To ask the Minister for Communities whether any assessment has been made of potential duplication of services where multiple organisations are funded to deliver similar programmes in the same locality.

My Department is committed to ensuring that public funding is targeted to effectively meet identified local need, ensuring value for money.

A range of measures are in place across my Department to ensure duplication of services are minimised. The funding application appraisal of individual programmes, supported by information from the Government Funders Database informs funding decisions and minimises overlap. Governance structures and sharing of information across my funding streams are in place at operational and strategic levels.

My officials are also leading on the crossdepartmental NICS Collaboration Test and Learn Initiative, which seeks to improve how government departments, councils and community organisations can improve placebased coordination of service delivery, better align resources and reduce duplication.