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Building Services Around People's Lives: Extern's Election 2027 Asks for Northern Ireland
As the Executive focuses on securing an agreed budget, Extern is urging policymakers to look beyond annual funding cycles and invest in early intervention and evidence-based community and voluntary services.
Today, Extern launched its Election 2027 Asks, calling on political parties and policymakers to prioritise earlier intervention, person-centred supports and long-term funding certainty for trusted community and voluntary sector services.
Published at the start of the September Party Conference Season, Building Services Around People's Lives draws on five decades of Extern's experience supporting children, young people, adults and families across Northern Ireland.
Extern recognises that securing an agreed budget and sustaining public services is an immediate priority. Alongside addressing today's pressures, the organisation believes greater investment in early intervention and community-based support is essential to improving outcomes and reducing long-term demand.
While these priorities are directed towards the next Assembly mandate, Extern believes action is needed now to support more sustainable public services in the years ahead.
Every day, Extern works alongside people affected by poverty, trauma, poor mental health, substance use, homelessness and exclusion from mainstream education. These challenges rarely exist in isolation yet support and funding are often organised around systems and structures rather than the realities of people's lives.
The organisation's Election 2027 Asks call on the next Northern Ireland Executive to:
Intervene Earlier - make early intervention a genuine cross-government priority, helping people access support before problems escalate.
Make Support Person-Centred - deliver a "One Person, One Plan, One Pathway" approach that brings services together around the individual and makes support easier to access and navigate.
Provide Long-Term Funding Certainty - provide multi-year funding for trusted community and voluntary sector services. Long-term investment gives services the stability to retain skilled staff, build trusted relationships and provide consistent support for the people and communities who rely on them.
"As the Executive focuses on agreeing a budget, we have an opportunity to think beyond the immediate pressures and invest in approaches that create lasting change."
Commenting on Extern’s Election 27 Asks, its Chief Executive Leslie-Ann Scott said:
"For almost 50 years, Extern has stood alongside people facing some of life's most difficult challenges. What we see every day is that people do not experience problems in isolation. Challenges such as poor mental health, homelessness, substance misuse, trauma and educational exclusion are often interconnected, yet support can be fragmented and difficult to navigate.
"We know that earlier support works and that trusted relationships matter. When support is available early, and when services work together around the person, people are more likely to achieve positive and lasting outcomes.
"As the Executive focuses on agreeing a budget, we have an opportunity to think beyond the immediate pressures and invest in approaches that create lasting change.
"The choices we make today will shape outcomes for years to come. By investing earlier, building support around people's lives and providing long-term certainty for trusted community services, we can strengthen communities and help more people build a better future."
As political parties prepare for the 2027 Northern Ireland Assembly Election, Extern is inviting elected representatives, prospective candidates and policymakers to engage with its proposals and the evidence underpinning them.
The full manifesto, Building Services Around People's Lives: Extern's Election 2027 Asks for Northern Ireland, is available here.
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