Source · Select Committees · Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Deferred
Paragraph: 21
Introduce statutory duty for NI Department of Health to publish workforce projections.
Recommendation
We are concerned about staff recruitment and retention in the health service, with thousands of empty posts and a reliance on costly agency staff. The equivalent of 26.3% of the Northern Ireland population are on waiting lists, with some going on to develop further health complications while they wait. While the Government’s announcement of £584 million towards the settling of pay claims for 2023/24 across the public sector - including in health - is welcome, questions remain as to the ability of the Northern Ireland Executive to fund future years’ settlements beyond this funding. We therefore invite both the Government and Northern Ireland Executive in response to this report to set out their assessment of this future funding. We also recommend the introduction of a statutory duty on the Department of Health to publish an assessment of its health and social care workforce projections.
Government Response Summary
The government details substantial past and future financial packages for the NI Executive and states that discussions on the next phase of the fiscal framework are commencing. Regarding a statutory duty on the Department of Health to publish workforce projections, the government states this is a devolved matter for which the Department of Health is responsible.
Paragraph Reference:
21
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The previous Government provided a £3.3 billion financial package to the Executive to stabilise public finances and support public services. In addition to this, Main Estimates for 2024–25 confirmed an additional £185 million of funding for the Executive through the Barnett formula. The Chancellor, in her Autumn Budget, also confirmed that Northern Ireland would receive a record £18.2 billion in funding for 2025/26 – the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution. This includes a £1.5 billion top-up through Barnett in 2025–6, with £1.2 billion for day-to-day spending and £270 million for capital investment. This means that the Executive is projected to be funded above its relative level of need of 124% for the current and next financial year, as agreed between the Treasury and the Executive in the Interim Fiscal Framework. As part of the financial restoration package, the UK Government provided £846m in 2023–24 for general pressures, including pay. It is for the Executive to decide on the level of pay awards and to balance these costs against other priorities. The Executive has agreed an approach to public sector pay deals and it is now for the Northern Ireland Executive and relevant departments to manage their annual budgets, and related public sector pay pressures. The previous UK Government agreed an interim Fiscal Framework with the Northern Ireland Executive. This Government is committed to progressing this work to deliver a full fiscal framework to ensure the long-term sustainability and health of Northern Ireland’s public finances. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Minister of Finance have agreed that discussions on the next phase of the fiscal framework can begin. I look forward to seeing the progress on this over the months. Our priority has always been to support sustainable public finances and services in Northern Ireland. More time is needed to ensure that any further agreement on the long-term fiscal framework for Northern Ireland is robust and will serve the purpose of supporting the fiscal sustainability of Northern Ireland’s public finances. However, funding alone will not address the challenges facing public services. There is now an onus on the Executive to deliver the much needed and long promised transformation to Northern Ireland’s public services, and put public finances on a sustainable footing. In relation to the recommendation to place a statutory duty on the Department of Health to publish an assessment of its health and social care workforce projections, staffing is a devolved matter for which the Department of Health is responsible.