Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Northern Ireland’s civil servants: It’s up to UK ministers, not us, to fix fiscal crisis

Northern Ireland’s civil servants: It’s up to UK ministers, not us, to fix fiscal crisis

Top officials managing political vacuum in Belfast say NI budget bill leaves ‘a gap’ between what the British government wants and what they legally can do to stop red ink flowing at Stormont.
Northern Ireland’s senior civil servants told a parliamentary committee Wednesday it will be up to the British government, not themselves, to impose an estimated £800 million in spending cuts and tax hikes needed to balance the region’s debt-addled books.

Their warning — the first in public by officials who normally keep their views away from public microphones — follows a trio of reports Tuesday from the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council identifying a range of possible measures to bring red ink under control at Stormont, where a Brexit-related walkout by the Democratic Unionists has put cross-community government on ice and left civil servants effectively running the show.

The advisory body said Northern Ireland faced a 3.3 percent spending cut this year in real terms, taking account of inflation, unless more revenue could be found. One measure floated to balance the books includes the introduction of household water charges already levied elsewhere across the U.K.

The head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady, said the U.K. government bill setting out 2023-24 spending limits — due for its second reading next week in the House of Commons — doesn’t give her nine permanent secretaries the mandate to take many of the key decisions that will be required.

She said Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris’ guidance to the permanent secretaries likewise leaves “a gap” between what the government in Westminster expects them to do and what decisions they legally are permitted to take.

“It is our understanding, having read the guidance and the law, there will be decisions that will not be able to be fulfilled within that guidance,” Brady said. “That would require some level of ministerial direction. That’s the legal advice we have received. There is a gap.”

Brady said fixing Stormont’s finances would require hands-on decision-making from ministers, either Heaton-Harris and other Northern Ireland Office ministers or, potentially, locally accountable ministers if the collapsed Northern Ireland Executive can be revived.

Looming decisions on spending cuts to statutory public services or raising local taxes and charges “rightly should be made by ministers because we have no democratic provision to make those,” Brady said. Northern Ireland’s cross-community government fell apart last year because of obstruction by the DUP, the major British Protestant party. Power-sharing, the core goal of the region’s 1998 peace agreement, cannot legally function unless both the DUP and the largest Irish nationalist party, Sinn Féin, agree to participate.

Neil Gibson, the permanent secretary at Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance, told the committee that each department head was preparing detailed research and options on potential cuts and tax measures — advice prepared for Heaton-Harris or junior Northern Ireland Office ministers to pull the trigger, not themselves.

“We are making sure we have the relevant material for the NIO on each of those, what is the legal position on charging in this area, what legislation is required,” said Gibson, who noted that Heaton-Harris already had used such advice to raise Northern Ireland’s regional rates this year by 6 percent.

“Our job remains the same, to provide all the material for political decision-making to be taken on all of those revenue-raising options that are available,” Gibson said.

The Democratic Unionists, who deny any culpability in Northern Ireland’s fiscal crisis, issued a new plea for increased Treasury funding on the back of Wednesday’s testimony.

Senior British government officials have told POLITICO that an increased funding offer, potentially in the region of £1 billion, could be part of any agreement to revive a cross-community government at the Stormont Parliament Building overlooking Belfast. The DUP has indefinitely blocked power-sharing in protest against post-Brexit trade rules that make it easier for Northern Ireland to trade with the Republic of Ireland than with the rest of the United Kingdom.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
×