To ask the Minister of Education to detail the amount spent on Education Authority moderation of (i) local and regional voluntary youth organisations; and (ii) controlled youth service units, in each of the last five years.

The Education Authority (EA) has advised that they do not hold the information in the format requested. Moderation and monitoring of EA youth settings and voluntary youth organisations are assurance requirements linked to the EA’s statutory duty to secure adequate provision.

The length of moderation visits varies depending on factors such as the level of funding, number of awards, and type of delivery. Moderation is carried out by professionally qualified EA youth work staff across a range of JNC grades, from Senior Youth Worker III to Soulbury JNC Advisor. As each grade contains four pay points based on length of service, it is not possible to accurately equate time and pay rates in order to provide the information requested.