Finance Minister: Stormont’s £390m boost recognises NI public service strains

Additional funding from the UK Government is a “recognition” of the pressures faced by the Northern Ireland Executive in delivering public services, Stormont’s Finance Minister has said.

Reacting to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spring statement, John O’Dowd welcomed a £390 million uplift for the region, but said the financial boost for England and Wales countered claims that there is a financial mismanagement issue at Stormont.

On Tuesday, Ms Reeves outlined Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts predicting weaker economic growth for the UK and higher unemployment than previously expected.

She also announced £4.1 billion in funding for the Department for Education (DfE) to reduce a £6.3 billion special educational needs (SEN) funding pressure the Government was facing.

In February, an additional £400 million was made available to Stormont to support public services in the form of a reserve claim from the Treasury to be repaid over three years.

Speaking to reporters at Stormont, Mr O’Dowd said the Executive would use the additional funding “wisely” but it also serves as a “recognition of the pressures this Executive faces in delivering services”.

He said: “I’m happy at the announcement today of an additional £390 million for our public finances here, but this is a recognition by the British Government of the real pressures that public services across these areas are facing, and this flows directly from the £5 billion bailout that had to be provided to councils in England and elsewhere as a result of the rising cost of the provision of SEN.

“We face similar challenges here in terms of provision of SEN through our education system, but also in our healthcare system as well.

“So I welcome the investment today, but I think the British Government needs to take stock of this.”

Asked if the additional funding was a sign of fiscal irresponsibility, Mr O’Dowd responded saying: “Fiscal irresponsibility by who?”

“The British Government had to hand £5 billion to councils of England and Wales and elsewhere because they couldn’t properly fund the same services,” he said.

“We have received a direct funding as a result of that.

“This is evidence, if evidence was needed, that public services are not being properly funded.”

Mr O’Dowd is currently attempting to get Executive agreement on his department’s draft three-year budget for day-to-day resource spending, but other parties have already expressed varying levels of opposition.

In its analysis of the draft budget, the NI Fiscal Council warned that “serious financial mismanagement” was becoming normalised at Stormont as repeated bailouts from the Treasury incentivised departments to overspend.

Mr O’Dowd said “this term ‘financial mismanagement’ has been blown out of the water”.

He said: “Financial mismanagement doesn’t stack up.

“We are trying to provide more and more services to more and more people, and the costs are rising.

“The Executive needs (to be) properly resourced to do that.”

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said the Government’s decision to provide additional funding to the Executive is “good news for Northern Ireland”.

“This is money the Northern Ireland Executive can use to deliver transformation of public services, fiscal stability and economic growth,” he said.

“I encourage the Northern Ireland Executive to use this as an opportunity to agree to a multi-year budget and take the necessary steps to deliver long-term budget sustainability.”