Debate contribution: Budget (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 2 July 2024.

MLA

Dr Caoimhe Archibald

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

2 July 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Budget (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4529091

Read the official Assembly record

Text

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 to regularise prior expenditure. Accelerated passage of the Budget (No. 2) Bill is necessary to ensure that Royal Assent is obtained before any Departments reach the cash limits for 2023-24 set in the Vote on Account, which the Assembly agreed earlier in the year. I am grateful to the Finance Committee for confirming that, in line with Standing Order 42, the Bill can proceed under accelerated passage, and I thank the Committee for its support. The Assembly's agreement of the Executive's final Budget for 2024-25 on 28 May 2024 allows me to bring the Budget (No. 2) Bill to the Assembly to seek legislative authority for the expenditure of the Departments and other bodies for the remainder of the financial year. Standing Order 32 directs that the Second Stage debate should be confined to the general principles of the Bill, and I shall endeavour to keep to that direction. The Bill will give effect to the Main Estimates for 2024-25 and authorise the cash and use of resources on services to allow Departments and other public bodies to operate for the remainder of the financial year. The Bill will also regularise expenditure identified by the Public Accounts Committee and will authorise cash and use of resources over the years identified in its published report. Copies of the Bill and the explanatory and financial memorandum have been made available to Members today, and the Main Estimates 2024-25 and Statement of Excesses for years between 2016 and 2023 were laid in the Assembly on 19 June. The Bill will authorise the issue of £25,255,627,000 from the Consolidated Fund and the use of further resources totalling £28,772,794,000 by the Departments and certain other bodies listed in schedule 1 to the Bill in the year ending 31 March 2025 — this financial year. The cash and resources are to be spent and used on the services that are listed in column 1 of each schedule. The Budget (No. 2) Bill will authorise temporary borrowing by the Department of Finance for 2024-25 of up to £12,627,814,000 to be repaid no later than 31 March 2025. That is a normal safeguard to allow the efficient management of the Consolidated Fund and does not authorise any additional expenditure. The Bill will also authorise Excesses for prior years for the purposes that are specified in schedules 2 and 3. I draw the House's attention to the fact that, although the vast majority of expenditure by all Departments is done on the authority of statutory powers that are provided through legislation by the Assembly, there are some usually small functions that may, from time to time, be done on the sole authority of the Budget Act. Table 5 of the Main Estimates 2024-25 document sets out a summary of expenditure that rests on the sole authority of the Budget Act. For some of those items' expenditure, the amount involved is greater than what the Assembly would normally be asked to approve or is over a longer period. That is mainly due to the absence of an Assembly, which prevented the legislation being taken forward in the normal way. I expect that to begin to be addressed in the coming months. The numbers contained in the Budget Bill are significant. I am sure that Members will agree that it is not an easy task to translate those figures into the delivery of public services on the ground. The reality is that this crucial piece of legislation is required to ensure that all the day-to-day public services that we all rely on continue to be delivered to our citizens for the remainder of this financial year. On that note, I will conclude. I am happy to deal with any points of principle or detail of the Budget (No. 2) Bill that Members may wish to raise.

687 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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