Ulster Unionist Finance Spokesperson, Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has welcomed the allocation of £264 million of additional resources as part of the 2018-19 in-year monitoring process and the confirmation that at last local Departments will soon be allowed to move away from the 1% pay cap.

Steve Aiken said:

“Finances across a whole host of Northern Ireland’s main public services have been in a chaotic state for some time now. A record number of schools are in deficit meaning they are spending money that they haven’t got and hospital waiting lists are spiralling with every passing month simply because we haven’t got enough staff and beds locally to match demand.

“The allocation therefore of this £264.7m of additional spending has come at a hugely welcome time.

“I have long argued that the 1% public sector pay cap across the UK needed to be lifted. It caused a significant fall in the real terms salary of public sector workers and yet when it was lifted in Great Britain, because we had no Ministers in post to make a similar announcement here, it remained in place. Thankfully that barrier has now been removed and I look forward to working with the local Department of Finance to consider how pay increases can best be rolled out.

“In recent months the DUP have been at pains to portray their leverage with the Conservative Party delivering real budgetary benefit to Northern Ireland, but that has simply not been the case. The last budget for instance fell far short of what key public services needed just to stand still.

“This additional money is welcome but a large part of it is as a result of decisions being taken in England for the benefit of public services and staff in England. We’re only getting some of this money as part of an overall UK budget readjustment.

“The long-term budgetary outlook is still quite bleak and there is nothing in this latest announcement to reassure me that Northern Ireland’s finances are in anyway in a sustainable state.”