Debate contribution: Budgetary Pressures

Debate contribution by Mr Nick Mathison on 10 September 2024.

MLA

Mr Nick Mathison

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

10 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Budgetary Pressures

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4517467

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Alliance has long highlighted the need for a fairer funding settlement for Northern Ireland, and we have been clear that the fiscal floor needs to be set at a level higher than 124% if we are to address the level of need, particularly in justice and policing, as we debated yesterday, and to address the years of underfunding of the Justice budget. The motion sets out clearly its call on the UK Government in that regard, and I hope that it receives support. This afternoon, I will reflect on the wider issues around the need for transformation in our public services and for an Executive sustainability plan. I want to look particularly at issues in our education system. The financial pressures in the education system are well rehearsed, and I do not intend to go through them all in detail. Suffice to say, we spend £450 less per pupil per annum than is spent in England. I have no doubt that we all agree that that is unsustainable and that more investment is required. However, the system that we invest that money into matters. Our education system in Northern Ireland is divided, complex and desperately in need of a programme of transformation. Any Executive sustainability plan must commit to "tackle the cost of division" — it is vital that that wording remains in the motion, particularly when we look at education in Northern Ireland — and it must deliver genuine transformation in our education system. Research that was carried out by Ulster University into the cost of division in education in Northern Ireland suggested that it could run to the tune of £226 million per year. The Education Department came out very quickly to reject those figures, but I am unaware of any work that has been done subsequently by the Department to assess the cost of division in education.

Thank you. I appreciate that how we have ended up in this situation in our education system is a bit of a conundrum. There is a need for more investment in the system, but the question is about how we invest. We spend too much money on maintaining the divisions in the system, whether that is in a passive sense by not doing anything to tackle it, or, at times, by actively doing something. I appreciate the Member's comments. We are in a conundrum with this, and, often, ministerial questions do not draw out any clarity on that point, unfortunately. I emphasise that the Education Minister has categorically stated in response to questions on the cost of division that he has no intention of carrying out any departmental audit on the cost of division to his Department. Therefore, I can see no commitment to tackling the issue, and that must change. Delivering on the clear public demand for integrated education is just one way that the Department could do that. Legal obligations exist in that space, and we need to see real progress on that front as part of any programme of transformation. The independent review of education was very clear that our current configuration of schools reflects a divided system and creates inefficiencies. Modelling that was undertaken as part of that review was clear that the network of schools could be reduced and that that could generate an estimated cost saving of around £94 million per year. That would require some capital investment — it is important to understand that — but we must begin to think more ambitiously around a programme that is focused on investing to save. One area where there has been a commitment to transformation work, and it was committed to in the draft Programme for Government, is special educational needs. That is welcome, but the Education Minister must continue to prioritise a clear transformation action plan for SEN. I am very clear that that must be time-bound and have measurable outcomes by which we can measure success. Our SEN services must deliver early identification of need and early intervention to meet that. Investment in a broken system of SEN services will not deliver for our children, and a meaningful transformation action plan must be delivered without delay. Finally, if we are discussing responsible and sustainable spending in education, I must highlight the issue of the Strule campus. Contractors have been appointed to deliver that £375 million project, but, in response to a question for written answer that I recently submitted, the Education Minister has confirmed that its business case was unable to demonstrate value for money. I can think of no other education capital project where that would be accepted. The investment in their buildings is, of course, welcome for those schools, but this is not a sustainable way to spend the Executive's money. A better and fairer financial settlement is needed for Northern Ireland, as is real investment in public services in GB, which would lead to that flow of resource here. However, more than that, an Executive sustainability plan is absolutely vital if we are to be responsible custodians of the resources that we have. Nowhere is that needed more than in education. We have a system that is full of committed and passionate educators and pupils who deserve the very best system in which resources are used effectively. They must not be held back by a system that is divided and in desperate need of reform.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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