To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for an update on the funding for the SPRING Social Prescribing project for 2023 onwards.

Through my Departments Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme funding is in place to continue the Social Prescribing Rural Enhanced project until 30 June 2023. This commitment will bring my Department’s total contribution, since commencement of the rural Social Prescribing project in October 2019, to £888k.

A Regional Social Prescribing Development Board, which includes DAERA representatives, has been established to take a co-design and co-production approach. This includes a wide range of stakeholders and government Departments and provides regional leadership and co-ordination of effort in relation to Social Prescribing.

This work will continue in the months ahead and I welcome the further discussions planned with the intended outcome of identifying a sustainable solution for Social Prescribing going forward.