Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker has warned that Stormont's budget for the next financial year will be 'very, very difficult' as legislation to pass a budget for the current year is fast-tracked through Westminster. The bill, which sets out spending allocations for Northern Ireland's nine departments, is being pushed through due to the collapse of the power-sharing executive.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Baker described setting the budget as 'not an easy task', noting that the government inherited an overspend of some £660 million halfway through the financial year. He said successive executives had failed to put finances on a sustainable footing, and that 'the unsustainability of Northern Ireland's finances cannot continue'.
The minister added that the government had prioritised spending in health and education with the aim of protecting the most vulnerable. However, he stressed that without a functioning executive, difficult political decisions to balance the budget have not been possible, compounding problems for the next year. 'I for one would be up for the challenge of doing it, but it's not the government's position for us to do it as UK government ministers. We would like to see the Northern Ireland parties step up to that duty,' he said.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson countered that the UK government had failed to deliver on commitments made in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, including funding for additional police officers. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood argued that the Conservative government was having to set the budget because the DUP would not take the finance ministry, adding: 'That's the job of a public representative - to roll up your sleeves, get in there and try.'
The budget legislation was introduced after the executive collapsed last February when the DUP withdrew from the first minister's role in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, who is currently visiting the US to discuss trade and investment, had previously warned that the Department of Education would need to make significant cuts to its spending trajectory.
