MPs to question Northern Ireland Secretary on Stormont finances

MPs will probe Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris on Stormont's £3.3 billion pound financial package and the Windsor Framework.

On the agenda for the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee meeting will be the lump sum to facilitate public sector pay awards, ‘needs-based’ funding and revenue raising.

Heaton-Harris will face questions around how the Executive might raise £113m of its own funding as part of the deal and Northern Ireland's long term financial sustainability plan.

Finances have been high on the priority list for the newly-formed Executive. There have been calls for clarity amid ongoing back and forth between Belfast and London over the fine print of the funding package.

Parties say that they did not commit to revenue raising as part of the deal.

Stormont Ministers have said they are united in pushing for more money for Northern Ireland and have rejected the prospect of rates hikes.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "I think on one hand for it to be recognised that we are under funded, and on the other hand to say we need to burden households who are really struggling right now with further costs is not acceptable."

The Secretary of State has maintained that the finance package is a "fair and generous" offer.

“It is now for the Northern Ireland Executive to use this significant financial package to take forward the vital work of public service transformation and the commitment to deliver sustainable finances – ensuring better outcomes in the day-to-day lives of the people in Northern Ireland," he said.

On Tuesday, MPs in Westminster will also ask what changes will be made to the operation of the Windsor Framework to accommodate the new deal which saw a return to powersharing earlier this month.

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