BROKENSHIRE TO BE BOSS OF ULSTER BUDGET

Secretary of State ‘will take control’ as talks halt

THE Secretary of State looks set to take hold of the Stormont purse strings after talks ground to a halt.

Civil servants are currently in charge of departments but a lack of an agreed Budget Act is restricting their ability to spend the allotted resources. Government sources said James Brokenshire is in discussions with the Treasury over the redistribution of around £120million of Northern Ireland’s £10billion block grant. It is a step short of intervening to impose a formal budget. On Tuesday, Mr Brokenshire said he would “reflect carefully in the coming days on any further steps which may be required to support the continued effective provision of public services in Northern Ireland”. He added the Government would “not forget our responsibilities to uphold political stability and good governance”. If the Stormont crisis continues, Mr Brokenshire will face pressure to legislate for a Stormont budget at Westminster in the autumn. The in-year reallocation of funds would usually fall to Executive ministers. But the bitter political rift between the DUP and Sinn Fein has left Northern Ireland without a first and deputy first minister since January and without a functioning executive since March. Civil servants currently only have access to 75% of the block grant. That will increase to 95% at the end of July. Only when a budget is passed will departments be able to spend the full Treasury allocation. Health and education are expected to be among Mr Brokenshire’s priorities when he distributes the money. The Stormont deadlock is set to remain during the summer, as talks to restore the institutions have been scaled down amid widespread acknowledgement a deal before the autumn is unlikely.

STEPS