To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating the £250m that the Executive is permitted to borrow over the short-term for cash-management purposes to manage in year pressures within the Northern Ireland Budget for 2022-23.
Answered on
15 December 2022
I have worked closely with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to explore the available funding options in setting the Northern Ireland Budget for 2022-23, including Executive borrowing.
The budget set in my statement on 24 November is an appropriate settlement that reflects the key pressures in Northern Ireland but it does not remove the pressing need to have locally accountable political leaders in place to take the fundamental decisions which will secure a more sustainable future for the people of Northern Ireland.