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Northern Ireland Budget (No.2) Bill Introduced in House of Commons

  The Northern Ireland Budget (No.2) Bill was presented in the House of Commons today, marking the initiation of the legislative procedure to establish a budget for Northern Ireland for the fiscal year 2023-24. This comes as the Northern Ireland Executive remains absent, necessitating legislative action to secure the budget.  

Stormont Estate, Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings. Photo by William Murphy. Flickr.  

Confirming Departmental Budget Allocations

The bill follows the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, on April 27. The statement outlined the budget allocations for Northern Ireland's departments for the ongoing financial year. With the introduction of this legislation, the budget allocations will be placed on a statutory foundation. The total resource budget available for Northern Ireland departments will amount to £14.2 billion, accompanied by a capital budget of £2.2 billion. These figures encompass the Northern Ireland Executive block grant and regional rates income.  

Departmental Allocations

Under the proposed budget, the Department of Health is set to receive a total allocation of £7.3 billion, representing a £20 million increase compared to the previous year (2022-23). Similarly, the Department of Infrastructure is slated to receive a total allocation of £523 million, with a £2 million increment from the previous budget.  

Exploring Revenue Generation and Financial Sustainability

In a significant move, the Secretary of State exercised newly provided powers through the Northern Ireland (Interim Arrangements) Act 2023. In a letter addressed to the Permanent Secretaries of all Northern Ireland Civil Service departments earlier this month, the Secretary of State sought information and advice on various measures that could enhance local public revenue or improve the sustainability of public finances in Northern Ireland. The deadline for the first set of information and advice is this week. However, it should be noted that the ultimate decisions to adhere to this budget lie with the Northern Ireland departments.  

Official portrait of Chris Heaton-Harris, Secretary of State. Photo by Richard Townshend. Wikimedia.  

Secretary of State Urges Executive Formation

Expressing disappointment at the ongoing absence of an Executive, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, emphasized the necessity of locally-elected politicians making budget decisions rather than himself or the Northern Ireland Permanent Secretaries. He highlighted how the political deadlock hinders strategic decision-making that is crucial for ensuring the stability of public finances. Despite the challenging circumstances, priority has been given to safeguarding frontline public services. Heaton-Harris stated, "I impress again on the Northern Ireland parties the need to get back into an Executive as soon as possible so that spending decisions flowing from the budget allocations can be taken by the politicians that the local people have elected to do so."   Since 2014, the UK Government has provided approximately £7 billion in additional funding to Northern Ireland, exceeding the Barnett-based block grant.   Sources: THX News & Northern Ireland Office. Read the full article