{"id":22899,"date":"2022-04-28T14:53:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T14:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=22899"},"modified":"2022-05-10T19:00:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T19:00:09","slug":"did-the-early-collapse-of-the-executive-leave-334m-public-money-sitting-on-a-shelf%ef%bf%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/economy\/did-the-early-collapse-of-the-executive-leave-334m-public-money-sitting-on-a-shelf%ef%bf%bc\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the early collapse of the Executive leave \u00a3334m public money sitting on a shelf?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul><li><strong>At least \u00a3334m in public funds for 2022-23 is currently gathering dust.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>No clear way to allocate this money exists without an Executive in place.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Although some unusual bureaucratic fixes have been suggested, for now they are legally dubious, at best.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vote.sinnfein.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/A4_MANIFESTOenglish.pdf\" class=\"broken_link\">Sinn Fein\u2019s manifesto for the 2022 Assembly election<\/a> claims: \u201cUnfortunately, as a result of the DUP\u2019s collapse of the Executive there remains \u00a3334 million in unallocated funds which could have gone to alleviating some of the pressures facing workers and families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is correct, with some provisos. At least \u00a3334m in unallocated money for 2022-23 exists, which could be used to combat the cost-of-living crisis &#8211; or spent elsewhere &#8211; were an Executive in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some extraordinary measures to free up the cash without an Executive in place have been suggested, none of these has clear or confident legal standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 3rd February 2022, the DUP&#8217;s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-60241608\"> Paul Givan resigned<\/a> as First Minister, stating this was because of his party&#8217;s opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although other departmental ministers remained in place, this collapsed the Executive, meaning no new significant decisions could be made by government. This includes any major new spending allocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But where does the \u00a3334m figure come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a Ministerial Statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theyworkforyou.com\/ni\/?id=2022-02-15.2.1\">15th February 2022<\/a>, Finance Minister Conor Murphy said \u00a3300m of money available for 2022\/23 had not yet been allocated. This came from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u00a3100m resulting from a council tax rebate in England.<\/li><li>\u00a3150m resulting from a discount on electricity bills for consumers in Britain.<\/li><li>A recommendation for \u00a350m to be carried over as an unspent resource.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>After the UK government&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/spring-statement-2022-documents\/spring-statement-2022-html\">Spring Statement<\/a> on 23rd March 2022, an additional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finance-ni.gov.uk\/news\/chancellors-cost-living-support-underwhelming-murphy\">\u00a334m<\/a> was announced as an expected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/barnett-consequentials-and-the-barnett-guarantee\/barnett-consequentials-and-the-barnett-guarantee\">Barnett consequential<\/a> for NI, resulting from a VAT relief scheme to install energy saving materials \u2013 bringing the total to \u00a3334m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that further Barnett consequentials may also be due, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.assemblyresearchmatters.org\/2022\/03\/25\/spring-statement-2022-blossoming-prospects-for-ni\/\">\u00a314m<\/a> resulting from a Household Support Fund in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Section 64 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/47\/section\/64\">Northern Ireland Act<\/a> 1998 states that draft budgets must be agreed by an Executive, which then are then brought to the Assembly for approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When no Executive is in place, this cannot happen, although there are various procedures in place to ensure that a baseline of funding continues, such as with rollover budgets &#8211; where the previous year\u2019s finances are used as the basis for further spending, with little wriggle room for adjusting allocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A previous Stormont government was collapsed by Sinn Fein in 2017. This collapse lasted three years and, during that time, the Secretary of State set <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niauditoffice.gov.uk\/files\/niauditoffice\/NIAO_Report_NI%20Budget%20Process%20Report_Combo_4_WEB.pdf\">three single-year budgets.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this time there were no Departmental Ministers, and the Northern Ireland Civil Service was responsible for the <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201719\/cmselect\/cmniaf\/613\/61305.htm\" class=\"broken_link\">day-to-day running<\/a> of Northern Ireland, with powers to <a href=\"https:\/\/data.parliament.uk\/writtenevidence\/committeeevidence.svc\/evidencedocument\/northern-ireland-affairs-committee\/work-of-the-secretary-of-state-for-northern-ireland-201719\/oral\/71654.html\">\u201ckeep things ticking over\u201d<\/a> but not for strategic policy-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time the Executive was collapsed in February 2022, no budget had been agreed for 2022-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Legal advice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the Executive dissolved the Finance Minister took <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-northern-ireland-60679509\">legal advice<\/a> from the Stormont legal service, the Departmental Solicitor\u2019s Office, and from the Attorney General. None of that advice is public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theyworkforyou.com\/ni\/?id=2022-02-15.2.1\">then said<\/a> that, on the basis of that advice, he had concluded new spending allocations could not be made without an Executive &#8211; and thus the money would remain unspent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sdlp.ie\/sdlp_makes_emergency_proposal\" class=\"broken_link\">SDLP proposed an emergency Private Member\u2019s Bill<\/a> to release the funding but <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SDLPlive\/status\/1506322936604540929\">then said they were told by the Speaker<\/a> (Sinn Fein\u2019s Alex Maskey) that, following legal advice to his office, the bill was \u201coutwith the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But is there another way?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following Executive approval, per section 64 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/47\/section\/64\">Northern Ireland Act 1998<\/a>, budgets are then brought to the Assembly for approval. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finance-ni.gov.uk\/topics\/finance\/main-and-supplementary-estimates\">pieces of legislation<\/a> that authorise releasing the money are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finance-ni.gov.uk\/publications\/estimates-publications\">Northern Ireland Estimates<\/a>, the Vote on Account, and the Budget Bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early in the pandemic, an extraordinary second <a href=\"http:\/\/aims.niassembly.gov.uk\/officialreport\/report.aspx?&amp;eveDate=2020\/05\/26&amp;docID=301336#2799241\">Vote on Account<\/a> was used to release emergency Covid-19 funds without recourse to the usual Executive processes and sign off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a Finance Committee meeting on February 16 this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/niassembly.tv\/committee-for-finance-meeting-wednesday-16-february-2022\/\">department officials discussed whether a similar manoeuvre could be used to free up the cash left unallocated following the latest Executive collapse.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They said the previous move was in exceptional circumstances and did follow some Executive discussions and agreements and, while there might technically be an argument for releasing the money this way, it was legally questionable and they could not stand over such a move without further legal guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson also suggested that the money could be redistributed indirectly, by cutting rates bills, but without any certainty that this was a viable route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-northern-ireland-60702081?at_campaign=64&amp;at_custom2=twitter&amp;at_custom4=0BA59DEA-A10A-11EC-9F5D-CB313A982C1E&amp;at_custom3=BBC+News+NI&amp;at_custom1=link&amp;at_medium=custom7\">\u201cNo one has put a specific proposal to me about how this money can be delivered. We need to decide how this money can be delivered to support households in Northern Ireland. Might it be through the rates system, that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m putting forward as an idea.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That, however, is just spitballing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stuck on a shelf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, while some ideas were put forward for circuitous routes to release the \u00a3334m for 2022-23, as of time of publication,&nbsp; none have been confirmed as viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, civil servants are generally unable to make new spending decisions. Even if the \u00a3334m was available, allocating that money to new schemes designed to tackle the emerging cost-of-living crisis would require Executive approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further legal advice could, in theory, change the availability of this cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At least \u00a3334m in public funds for 2022-23 is currently gathering dust. No clear way to allocate this money exists without an Executive in place. Although some unusual bureaucratic fixes have been suggested, for now they are legally dubious, at best. Sinn Fein\u2019s manifesto for the 2022 Assembly election claims: \u201cUnfortunately, as a result of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27],"tags":[178,278],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Did the early collapse of the Executive leave \u00a3334m public money sitting on a shelf? - FactCheckNI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/economy\/did-the-early-collapse-of-the-executive-leave-334m-public-money-sitting-on-a-shelf\ufffc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did the early collapse of the Executive leave \u00a3334m public money sitting on a shelf? - FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At least \u00a3334m in public funds for 2022-23 is currently gathering dust. 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No clear way to allocate this money exists without an Executive in place. Although some unusual bureaucratic fixes have been suggested, for now they are legally dubious, at best. 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