Caoimhe Archibald
East Londonderry · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Taken together, that points to a scheme that is operating effectively in its early stages, while, of course, remaining under review as further evidence becomes available. <BR /> <BR />I therefore commend to the Assembly the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026.”
“I seek the Assembly's approval for the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. The statutory rule was made on 1 April and came into operation on 6 April. It is before the Assembly today under the confirmatory procedure.”
“The 2026 regulatory impact assessment estimates one-off employer familiarisation costs of up to £1·36 million, with wider HMRC implementation costs forecast at £1·5 million and annual systems maintenance costs of around £10,000. It may assist Members to note that early implementation has gone smoothly.”
“The amendment ensures the continued operation of those regulations and forms part of a wider package of legislative measures establishing statutory parental bereavement pay as an entitlement for bereaved parents.”
“The regulations before the Assembly today are a key part of that implementation and ensure the continued operation of the statutory parental bereavement pay framework. The policy objective is clear: to support bereaved working parents at a time of profound loss and provide a minimum standard of protection in law.”
“<BR /> <BR />The confirmatory procedure means that the regulations before the House today have come into operation before the Assembly debate has taken place and must then be approved by the Assembly within the relevant statutory period. In this case, the deadline for approval is 20 September 2026.”
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“The Member will be aware that £210 million has been allocated from government: £100 million of city deal funding and £110 million from the inclusive future fund, which will be equally funded by the Executive and the British Government. Derry City and Strabane District Council and project delivery partners are expected to contribute an additional £52 million investment. That speaks to the point that I discussed with Mr Middleton: the business case process has to proceed as quickly as possible. That is something on which I am keen to work with Executive colleagues.”
“I understand that work is under way by the Economy and Health Departments, in conjunction with Ulster University, to develop the business case for phase 2, which will see the expansion of the medical school. I know that the Member is supportive of that and has been working on it. I am sure that he will also engage with those Ministers on the expansion of the medical school.”
“I am certainly up for the conversation with the Economy Minister to ensure that the city and growth deals for Derry and Strabane and the other council areas can all proceed as quickly as possible.”
“As the Member will know, city and growth deals are long-term capital investment programmes. The process requires detailed business case development and approval for each constituent project to ensure the proper use of funds. My officials and those in other Departments have been regularly engaging with deal partners, and they continue to work through the relevant approvals process for the numerous business cases involved in the deal. <BR /> <BR />I know the views that the Member expresses: they have been expressed to me as well, those concerns around the bureaucracy of the process. I have discussed that with my officials, and they have assured me that they are working at pace to progress business cases.”
“The Derry City and Strabane District Council city deal is nearing the end of its business case process and should be signed in the spring or summer of this year. The deal's signing will, obviously, mark the stage at which the funding can be released.”
“The Fiscal Commission made recommendations on potential powers to devolve. Officials are analysing the subsequent consultation. I will look at the full range of powers, consider the recommendations that come back through the consultation and present them to the Executive for their consideration.”
“I think that I have already addressed that in response to Mr Tennyson. We are very much up for the conversation about the reform of the institutions. As Michelle O'Neill has made clear when responding to such questions, we are in the Executive to deliver for people. That is our intention for the rest of the mandate.”
“I understand that the head of the Civil Service has set up a cross-departmental working group to look at the issues that have been raised and how we can better deliver capital projects.”
“The Audit Office report highlighted a number of things, including the point that increased costs are not unique to here. Inflationary price rises and the issues across the world that have impacted on supply chains and logistics have had a global effect. There are clearly issues that need to be addressed on the delivery of major capital projects.”
“The Member will know that we are very much up for being here. We want to be here to do the jobs that we have been elected to do and to represent collectively the people whom we have been elected to represent. We have been very clear that we are very much up for having that conversation about reform. We have the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, and that is a forum that we would like to see used to discuss the reform of the institutions.”
“<BR /> <BR />The additional funding is, of course, welcome, but it will provide only a short-term solution to the pressing issues that we now face. We have effectively been asked to accept a lower quality of public services for our people, and that is absolutely untenable. The British Government must provide the foundation on which we can build and deliver sustainable public finances and sustainable public services.”
“As the Member will know, we have been underfunded for a number of years, and the British Government recognised that when they recognised that we had a level of need and thus put in place the financial package. We are the only devolved Administration that are asked to deliver public services while funded below the level of need. It is clear that the current financial package proposed by the British Government does not address that underfunding in a long-term way. It does not provide the basis for the Executive to deliver sustainable public services in the medium to long term, and that is not just my assessment or the assessment of my Executive colleagues but supported by Fiscal Council analysis.”
“It would also support long-term Budget sustainability.”
“The immediate priority for Budget sustainability must be to get the British Government to put in place a fair and appropriately baselined needs-based fiscal floor. That must recognise our underfunding for the start of the next spending review. Increased fiscal devolution would allow an Executive increased control over managing their finances and priorities locally. It is not just about raising revenue but about aligning economic and social policy with our tax and spend. Doing that would allow us to make different choices, to change behaviours, to spur economic activity and to raise revenue for public services in a fairer and more progressive way. <BR /> <BR />As the Independent Fiscal Commission stated in its final report from May 2022:”
“As I said to Mr McGlone, we have limited powers to direct what the banks do. The decisions that they take are largely made for commercial reasons. Access to cash hubs, and I believe that there is one in Bangor, is a good model when there is a lack of banking services. That is important, and when banks close in my constituency, I am keen to ensure that those leaving our high streets ensure that facilities are available to people. When I meet the banks and their representatives, I will be keen to understand how they ensure that that happens and what the criteria are for access to cash hubs.”
“The Member will know that my Department and the Assembly have very limited legislative authority in relation to banking and finance. There is a limited role that my Department can play in directly influencing the decisions that are made by local banks, which are, for the most part, commercial. I will be pressing local banks for change where it is needed, and I want to highlight that we are a society that is much more reliant than others on cash — that has been shown in some of the research that has been done — and, in particular, to highlight the needs of the most vulnerable. The round-table discussion highlighted some of the issues, and we have shared those with the Treasury. It is something that I will be keen to engage on further.”
“The Member may be aware that my predecessor, Conor Murphy, convened a banking round table in February 2022. He raised some issues coming out of that around ensuring access to cash and services and stakeholder engagement on managing the change in services. They set those out in a report that was formally presented to Treasury and other regulatory authorities in London, including the Financial Conduct Authority, for consideration. The Member may be aware that the Financial Conduct Authority has made some recommendations around access to cash, and that is something on which I will be keen to engage with it further.”
“Similar to what I have just set out for Mr Harvey, I very much want to understand the process so that, when towns and villages are left without a bank, they know how to benefit from these hubs. I am very keen to explore what can be done to drive this forward with the banks and their representatives when I have the opportunity to meet them.”
“By using Link's criteria, the Consumer Council submitted eight community requests, but only four areas qualified, so I very much want to understand that process.”
“As I understand it, banking hubs are owned by Cash Access UK, which is a company set up by banks and others and operated by the Post Office. The location of banking hubs is established following an assessment of need by Link, which runs the main cash machine network, and people will be familiar with it. How Link assesses need and the criteria used is an issue that I will raise when I meet the banks and their industry representatives. I will test, with the industry, the assessment process to qualify a community for a banking hub and whether that is suitable. <BR /> <BR />The Consumer Council has worked in partnership with Link to identify areas that could be considered for banking hubs.”
“I am deeply concerned about the impact of bank branch closures on local communities, particularly in our rural towns and villages. I have written to the main local banks that operate here, calling for a meeting to discuss how access to vital banking services can be maintained. Increasing the roll-out of banking hubs at pace is a matter that I will raise when I meet with the banks and their industry representatives. I will also, separately, meet the Financial Services Union to discuss the direction of travel with the banking industry.”
“I think that we all share the view that a decade of Tory austerity has done huge damage to our public services, and I certainly agree that it is vital that we have all the fiscal levers that we can at our disposal. That is why we included additional fiscal powers in the joint Executive letter that was sent to the British Government on 4 February. On fiscal powers, the Member will know that my predecessor, Conor Murphy, had set up the Fiscal Commission to look at the devolution of additional powers. Subsequently, the report of the Fiscal Commission went out for consultation. I will consider the Fiscal Commission's recommendations across a full range of taxes and will then bring proposals to the Executive on additional fiscal powers that we might seek. The fiscal framework is something that I will be raising with Treasury.”
“I am still awaiting clarity from Treasury as to what funding has been re-profiled, so I will raise that with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury tomorrow. I share the concerns that the Education Minister has set out. These are important projects. As the Member will know, no Executive parties had anything to do with the re-profiling of the money, but obviously we will have to now deal with the outworkings of whatever comes next.”
“As the Member will know, we have quite a tight time frame within which we need to set the rate to ensure that rates bills go out for the beginning of April. Hopefully, I will discuss with Executive colleagues this week the rate for the incoming financial year. It would not be appropriate for me to have those discussions in advance of having them with Executive colleagues.”
“It is essential that the right level of funding is provided by Treasury to ensure that we have a sustainable foundation for our public finances going forward.”
“With the Speaker's permission, I will answer questions 1 and 7 together. I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury setting out my significant concerns in relation to elements of the financial package, including the stipulations on revenue raising. I am meeting the Chief Secretary to the Treasury tomorrow, when I will be pressing for a substantive engagement on how we develop and implement a new fiscal framework. I view that very much as the start of the engagement with Treasury on these matters. The immediate priority is for the British Government to put in place a fair needs-based fiscal floor with an appropriate baseline that recognises our underfunding for the start of the next spending review.”
“The Budget Bill is crucial legislation that provides Departments with the power to continue to deliver vital front-line services to all our citizens through the final weeks of the financial year and the beginning of 2024-25. I commend the Budget Bill to the Assembly, and I ask Members to agree its Final Stage.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I assure him that my intention will be to get things back on track. <BR /> <BR />I will address Mr McCrossan's comments. I found myself, unusually, in agreement with nearly everything that he said, including that this is not the way to do business. I have been clear about that. I also welcome the announcement by the Irish Government today of the allocation of €800 million to a number of important projects. I am happy to give a commitment on working with Ministers across the Executive to deliver on the A5 and Casement Park. <BR /> <BR />With that, Mr Speaker, I draw my remarks to a close, and I thank you for your patience.”
“I was able to obtain flexibility to allocate over £100 million to public-sector pay on top of what was provided in the financial package. It will, of course, be for trade unions and employers to negotiate pay awards, and I will respect that process.”
“As I have rehearsed on a number of occasions, however, I am determined to have the discussion with Treasury about the fiscal framework to address the underfunding and put our public finances on a sustainable footing. Multi-year Budgets will be part of that discussion. <BR /> <BR />A number of Members referred to the process. I have set it out clearly that I agree that the process that we have had to put in place to pass the Budget Bill is not ideal. I welcome Members' support for what we are trying to achieve: keep Departments being able to deliver public services and pay to public-sector workers. I assure Mr Carroll that I want to get that money to public-sector workers as quickly as possible. I allocated as much money as we could to public-sector pay awards.”
“It is also important that the Executive can consider those fully before reaching decisions. The slight delay is intended to facilitate that. <BR /> <BR />A multi-year Budget is outside the Executive's control. Section 64 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which the Member quoted, also requires me to lay before the Assembly, at least 14 days before laying a draft Budget, a statement specifying the amount of funding for that year notified by the Secretary of State. As 2024-25 is the last year of the current spending review, the Secretary of State cannot tell me how much funding will be provided in the following two years. Without that confirmation, I cannot lay a Budget for the years beyond the end of 2024-25.”
“The legislative programme has to be managed across the Executive as a whole, and the drafting of legislation needs to be at a significant state of readiness to be prioritised in the 2024 legislative programme. <BR /> <BR />The leader of the Opposition also asked about seeing a multi-year Budget before the start of the financial year. I covered the timescale for Budget 2024-25 yesterday. He is, of course, correct that, in normal circumstances, it would be unacceptable not to have a Budget in place before the start of the financial year, but, as has been well covered, we are not in normal circumstances this year. The Executive returned only at the start of the month. It is important that new Ministers are provided time to scrutinise their Departmental budgets before articulating their funding requirements.”
“Comments were received from ministerial colleagues, and those can be referred to in any future Executive paper. In addition, officials engaged with the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC), which agreed to begin the work at risk to develop the legislation, given that it was an NDNA commitment. A draft of possible clauses and schedules has been compiled, and the OLC and officials continue to have discussions on those. <BR /> <BR />Although much work on that has already been undertaken on an informal basis with the OLC, more time is required to be ready to introduce the Bill, given that the Fiscal Council's Bill team was, in the Executive's absence, reprioritised to the Department's response to the COVID inquiry. My Department is seeking to reallocate resources to the Bill team to progress that work as urgently and speedily as possible.”
“Now that the Executive have been restored, I will need to give fresh consideration to that, with a view to bringing a policy document to the Executive for their agreement to progress that important work. Thankfully, significant preparatory work was undertaken. The former Finance Minister circulated the draft document to his then caretaker ministerial colleagues and the NIO to seek initial views. A number of comments were received, and those can be —”
“I want to say a word of appreciation and thanks to Members who have expressed their views again in today's debate. I have listened with interest. While some have opinions that differ from mine, it is still useful to me as Finance Minister to hear all those views. I will address as many of the Members' remarks as I can to answer their points. <BR /> <BR />First, I turn to some of the points that were made by the Chair of the Committee and leader of the Opposition. I made the commitment yesterday to him and to Dr Aiken to introduce a Bill to put the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing and to provide the legislative framework to underpin its work. A draft policy document that set out the legislative framework for the Bill was developed, and it was approved by the former Finance Minister in August 2022.”
“I express my gratitude once again to the Finance Committee, which worked with us to grant accelerated passage for the Bill. <BR /> <BR />This is the final stage of our financial legislative process for 2023-24. I now look forward to hearing any final thoughts from Members on this important piece of legislation.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive have acted to prioritise public-sector pay, with an allocation of £688 million for public-sector workers. That is really important for our health workers, teachers, police, transport workers and civil servants. It will enable negotiations with trade unions to take place. I want to see those concluding as quickly as possible to ensure that fair pay is delivered for workers. <BR /> <BR />The Vote on Account in the Bill will allow services to continue beyond 1 April and allow the Executive and the Assembly to consider the Budget for 2024-25. <BR /> <BR />The debate on the Bill's Second Stage yesterday was useful and informative. I thank all Members for the contributions that they have brought to the process.”
“Today's Final Stage debate concludes the financial legislative process for this Budget Bill in the Assembly. We have found ourselves in a very exceptional situation so late in the financial year. I stress again to Members that I do not take lightly what I have asked the Assembly to do in considering the Budget Bill in such a short period. I assure you that this will not in any way be regarded as establishing a precedent. <BR /> <BR />The importance and significance of ensuring that the Bill is passed cannot be overestimated. It enables us to keep delivering public services and prevent Departments running out of money. Money and financial packages have dominated the agenda since the Executive returned. Along with my Executive colleagues, I have been determined to take swift action to address the challenges that we face.”
“Mr Speaker, we could all continue to debate these issues for some time, but I will draw my remarks to a close. I have tried to respond to as many issues as possible. As always, the debate has been wide-ranging and many significant points have been raised, and I am thankful to Members for that. It is imperative that the legislation debated today continues its passage through the Assembly so that public services can be delivered without delay or interruption. In conclusion, I ask Members to support the Bill, thereby authorising spending on public services by Departments for 2023-24 and into the early months of 2024-25 through the Vote on Account.”
“Indeed, the Vote on Account in this Budget Bill is intended to allow the Executive and the Assembly to carefully consider the Budget for 2024-25. <BR /> <BR />Finally, Mr Nesbitt talked about our needing to have an outcomes-based Programme for Government, and I completely agree. It is important that that is the case, because it will help us prioritise how we spend our money.”
“I look forward to discussing the Department of Justice's financial position with the Justice Minister as part of the Executive's consideration of the 2024-25 Budget. <BR /> <BR />Mr McGrath and Mr McCrossan spoke about what this Budget does. The Secretary of State put in place a Budget last April that caused damage across our public services. Many of us had been critical of that Budget as being deeply punitive. This Budget Bill secures the funding for Departments for the final few weeks of the financial year and delivers fair pay for public-sector workers. It will not undo the damage of that Budget, and no one claims that it will. This Bill is not setting the Budget for 2024-25 and future years. The Executive are now beginning the process of considering the 2024-25 Budget.”
“We hope that those two timescales will align to allow that to proceed in relation to the 2023-24 Budget Bill that we are discussing. <BR /> <BR />Joanne Bunting and Stewart Dickson raised issues around the budgetary pressures facing the Department of Justice. I welcome the points made by both Members regarding the budgetary pressure on the Department of Justice. I took account of those funding pressures in my written ministerial statement, in which I confirmed that the Executive have provided a further £75·3 million to help DOJ meet the remaining needs for 2023-24. That additional funding will provide the Justice Minister with funding to address outstanding financial pressures in areas such as policing, including pay.”
“As I explained in my opening remarks, the Vote on Account is intended to last until after the summer recess to ensure that not only the Executive but the Assembly have sufficient time to consider the Budget for 2024-25.”
“I set out in the statement that that included £388 million for overspend and £688 million for pay. As the Member will know, the spring Supplementary Estimates document is long and complex and not something that could be turned around in a matter of days. Therefore, while it is regrettable that that document did not accompany the Bill, if the Bill is to obtain Royal Assent before the Departments exhaust their cash limits, it needs to proceed on the timescale outlined. <BR /> <BR />The Vote on Account is quite simply a percentage of the provision in the 2023-24 Budget. It is intended to ensure that Departments can continue spending until such times as a Budget Bill, based on the Executive's 2024-25 Budget, obtains Royal Assent.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. We have discussed at length today the extraordinary circumstances that we are in with this Budget. <BR /> <BR />Dr Aiken also expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of information that the Assembly has been provided with in relation to the amounts in the Budget Bill and the Vote on Account. It is regrettable that the timescales involved mean that it has not been possible to provide spring Supplementary Estimates to accompany the Budget Bill. That is purely down to timescales. Until I received a letter from the Treasury last Tuesday, I had no certainty on the funding available for 2023-24. The Executive allocated that funding on 15 February, and a statement was issued to the Assembly later that day. That statement showed the resource and capital DEL allocations to each Department.”
“If the sole authority of the Budget Act is not used for this, our mitigation measures will cease, and that would obviously plunge some of our most vulnerable people and households into crisis. Absolutely, this needs to be put on a firm statutory footing now that the Assembly is functioning again. However, until that can be done, we must ensure that the most vulnerable continue to be protected.”
“<BR /> <BR />Looking at some of the significant areas that are being delivered under sole authority, we see that, at the top of the list, is our mitigation of the British Government's welfare reform measures.”
“He raised concern about the use of the sole authority of the Budget Act, often referred to as the use of the black box. I covered that somewhat in my opening remarks and set out the range of services that that is being used for. He is absolutely correct: sole authority should be used only for items of expenditure that are to last for a short period or for which the level of expenditure is relatively small. It is absolutely correct that significant services involving significant expenditure should be legislated for properly by the Assembly. The Member will be aware, however, that it has simply not been possible for us to do that for the past two years.”
“As such, although I fully appreciate the importance of the role of the workers in that staffing group, which Mr Butler, Mr Carroll and others highlighted and which cannot be overstated, we need to ensure that appropriate scrutiny is completed. <BR /> <BR />Nick also raised the Department of Education's capital position. The £150 million Fresh Start funding package for shared education and shared housing has been repackaged into the funding that is available for allocation by the Executive. I understand that some shared and integrated education projects that were initially being considered to progress using Fresh Start funding have not yet become contractually committed, and it is now a matter for the Executive to determine allocations for Departments. <BR /> <BR />Mr Aiken raised a number of points.”
“Obviously, that is not a situation that any of us want to risk happening. <BR /> <BR />Nick raised the non-teaching staff pay and grading review, as did a number of other Members. The business case to support the proposal for the implementation of the pay and grading review is still undergoing scrutiny and has not yet received expenditure approval. My Department has raised a number of questions about the original business case and is working through updated information that the Department of Education recently provided in order to ensure that such questions have been adequately addressed. I also understand that, in parallel, the Department of Education is continuing to engage with the Education Authority to review its cost estimates in order to ensure that they are accurate. That work is ongoing.”