Debate contribution: Budget Bill: Final Stage
Debate contribution by Ms Diane Forsythe on .
- MLA
- Ms Diane Forsythe
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 25 February 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Budget Bill: Final Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4815500
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Minister for bringing the Bill to the House. Whilst accelerated passage is not ideal, we all understand that this is where we are if we want to keep public services running. Like the Chair of the Finance Committee, my party supports a review of the wording of Standing Orders on due consideration by the Committee. As we debate the Budget Bill, it is important that we have collective agreement that is in the interests of dealing with the financial pressures that face our front-line services and keeping everything running. However, as we know, the Budget Bill does not deal with the full 2025-26 Budget, which is out for consultation. We will debate that at length in the future. We are applying the 45% — it is approximately 45%, as was pointed out previously — to roll forward into 2025-26. I will make the point again about the increase to employers' National Insurance contributions. I thank the Minister for providing clarity to the Finance Committee last week that, for central government and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), there will be an additional cost of £200 million next year and approximately £250 million when you add GPs, dentists and local government, so it is an extremely high additional pressure. Whilst there are conversations on and an expectation of Barnett consequentials, we do not yet have a formal commitment on anything. As we roll forward 45% of 2024-25 spend into 2025-26, with the expectation of a potential 60% to 70% allocation in June, we will spend money in April, May and June — we will overspend, effectively — on the increase to employers' National Insurance, which is approximately £17 million every month, until we know what we are getting. I ask the Minister to keep making that point and to remind Departments, as we remind other Committees, to keep an eye on that scrutiny, because, until we know what we will see coming into the Budget from the Treasury, we do not know what we are mitigating and we will be under incredible pressure. I urge the Minister to continue to press for as much as possible from Treasury to cover that additional cost. The DUP will support the Bill and hopes that parties across the House also do so in order to move forward and keep our services running. We look forward to debating the full 2025-26 Budget.
398 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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- 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 | 0.93 | Yes |
| 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 | 0.96 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.01 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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