Anna Lo MLA said: “The comments from Owen Paterson are welcome and the Stormont Executive must take heed and start tackling division.
“£1 billion is wasted every year on maintaining segregation in our society and we need to see government here addressing this issue urgently.
“Mr Paterson’s comments are very positive in that he recognises the need to tackle division but the Westminster Government must ensure that the resources are available to the Executive here to ensure they can address segregation. To tackle this problem we need to be able to invest in shared and integrated services in order to unlock the cash currently spent on maintaining division.
“Alliance has been campaigning for a long time for action to be taken to end segregation and we are the only party here that makes creating a shared future our top priority.”
ENDS