Westminster budget 'superfluous' if NI Executive restored by end of summer - Heaton-Harris

Westminster’s imposed budget on Northern Ireland could become unnecessary if an Executive is restored before the end of the summer, MPs have heard.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris made the comments during the second reading of the Northern Ireland Budget (No 2) Bill, which seeks to establish a budget for Northern Ireland for the fiscal year 2023-24 in the ongoing absence of the Executive.

Mr Heaton-Harris told MPs the Bill’s remaining stages are scheduled to take place after the summer recess, providing an “opportunity” for the Northern Ireland parties to “come together and regain control by passing their own budget legislation through the Northern Ireland Assembly”.

The Cabinet minister also acknowledged the challenges faced by Northern Ireland departments in the absence of elected ministers as he emphasised the need for a balanced budget.

He said that while decisions regarding budgetary matters rest with the Northern Ireland civil service, he would continue working with them to safeguard frontline services in the region.

Opening the debate, Mr Heaton-Harris told the Commons: “The summer … presents an opportunity for the Northern Ireland parties to come together as a restored Executive and take their own budget legislation through the Northern Ireland Assembly, making the remaining stages of the Bill in this place superfluous.”

Addressing worries about the amount of money being granted to Northern Ireland’s government departments, he said: “I recognise that the Northern Ireland departments in the absence of having elected ministers will face difficult decisions, but it is necessary to deliver a balanced budget.

“These decisions rest with the Northern Ireland civil service, but I will continue to work with them to protect frontline services in Northern Ireland.”

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle said: “On my recent trips to Northern Ireland, there is a pervading sense that the Government has allowed things to drift since the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement celebrations.

“We have a new agreement with the EU in the Windsor Framework, but Stormont has not been restored. Indeed, the main purpose of the framework was supposed to be answering the concerns of the DUP so that Stormont could work again.

“When we passed the previous budget, there was a clear expectation that a new agreement would lead to the restoration of the Assembly and the executive. Instead, it is Westminster which has had to step in with the Interim Arrangements Act and now this second budget Bill.”

SDLP MP Colum Eastwood told the Commons: “It is absolutely clear that this budget is a tactic to put pressure on the DUP.

“But what (the Northern Ireland Secretary) has actually done, he’s swung and missed the DUP and he has hit the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry warned the DUP that they risk undermining their own cause, saying: “The very real danger is, in trying to save the union, in the own terms, they are in danger of killing the union.

“They’re talking about we need to restore devolution only when there’s a solid foundation in place. Through their boycott of the assembly, they are shaking the very foundations of Northern Ireland to their core.

“And they are in real danger of doing real long-term damage, not just to their own cause of the union, but the social fabric of Northern Ireland.”

DUP MP Gavin Robinson said: “The NIO has not given enough.”

He added: “The very same people who should share the aspiration about having a positive return to devolution when the circumstances are right need to recognise that there is nothing positive about the consequences that this budget delivers.”

He added: “I suspect there will be precious few (Northern Ireland Assembly members) that will wish to take responsibility for the austerity and the cuts that this Government have provided.

“And that’s why I say that people have just about had enough.”

Closing the debate, Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker said: “On its return an Executive will face this stark budget and the difficult decisions which follow from it, but we’re also perfectly clear that the right people to be taking those tough decisions are locally elected Northern Ireland Executive ministers.”

He rejected Mr Eastwood’s assertion that the actions the Government is taking are a tactic to pressure the DUP.

He also warned: “At the moment, Northern Ireland’s future looks bleak indeed unless we get behind the reforms which are needed to balance the budget for the long run.”

The Bill received an unopposed second reading.

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