Debate contribution: Supply Resolution for the Northern Ireland Main Estimates 2024-25; and Supply Resolution for Excess Votes for 2016-17, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 1 July 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Supply Resolution for the Northern Ireland Main Estimates 2024-25; and Supply Resolution for Excess Votes for 2016-17, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4498991
Read the official Assembly record
Text
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 presented before the House relates to the supply of cash and use of resources for the current 2024-25 year and seeks the Assembly's approval of the 2024-25 spending plans of Departments and other public bodies as set out in the Main Estimates, which were laid in the Assembly on 19 June. The Main Estimates are based on the departmental spending plans set out in the Executive's Budget 2024-25. The restoration of the Executive on 3 February 2024 meant that there was an exceptionally tight time frame in which to develop the Budget. It was always clear that this was going to be an incredibly challenging Budget, and that did not allow for the level of engagement that I would have preferred. Ideally, I would have liked to have published a draft Budget and put it out for 12 weeks' full consultation. That would have helped to inform the Executive's decision on their final Budget. Unfortunately, that was not an option due to time constraints. Following Executive agreement, I announced the Budget via a written ministerial statement on 25 April. Demand for allocations far outstripped the funding available. With increased demand on services, and rising costs, we simply do not have the Budget to do everything that we would like to do to provide the public services that people deserve. I accept that Executive agreement was not easy. We all had to compromise, but that agreement enabled the Budget to progress. The Budget 2024-25 was subsequently agreed by the Assembly on 28 May following an extensive debate. I will not repeat the same detail in today's speech. The Main Estimates position is set out in the detailed document that has been provided to Members. The Budget (No. 2) Bill reflects the same position. Should the Bill proceed as planned, it is anticipated that it will receive Royal Assent in late September/early October. In the meantime, the 65% Vote on Account, which was agreed by Members in April, provides Departments with the authority to utilise resources and access the cash necessary to deliver services. The Main Estimates for 2024-25 highlight areas of expenditure or income relying on the sole authority of the Budget. That is where the authority of statutory powers has not yet been obtained through legislation. 'Managing Public Money' provides for that as an interim measure, enabling expenditure until such powers are in place. The Executive met today to agree the outcome of the June monitoring round, and I made a statement on that just now. Any changes to departmental budgets due to the outcome of June monitoring and any further monitoring rounds that take place in 2024-25 will be reflected in the spring Supplementary Estimates. In addition to the Main Estimates for 2024-25, I have proposed a Supply resolution for the Statement of Excesses for the years 2016-2017, 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, which was also laid on 19 June. Excesses have arisen as a result of breaches of budget control limits or cash limits over prior years, and that requires expenditure to be regularised by the Assembly. Those Excesses were identified by the Public Accounts Committee, and a report was published by the PAC, providing more detail on its findings. The Supply resolution for the Statement of Excesses that I am providing simply implements the exact recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee. I am looking forward to putting the 2024-25 spending plans for this year on a legal footing, and I request the support of Members for the resolution of the Main Estimates for 2024-25. That, together with the Budget (No. 2) Bill, which I will introduce today and we will debate tomorrow, will ensure that services continue to be funded for the remainder of this financial year.
673 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.47 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.99 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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