Conor Murphy
Newry and Armagh · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“More detailed consultations with individual childcare providers and parents are taking place this month and into February. The group agreed that the research would conclude in March 2025. The work is on schedule; there has been no delay. Childcare is an excellent example of various Departments coming together to deliver for our people.”
“The Bill looks at the issue of flexible working, but at every meeting that we have had with employers, we have made a point of talking to them about the need for them to be flexible, particularly in relation to women who are returning to the workforce, and to offer people arrangements that entice them back to the workforce and give them t…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Although the Department of Education leads on childcare, it is a priority for the Executive as a whole. When setting the Budget for this financial year, the Executive earmarked an additional £25 million for childcare.”
“As a matter of fact, I publicly launched the scheme and the courses in the Met last summer. My officials are also working with our six further education colleges to develop childcare microcourses for future delivery. <BR /> <BR />I also offered to assist Minister Givan's Department as required.”
“The group identified the need to better understand the business models for childcare, what type of support is needed to ensure the sector's financial viability and how support should be targeted. Given my Department's business expertise, we volunteered to take that work forward.”
“No tensions or obstacles have been placed in the way of any of that work, and I hope that that continues to be the case, because the issues are much more important than party political exchanges across the Chamber. We will continue to work in that manner.”
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“<BR /> <BR />He asked questions about the cost-of-living crisis. We introduced the £55 million scheme with the Department for Communities. I have signalled that I intend to allocate further funding in the rest of the financial year. However, the absence of an Executive means that we cannot create new schemes. While the Department for Communities has that scheme up and running, and I will be interested to see how it is working at paying out, we cannot create additional schemes. A number of Departments have come forward to seek such funding, but we will have to fund some existing programmes within them. <BR /> <BR />Questions were asked about transformation of health. Inevitably, the debate moved from the Budget scenario that we are dealing with to the prospects for a three-year Budget. The transformation of health was key to that.”
“Those are all points on which I agree with him. The fact is that we have to legislate for a Budget in a time frame. If the Programme for Government document is there, as it should be, it would obviously be much better to align with it, and I think that having it in place would allow for more ease of access when looking for accountability in budgets. <BR /> <BR />Of course, while it is legally necessary to give people the very weighty tomes of Budget documents so that they can study, line by line, all the expenditure, I think that, for the public to get a clearer understanding of the process and to have that level of scrutiny, as time goes on we need to look at making them more accessible and making the read-across easier when understanding the Budget and how it aligns with the various other documents that an Executive will produce.”
“The Communities Minister took up that solution, and, yesterday, I heard the Economy Minister say in the Chamber that he was going to provide some certainty for those groups in the near future through his own resources in the Department. I hope that that is the case, and I look forward to that, because I met some of those groups yesterday morning, and they still are uncertain about their future position. If the Department for the Economy is now in a position to provide that degree of certainty and avoid redundancy notices, I very much look forward to that being given to them. <BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole also raised the accessibility of Budget documents. He talked not about the information that is provided but about how accessible they are. Of course, he raised the alignment between a multi-year Budget and a Programme for Government.”
“The Department of Finance received approval to fund the Fiscal Council in 2021-22 and 2022-23 under the sole authority of the Budget Act, but once the legislation is passed — that is expected to be in early 2023 — that will formally establish the Fiscal Council and avoid reliance in the future on the sole authority of the Budget Act. <BR /> <BR />Another point that Matthew O'Toole raised was the European social fund and the match funding for the groups that are very much in crisis at the moment over whether they can continue to provide vital training and education services. I offered a solution to that to both the Economy Minister and the Communities Minister.”
“The initial question was about the legislative status of the Fiscal Council and the funding that is attached to it. The terms of reference have been agreed, and they remain unchanged following extensive consultation. The Department is now focusing on developing legislation to put the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing, which will supersede the terms of reference. <BR /> <BR />While the agreed terms of reference will be the foundation of the legislation, other issues that need detailed consideration include the public appointments of the chair and members; staff resourcing; access to information; governance and powers; reporting mechanisms; and the relationship with Assembly Committees and Ministers.”
“Its budget, under the draft Budget proposals, would have increased by 1·9% in each of the first two years and 2·1% in the third year. That included funding for welfare mitigation measures, which we all know are vital in protecting households from the worst impacts of the British Government's welfare reforms. There was also a very significant capital allocation for Communities of over £820 million over the three years. We had also agreed that, as and when any capital came back to the centre during this period, social housing, along with green growth, would be one of the priority areas for reallocating that capital. <BR /> <BR />Matthew O'Toole raised a number of questions about the Fiscal Council, and I think that Andrew Muir also raised some questions on it. I will deal with both those contributions.”
“The Executive have provided the funding to TEO in order to ensure that the scheme can progress. Of course, we still are in dispute resolution mode with Treasury about who ultimately pays and the share of each in paying for those funds, but, in response to his question, the situation is not because of a lack of funding for those payments. <BR /> <BR />Paula Bradley, the Chair of the Communities Committee, said that she feels that the Department for Communities is under-resourced. That is interesting, because I have often been accused in the Executive, as Mr Weir will remember, of giving Communities too much money and not giving other Departments enough money. It is interesting to hear the reverse from the same party. For the record, Communities is a very vital Department that delivers a huge range of vital services.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Chair of the Finance Committee, Steve Aiken, raised a number of questions that I want to address. One related to the actions to be taken to improve capital delivery. We do not directly lead the Strategic Investment Board, but it has been developing the Executive's investment strategy, which will deliver long-term capital planning. Unfortunately, as with the Budget and the Programme for Government, the investment strategy has been blocked by the absence of an Executive. <BR /> <BR />Mr Aiken also raised questions about victims' payments. I am perturbed to hear that only two payments have been made to date. There are approximately 1,600 applications in the system, and the award of payments has not been delayed due to a lack of funding.”
“I thank the Members, Chairs and Deputy Chairs who contributed to the Second Stage debate on the Budget Bill. It is very useful to hear the views of the respective Committees and Members on the important financial and economic issues that face us as an Administration. Many of the points were, obviously, specific to the Departments that the Committees scrutinise, and I am not in a position to answer them all. However, I will endeavour to deal with some questions that were raised in the debate. <BR /> <BR />Once again, I thank the Finance Committee for agreeing to the Bill's accelerated passage, which is necessary not only to get it through in time but to ensure that, given the situation that we now find ourselves in, we have the ability to fund Departments in the next number of months.”
“The reality is that the Bill is needed now in order to ensure that our public services can continue to be delivered, including our health service, our schools and our road and water services. <BR /> <BR />On that note, I conclude, and I am happy to deal with any points of principle or detail of the Budget Bill that Members may wish to raise.”
“It enables my Department to run an effective and efficient cash management regime and ensure minimum drawdown of the block grant on a daily basis, which is very important when contemplating the daily borrowing by our Departments. <BR /> <BR />The numbers in the Budget Bill are significant, and I am sure that Members will agree that it is not an easy task to translate those figures into the delivery of public services on the ground. Members will no doubt be exercised by the situation that we find ourselves in with the absence of an Executive and the impediment that that creates for the delivery of a Budget not just for 2022-23 but for the next three years.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am aware that the Department for Communities intends to make further regulations to extend existing mitigation schemes to universal credit claimants. Those must be approved by the Assembly, and, until that time, payments to those claimants will continue to be made under the sole authority of the Budget Act. <BR /> <BR />Clause 5 provides for the temporary borrowing by my Department in 2022-23 of £4,911,204,000. That is approximately half the sum that is authorised by clause 4 for issue out of the Consolidated Fund. I stress that clause 5 does not provide for the issue of any additional cash out of the Consolidated Fund or convey any additional spending power.”
“As required by the Finance Committee, the Estimates document now includes a separate table, Table 3, which lists the Departments and areas that rely on the sole authority of the Budget Bill. <BR /> <BR />Because the Main Estimate for 2022-23 will not be available until later in the year, I want to make the Assembly aware that, whilst Royal Assent has now been received for the Welfare Supplementary Payments (Loss of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit) Bill, that does not include the social sector size criteria, commonly referred to as "bedroom tax mitigation". A Bill to extend that mitigation scheme has passed Consideration Stage, and it is hoped that it will complete Final Stage and receive Royal Assent by April this year. However, it is prudent to include that in the amount that is relying on the sole authority of the Budget Bill.”
“It is merely to allow Departments to continue to operate and provide services in the early months of that year, pending the consideration of the Executive's Budget for that year through the Main Estimates and the Budget (No. 2) Bill. <BR /> <BR />One point that I wish to draw Members' attention to is that, while the vast majority of expenditure by all Departments is done on the authority of the statutory powers that are provided through legislation passed by the Assembly, there are occasionally some functions that may, from time to time, be done on the sole authority of the Budget Act. When a Department is making use of the sole authority of the Budget Act, it will highlight that fact by placing a note with a black box symbol in the corner in the corresponding Estimate.”
“The total resources and accruing resources provided by the Bill therefore bring the total resources for use by Departments in 2021-22 to just under £28 billion. <BR /> <BR />In addition, the Bill will authorise the issue of a further £9,822,408,000 from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund and the further use of resources totalling £11,090,573,000 by the Departments and certain other bodies listed in schedules 3 and 4 to the Bill in the year ending 31 March 2023. Cash and resources are to be spent and used on the services that are listed in column 1 of schedules 3 and 4. <BR /> <BR />That is the Vote on Account, and, as I have explained, it does not constitute the setting of a Budget for the 2022-23 year.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Bill will authorise the use of £21,827,567,000 from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund and the use of resources totalling £24,645,707,000 by the Departments and certain other bodies listed in schedules 1 and 2 to the Bill in the year ending 31 March 2022, which is this financial year. The cash and resources are to be spent and used on the services listed in column 1 of each schedule. The amounts supersede those previously authorised by the Assembly through the Main Estimates. <BR /> <BR />The Bill also sets, for the current financial year, a limit for each Department on the use of accruing resources. Accruing resources are current and capital receipts totalling £3,176,162,000. The accruing resources are to be spent and used on the services listed in column 1 of schedule 2.”
“I shall endeavour to keep to that direction. The main purpose of the Bill is to authorise the cash and use of resources on services, based on the final spending plans for the 2021-22 year for Departments and other public bodies as set out in the spring Supplementary Estimates for 2021-22. The Bill also provides authorisation for the cash and use of resources in the early months of the 2022-23 financial year as a Vote on Account, pending the Assembly's consideration of the Main Estimates and the Budget (No. 2) Bill later in the year. Copies of the Budget Bill and the explanatory and financial memorandum have been made available to Members today, and the spring 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates and the 2022-23 Vote on Account were laid before the Assembly on 9 February.”
“I am grateful to the Finance Committee for confirming that, in line with Standing Order 42, the Bill can proceed under accelerated passage. <BR /> <BR />Throughout the year, the Executive, the Finance Committee and the Assembly have had the opportunity to scrutinise the financial position reflected in the Bill. I brought the 2021-22 Budget Bill to the Assembly last April, and I made statements to the Assembly on changes to the financial position at each monitoring round. There has also been regular engagement with the Finance Committee throughout the 2021-22 financial year. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly's Standing Order 32 directs that Second Stage debates should be:”
“The Second Stage debate today follows the approval by the Assembly yesterday of the Supply resolutions for the expenditure plans of Departments and other public bodies as detailed in the 2021-22 spring Supplementary Estimates and the 2022-23 Vote on Account. As Members will be aware, accelerated passage is necessary to ensure Royal Assent prior to the end of March. If that is not received in time, Departments and other public bodies may not be able to access cash, which would threaten the effective delivery of public services, not only for the closing weeks of the current financial year but for the early months of the 2022-23 financial year. That would undoubtedly affect the delivery of essential public services and our continued response to the COVID pandemic.”
“I beg to introduce the Budget Bill [NIA 55/17-12], which is a Bill to authorise the issue out of the Consolidated Fund of certain sums for the service of the years ending 31 March 2022 and 2023; to appropriate those sums for specified purposes; to authorise the use for the public service of certain resources for those years; to revise the limits on the use of certain accruing resources in the year ending 31 March 2022; and to authorise the Department of Finance to borrow on the credit of the sum appropriated for the year ending 31 March 2023.”
“<BR /> <BR />Assembly approval of the Supply motions and the associated departmental expenditure plans laid out in the 2021-22 spring Supplementary Estimates and the 2022-23 Vote on Account is a crucial stage of the existing public expenditure cycle, and failure to pass the Supply resolutions at this juncture will put at risk the smooth continuation of public services and the vital support that our citizens, hospitals, schools and businesses require for the remainder of this financial year and into the next one. I therefore commend the spring Supplementary Estimates for 2021-22 and the Vote on Account for 2022-23 to the Assembly, and I ask Members to support the motions.”
“A fund was set aside to assist businesses from Britain and to ensure that they understood the protocol arrangements. That protocol flowed from Brexit, which Mr Allister supported, so I am not sure why he thinks that we need to set up a similar fund here. Part of it was a reluctance among some firms to engage with any additional headache in doing trade across the Irish Sea. Nonetheless, we can trace all this back to the ill-advised decision on Brexit, which is one that, clearly, the majority of people here did not support. <BR /> <BR />I hope that I have answered as many of the questions as possible in the time available to me, and, of course, we will go through a lot of the issues again tomorrow. I thank Members for their patience.”
“My Department has given approval for any expenditure in this financial year to be taken forward under the sole authority of the Budget Act, but the Department has been advised that this will be the final year for expenditure to be taken forward under that mechanism. From here on in, the deal will have to be done, and that will take it forward in a more acceptable way in terms of the accountability that this institution brings. We have worked with the Finance Committee on the sole authority Budget Act, but it is fair to say that it remains an unsatisfactory way to allocate money, even though it is sometimes necessary. <BR /> <BR />Mr Allister raised a number of points about the Utility Regulator, the SIB and Tourism Ireland, all of which he will have to take up with the relevant Departments.”
“Those negotiations are at an advanced stage, and it is expected that an agreement will be reached before the end of this financial year.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Beggs also raised an issue about the Vote on Account. It does not set a Budget. The Member will be aware that, in the absence of the Executive, we are unable to set a Budget for the next year to enable Ministers to make allocations to bodies such as the DVA and others. The Member will have to raise the change in depreciation in the Department for Infrastructure with the Infrastructure Minister. <BR /> <BR />Mr Muir raised the issue of HMS Caroline and spending that comes under the sole authority of the Budget Act. The Department for the Economy has engaged with the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with a view to agreeing an approach that would permit HMS Caroline to reopen to the public as a visitor attraction.”
“<BR /> <BR />With the uncertainty about the Budget and the debate about where it will go, some arm's-length bodies have decided not to spend, and Invest NI has decided not to commit to certain companies that it was encouraging to come here. That uncertainty has now been doubled down on as a consequence of the Executive shutting down. <BR /> <BR />I will deal with some other points that were raised by Members. Roy Beggs made points about the Department for Infrastructure and the funding of the DVA, public transport and Northern Ireland Water. Of course, now that the Department is on a 45% allocation and is treading water, all those bodies that the Member listed as needing significant investment basically cannot plan for any of that until such time as an Executive are in place. They will get enough to keep the lights on and the doors open.”
“<BR /> <BR />The strategic outline case for increasing the number of PSNI officers has been approved by the Department of Justice to proceed to an outline business case, and the draft 2022-25 Budget includes £14·8 million per annum for police staffing over the period of 2022-25. As a precaution, the Chief Constable decided to defer the March 2022 PSNI recruitment intake — I think that that also relates to the points that were made by Stewart Dickson about Invest NI. Therefore, they will not meet the target of 7,100 officers in post by the end of this financial year, which had been the Executive's objective when they set that target.”
“We were encouraged to bring forward spending priorities for the Executive and were told — albeit not in these words — that the sky was the limit and that we should be ambitious with our spending priorities, but then, within two days, the British Government had resiled from their offered position. By the way, it was not just us, as politicians. The Member or others who were about the table may remember that senior civil servants were brought in and asked to bring forward ambitious spending plans. When the document was signed, they were then told, "Sorry, we did not really mean that; we do not have the money for it".”
“<BR /> <BR />Mervyn Storey, the Chair of the Justice Committee, raised issues about police numbers. He is quite right: the ink was not dry on 'NDNA' before the British Government withdrew all the financial commitments that they had made; practically all of them. They clearly had no intention of honouring any of them, and then they kind of lectured us on our responsibilities on those agreements. They did, however, set out priorities for the Executive, including having police numbers of 7,500. The funding package that accompanied the 'NDNA' document was never enough to deliver all the NDNA priorities. The Member may well have been at the table, as I was at that time.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Member also made the point about waiting lists, and, of course, they have not just arisen in the last three weeks. The underfunding of the health service is a decade-long issue, if not a decades-long one, primarily coming from Westminster. Some time back, the party opposite had the opportunity to support an austerity Government in the shape of Theresa May's Government or one that promised to invest in public services, and it chose to support an austerity Government. Although I do not take the DUP back to the very start of the problem, it had a significant opportunity, midstream, to transform the public spending approach of the British Government. However, it chose to go with the Tories instead. Look at where that has left us today.”
“However, the idea of bringing forward further allocations is lost to us because of the lack of an Executive. <BR /> <BR />The Member decried the fact that we were agreeing a Budget this close to an election, and I noticed that the DUP leader also mentioned that. Legislation demands when we do the Budget. The timing is out of our control. We get the spending review outcome late in the autumn, and we have a rushed consultation, put together a draft Budget and legislate for it, all within a time frame. The time frame for legislating for it is the end of March. I am not sure why that is news to people, because a lot of those who expressed that view have been around here for a long time. Legislation dictates the process of agreeing the Budget.”
“<BR /> <BR />Pam Cameron, of course, came in to bat for the party. In fairness to her, she did a valiant job. On the basis of the January monitoring discussions, I had the ability to further allocate some money to try to make sure that we did not underspend and end up losing money, and that is what I have taken to do.”
“Yes, I agree on the joined-up approach. Finance and resource, of course, are issues for the Executive as a whole to decide. I think Mike Nesbitt made the point that mental health, school attainment, health, living standards and the state of homes all contribute to the same outcome, which is to have healthier, happier and more productive children growing up in society and being able to meet their goals. Absolutely, that is a responsibility of every Department and the Executive collectively. That is why we set priorities and try to match resources to those priorities. The education system, in my view, prevents us from achieving a lot of that, and the Member's party is wedded to the idea of academic selection, which is a negative contribution to that. That is something for him to examine, perhaps, in the time ahead.”
“In total, the Department of Health would have been provided with a 10% real-terms increase by 2024-25. Obviously, in the absence of the Executive, that funding sits idle waiting to see how we can allocate it. Of course, the waiting lists grow longer, and access to services continues to suffer.”
“A further £27·7 million of funding for SEN-related pressures was allocated at June monitoring; £4·6 million at October monitoring; and £18·4 million, as, I think, he identified, at January monitoring. We have prioritised that each time we had the opportunity to do so. <BR /> <BR />Colm Gildernew raised issues in relation to health transformation. Of course we are committed to a transformation in the health service. That is why I recommended that Health would be prioritised in the draft Budget. The Budget provided funding over the three-year period to meet in full the Health Minister's bid for elective care, cancer and mental health rebuild strategies and to help to transform the health service and reduce waiting lists. In addition, £147 million of NDNA transformation funding was provided over this period.”
“The SDLP demanded her resignation, which was a much harder position than we had at the time. I hope that he takes the 24 hours to go back and examine his own position before he starts blaming other people for events that happened before his time — I recognise that — but I am sure he can access the documentation if he wants to do some research tonight or some light reading before bed, perhaps. <BR /> <BR />Chris Lyttle raised issues in relation to education, much of which can be answered by the Education Department. However, he raised the important subject of special educational needs. That is something that we have prioritised, and, in a previous Budget, we found some additional last-minute spending for that. The initial Budget allocation in 2021-22 included £42 million specifically for SEN-related purposes.”
“Indeed, we have had conversations about how that could be achieved. The head of the Civil Service was going to undertake that work, and I offered the support of my officials, who engage regularly with the Department of Health, to make sure that an incoming Executive would have that level of detail to ensure that, if they stood by the commitment to provide a priority to Health, we would know exactly what we were getting. That was going to be a key part of the consultation and discussion exercise. <BR /> <BR />The Member referred to the collapse in 2017. I hope that he takes time between today and tomorrow to re-examine some of the positions his party took in relation to that. He might remember that we asked for the First Minister at the time to step aside temporarily to allow an inquiry to take place.”
“A successful Budget outcome, had we had an Executive in place, would have involved the Department of Health giving us chapter and verse on the milestones associated with how that money would be spent.”
“However, it is repayable over the next five years. We will receive £150 million in Barnett consequentials from that in 2022-23 that will also be repayable. Unfortunately, in the absence of an Executive, as I have said, that money cannot be allocated. <BR /> <BR />Matthew O'Toole raised issues around the Budget exchange scheme that I have answered. He expressed his frustration, as many have, with the prospect of no Budget in the time ahead. He made a point that I have made frequently in the Chamber about health spending and the need to see that spending. We have costed proposals for bringing down waiting lists, funding cancer services, funding mental health and transformation, but we need to see how that is to be stepped out over the time ahead.”
“I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 11 November, calling on him to waive the VAT on energy bills to support temporarily the many households and businesses struggling with the cost of living and spiralling energy prices. I have received no response as yet. On 12 January, I joined my counterparts from Wales and Scotland to call on the Treasury for urgent action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis to help households with rising bills. There is only so much that we can do in the devolved Administrations because powers to help households meet the cost of living lie mainly with the British Government, and they need to act now. <BR /> <BR />On 3 February, the Treasury announced an energy bills rebate that will provide a £200 discount on energy bills this autumn for domestic electricity customers in Britain.”
“<BR /> <BR />In trying to address the issue, particularly the match funding element for ESF groups, I proposed a solution to the Economy Minister and the Communities Minister. The Communities Minister took up the solution, but the Economy Minister declined. I heard him saying today in the Assembly that he intends to give guarantees to future funding for those groups, so I look forward to engaging with him and hope that that certainty is provided for those groups. As of this morning, when I met the groups again, they were still deeply worried about the position, and those groups provide an enormous degree of service to us. <BR /> <BR />Caoimhe Archibald also raised the issue of VAT on energy bills.”
“I met with some of the groups involved, and we set out options for how we could collectively address the needs of voluntary groups that are affected by the loss of ESF moneys. Of course, Members will know that the ESF and the European regional development fund (ERDF) is European funding that was due to be replaced for us in full. That has not happened. It is not something that was written on the side of the bus, but we have not got it, and it leaves the Department for the Economy down a significant amount of money annually. It was money that DFE would have tapped into previously. The replacement is the Shared Prosperity Fund, which creates no level of certainty for any of the groups going forward. We have no input or oversight in how that is delivered.”
“Yes, it slightly lowers it because we have slightly less to play with. It slightly lowers it but not by a huge amount. <BR /> <BR />We will receive £99·3 million for the council tax rebate to carry forward to 2022-23. That is the figure that I have generally referred to as £100 million. That will be added to any further amounts that we secure through the Budget exchange scheme. There is a significant amount of carry-forward, and the capital position has rectified itself with a small overspend. Going by the average returns at this time of the year for previous years, we anticipate that it will even itself out. I have dealt with the capital issue. <BR /> <BR />Caoimhe Archibald raised an issue around the European social fund (ESF), and Stewart Dickson raised the same issue.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Member also asked about the council tax Barnett position.”
“I have dealt with some of that. The position at the conclusion of January monitoring was £70·5 million resource DEL, £35·9 capital and £1·6 million financial transactions capital. A further £5·5 million was agreed by the Executive to extend the omicron hospitality payment to hotels and sports clubs, and that reduced the available resource DEL to £65 million. Since then, Treasury has notified us of substantial changes to Barnett consequentials, which changes our in-year position. We will receive £37·4 million less capital DEL and £10·1 million less financial transaction capital DEL than anticipated. It means that we end up, rather than having an underspend of capital, having a small overcommitment, which should resolve itself, and the advance repayment of future FTC loans will now be lower.”
“We want to create sufficient room so that we do not exceed the limit and are able to carry the money forward. Added to the sums of £150 million and £100 million that we received, that will give us a total of £300 million for next year, which undoubtedly would be a significant advantage to a number of Departments if we were able to get the money allocated to them. <BR /> <BR />The Member also raised the in-year position.”
“I think that Matthew O'Toole also raised the Budget exchange. He asked whether the level of end-year underspend can be carried forward to 2022-23 and whether the absence of an Executive posed any risk to that happening: it does not. We have £95 million of unallocated resource DEL. It is my plan to carry forward £50 million of that and, as I have said today on a number of occasions, allocate £45 million. I intend to confirm those in-year allocations shortly. <BR /> <BR />The total resource DEL that can be carried forward under the Budget exchange scheme is £104·3 million, which leaves scope for any departmental end-year underspends to be carried forward. While we are sitting with £95 million and will allocate £45 million of that, undoubtedly between now and the end of March there will be some additions.”
“I would not like to see them if they were not being brief. <BR /> <BR />Today's debate has covered many aspects of public expenditure, and I will endeavour in the time allotted to address as many of the points that were raised as I can. First, I thank the Finance Committee for agreeing to take this important legislation through the accelerated passage process. That agreement will ensure a timely passage of the legislation through the Assembly, thereby avoiding any legal uncertainty over the funding of public services for the remainder of 2021-22 and the early months of 2022-23. <BR /> <BR />I listened with interest to the points raised in the debate and now return to some of them. The Chair of the Finance Committee raised the issue of the end-year underspends and the Budget exchange.”
“Twenty-seven minutes. I will say what some others said before they took up their full seven minutes: I will be brief”
“It is designed to ensure that Departments can continue to deliver services until the Main Estimates and the Budget (No. 2) Bill, which will be based on the final Budget, are presented to the Assembly. The Bill is normally brought to the Assembly in June. <BR /> <BR />On behalf of the Executive, I request and recommend the levels of Supply that are set out in the two resolutions under section 63 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. I request the support of Members for the resolution for 2021-22 and also for the resolution on the Vote on Account to allow services to continue to be funded into the first few months of 2022-23.”