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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“That Budget stands and is reflected in the Main Estimates here today. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to debating the Budget Bill and, indeed, the Main Estimates. I request the support of Members to approve further Supply to enable vital public services to continue beyond the current provision in the Vote on Account.”
“Before I conclude my opening speech, I will address the amendment put forward by the Member for North Antrim. It calls for a £604 million reduction to the proposed amounts of cash and resources as set out in the Main Estimates. The Member is trying to use the Main Estimates debate to reopen the final Budget position that was agreed by the Executive. In doing so, he is demonstrating a lack of understanding of our budgeting framework and financial process. The Supply resolution on the Main Estimates cannot be used to propose changes to the Budget position. Only the Executive can agree budget allocations, based on recommendations put forward by me as Finance Minister. The Executive have now agreed their 2015-16 Budget. That was voted through the Assembly in January this year.”
“The Executive and the Assembly must now move forward on the issue as quickly as possible to ensure that all elements of the Stormont House Agreement can remain in place. <BR /> <BR />I will say a few words about the second motion before the House today, which concerns two Excess Votes for the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. I confirm that the Public Accounts Committee has considered those Excess Votes and recommended that the Assembly grant its approval. I am anxious that both Departments ensure that the circumstances leading to the breaches are not repeated, and I note that steps have been taken in both cases to ensure that the risk of a repeat is now minimised.”
“<BR /> <BR />Regarding longer-term spending plans, I anticipate that the UK Government will publish their spending review in the autumn, setting out their Budget plans for the period beyond this financial year. Whilst the outcome is uncertain, I expect the general direction of travel to reflect the latest Office for Budget Responsibility projections that I have just outlined. <BR /> <BR />The budgetary context that we find ourselves in means that we must take difficult decisions, minimise waste, promote the efficient delivery of public services and seek to protect front-line services. The spending priorities agreed by the Executive in the 2015-16 Budget will allow us to do just that. In that context, we cannot delay a decision on implementing welfare reform.”
“That having been said, the outlook for capital DEL is much more positive, with a projected increase at a UK level of 20% in cash terms over the same period. <BR /> <BR />As Members will be aware, the Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced that he will present a new UK Budget to Parliament on 8 July. It will set out the immediate Budget changes to be implemented by David Cameron's new Government. We have already had some insight into the direction of travel for the new United Kingdom Government for budget controls in last week's announcement of Whitehall in-year baseline reductions for many Departments. The outworkings of that through the Barnett formula have already had a negative impact on the Northern Ireland block.”
“Clearly, I would much rather have presided over a Budget in which there were plenty of resources to go around and in which the Executive would have the luxury of deciding what new services to introduce rather than what services to cut. However, we are in an environment of increasingly scarce resources. I am afraid that the immediate public-expenditure outlook is not a positive one. <BR /> <BR />The latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projections for the United Kingdom as a whole suggest that further resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) reductions are to come in the next few years. In fact, the latest projections suggest that the UK resource DEL will reduce by some 9% in cash terms between now and the 2018-19 financial year.”
“The public-expenditure context facing the Assembly is an extremely difficult one. In their 2015-16 Budget, the Executive had to impose real-terms resource reductions on most Departments. With financial pressures mounting across a range of public services, that has led to difficult decisions across the board. Ministers have had to take decisions about what services to deliver, what services to reduce and, indeed, what activities to cease altogether. <BR /> <BR />I knew about the financial challenges facing the Northern Ireland Departments when I recently took up this post, and I am fully aware that that does not make my job any easier.”
“I will attend the Committee this Wednesday, 17 June, to seek agreement to accelerated passage, and I hope that the Committee will be in a position to agree the request immediately after that briefing. I will, of course, update the House on the position at Second Stage, which is scheduled for next week. For now, I stress to members of the Finance and Personnel Committee and, in particular, the Committee Chair the critical importance of granting accelerated passage. I hope that the Committee will approach the briefing on Wednesday with that in mind. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that Members are aware that today's debate is time-limited. I therefore encourage Members to use their limited time to focus on the issues specifically related to the 2015-16 Supply resolution before us.”
“It is incumbent on all members of the Executive to ensure that we find a way forward on those difficult issues. On behalf of the Executive, and on the basis that welfare reform will be implemented, I request and recommend the levels of Supply set out in the motion under section 63 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. <BR /> <BR />As is the norm, accelerated passage is required for the legislation. Indeed, there is a provision for that specific instance in the Assembly's Standing Orders. Owing to the unusual circumstances surrounding this year's Budget (No. 2) Bill, the Committee for Finance and Personnel has not yet been able to grant accelerated passage.”
“<BR /> <BR />As Members will be aware, the context of the Budget Bill is far from business as usual. We find ourselves in the position where the Executive’s 2015-16 Budget was predicated on agreement to implement welfare reform and the Budget flexibilities secured as part of the Stormont House Agreement. The ongoing uncertainty around welfare reform and the wider Stormont House Agreement is clearly putting the Executive’s Budget in jeopardy. I must, therefore, stress that the Main Estimates and the associated Budget Bill are recommended to the Assembly on the assumption that welfare reform is agreed and that the Stormont House Agreement stands.”
“A Vote on Account was passed by the Assembly in February, which provided initial legislative cover to ensure the continuation of public services until the Main Estimates could be presented to the Assembly for approval. This resolution, and the Budget Bill that I will introduce tomorrow, now request the balance to complete the total 2015-16 cash and resource requirements for the Departments and other public bodies. This balance amounts to over £8·3 billion of cash and over £9 billion of resources. These requirements have their origins in the Executive’s 2015-16 Budget, which was approved by the Assembly earlier this year. It also reflects the demand-led annually managed expenditure (AME) required by our Departments to deliver public services and to pay benefits and pensions.”
“As just set out, the debate covers the Supply resolution and the Excess Votes in respect of the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The Supply resolution seeks the Assembly’s approval of the 2015-16 departmental spending plans and that of their associated public bodies, as set out in the Main Estimates. The 2015-16 Main Estimates and the 2013-14 Statement of Excesses were laid in the Assembly on Monday 8 June 2015. <BR /> <BR />The Supply resolution, therefore, relates to the supply of cash and resources for the remainder of the 2015-16 financial year, as set out in the Main Estimates.”
“The Executive have commissioned a feasibility study to find out the optimal scale, structure and investment strategy of the proposed fund. Deloitte has been appointed to advance that study, so it will look at where it would be best to focus the Northern Ireland investment fund. There will be many opportunities to put forward investment projects. I hope that the private sector, as well as the public sector, becomes engaged in the feasibility study so that we can make sure that we have the right mix moving forward for the benefit of the whole of Northern Ireland.”
“As the Member knows — we have had conversations about this — I am keen to ensure that the Executive do everything they can to support investment in infrastructure and that local project promoters have access to affordable project finance. Because of that, we have put in place the Northern Ireland investment fund. It is still at an early stage, but I hope that it will lever in additional funding that will help to boost investment and promote economic growth in Northern Ireland.”
“I hope that the general applications will be open late this year. The Member is right to talk about youth projects because they form a key element of the new Peace IV programme. We are, of course, delighted that there will be a Peace IV programme. A lot of hard work has gone into ensuring that we have it. It will certainly bring additional benefit to Northern Ireland and, indeed, to the Republic of Ireland. We very much welcome the fact that, hopefully, the Peace IV programme will roll out at the end of this year.”
“The draft Peace IV programme was submitted to the European Commission on 22 September 2014 in line with our regulatory deadline. The Commission has provided formal comments on the draft programme. Most are requests for clarification, and officials are working to address those. When that work is complete, the Executive will consider the final draft programme. Subject to Commission approval, I anticipate that the programme will be open for applications in late 2015.”
“Of course, I cannot guarantee that any Minister will live within their budget means. All I can do is monitor the situation and give advice and assistance where I can to any Minister. The case was made to me that this was worth doing. I agree with that, and I very much hope that it benefits the region.”
“We will be able to have hourly services between Coleraine and Londonderry, and that is something that the citizens of that area and, indeed, the many tourists who go to the area will very much welcome.”
“As the Member knows in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee for Regional Development, DRD announced the award of a contract for phase 2 of the upgrade of the Londonderry to Coleraine railway line on 2 June last year. There were some difficulties in and around that contract, and some errors were made in the original cost estimates for the project. Following receipt of the tenders for the work and confirmation of the revised costs, I gave approval for it to proceed, because the Minister for Regional Development had to issue a direction to go ahead with the work. It is tremendously good news for the people who live along that line and use that service.”
“I am currently going through the reduced requirements in June monitoring. All I will say to the Member is that it will not take me very long.”
“I think I know where this is coming from, having had a conversation with one of my colleagues at lunchtime. As far as I am concerned, "inescapable" means that we are contractually committed to expenditure. An example of an inescapable pressure from my previous days in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is a signed letter of offer to a company, where we have contractually committed to that company that we will give it money to allow it to grow. To me, that is an inescapable pressure; we are legally obliged to provide it. A ministerial priority that does not have a contractual obligation behind it is not an inescapable pressure. It may very much be a priority for that Minister, but it is not an inescapable pressure, as far as I am concerned.”
“I understand the frustration that is expressed by a number of our airports about air passenger duty. I share that frustration. However, I believe that the reduction of air passenger duty should happen on a UK-wide level. It is not just Northern Ireland's airports that struggle as a result of air passenger duty; other regional airports also suffer as a result of the imposition of what is, as far as I am concerned, a very unfair tax. In my role as Finance Minister, I will continue to push Treasury on the reduction of air passenger duty on a UK-wide level.”
“I do, because it was part of the Stormont House Agreement. As I have said many times during this Question Time, the Stormont House Agreement was a very balanced document, and part of it was to allow us to proceed with corporation tax. To be fair to Her Majesty's Government, they have taken through the Bill on corporation tax, and it has received Royal Assent. Therefore, it is now a matter for us whether we want to proceed with what would be an incredibly useful tool for Northern Ireland.”
“However, we must have a Budget in place for Northern Ireland for 2015-16 and, as yet, we do not have that. If we are to be taken seriously on other matters, we need to get that Budget in place.”
“We are all well aware and, indeed, are reminded on numerous occasions by Members across the way, that the Chancellor is to make budgetary announcements on 8 July. We, of course, have no specific input to those announcements, and the Executive's Budget will be impacted again by the Barnett formula adjustments. That is even more reason why we should put our Budget in place at this time so that we have a definitive Budget in place before the Budget announcement on 8 July. <BR /> <BR />Scotland and Wales have their Budgets in place. I often hear people here talking about getting together with Scotland and Wales and going to the Westminster Government and pushing them. That is fine, and we can do that in relation to the Budgets for 2016-17 and 2017-18.”
“As most Members are aware, on 4 June George Osborne announced £4·5 billion of measures that are designed to reduce the public debt in this financial year — 2015-16. Some £1·5 billion relates to the sale of the Government's stake in Royal Mail, with the remaining £3 billion coming from departmental savings in Whitehall. The outworkings of the Barnett formula mean that Northern Ireland's resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be reduced by £33 million and the capital DEL will be reduced by £5 million.”
“That is a very significant announcement, and I am delighted to see those new jobs at Global Point.”
“That is the other side of public-sector reform. It is important that we proceed with public sector reform, but, on the other side, we have to ensure that rebalancing occurs. In other words, we have to ensure that jobs are available if, indeed, those civil servants decide that they want to go into the job market. I know that others may have other plans for their futures. Some may want to start their own businesses and some may simply want to retire. For those who want to seek a job, we need to ensure that we continue to grow the private sector. <BR /> <BR />As the House knows, Invest Northern Ireland had a record year for job promotion last year. I was also delighted that the Enterprise Minister announced 80 new jobs for RLC at Global Point today.”
“Yes; absolutely. As indicated by a previous questioner, the Ulster Bank PMI indicates that, following a disappointing start to the year, the private sector has reported significant improvements to business conditions, with firms reporting the fastest rate of growth in business activities and new orders in seven months. That is significant. Furthermore, firms have continued to increase their staffing levels at a faster rate than the long-term average prior to the downturn. Those are very encouraging signs for the Northern Ireland economy.”
“I am not quite sure how one could provide a risk assessment for part of a member state when it is the member state that is involved in the negotiations on the European Union and what needs to change with it. We are part of the United Kingdom; it is a member state, and negotiations take place at that level.”
“As she knows, it is a potential exit. We are at a very early stage of negotiations, and the Prime Minister is engaged in discussing issues with other members of the European Union. It is rather early to be talking about an exit from the European Union when the negotiations have just begun.”
“The Member will have seen the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for this week, which looks back at April and indicates that there has been an increase, particularly in the manufacturing sector — not in the retail sector, not in the construction sector, but in the manufacturing sector — which I warmly welcome. It is about building on those sectors that can bring growth to Northern Ireland, and in particular looking to new export markets. We must be in an export-driven growth situation and, of course, continue to increase the amount of research and development money that is spent in Northern Ireland.”
“The Northern Ireland composite economic index provides information on the state of the Northern Ireland economy and, as such, may be used alongside other data to assist the Executive in determining their priorities.”
“Absolutely not. This is to be an additional scheme and will not form part of public spending. I think that is why it will be welcomed not just by the third sector but by everyone in the Assembly, who should welcome this as an additional source of money for that sector. It is not a substitute for mainstream government spending but an additional source of funding. Although I do not want to pre-empt the consultation, it will probably be through loans so that they can proceed and develop their particular social enterprise.”
“I think it was my predecessor who decided to widen the scheme out to the wider social economy, and that was absolutely the right thing to do. We do not want to limit access for those involved with the third sector, particularly at a time when — let us be honest about it — they may be facing constraints from other areas of government. <BR /> <BR />The main benefit of the scheme is that it will give access to funding to organisations such as social enterprises that wish to invest in their activities but have, until now, been unable to access that money, whether through loans or grants. I think it will be broadly welcomed by the third sector, and I very much look forward to bringing it to the House.”
“We want any organisation that thinks it can help with the fund to become involved in the consultation. As I said, any definitive programme will be laid before the House for affirmative resolution, so the House will also have its role in relation to the fund. This is a good opportunity to be able to access funding, in particular for those organisations that perhaps do not feel that they can apply to the Big Lottery Fund. I welcome that and know that it will be welcomed in the general third sector.”
“I plan to introduce the social innovation fund in the 2015-16 financial year. A consultation will issue shortly inviting views on, amongst other issues, the spending priority and distribution mechanism for the fund. Subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise, the Northern Ireland spending priorities will be subject to the draft affirmative resolution procedure in the Assembly.”
“As far as I am concerned, I am fulfilling my responsibility to bring forward a Budget when it comes to the House next week.”
“I say to the Member that he is absolutely right to call for more transparency in departmental budgets. That is what Committees need to see. It is what the public need to be aware of as well. I am now engaged in a process on how we can do that and how we can make, dare I say it, the Northern Ireland finances more accessible to the public. I very much want to be able to do that. <BR /> <BR />Regarding the Budget, I believe that it is a real Budget. I say that because it was agreed on figures that were agreed back on 23 December 2014 under the Stormont House Agreement. That is the process under which I am bringing the Budget forward. Whether it is through Sinn Féin and the SDLP stepping up to the mark on welfare or the Westminster Government taking action to deal with it, those are the options.”
“I am hearing that it did not go down well for some Members — exactly. <BR /> <BR />Since my appointment, I have received correspondence from my counterpart, John Swinney MSP, the Scottish Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance. I met John in my previous role and very much look forward to meeting him again so that we can discuss issues of mutual interest, including, I have to say, public-sector reform. I am also looking forward to meeting the Welsh Minister for Finance. She has also been in contact. So I look forward to a trilateral with those two Ministers, but I will probably be meeting John on an individual basis as well.”
“I am very pleased to hear the Member use the term "fair deal" because, of course, not so long ago, it was the DUP slogan, in that we would deliver a fair deal for Northern Ireland.”
“Of course it is important to work with other Administrations on areas of mutual concern and on where best practice can be shared. My officials are in regular contact with their Scottish counterparts on a broad range of matters that are relevant to the work of my Department.”
“I think that it is a little bit too early to say whether there is a trend in a particular sector. I am aware at a constituency level of the petrol forecourts issue. I understand that there may even be a class action taken concerning their shops. I have already met those people at constituency level. Now that I am Finance Minister, which I was not at the time, I may well meet them again to discuss where their concerns lie. It is important that we be as transparent as we possibly can be. For example, where are the comparators? How did we arrive at a particular rateable valuation? I think that it is important to do that. We owe it to our constituents and, indeed, businesses to allow them to find the answers to those questions.”
“I do not have the precise figures in front of me. The draft rate went out in, I think, November last year and there have been a number of appeals since then, but there are many appeals still to be heard. Indeed, there are over 1,000 appeals in, and I encourage anyone who is not content with the rates that have been set to appeal. I do not take it in any way as an error in the revaluation to see appeals coming forward. I think it is actually testing the system to see what happens, because it is evidence-based, and, in many cases, some of the forms that were sent out to ratepayers for evidence before the rates were set were not actually returned. Therefore, the evidence may not have been available. If there is evidence available that was not taken into consideration, they should bring it forward.”
“If we are going to give rate relief to businesses, rural businesses, or whatever it is to be, we have to find the money for that. We already have great constraints from our central government Departments, and we need to bear that in mind.”
“As I indicated, we have a wide range of reliefs available in Northern Ireland to support ratepayers. We all know that it is a shrinking public purse available to us. Indeed, a package of support worth up to £30 million has seen the impact of rates convergence effectively removed for any business ratepayer through an 80% subsidy in this year. We have small business rate relief still in existence. The empty shops rates concession, industrial derating and an exemption for rural ATMs have all been extended for this financial year, 2015-16, at a time when we are under significant pressures in relation to our funding. I ask Members, when they are asking for rate reliefs to be brought forward, to recall that we have a fixed amount of money.”
“I have said before that I am happy to speak to Members about individual cases that are at either end of the scale, if you like, in terms of the differences that have been made to them, but we already provide a wide range of reliefs, particularly to the non-domestic sector, so those should be looked at. <BR /> <BR />I also say to him that the Executive have frozen the regional rate. Actually, because of the revaluation exercise, the regional rate has reduced. Was that the case with the district rate? In many cases, council areas have increased the district rate and have not kept to the very prudent exercise that the Executive have been involved in.”
“The results across Northern Ireland are very much as expected. There may be individual businesses — he referred to one — that stand out, but it is a correction. If the Member watched television last week, he will have seen a report on Belfast city centre and how the correction has really helped to bring developers into the city centre because the rates were much too high in the past and a revaluation was needed. <BR /> <BR />I accept what he is saying in relation to the scale of the increase in percentage terms, but if you look at the real value of the rates that they are paying, you will see that they are, I would say, tens of times lower than in other places in Northern Ireland. Therefore, the revaluation did need to occur. I think it was the right thing to happen.”
“When I attend meetings on the Stormont House Agreement, I am told that all parties in this House support it. It is for others to determine whether that is right or wrong. The party that I represent certainly wants to see full implementation. I say that because it is a balanced agreement; you cannot have one part implemented and not the rest. It has to be implemented in full because it was a balanced agreement that took some considerable time to reach. <BR /> <BR />As for the other issue he raises, I am afraid that I was not in post four years ago, as I think he realises. I will check with the then Minister of Finance about what he believes is the case.”
“Very much so. When Departments were determining their savings, they looked at business needs moving into the future. Business needs are very much part of the selection for the first tranche. As I said, Departments provided a profile of numbers, grades and disciplines of staff. What we do not want is the complete loss of a particular skill to the Civil Service because everyone has left under the voluntary exit scheme. We have seen that happen in other organisations that have run voluntary exit schemes. It is very important that the Civil Service continues to be run in a businesslike fashion.”