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.
The Fiscal Council has had a significant impact during its short time. Its assessments are insightful and highly valued. It makes a difference by improving the transparency, scrutiny and understanding of the Budget and the monitoring process. It has produced a range of impactful reports, including assessments on our…
The Fiscal Council has made a significant impact in improving the transparency, scrutiny and understanding of our public finances since it was established in March 2021, publishing 18 reports to date. In particular, it was instrumental in providing the independent evidence base that enabled me to successfully…
I thank the Member for that question. He will be aware that I recently established a new budget sustainability team in my Department that will look at opportunities to identify the ways in which we can make the best use of our funds. We will be open to looking at all options in how we can leverage funding to support…
Of the 14 projects supported to date, 13 are expected to achieve an energy performance certificate with an A or B rating. The fund also invested £50 million to support three energy-efficient office development projects during that time, which are estimated to have resulted in an annual CO2 saving of 771 tons. The…
The overarching objectives of the Investment Fund are to address market failures; to accelerate and increase investment in private-sector-led development, infrastructure and low-carbon projects; to secure private-sector and/or public-sector leverage to achieve sustainable financial returns; to maximise the impact of…
The Member is right. One of the reasons why I am so concerned about the closure of the branch network is the impact on my constituency and constituents, particularly in rural areas. As I outlined in my response to Deborah, we have a limited ability to directly influence the decisions that banks take in their own…
It is vital that banks work proactively with customers to encourage digital and financial literacy. I pressed them on that when we met on 1 May. In addition, my Department has a small digital inclusion team to promote online services and to give people the skills, confidence, motivation and trust to navigate the…
As the Member will know, neither my Department nor the Assembly has any legislative authority in banking and finance, so the role that my Department can play in directly influencing the decisions of local banks, which, as she rightly said, are largely commercial, is somewhat limited. I am deeply concerned about the…
I have been deeply concerned about the impact of branch closures for some time, which is why I called senior representatives from the local banks to attend a round-table meeting with me last month. I used that meeting to urge them to protect our local branch network and maintain access to cash and banking services,…
Following agreement on the interim fiscal framework on 22 May, the needs-based factor of 24% will apply from 2024-25 to all new Barnett consequentials arising since the Executive were restored in February. It will apply when the Executive's funding relative to British government spending in England falls below its…
At the time that the question was submitted, there was no clarity on the timescale for the June monitoring round. I am pleased to say that the Executive have now agreed my recommendations on the June monitoring round, allocating £213·1 million of resource and £57·5 million of capital to Departments. That included £122…
Some of the rate reliefs that the Member referred to have been considered as part of the rating consultation, so we will consider those in the next steps from the report, which I know the Member, as Chair of the Finance Committee, will have had sight of. It is important that we look at how we can best align what we…
Since taking up post in February, I have already secured holding the regional rate increase to the inflationary rate as opposed to the 15% increase that was being pushed by the Secretary of State. I have reinstated the back in business scheme to incentivise the use of empty units in our towns and cities, and I have…
The consultation that was undertaken earlier this year in relation to the rating measures was focused on revenue raising, so the focus of it was quite specific in the questions that it was asking about particular reliefs. My officials have briefed the Finance Committee on the responses received. I plan to publish that…
The Ulster University economic policy centre work is under way. Initial desk research has been conducted, and the lead researcher is currently conducting interviews with relevant stakeholders. This is a specific piece of research to assess the economic impact of the differential poundages across our 11 councils, in…
The letter from the interim transformation board to Departments requested that proposals aim to meet some or all of the following objectives: to increase financial sustainability of public services; to transform the model of delivery of public services to improve effectiveness and efficiency, to meet increased demands…
The board has been established on an interim basis to allow us to make progress with the funding for this financial year. We did not want to be in a position in which we were not able to receive proposals and thus not spend the £47 million, which would potentially have put us in the position of losing some of the…
Public services across many sectors are in critical need of investment to ensure the quality and efficiency of service that citizens quite rightly expect. Transformation is also essential if the Executive are to put their finances on a more sustainable footing. The financial package for the restored Executive includes…
I beg to move This Second Stage debate follows the Assembly's approval yesterday of the Supply resolution for the expenditure plans of Departments and other public bodies, as detailed in the Main Estimates 2024-25, and its approval of the Supply resolution for the Statement of Excesses for years between 2016 and 2023…
I beg to introduce the Budget (No. 2) Bill [NIA 06/22-27], which is a Bill to authorise the use for the public service of certain resources for the year ending 31 March 2025 (including income); to authorise the issue out of the Consolidated Fund of certain sums for the service of that year; to authorise the use of…
The debate has covered many aspects of public expenditure and, perhaps, a few topics that are not quite related to that. I will, however, endeavour to address as many of the points that were raised during the debate as I can. First, I again thank the Finance Committee for its agreement that this important legislation…
I beg to move This debate covers the Supply resolution for the Main Estimates 2024-25 and the Statement of Excesses for 2016-17, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, both of which are associated with the Budget (No. 2) Bill, which will be introduced later today. The Supply resolution for the Main Estimates 2024-25…
I am unable to confirm what each individual Department has provided to the relevant Committee. I hope that the Member is satisfied with the engagement that he has had with my officials who, I know, attend the Finance Committee very regularly to brief him and other Committee members on budgetary matters. I encourage…
It will come as no surprise to the Member that I do not agree with his analysis. I have been clear for some time about my preferred time frame for doing June monitoring. I have, of course, considered carefully whether June monitoring should have proceeded during the pre-election period. My view, and that of my…