Budget overspend by any minister ‘dire’ for wider Executive, says Archibald

A budget overspend by any Stormont minister this year will have “dire” consequences for the wider Executive, Caoimhe Archibald has warned.

The Finance Minister said the administration continued to face a “challenge” to keep within its overall budget for the 2024/25 financial year.

Last month, Ms Archibald urged fellow ministers to take urgent action to rein in spending after revealing that departments were over-committed by £767 million.

Stormont is expecting around £500 million in extra funding from the UK Government following this month’s budget through the Barnett funding model used to distribute money to the devolved regions.

But that will still leave the Executive facing a funding gap of around £267 million based on current projections.

Ms Archibald has previously warned that failure to balance the budget by the end of the financial year would see the Government withdraw a previous offer to write off £559 million worth of debt owed to the Treasury.

The budgetary over-commitments were raised during Assembly questions on Monday.

Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said any department facing an over-commitment should not be diverting cash to expenditure that was discretionary.

Ms Archibald replied: “I do agree with the member that addressing over-commitments should be the top priority for any minister and living within their budget.

“Obviously, all ministers are autonomous within their own departments and they have to take decisions to live responsibly.

“But I think that the consequences of any department overspending this year are dire for the Executive as a whole, in relation to the fact that the over-committed funding would come off next year’s budget, and would also put into question the write-off of the £559 million of what the Treasury called debt from previous years.

“So I think that it’s incumbent on all ministers to take the decisions that are necessary to live within their budget, and not put the Executive in that position.”