Archibald ‘hopeful’ of extra £200m to allocate to ministers in June

Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald has said she is hopeful that she will have around £200 million in additional funding to allocate to Stormont departments this month.

However, Ms Archibald told MLAs that both the amount and the timing of the extra cash was uncertain due to Parliament being prorogued for the General Election.

During ministerial question time, Ms Archibald faced a number of questions about funding for public services, and said she believed the public wanted to see the powersharing Executive bring its case to Westminster for additional monies with a “unified voice”.

Last week the Stormont Assembly backed a budget that Ms Archibald conceded saw no ministers getting the funding they had requested.

However, the then Ulster Unionist Health Minister Robin Swann and his party voted against the spending plan last week, warning it would have “catastrophic” impacts on health services if fully implemented.

Mike Nesbitt, who has since replaced his party colleague Mr Swann in the health portfolio, has sounded similar alarm.

Asked in the Assembly if all Stormont departments were facing similar funding pressures, Ms Archibald said: “We are all aware that over a decade of austerity and cuts have been hugely damaging for our public services and for workers, families and communities here.

“It is clear that all departments are under significant financial pressure.”

She added: “I think that working together and having a unified voice will better place us to meet the challenges that we have head-on.

“I want to work with all of my ministerial colleagues in making the case for more investment in public services.

“I think none of us, either us in here or the public out there are under any illusions about the state of our finances but what people want to see is leadership and collective working. They want to feel that there is some hope that things will improve.

“Working with my colleagues in the Executive I intend to show that leadership.”

Alliance Party MLA Nuala McAllister asked how much additional money would be available from the June monitoring round, where ministers can bid for additional funding made available from the Treasury.

Ms Archibald said there would be a minimum of £65 million available to her.

But she added: “It is also anticipated there will be significant additional funding arising from Westminster main estimates, but as these were not introduced before Parliament was prorogued, both the timing and the amount are now uncertain.

“However, I am still hopeful that there will be in the region of £200 million available for allocation in June monitoring.”

The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole asked about the greater devolution of more fiscal powers to Stormont.

Ms Archibald said: “This is work that has been ongoing for some time, it is work I am committed to taking forward.

“In taking forward any negotiations in relation to the devolution of fiscal powers we will have to have an Executive position.

“I will be bringing recommendations to the Executive and I would like to be doing that as quickly as possible.”