Cuts in education, economy and health warns Chamber

“Key frontline services will be cut across education, the economy and health.”

This was Derry Chamber’s depressing assessment of the 2023-24 NI Budget delivered recently  by British Secretary of State Chris Haton-Harris.

Chamber Chief Executive Anna Doherty said the outworkings of the budget were becoming clear.

She added: “It is obvious that the consequences will be felt by all communities, businesses, and families across Northern Ireland. Key frontline services will be cut across education, the economy, health, and more. This is a crisis which will not just affect businesses but communities, schools, households, and workers.

“Cuts are being made to our further education colleges, which provide a crucial and skilled pipeline of talent to our local businesses, while vital business support and start-up schemes are also likely to be damaged.

“The public sector is also a very important and prominent buyer of local goods and services. Small, independent, and local businesses rely heavily on this supply chain and any funding cuts will have a negative knock-on effect on these firms.

“Now is the time for proper political leadership. We need an Executive and Assembly back as soon as possible. While locally elected ministers will not solve this crisis overnight, it is right that they are taking the decisions which affect our country. We would once again urge parties here to do all that they can to restore power-sharing as soon as possible,” said Anna Doherty. 

Further, SDLP Infrastructure Spokesperson Mark H Durkan expressed serious concerns cuts to the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) 2023-24 budget allocation could impact on public safety.

The department was already facing severe budget challenges and took steps including a one-off decision to use Translink’s reserves to help maintain public transport services during the last financial year.

The recent allocation will see DfI face a 14% cut in resource budget.

Mr Durkan said: “It is patently clear that existing budget pressures within the department are impacting frontline services.

“Nowhere are those pressures more evident than on our road network; from the struggle to properly grit routes last winter to the growing numbers of potholes across the region.

“In January this year I attended a briefing with the Permanent Secretary, where officials detailed their ‘worst case scenarios’ should the budget fail to meet their £100 million deficit. 

“Sadly, the bleak picture painted four months ago has now come to bear with the very real possibility that streetlights will be turned off, the lifeline that is community transport will end, gritting services will be scrapped this winter and road maintenance will be reduced to ‘emergency only’ in an effort to save costs. That is just a snippet of what this budget will mean in real terms for the public.”

Mr Durkan said the Department for Infrastructure had laid out in “no uncertain terms” its budget allocation would leave it “unable to properly maintain” its assets and deliver frontline services.

He added: “I have serious concerns that these cuts could compromise public safety on our roads.

“The SDLP will be meeting with the Permanent Secretary in the weeks ahead to raise our concerns and will endeavour to find a way forward to mitigate against the worst impacts of these drastic cuts.”