Stormont Budget Talks End With No Deal Seven Months In
Northern Ireland is seven months into the financial year without an agreed budget. A round of talks between the executive parties and the Northern Ireland secretary has ended with no deal.
Bryant's position
Sir Chris Bryant said setting a budget is not his job. It is the "legal responsibility and duty" of the executive, he said. He would set one only if the parties asked him to.
He is understood to have presented conditions, including revenue raising, to attach to any deal. They are believed to include £200m in additional revenue raising in 2027/28 and 2028/29, and better discipline on promises and on delivering pay parity for public sector workers. He said the parties have to take him seriously when he says there is no more money.
How the parties reacted
First Minister Michelle O'Neill said there was still "no white smoke". She said she was getting impatient with the government and would not be lectured by it on managing finances. Her party would keep pushing for a deal that allows this year's public sector pay awards.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the level of optimism was not matched by the reality inside the room. He said the secretary of state is not moving, and that without extra resources there will be no balanced budget.
Alliance minister Andrew Muir said it is make-your-mind-up time and that the matter must be resolved in days. SDLP leader Claire Hanna noted that everyone is running at 95% in month eight. Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows said a deal could still come in time to avert strikes by healthcare workers waiting on pay uplifts.
The money in dispute
Stormont ministers argue that the funding formula behind their allocation no longer leaves them enough to cover their spending. The government offered an extra £525m this year. They say that still leaves gaps, especially on public sector pay awards. The government has already refused to let more of its three-year offer be spent this year.
After the budget under Andy Burnham last week, Northern Ireland is due an extra £270m for public services. Of that, £131m can be used this year.
What happens without a budget
With no budget, departments are held to emergency spending at 95% of last year's level, and warnings say money could run out by January. The secretary of state has also said a £100 cost-of-living payment for Northern Ireland households must wait until the executive agrees a budget.
Bryant says he is looking at ways to pass a budget bill at Westminster if Stormont cannot reach a deal.
Source: BBC News