To ask the Minister for Communities for an update on progress being made by her Department on a Participatory Budgeting programme, aligned to Departmental policy and in keeping with commitments for structured civic engagement and the wider Community Wealth Building agenda to support stronger more empowered communities as we move forward from COVID-19.

My Department has provided support for Participatory Budgeting projects and continues to look for ways to promote and develop participatory budgeting as a community engagement tool. I met representatives from PBWorks earlier this year to discuss how to utilise participatory budgeting as a method to empower citizens and build communities by allowing them to a have a direct say in budgeting and decision making through a rights based approach.

Work has begun within my Department to start to build the strongest possible foundations to grow and scale community wealth building into our policymaking and investment plans. I have begun by investing in a programme of education and capacity building across the voluntary and community sector, as well as to officials within my Department and others.

Participatory budgeting and its practical role in delivering on community wealth building will form an important element of this programme of work.