Debate contribution: Budget Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Pam Cameron on 24 February 2026.

MLA

Mrs Pam Cameron

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

24 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Budget Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5404557

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise as a member of the Committee for the Executive Office and the Committee for Communities, and as a DUP Member for South Antrim. This Budget debate takes place against a challenging financial backdrop. The Executive continue to operate with funding that is significantly below what is required to meet the demand for public services. The reality of that will shape decisions not only this year but well beyond it. I welcome the announcement by His Majesty's Treasury on the reserve claim and additional funding loan. The DUP was right to push for more support from the Treasury. It provides an immediate relief to pressures in the Health and Education budgets. I welcome the open-book approach on the back of that reserve funding for the Northern Ireland Executive, and the commitment to working with the Treasury in reviewing Executive spending and pressures. Those pressures affect every Department. I acknowledge in particular the challenges facing the Education Minister, especially around special educational needs, workforce pressures and rising demand. Those long-standing issues are widely recognised across the Executive, and they will require continued collective effort. Special educational needs provision is a key Programme for Government priority, and therefore must have funding priority. There is broad agreement across the House on the need to move towards a multi-year Budget settlement. Greater certainty is essential if Departments are to plan effectively, deliver reform and make real progress against Programme for Government commitments. John O'Dowd's draft multi-year Budget is out for consultation. I encourage organisations from the community and voluntary sector, which will be very much affected, in particular to respond to it, especially due to the lack of a funding stream to mitigate the devastating impact of the withdrawal of the local growth fund. It is vital that the opportunity to respond to the draft multi-year Budget consultation be taken by those most affected, so that the Finance Minister has a clear picture of the impact that the draft Budget will have on their valuable work in Northern Ireland. At the same time, it is clear that future Budgets must be more closely aligned with Programme for Government priorities. For example, progress on housing supply depends on adequate capital investment, and the Communities Minister has been clear about the scale of that challenge. I am pleased that the Committee, after some deliberation, agreed to write to the Executive to support the earmarking of the full funding requirements of the social housing development programme, which reflect the Executive's housing commitments as expressed in their Programme for Government and housing supply strategy. There is nothing more important than having a secure, energy-efficient and comfortable home — something that many of us take for granted. We are short on housing stock, and we hear every day from our constituents about the need for housing stock to be brought up to a good energy-efficient standard that is appropriate for the needs of our people, including those with disabilities. I trust that the Executive will ensure that the Minister receives the full housebuilding allocation to make those housing targets achievable, as the lack of housing impacts across all tenures in Northern Ireland. Later today, we will talk, rightly, about damp and mould in the home and the health impacts that such poor conditions have on people. We need to see adequate funding made available in order to bring homes up to an acceptable living standard; I am sure that we can all agree on that. Likewise, the delivery of priorities such as disability support, JobStart initiatives and SEN provision will require sustained and properly resourced funding streams. From the perspective of the Executive Office, the relatively small budget presents challenges for how we deliver on the obligations placed on us. Executive Office responsibilities are inherently cross-cutting, dealing with highly sensitive issues around victims and survivors and delivery in areas such as equality, good relations and the Programme for Government. Coordination depends on strong, stable, long-term investment rather than short-term allocations. In that context, I place on record support for the work of the Executive Office in driving Programme for Government delivery and upholding statutory equality duties. Those are foundational responsibilities of the Executive, and ensuring that they are properly resourced is essential to effective and inclusive government. I also highlight the scale and importance of the victims' payments scheme. To date, over 12,500 applications have been submitted, including around 900 from outside this jurisdiction, reflecting the far-reaching legacy of the Troubles. More than £126 million has been paid out, and the Victims' Payments Board has issued over 4,300 determinations. These figures underline the scheme's significance and the need for stable and sustainable funding so that victims can have certainty and dignity and the system can continue to operate fairly. I understand that all our Departments face incredible financial pressures. There remains a clear need for reform, including transformation, efficiencies and ensuring that the size and structure of the Northern Ireland Civil Service is appropriate to the demands placed on it. That work must proceed alongside efforts to secure a fairer funding settlement. I also emphasise the urgent need for meaningful investment in Northern Ireland Water infrastructure. Capacity constraints are already restricting housing development and economic growth, and there are environmental consequences, particularly for Lough Neagh and our wider waterways. Recent debates in the House have related to my constituency of South Antrim, where residents have been flooded in Antrim town and Dunadry. Those residents continually live off their nerves on rain watch, waiting for the next invasion of contaminated waters that destroy homes. The need to upgrade water and sewerage infrastructure to ensure that it has capacity, including in extreme weather conditions, is vital. That is also required if we are to ensure that we continue to build the much-needed properties for our homes.

I thank the Member for that intervention. I agree wholeheartedly. We have Lough Neagh in my constituency of South Antrim, and, every summer, we see the blue-green algal blooms coming up. We know of the complications, environmental and otherwise, caused by sewage flowing into those waterways. That and a combination of other issues cause the problem to literally surface whenever the sun shines.

I thank the Member for that intervention. I am quite sure that the DUP has always made the case that the required funding has not been made available, and we will continue to lobby to ensure that we get the required funds. I welcome the work that is being taken forward by the Communities Minister on tacking benefit fraud. The ability for the Executive to retain a proportion of the savings generated through that work presents a practical opportunity to strengthen our overall financial position and deserves continued support. It is right and proper that we do not prop up or ignore criminality. We support and encourage those who are in need to claim the benefits that help them in very difficult circumstances at periods in their lifetime, but we should not sit back and idly ignore the fact that some people act outside the law. By clamping down on all such activities, we will, in turn, claw back a proportion of the savings. We will then be able to use that to, for instance, retrofit and build more houses, which are so desperately needed. I welcome the commitment in the Budget to funding the PSNI. Police officer numbers have been far too low for far too long, and, as we all know, that investment is necessary for supporting front-line policing, community safety and, indeed, public confidence. None of us envies the role of the Finance Minister in having to balance the figures in Northern Ireland. The Budget reflects difficult decisions taken in difficult circumstances. While challenges remain, the Budget will allow Departments to continue to operate and to deliver essential services. I therefore support the motion and reiterate that there is a need for a Budget settlement that provides certainty, supports reform and enables the delivery of our shared Programme for Government priorities. I encourage the Minister to concentrate on those agreed key priorities for public service delivery and to ensure that funding is made available for the Executive-agreed Programme for Government commitments.

1,363 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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