Executive urged to resolve issues after £200m education budget shortfall revealed

A teaching union has urged the Stormont parties to resolve their differences and "start delivering for young people in Northern Ireland".

It comes after a massive education budget shortfall was revealed, with the Education Authority facing a deficit of £200m this financial year.

Of that, £116m of a shortfall is expected for special educational needs costs, while around £40m will be missing to cover pressures which schools can’t meet within their own budgets.

Justin McCamphill says the news, which was revealed days before children return to classrooms, came as "no surprise".

He says education in Northern Ireland has been suffering from "drastic cutbacks and underfunding" over the past 10 years.

"We have heard from many parents over the summer who are struggling to get places in special needs schools for their children," Mr McCamphill told UTV.

"We hear from principals who worry about how they are going to make ends meet.

"Quite frankly it's not good enough - we're calling on the parties in the Executive to get back together and resolve whatever issues need resolved around the Protocol and start delivering for young people in Northern Ireland."

Special educational needs costs go towards provisions for special educational needs in mainstream schools, special school provision, transport for children with special educational needs as well as other support services for children with special educational needs.

Without an Executive in place at Stormont, there’s no formal budget and no in-year financial monitoring rounds can take place to reallocate unspent funds from other departments.

Power-sharing hasn’t been restored since the assembly election in May 2022 as the DUP has refused to re-enter the Executive or nominate a speaker until its concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol – a Brexit trade deal agreed between the UK and EU – have been resolved.

Seamas Wade from the Education Authority said the financial problem facing the organisation “is quite a concern”.

He said the education minister has continued to lobby for funding.

In a statement, the Education Department said: “The Department is well aware of the underlying pressures across the education sector. We continue to work closely with the Education Authority as they seek to manage these long-standing challenges in year.”

The rise in education budgetary pressures have in part been put down to price and pay inflation as well as an increase in demand for special educational need services. 

Mr Wade however emphasised that the Education Authority "does not envisage any situation where we would be scaling back on the services we provide to children and young people".