Ministers to meet UK chancellor to discuss budget

Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers will travel to London on Thursday to meet the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

The meeting, which will also include Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald, will focus on the pressures on Stormont's finances.

Deputy First Minster Emma Little-Pengelly told BBC News NI that the delegation would stress the need for sufficient funding "to run adequate public services".

She added they will also ask the chancellor to reverse her recent decision to remove winter fuel payment benefits from most pensioners.

"The Labour government should not be trying to balance the books on the backs of pensioners, on the backs of hard-working people," Little-Pengelly said.

The deputy first minister also insisted that the delegation was "not going to the government with a begging bowl".

Instead, she said ministers would be asking the chancellor to "step up and support us" in their efforts to reform and improve Northern Ireland's public services.

"We’re going with plans, we’re going with proposals in terms of the sustainability of our budget; in terms of looking at sensible decisions – the things that we need to do in Northern Ireland," she explained.

"But of course in order to have that transformation you need to invest. You need to be able to give us what is required to run adequate public services."

On Monday, the Northern Ireland Executive's draft programme for government (PfG) was published.

The 88-page document, entitled 'Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most', sets out the executive's ambitions under several core areas.

It outlines nine "immediate priorities" the executive intends to work on this year and for the duration of its electoral mandate.

When asked on Monday how the priorities would be funded, First Minister Michelle O'Neill told BBC News NI that Northern Ireland's funding model is not right.

"That needs to change, so we'll be at the Treasury's door again on Thursday to continue our engagement around the funding model here," she added.

On Tuesday, the finance minister told assembly members (MLAs) that Stormont departments are currently facing spending pressures of £767m.

That means departments believe they need £767m more than what is currently in the budget.

Caoimhe Archibald said Stormont can expect to get about £500m extra, partially as a consequence of October’s Westminster budget.

She said while that will go a "significant way" towards easing the pressures, ministers will have to play their part and there would only be "full certainty" of the amount towards the end of this year.

Archibald also warned that if ministers did not operate within budget it would have "grave consequences" for future public funding.

The finance minister said the Treasury has been "explicit" that any overspend this year would trigger the suspended repayment of a previous £559m overspend.

"We must face up to the challenges, strive to live within our budgets and avoid a scenario in 2025-26 of having to deal with paying back any overspend from this year along with a further £559m from previous years, by taking the responsible decisions that we need to achieve financial balance this year," she told the Assembly.