Minister's speech - Powering the future of our Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises leading on Community Wealth Building - 3 June 2025

Note: This publication may not reflect verbatim delivery by Minister Archibald

Good morning, everyone.

I’m delighted to be here to celebrate the women who are leading the way on Community Wealth Building, and who are inspiring and supporting the next generation of female leaders.

On that note I’d like to congratulate Tracy Kelly on her election as Mayor of Belfast. I wish you well in your role and I look forward to working with you.

For my contribution this morning, I’d like to share with you some of the ways that I am implementing the 2022 landmark Community Wealth Building report, which the Development Trust helped to shape.

Before getting into the specific recommendations of the report, it’s worth noting that I have incorporated a key principle of community development - that economic activity should have a social purpose - into my Department.

Success at the Department for the Economy is now measured, not by economic growth, but by four societal objectives:

• More Good Jobs (and I’m very conscious that the majority of people who are not in Good Jobs are women).
• Greater Regional Balance (meaning that priority should be given to more deprived areas and communities).
• Higher Productivity.
• And Decarbonisation.

Social enterprise has a critical role to play in meeting these objectives, and indeed the first recommendation of the Community Wealth Building report was to develop a social enterprise strategy.

My Department has established a Social Enterprise Partnership Group, which includes Cathy Keenan from Belfast City Council, who is in attendance this morning, and Maeve Monaghan whose NOW Group has provided the catering for this event.

The Partnership has developed an action plan, aimed at strengthening the financial base of social enterprises, so that they are better equipped to deliver on their social objectives.

The report also recognises the value of the credit union movement and calls for their role to be expanded.

My Department is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen credit unions; a movement built on the hard work of women across our communities for many generations.

And I would encourage anyone here with an interest in the future of these important community assets to submit a response.

Another recommendation in the report is to explore the potential for worker co-operatives and employee ownership.

My Department has sought the support of Angela Davies, an expert on co-operatives, to help us develop our policy in this important area.

And last August, my Department published new research on employee ownership, which highlighted the significant opportunity for growing the model here, and the benefits it could bring.

My Department and Invest NI are now working with Employee Ownership Ireland to increase awareness of this model and to strengthen practical support for employers who want to transfer ownership of their business to their workers.

The Community Wealth Building report also calls for more area-based economic interventions.

In response to this, and to progress my ambition for regional balance, my Department is now helping to drive forward the work of 11 new Local Economic Partnerships.

These are led by our Councils and are now supporting local people to identify and deliver on their own economic priorities.

Importantly, every Partnership must include representation from the community and voluntary sector.

I’m also working with the Development Trust and the Communities Minister on Community Wealth Building pilots in Larne and Derry.

Finally, a whole section of the Community Wealth Building report is dedicated to Fair Employment and Just Labour Markets.

Almost a quarter of workers here receive less than the Real Living Wage; with women making up the majority of this number.

So, my Department is funding Advice NI to extend Britian’s Living Wage franchise to the north.

This is helping to raise awareness of the real living wage, and increase uptake of Living Wage accreditation among local employers; putting more money in the pockets of our lowest paid people

As a result, 155 Living Wage employers have been accredited, and this work continues.

In April, I brought forward proposals for a Good Jobs Bill.

This will strengthen protections for agency workers; ensure that tips left to workers are passed to them in full; make it easier to access flexible working; and enhance various rights to family-related leave, including carer’s leave and neonatal leave and pay.

Women will benefit enormously from these proposals.

That is a brief update on how we are taking forward the underpinning principles and the specific recommendations of the Community Wealth Building report.

This is very much being driven by the Development Trust and by the community and voluntary sector as a whole.

So, thank you Deirdre and Clare, and everyone at Development Trusts NI for organising this event.

Thank you to all the women here who are helping to drive forward positive change in your own communities

And for all you do to build strong female leadership across the sectors for future generations.

My Department is committed to working with you and supporting you in any way we can.

Thank you.