Arlene Foster
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Yet, like too many projects, it has been tied up in legal wrangles. Too many infrastructure projects are being swallowed up in the courts. We need to improve the expertise in infrastructure delivery. We need better infrastructure for the next generation, but key projects being delayed by 10-plus years is unsustainable.”
“Any agreement involves compromises but NDNA had two central pillars that, I believe, remain important: ambition for devolution and a new cultural deal. The breadth and depth of issues that NDNA set us all to deliver on would have been enough to fill an entire term or perhaps more, let alone two years of government.”
“That confidence-and-supply agreement will leave a legacy but also highlights our challenges. Some £150 million has been rolled out via Project Stratum to bring broadband to rural areas and leave Northern Ireland as the best-connected region in Europe. When it is completed, the project will be transformational to our economy.”
“However, such short-term advantage comes at the cost of long-term harm to relationships. It is not a real partnership. Imbalance and instability are built in that will fester and deteriorate. If Brussels continues to think that the protocol is enough, it is in denial.”
“Colleagues inside and outside the House know very well that all periods of leadership must come to an end. That is why, when we are privileged and, indeed, honoured to hold such a position, we must not waste a moment in frivolous brinkmanship but forge ahead on behalf of those whom we represent.”
“The recommendations of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) are to be taken forward as well. I encourage all of you to do all of it, to take it forward in its totality and to speak of and implement it as one complete, independent package: a new cultural deal for Northern Ireland's new century.”
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“We should all be concerned about it, and that is why, for me, the Department of Education's allocation is an important one.”
“Well, as simple as that is, I can allocate only the money that I have. First, I wish that I had that sort of money. Secondly, we have to be realistic — this relates to Mrs Cochrane's question — about what can be spent between now and the end of the financial year. I am confident that we have allocated an amount that can be spent. I am not sure that, even if I had been allocated £100 million, it could have been spent. <BR /> <BR />In response to Mr McCarthy's question about special educational needs and those with learning disabilities, I hope that he welcomes the fact that we have been able to allocate £5 million to schools to help the sort of children whom he refers to. He should recall that it is not just the Department of Health that deals with those children and young people.”
“<BR /> <BR />In my Department, I will continue to work with the construction sector to make sure that we can make procurement of government contracts as easily understood and as accessible as we can. I think that we have made progress on that matter, particularly with the new procurement contract regulations, and we will continue to push ahead with that.”
“I do see benefits for the construction industry. Of course, it is not as large as any of us would like. We would like more capital money available to us to be able to give more opportunity to the construction sector, but we have overcommitted with the capital DEL. We do that, and I do not think that that is a significant risk. I think that we will be able to manage that and that it was absolutely right to allocate £5 million capital DEL to DRD. I hope that that will make a difference, and £4 million capital DEL has been allocated to Invest Northern Ireland. Again, we hope that that will make a difference as well. For the forensic lab and prison estates, £2·7 million capital DEL is allocated.”
“I think that those are large numbers of operations and assessments in addition to what is already being put through the system at present. Under anyone's money, those are large numbers, and I am pleased that the Executive have decided, again, to prioritise the Health Department.”
“On that last issue, I hope that the Executive have shown that we consider Health to be very much a priority Department in the Executive and for Northern Ireland. We have seen, when Health is under pressure, the impact that that has right across the community in Northern Ireland. Ultimately, of course, it will be a matter for the Executive, after discussion, whether Health remains protected, but I am sure — at least, I hope — that the Minister agrees with me that there is scope for reform in the Department of Health and that we will want to see that reform continuing to take place. <BR /> <BR />As I have indicated, up to 40,000 people will be able to have assessments using the money that has been allocated today, and up to 15,000 operations and procedures will take place.”
“I am delighted that the Co-ownership Housing Association came forward, through the Department for Social Development, with such a substantial bid for financial transactions capital. I think that it will make a large difference to the housing situation across Northern Ireland, and it takes a huge pressure off me, frankly, in relation to the use of financial transactions capital. As we have said, £10 million is going to Queen's, but the rest of that money will go to the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association, and it has proven to be a very good catalyst for dealing with the lack of social housing. I hope that that continues to be the case.”
“I am sure that the Health Minister will agree with me when I say that I hope that there is more proactive management of that system in the coming years, because there is no point in having more money available to allow people to have operations and procedures carried out if they then cannot come out of hospital after those procedures have taken place. Obviously, it is about dealing with the whole spectrum of care, not just in hospital but outside of hospital.”
“Of course, each trust has to decide where it believes funding is best directed to. I share her concern about care packages, but if we are going to release beds in hospitals, people need to be able to access care packages to allow them to leave hospitals. Often, as is the case in the south-west in any event, I have found that there are not the staff and the care packages available to allow people to come out of hospital.”
“I do not have the details of the cut to IntertradeIreland that he mentions. He is right that when we work in collaboration we are able to draw down more money. That has been shown by a number of case studies in which InterTradeIreland has been involved. As he knows, in-year, people have plans for the year ahead and sometimes things come into those plans that mean that they cannot fulfil them in the financial year. It does not mean that the plans are not going to be fulfilled later on. Resources have been surrendered from the centrally held EU budget; that was in cases where plans had been made but, unfortunately, have not been able to be completed in this year. It does not mean that, in the next year, they will not be completed. That money has been surrendered and it allows us to reallocate, which is absolutely the right thing to do.”
“As I just mentioned — I am sure that I am not alone in this — recently a number of parents have been very upset about the fact that they have not been able to access assistance for their young people. They have had the assessment carried out and they know that there is a need to provide assistance, but they have not been able to provide that because the money has not been available. I really hope that this extra £5 million will make a difference to those individuals. It will allow the children to learn in a supported way. It is an issue that many of us across the House have been lobbied on, and I am delighted that we have been able to help today.”
“Well done for getting North Down mentioned. As I have indicated, of the £15 million for the Department of Education, £5 million will relate to the drawdown of school surpluses; £5 million to the education and schools estate management; and £5 million to special educational needs. I am sure that everyone in the House will welcome that extra money for special educational needs. I know that, at a constituency level, there have been growing pressures in relation to accessing help for young people who need it in schools. Therefore, I warmly welcome — I am sure the House will warmly welcome — the £5 million for special educational needs, and I hope that it will make a real difference to our young people who, currently, are struggling without that extra help that they would otherwise have.”
“Whilst, when he comes to make his comprehensive spending review statement on 25 November, it may not be as hard and fast on tax credits, there will be other consequences in relation to the issue. <BR /> <BR />We were right to support working families. Likewise, we are right to give hope for the economy here in Northern Ireland. I very strongly believe that the reduction in corporation tax gives hope for businesses here and will allow them to expand and grow in a way that they would not have been able to otherwise and will attract foreign direct investment to Northern Ireland. There is support for working families, hope for the economy and, of course, stability, which we all know will bring further investment in Northern Ireland.”
“I thank the Member for his commentary and, indeed, his question on these issues. I have listened very carefully to some of the naysayers on the agreement. They cannot take away from the fact that there is no doubt that the agreement that was reached yesterday provides us with financial stability and a fresh start. <BR /> <BR />He is right to say that we have moved to support not only welfare recipients but hard-working families who otherwise would have been hit by the reduction in tax credits. Whilst the Chancellor may have been pushed back somewhat by the noble lords in the House of Lords, I would say that he will continue to look for that large amount of money, £4·4 billion.”
“It has limited the capacity for the Executive to make significant allocations in relation to that area. However, we have agreed allocations of £5 million in capital DEL. We hope that that will be helpful not only to road users and those of us who travel long distances every day, but to the construction industry. That industry has had huge pressure on it over the past couple of years. We hope that that money will give some help to them. We have also been able to allocate £16·5 million, a not insubstantial amount of money, for roads maintenance. I am sure that the Department will be happy to receive that; I know that the Minister certainly is. Again, that will hopefully provide a small boost. We realise that it is a small boost, but hopefully it is an indication of things to come.”
“May I join the Member in urging the Minister for Regional Development to make sure that she has due regard to the very important constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone when she comes to deal with her budget? Unfortunately, the capital DEL position remains constrained. Members will see that from the figures that I outlined today.”
“People have been told that they will have to wait a very long time for operations and assessment, therefore we need to be able to deal with those people as quickly as possible. So, yes, we have been working on a plan. The Minister of Health, along with his officials, has been preparing for this day, and I know that he is very happy that this day has come.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Indeed, the Health Minister, along with myself and others, has been working on a plan to deal with waiting lists for some months, despite what others may have been saying. We have been planning and preparing in the hope of achieving what we have achieved today — the allocation of £47 million to the Department of Health. We will work to ensure that as many people as possible have access to operations and procedures, but we will have to work within the capacity that we have. We will use everything that we can to make sure that we allow as many people as possible to be dealt with in the coming weeks and months, because we realise — it would be wrong of us not to acknowledge — that there have been tremendous pressures on people's lives.”
“It is very strictly monitored by Her Majesty's Treasury. There are no unmet ring-fenced pressures, and the unallocated £24·4 million cannot be used or reallocated to the Executive to meet pressures outside the ring fence. That much is very clear. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that the Ulster Unionist Party will want to join me in congratulating the First Minister and the deputy First Minister on the financial package that they achieved under the Stormont Agreement, because, of course, there is absolutely no new borrowing in that package. It is all real money. Therefore I know that the Ulster Unionist Party will welcome that, given that it had indicated that there was going to be £0·5 billion of borrowing. Of course, that is not the case. It is a good day, because we can move ahead with real money in the package that was announced yesterday.”
“I will take the last point first. As I indicated, all the financial transactions capital has been allocated. The larger amount of it has been allocated to the Department for Social Development for co-ownership housing, although it could have taken even more — £10 million more, I think — if I had had the money available to me in the financial transactions capital. Ten million pounds goes to Queen's University for a new school of law and an integrated student hub. So, absolutely no money from the financial transactions capital is unallocated. I am pleased about that, given that quite a bit of financial transactions capital had come back from Departments into the centre. <BR /> <BR />In terms of the money that cannot be reallocated, that is money that is ring-fenced to deal with non-cash pressures relating to depreciation and impairments.”
“I welcome his congratulations on the amount of money that is going to the Department of Health. Some £4 million of the £6 million for unscheduled care and other services will be going to deal with winter pressures, which we know occur every year and, therefore, need to plan for. In all, the money that has been allocated to the Department of Health will mean that we will be able to put in place 40,000 assessments and around 15,000 operations and procedures. That is a tremendously good news story for people right across Northern Ireland. Regardless of where you live or access your hospital care, we are now going to be able to make those available to people. If the Member has very specific issues about hospitals in his constituency, I suggest that he raises those with the Minister of Health.”
“I must say that all my colleagues across the parties acknowledged that there was a need to deal with the pressures in the Health Department. It was at the top of our priorities when we went to look at the allocations. So, £40 million of the allocation will go to elective care and diagnostics, £1·6 million will go to psychological therapies, and £6 million will go to unscheduled care and other services. I know that my colleague the Minister of Health has been working very hard to make sure that the money that has been allocated to the Department of Health will make a real impact on the lives of real people. That is something that the House should very much welcome.”
“He is right to say that, if we are growing the economy here in Northern Ireland, we should take some benefit from that in the receipts that come. That is something that we will continue to talk to Treasury about.”
“As he will know, because the main rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom has fallen, the cost of corporation tax being cut here in Northern Ireland will also have fallen, and therefore the cost to the block grant will not be as large as it was when the main rate was higher. We are continuing to speak with Treasury about the cost of corporation tax. The full cost, of course, does not come out until year 3. Until then, it is a graduated cut to our block grant. The Office for Budget Responsibility has indicated that the resource DEL will start to grow again by year 3, 2020-21. That is the year in which our resource budget will start to grow again, so that is to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />Secondary benefits is an issue that we continue to talk to Treasury about.”
“So, this gives us a tremendous tool to go out and look for more foreign direct investment.”
“I thank the Member for his comments and, indeed, his warm welcome for the agreement that was reached yesterday. He is, of course, right to point out that we will have a very generous welfare scheme here within the United Kingdom and that we will support hard-working families who have been targeted in relation to tax-credit cuts. That was something that we felt very strongly about on this side of the House, as he knows. <BR /> <BR />In relation to corporation tax, I am of course only too delighted that we have been able to set the date and the rate for April 2018 at 12·5%. That will allow Invest Northern Ireland and, indeed, Ministers to now go out across the globe and sell Northern Ireland as a good place to do business, as it always has been, but it now opens more doors to the companies that, heretofore, have not been open to us.”
“It is also my preference that we agree a one-year Budget, thus providing the new incoming Executive, following next year's Assembly elections, with an opportunity to develop a longer-term Budget, in line with their Programme for Government. However, I recognise that, in relation to a number of large capital infrastructure projects, it may be necessary to provide some certainty on longer-term Budget allocations through the upcoming Budget process. <BR /> <BR />With that, I commend the statement to the Assembly.”
“That exercise, as a one-off, will provide Departments, subject to DFP approval, with flexibility to process proactive reductions and internal reallocations without recourse to the Executive, providing greater flexibility to manage emerging pressures over the course of this year. <BR /> <BR />It is now critical that the Executive turn their attention to agreeing a Budget for 2016-17. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce the outcome of the UK Government's spending review on 25 November. That will detail the Executive's settlement for the coming years. Following that, I will bring a paper to the Executive on the Budget before Christmas. The Executive have previously agreed that the Budget should be developed based on the planned new nine-Department structure.”
“I believe that the Executive are now on course to live within their 2015-16 spending controls. However, I will continue to closely monitor the position through the remainder of this year. <BR /> <BR />The Executive have agreed that, unless circumstances merit a further monitoring round, this will be the final Executive monitoring round in 2015-16. However, it has been agreed that a technical monitoring round should take place in early January without recourse to the Executive. That will provide Departments with an opportunity to adjust their budgets within Executive agreed allocations ahead of the spring Supplementary Estimates process.”
“Following the allocations detailed, the Executive exited this monitoring round with a £10 million overcommitment in respect of resource DEL and £15·8 million on capital DEL. In addition, £24·4 million of resource DEL ring-fenced for depreciation and impairments remains unallocated. However, due to the ring-fenced nature of that fund, it is not available for reallocation by the Executive. <BR /> <BR />The uncertainties relating to the Executive's budgetary position in 2015-16 have been clarified through the talks process, and Ministers have taken action to contain expenditure in this year. As a consequence, the Executive have, through this monitoring round, been able to address some high-priority departmental pressures, not least in the health service and ensuring that our roads network remains fit for purpose.”
“There is an allocation of £15 million of resource DEL to the Department of Education for drawdown of school surpluses, estate management and special educational needs. There is also an allocation of £3·9 million of resource DEL allocated to DARD for TB compensation costs. <BR /> <BR />I would also like to update Members on the schools end-year flexibility (EYF) scheme, which allows schools to either draw down or increase their reserves. The stock of school reserves carried forward from 2014-15 amounted to £41·7 million. The Department of Education has been allocated the £5 million requested in this monitoring round from that stock. As a consequence, the schools' EYF stock carried into 2016-17 is £36·7 million.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive have agreed allocations in this monitoring round totalling £87·4 million of resource DEL and £13·7 million of capital DEL. Full details of the allocations are contained in the tables, so I will only highlight some of the main ones. There is a £47·6 million allocation of resource DEL to the Department of Health to address a number of the significant pressures facing the health service relating to elective care and diagnostics, psychological therapies and unscheduled care and other services. There is a £19·1 million allocation of resource DEL to DRD for roads maintenance, concessionary fares and community transport plus £5 million of capital DEL for structural maintenance of roads.”
“That action taken by Ministers to contain spend in the year, combined with access to the budgetary flexibilities detailed in the Stormont House Agreement and the UK Government's agreement to access the funding necessary to progress the public-sector voluntary exit scheme, has meant the pressures facing the Executive’s Budget this year have been contained. That has been reflected in the level of resources available for allocation in this monitoring round and the level of bids submitted by Departments. I am pleased that Ministers have taken action to contain spend on lower priority programmes as that now provides the Executive with an opportunity to make a number of allocations in line with their priorities.”
“OFMDFM has confirmed allocations totalling £2·1 million under the Together: Building a United Community programme to be processed in this round, including £1·8 million to OFMDFM and £0·3 million to DCAL. Those transfers mean that there is no resource DEL remaining in that fund. <BR /> <BR />Against the available resources, Departments submitted bids amounting to £91·4 million in respect of resource DEL and £59·9 million in respect of capital DEL. Those bids are detailed in the tables. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that I have warned about the significant financial pressures facing the Executive’s Budget this year. In view of that, I wrote to Executive colleagues early in this financial year, advising them to halt expenditure on discretionary programmes.”
“Those transfers mean that there is no resource DEL and £7·2 million of capital DEL remaining in the social investment fund for 2015-16. That has been returned to the Executive for reallocation in this round. No resource DEL funding is available under the childcare fund following this monitoring round. <BR /> <BR />Budget 2015-16 set aside £10 million of resource DEL for the Together: Building a United Community programme. Following a number of allocations agreed in the June monitoring technical exercise, the November monitoring round commences with £1·9 million of resource DEL unallocated from the Together: Building a United Community fund. That has been supplemented by funding returned from a number of programmes totalling £0·2 million, making £2·1 million available for allocation in this round.”
“<BR /> <BR />While no funding was specifically set aside for the Delivering Social Change programme or the Atlantic Philanthropies programme in the Budget 2015-16, the Executive, at the request of OFMDFM, have agreed to flexibility in this monitoring round to fund them from money set aside for the social investment fund and the childcare strategy. <BR /> <BR />OFMDFM has confirmed allocations to Departments in this monitoring round totalling £2·6 million of resource DEL. That includes £1 million to the Department of Health, £1 million to DE and £0·6 million to OFMDFM, with £0·3 million capital DEL also being transferred to OFMDFM. Those allocations will fund a combination of Delivering Social Change, the social investment fund and Atlantic Philanthropies programmes.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members will recall that, in Budget 2015-16, the Executive set aside £11 million resource DEL and £15 million capital DEL for the social investment fund in this financial year. In addition, the Executive set aside £3 million resource DEL for this year to fund childcare strategy initiatives. A number of allocations were agreed in the June monitoring technical exercise, which concluded with £1 million resource DEL and £7·5 million capital DEL on the social investment fund, and £1·6 million resource DEL relating to the childcare strategy remaining unallocated.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive have agreed allocations of ring-fenced financial transactions capital in this round totalling £73·4 million, including £63·4 million to DSD for co-ownership housing and £10 million to OFMDFM for the Queen's University school of law and integrated student hub. Colleagues will recall from previous monitoring rounds that DEL does not have the legislative authority to issue loans to private-sector entities. The Executive have agreed that, consistent with previous FTC allocations to DEL, the allocation to Queen's University in this monitoring round should be processed by the Strategic Investment Board (SIB). Therefore, the allocation is made to OFMDFM. Taking account of that allocation, the Executive exit the November monitoring round with no ring-fenced financial transactions capital unallocated.”
“Therefore, the proposed fund will not be able to avail itself of financial transactions capital until the next financial year. As a consequence, the £11·7 million held for that purpose is now available for reallocation. <BR /> <BR />As a result, the reduced requirements declared in this round, combined with funding held for the Northern Ireland investment fund not being required, mean that the Executive now have £73·4 million of ring-fenced financial transactions capital available for reallocation in this round. Departments have submitted bids in this monitoring round for ring-fenced financial transactions capital of £85 million, including £75 million from DSD for co-ownership housing and £10 million from DEL for the Queen's University school of law and integrated student hub. Details are provided in the tables.”
“Progress to date includes the conclusion of the Deloitte feasibility study and further market testing to determine the potential structure and scope of the fund. However, a significant amount of technically complex work remains to be done before the fund can become operational, and DFP officials continue to engage with the European Investment Bank on those work streams. The outstanding work includes, among other things, development of an investment strategy for the fund; determination of the appropriate governance structure; development of the fund manager procurement strategy; and the fund manager procurement process. The latest discussions with the European Investment Bank suggest that that outstanding work is expected to take at least nine to 12 months to complete.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive's Budget for 2015-16 included ring-fenced financial transactions capital allocations of £129 million this year, including £40·9 million set aside for the Northern Ireland investment fund. Following a number of further allocations to Departments in the June monitoring technical exercise from funding held for the Northern Ireland investment fund, we enter the November monitoring round with £11·7 million set aside for that purpose. Departments have declared a number of reduced requirements on ring-fenced financial transactions capital, totalling £61·7 million. Details are provided in the tables. <BR /> <BR />My officials continue to work towards establishing a Northern Ireland investment fund.”
“The Executive also agreed a number of reclassifications between the resource and capital categories in this round. There were also reclassifications between the ring-fenced and non-ring-fenced resource DEL categories. Again, those reclassifications are shown in the tables. <BR /> <BR />All the issues that I have outlined impacted on the amount of resource available to the Executive in this monitoring round. Taking into account the starting position, the reduced requirements and reclassifications resulted in £77·4 million on resource DEL being available to the Executive and an overcommitment of £2·1 million on capital DEL. Before turning to the bids submitted by Departments in the monitoring round, I will update Members on ring-fenced financial transactions capital (FTC) and the Executive's central funds.”
“In some instances, Departments have also sought permission to move allocations across spending areas to facilitate the transfer of responsibility for a particular function from one business area to another. The internal reallocations agreed by the Executive in this monitoring round are included in the tables for information.”
“Departments have declared reduced requirements relating to schemes funded through this initiative totalling £15·7 million in this monitoring round. Full details of these reduced requirements are in the accompanying tables. As this funding is ring-fenced for specific shared education and housing schemes, it cannot be reallocated by the Executive in 2015-16. <BR /> <BR />It is good practice that Departments seek to manage any emerging pressures internally before bringing forward bids for additional allocations. Whilst the public expenditure control framework allows Departments scope to undertake many such movements on a unilateral basis, movements across spending areas in excess of the de minimis threshold are subject to Executive approval.”
“Full details are included in the tables provided. Members will note that the reduced requirements declared by the Department for Employment and Learning include £4·5 million relating to the FE college end-year flexibility (EYF) scheme. This will be added to the 2015-16 opening stock of £14·3 million, meaning a stock of £18·8 million is carried forward into 2016-17. <BR /> <BR />Under the terms of the economic pact, the UK Government agreed that the Executive could access an additional £100 million of reinvestment and reform initiative (RRI) borrowing, spread over three years, for shared education and housing schemes. Allocations in this year totalled £26·8 million, comprising £11·8 million to DE, £5 million to DEL and £10 million to DSD.”
“<BR /> <BR />There was also a small pressure of £0·6 million resource DEL relating to the salaries of individuals working in statutory bodies that must be taken into account now, whilst OFMDFM has advised that £7·2 million of capital DEL relating to the social investment fund will not be required in this year and therefore becomes available for reallocation by the Executive. <BR /> <BR />As a result of these changes, we start the monitoring round with £44·6 million of resource DEL available and an overcommitment of £22·7 million on capital DEL. That is before the departmental reduced requirements, reclassifications and internal reallocations are taken into account. <BR /> <BR />Departments declared reduced requirements in this monitoring round of £33 million in resource expenditure and £20·4 million in capital investment.”
“Delay in implementing welfare reform means that this funding is no longer required for the purpose intended in 2015-16 and is now available for reallocation in this monitoring round. <BR /> <BR />Members will recall from the 2013-14 January monitoring round that, as part of an agreement to provide £35 million of ring-fenced financial transactions capital funding to the Ulster University for its greater Belfast development, the university agreed to return £7 million to the Executive from its accumulated reserves, with £3·5 million to be returned in this year and a further £3·5 million in 2016-17. The Executive have now received the £3·5 million relating to this year, and that can be made available for reallocation in this round.”
“This, combined with a £0·8 million adjustment to the amount allocated to DFP in the June monitoring technical exercise, means that there remains £25·7 million of the £50 million target unrealised. Whilst the asset management unit has identified a number of other opportunities to generate additional capital income, there is significant risk attached to their delivery in the current financial year. The Executive have therefore agreed that the £25·7 million should be taken into account as a capital DEL pressure in this monitoring round. <BR /> <BR />Members will recall that the Executive agreed to set aside £26·9 million resource DEL in 2015-16 for measures to alleviate the worst impacts of welfare reform.”
“Whilst the amount has yet to be confirmed by HM Treasury, the council tax freeze has resulted in a Barnett consequential that is expected to be in the region of £5·5 million, which can also be taken into account in this round. <BR /> <BR />Colleagues will recall that the Executive set a capital receipts target of £50 million this year. The June monitoring technical exercise included adjustments totalling £21·8 million to departmental budgets, leaving a target of £28·2 million to be realised over the remainder of this year. The latest update from the asset management unit indicates that a further £3·3 million relating to the sale of various surplus assets can now be factored into the DRD budget in this monitoring round.”
“Crucially, the level of underspend that is anticipated remains within the overall Budget exchange scheme limits and the position remains that no resources have been lost to Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />A reduction in the level of EU match funding that is required by Departments for EU Peace and INTERREG programmes has resulted in £8 million of resource DEL and £1·1 million of capital DEL being surrendered from the centrally held budget. This funding becomes available for allocation in this round. <BR /> <BR />The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s summer Budget resulted in Barnett consequentials totalling £2·6 million resource DEL and £0·1 million capital DEL.”