The DUP representative, who had lobbied the Department and Secretary of State on the importance of these programmes and the need to reverse proposed cuts, said:

“When these proposals were first announced, I was immediately contacted by a range of parents and service providers who were rightly against at the suggestion that these programmes were is some way dispensable. Nothing could be further from reality. The funding for these programmes is absolutely vital to ensure the best possible start for our children, with many of those benefiting amongst the most vulnerable in our communities.

I am glad that the extensive lobbying of the Department has paid off and that this U-turn has been completed. It is a good example of people power – politicians, delivery partners and parents all making the strongest possible case together, and achieving a positive outcome for the benefit of children.

We must now seek to seek to make progress in the addressing the challenges facing our education sector. This does mean the Government has to step up with a fair budget settlement for the provision of education in Northern Ireland. We continue to make the case that the Barnett formula is not fit for purpose, and the education budget is evidence of this. These proposed cuts have been shelved today, but the hiatus in terms of school building programmes remains. That too is unacceptable.

We need long term solutions to these challenges that deliver long lasting benefit, by delivering world class education for our children and young people in fit for purpose facilities. The DUP will continue to engage with the Government to put in place the foundations for such an outcome.”