N Ireland’s ‘fiscal levers’ in spotlight

A FISCAL commission is set to examine tax-varying powers in Northern Ireland, the region’s Finance Minister has said.

The Stormont Executive has had the power to cut corporation tax since 2015 but has not yet used it due to a potential impact on the block grant which the region receives from Westminster.

Conor Murphy said Stormont needs “more fiscal levers”. Northern Ireland is set to receive an additional £412m in the budget but Mr Murphy said this will go towards tackling the coronavirus pandemic, including business grants, the health service and supporting vulnerable people.

He said the increase is “just less than £5m ... which in effect means a cut for most departments as salaries go up and costs go up”. The commission will examine tax-varying powers, including revenue-raising powers.

WOMEN ARE being urged to share their experiences of the health and care system to help develop the first Governmentled national strategy aimed at ensuring services in England meet their needs.

The Department of Health and Social Care is launching a 12-week call for evidence and is hoping for input from women of all ages and backgrounds amid “strong evidence of the need for greater focus on women’s health”. Studies have suggested that gender biases in clinical trials and health research are “contributing to worse health outcomes for women”. Although women tend to live longer they are spending less of their lives in good health when compared to men.

THE LEADER of Barnsley Council say he is “appalled” that the borough is at the “back of the queue” for economic help, after the Chancellor announced the Budget last week.

Although the town is set to benefit from the Budget with a bus rapid transit link, it has been placed in the second category of areas in line for economic support – behind the Chancellor’s own constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire, where house prices are almost £100,000 higher on average than those in Barnsley.

Some 39 of the 45 towns allocated a share of £1bn in funding are represented by Conservative MPs.

Coun Sir Steve Houghton, leader of the Labour-controlled Barnsley Council, said: “I’m appalled that Barnsley has been pushed to ‘category two’, placing us at the back of the queue for economic support.

“Even more so on reading that the Chancellor has identified his own Richmond seat as ‘category one’.

“The Chancellor’s Budget is a devastating blow for Barnsley and a kick in the teeth for all our key workers who have worked tirelessly over the last 12 months to keep the borough going, protecting people and saving lives.

“It’s full of broken promises for all of our residents who voted for the Prime Minister in the hope of him making good on his vows to look after places like Barnsley.

“I will continue to fight the Government on their decisions, which continually seek to widen the northern gap rather than close it.”

Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis has also written to the Chancellor about the funding, demanding he and the Treasury publish the allocation formula “immediately.”