All of Dr Caoimhe Archibald’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
My Department is working to develop the evidence base to demonstrate that the level of need is higher than 124%, and to have that evidence base in place to support the upcoming spending review for 2026-27. I am pleased that the highly respected Professor Gerry Holtham, who led the Holtham commission in Wales, has…
As the Member will know, the interim fiscal framework provides new funding arrangements based on a new needs-based factor of 124%. That has resulted in an additional £431·4 million in funding through the Barnett formula for the Executive over this financial year and the next. In addition to helping to stabilise our…
The research that we commissioned was a response to the representations that were made in respect of the British Chancellor's autumn statement and some of the measures in it. I anticipate that we will get a lot of useful information. When we were commissioning that research, the Department for the Economy was…
We have set out our intention to look at every rate relief measure over a 10-year period so that we ensure that everything that we are spending money on is still delivering on its policy objective and is still fit for purpose. On those that we are looking at this year, representations have been made to us regarding…
We are beginning to receive more and more representations about the impact that is being felt, especially as power stays off for a longer time. Again, it is about trying to get an understanding of what those impacts are. Concerns have been raised with me about the likelihood, or otherwise, of insurance covering some…
I had the opportunity to speak with the Secretary of State on Saturday, and we discussed the impact that the storm is still having. As you quite rightly said, a lot of people are still without power and water, and we are very conscious of that and of the hardship that many continue to face. We continue to engage with…
The departmental plans will have a forecast of the departmental needs, and that will help us inform the budgeting process. In that respect, we will be able to take that longer-term look at things, but, in terms of actually having an understanding of what our funding envelope is and being able to align that with our…
I thank the Member for the question. I know that he will be aware that one of the things that we committed to in the Budget sustainability plan was that, when there are multi-year spending reviews, we will also do multi-year Budgets alongside that. He will also be aware that the legislation precludes us from doing a…
I am keen to see the scheme taken forward as quickly as possible to give bereaved families the opportunity to have formal recognition of their loss. I want all parents and families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby to feel that their grief is recognised. Primary legislation is currently being drafted…
All of us realise what an important issue that is. Ending all forms of violence, abuse and harm against women and girls is one of the most pressing issues facing our society today. The Executive are committed to tackling that important issue. In March 2021, the Executive acknowledged the need for a departmental,…
The General Register Office in my Department provides guidance to registrars in looking for the signs of possible forced marriage and reporting those to the appropriate authorities. That is part of a multi-agency approach to the prevention of forced marriage that operates across all sectors and involves agencies both…
This year, 2024-25, the Executive had allocated £25 million for proposals brought forward by the childcare affordability task and finish group. The draft Budget 2025-26 proposes that £50 million is earmarked for childcare. That doubles the funding provided in 2024-25. The Executive also agreed, as part of the draft…
I would not characterise it as slipping it through, because it was clearly stated in the ministerial statement that was published on 19 December and all the Budget documentation thereafter. It said that the draft Budget for 2025-26 is predicated on those rate increases. What we have tried to do and what we tried to do…
The draft Budget for 2025-26 was agreed by the Executive on 19 December, with a 12-week public consultation launched on the same day. The public spending position, as the Member will know, remains very challenging for 2025-26 for resource and capital spending. Despite the challenges facing us, the draft Budget…
I made an announcement before Christmas, and we are looking not only at the domestic rating measures but at the non-domestic rating measures. The consultation on the domestic rating measures will be announced imminently. On the non-domestic rating measures, this year, we have said that we will look at small business…
I thank the Member for that question. The key initiative has been commissioning the research so that we have a full understanding of the impacts and that any interventions that we make to support businesses are fully informed by that. More important, however, we will be able to make a case to the British Treasury…
I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury about employers' National Insurance contributions. As I indicated to other Members, I have received significant representation on that issue from businesses and from the community and voluntary sector. In the public sector, we will face particular pressures from…
I thank the Member for his question and for the invitation, which is being considered by officials. I have received representations on the issues facing businesses from representative bodies and individual businesses. There is clearly a lot of pressure from the cost-of-doing-business crisis, with inflationary…
I thank the Member for that question. One thing that I was exercised about when I commissioned the research was that we would have it in a timely manner. It is really important that we have the evidence base to inform the spending review, which is scheduled for June. The research will be concluded in a report to me by…
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 3 and 14 together. I have been engaging with businesses from a wide range of sectors, including businesses in the hospitality sector, and have heard about the cost pressures that they are facing. I, too, am concerned about the planned changes to National…
The Infrastructure Minister is well on record as saying that. Yesterday, I listened to him respond in the Chamber to a number of questions about NI Water's funding model. I have to say that I concur with his perspective of wanting to ensure that NI Water is kept in public ownership and that no domestic water charges…
As all Members will be aware, Treasury removed the ring fence around our agri-food and farming funding in 2025-26 as part of the spending review. I was keen to see appropriate funding be provided to farming communities. I therefore recommended that an earmarked allocation of £332·5 million be provided to DAERA for…
I assure the Member that the Executive are alive to the need to balance the interests and to recognise the importance of the faming and agriculture community in dealing with some of the challenges, as well as the really important role that that community plays in supporting action to protect our environment. Farming…
I can assure the Member that those engagements are ongoing between individual Ministers and in the Executive as a whole. As for supporting the actions that relate to, for example, NI Water, additional funding has been made available to the Department for Infrastructure. From the perspective of investing in waste water…
I have met the AERA Minister on several occasions since becoming Finance Minister to discuss funding for his Department, including in respect of the issues at Lough Neagh. In addition, the Executive have met collectively to discuss Budget challenges, including in November 2024, prior to agreeing the draft 2025-26…