missed out on UK funding entirely, forcing them to reduce services or even close down entirely.
Our full research report, which sets out in detail our analysis of the impact of post-Brexit funding changes on equality groups in NI, can be read on the ECNI website here. Looking to the future, we hope to see a funding model developed which reintroduces a broader social inclusion focus, fully builds the promotion of equality into funding criteria, gives a greater role to the NI Executive and the devolved Departments, and crucially provides multi-year funding periods with clear timescales – avoiding ‘cliff-edges’ and enabling community groups in NI to plan for the future with confidence and hope.
Find our more about the research from the launch event, held at the Shankill Women’s Centre in Belfast on the 26th June 2025, with a presentation on the report from Dr Eve Hepburn (from 18:30mins) https://www.youtube.com/live/3h1Li6yS7hU
#LossofEUFunding
