Debate contribution: Executive Priorities and Budget
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Executive Priorities and Budget
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5669853
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Every day that I turn up to do my job as deputy First Minister is about pushing for progress in Northern Ireland: making Northern Ireland work and driving better public services for everyone. The reason why we do not have a Budget is that the Budget envelope is not adequate for our public services. If we were to set a Budget with that envelope, the first thing that would happen is this: Ministers would have to go and have a conversation with their accounting officers about what they would cut in-year. Those cuts would be brutal and devastating not just for our public services but in particular for the people who need to use them. Every person using a school, every person using a hospital and every person driving on our roads will see the impact of severe cuts unless we get a better Budget settlement. That is why I have been at the forefront in pushing the UK Government and the Secretary of State to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. I will never apologise for putting up a strong fight for every person in Northern Ireland, no matter their background, to get the best funding envelope and the best Budget to enable us to improve and deliver public services.
212 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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