Select committee: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
Third Report - The funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland
Published 26 Mar 2024
Paragraph 36
Addressed to Northern Ireland Executive; Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee The funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The delivery and timing of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) caused considerable distress and uncertainty in the sector, particularly the decision to communicate the outcome of applications on the day European Social Funding ceased. The Government has announced that decisions on the future funding of UKSPF from April 2025 are a matter for the next Spending Review. However, the 36 The funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Northern Ireland requires more immediate clarification to ensure that it can effectively plan for the viability and continuity of the services it offers from April 2025 onwards. Before the end of the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, we recommend that the Government publish information regarding the scope of future UKSPF allocations for public bodies and third sector organisations.
From: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Third Report - The funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland (HC 46), paragraph 36, 26 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 November 2024 (deadline 26 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and says it is committed to working with the Executive and Assembly on public services, while treating many recommended actions, such as SEN, policing allocations and workforce reporting, as devolved matters for the Executive.
- On funding, it points to a record £18.2 billion settlement for 2025/26 and says it is committed to progressing from the interim to a "full fiscal framework"; it adds that "funding alone will not address the challenges" and that there is an "onus on the Executive" to deliver transformation.
- On SEN, policing allocation and the statutory duty on health workforce projections, it says these are devolved matters; on the PSNI it "trusts the Executive will give consideration" to using its funding to support the PSNI.
- On UKSPF, it says the fund "will be extended for 2025–26 at a reduced level of £900 million", with nation-level and local allocations to be published on gov.uk "in due course".
- On the £559 million debts, repayment is paused subject to a Budget Sustainability Plan; if the Executive balances its 2024/25 budget and raises an additional £113m from 2025/26, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will confirm the debts "do not need to be repaid".