Source · Select Committees · Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
Paragraph: 46
Mandate Northern Ireland Executive to commit to multi-year budgetary settlements for public services.
Recommendation
Single-year budgets and a lack of an agreed Programme for Government have not allowed for long-term thinking and planning for public services and spending in Northern Ireland over recent years. We urge the Executive to commit to returning to multi-year budgetary settlements following the next UK Spending Review as part of its sustainability plan. Even under multi-year budgets, however, Northern Ireland departments are unable to take forward surpluses. We urge the Executive to commit to returning to multi-year budgetary settlements following the next UK Spending Review as part of its sustainability plan. Even under multi-year budgets, however, Northern Ireland departments are unable to take forward surpluses. This matter should be included as part of the upcoming Fiscal Framework discussions between the Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government commits to multi-year spending reviews every two years, starting Spring 2025, and expects the Northern Ireland Executive to return to multi-year budgets following this. It also clarifies that the NIE can already carry forward underspends via the Budget Exchange system, and reiterates commitment to ongoing Fiscal Framework discussions.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
46
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
27. “We urge the Executive to commit to returning to multi-year budgetary settlements following the next UK Spending Review as part of its sustainability plan. Even under multi-year budgets, however, Northern Ireland departments are unable to take forward surpluses. This matter should be included as part of the upcoming Fiscal Framework discussions between the Government and Northern Ireland Executive.” UK Government response:
Read the full response on Parliament ↗