1. No category

Budget 2015-16
CONTENTS
Page Foreword by the Minister of Finance and Personnel
2
Chapter One
Introduction
4
Chapter Two
Economic and Social Context
6
Chapter Three
Financing
17
Chapter Four
Final Budget Outcome
34
Chapter Five
Departmental Budget Outcomes
49
Chapter Six
Consultation
142
Chapter Seven
Equality Considerations
147
Annex A
Financial Tables & Charts
150
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Budget 2015-16
FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL
I am pleased to be able to present the Northern Ireland Executive’s
agreed Budget for 2015-16.
The challenging financial circumstances facing the Executive are
well known. Our spending power has fallen by over £1 billion as
cuts coming from London since 2010 have hit hard. Yet, in spite of
that challenge, this is a Budget that faces up to the harsh realities
of our financial situation and puts the people’s priorities first.
The central pillars in constructing this Budget for 2015-16 were the
protection of key front-line public services, investments that
underpin economic growth in Northern Ireland and putting in place
the foundations for the reform and restructuring of our public
sector. These important priorities are reflected in the various
allocations agreed by the Executive which include a total of over
£150 million more than our Draft Budget position.
We have increased spending on Health next year by over £200
million.
Expenditure on Education has increased by more than £60 million
compared to its allocation in the Draft Budget whilst Policing gets
an additional £20 million.
The budget for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Investment will increase by 10.1 per cent so that we can continue
to create jobs and grow our economy.
The Department of Employment of Learning receives an extra £33
million to develop the skills we need in our workforce.
Northern Ireland still faces a future where public spending will be
under pressure. The Executive is committed to the tough but
necessary step of restructuring our public sector and this Budget
allocates resources to begin that important process.
2
Budget 2015-16
There is no such thing as the perfect Budget. But, in the
challenging circumstances the Executive found itself, this
represents a good deal for the people of Northern Ireland. We
have agreed a way forward for next year and are laying the
foundations for the future. One where key public services like
Health and Education are supported and where Executive
spending supports our growing economy.
Minister of Finance and Personnel
19 January 2015
3
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 This Budget document sets out the Northern Ireland
Executive’s spending plans for the period from April 2015 to
March 2016.
1.2 The Executive has had the difficult undertaking of
constructing a Budget in an extremely constrained public
expenditure environment. This financial context has meant
that the 2015-16 Budget has been developed to address not
only those issues facing the Executive next year, but also the
longer term spending reductions that confront the public
sector.
1.3 With the signing of the Stormont House Agreement, the
Executive has been provided with a set of financial measures
that has allowed it to deliver additional funding whilst putting
in place the foundations for long term sustainable public
services.
Consultation on the Draft Budget
1.4 The spending plans in this document were influenced by the
outcome of the consultation process, which followed the
publication of the Draft Budget on 3 November 2014. The
public was invited to respond to the consultation by post,
email or via the Budget website. In addition each department
consulted on their own Draft Budget proposals.
1.5 The formal consultation process ended on 29 December
2014. Over 50,000 responses were received from a wide
range of individuals and organisations covering a broad
range of issues. These are set out more fully in Chapter Six.
1.6 While careful regard has been paid to the views expressed in
the responses to the consultation process it has not been
possible to address every issue raised due to the wide range
of views and the constrained financial context which
accompanies the budget.
4
Budget 2015-16
Copies of the Document
1.7 This Budget document can be accessed via the Northern
Ireland Executive’s Budget website
www.northernireland.gov.uk/budget
The document can be downloaded in electronic format or
alternatively sent to you in hard copy by contacting the
address below.
S1, New Building
Rathgael House
Balloo Road
BANGOR
BT19 7NA
Telephone: 028 91 858196
5
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER TWO: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
Introduction
2.1. A broad range of economic indicators reveal that the
Northern Ireland economy is in recovery mode. While the
pace of the recovery to date appears to have been
somewhat slower than that experienced across the UK as a
whole, growth and confidence are returning and
unemployment continues to fall – all of which is clearly
encouraging.
2.2. The Ulster University Economic Policy Centre forecasted
growth of 2.2 per cent in 2014 and expects the local
economy to grow by 1.9 per cent in 2015, slowing to 1.3 per
cent in 2016 in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA). The
Centre predicts that economic growth will continue at around
1.3 per cent beyond 2016, reflecting broader concerns about
the global and UK outlook.
2.3. This chapter presents an overview of current local economic
conditions and highlights some of the key challenges facing
the Northern Ireland economy.
Global and National Economic Context
2.4. Figures reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1
indicate that the US economy was predicted to grow by 2.2
per cent in 2014 with growth expected to continue in 2015
and 2016. While the Eurozone area experienced negative
growth in 2013, the IMF predicted a return to growth of 0.8
per cent in 2014. The IMF expects real Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) to grow by 1.3 per cent in 2015 and 1.7 per
cent in 2016.
2.5. The UK economy in particular is performing strongly and was
forecast to grow by 3.2 per cent in 2014. This was higher
than originally expected and looks set to continue, albeit at a
slower rate.
2.6. The IMF forecasts UK GDP to grow by 2.7 per cent in 2015
and by 2.4 per cent in 2016. Indeed, the Ulster University
Economic Policy Centre anticipates that UK growth (on a
GVA basis) will be 2.7 per cent in 2015 and 2.2 per cent in
1
World Economic Outlook (WEO) Projections, October 2014,
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/02/images/Table1_1.jpg
6
Budget 2015-16
2016. Looking forward however, concerns have been
expressed regarding the impact a weakening global outlook
might have on UK growth prospects.
2.7. Furthermore, it is also important to recognise that many
governments remain focused on consolidating debt levels,
which will continue to impact on economic activity generated
by public expenditure. The UK Government has continued
with its planned fiscal consolidation to address the deficit and
published its 2015-16 Spending Round on 26 June 2013.
Northern Ireland’s settlement resulted in a real terms
reduction of just over 1 per cent in Resource DEL and a real
terms increase of just over 1.5 per cent in Capital DEL by the
end of the Spending Round period. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer has made it clear that the wider UK economy
must control its debt and that any tax gains from economic
growth will be used to target the national deficit. This means
the Northern Ireland public sector will continue to face a
sustained period of budget constraint.
2.8. The performance of the Northern Ireland economy is also
influenced by the Republic of Ireland (RoI), given that it is a
major trade partner for Northern Ireland. It is therefore
encouraging to see that forecasts made by the Department
of Finance (RoI) predict a continuation of the growth
experienced in 2014. Growth of 3.9 per cent is expected in
2015 slowing slightly to 3.4 per cent in 2016. 2
2.9. Provisional results for regional GVA data indicates that the
Northern Ireland economy grew by 1.2 per cent in 2013,
below the UK average of 3.3 per cent (Chart 2.1).
Furthermore, the Northern Ireland Composite Economic
Index (NICEI) which provides a more up-to-date measure of
performance of the Northern Ireland economy reveals that
over the year to Quarter 2 2014 economic activity increased
by 1.2 per cent in real terms (Chart 2.2).
2
Department of Finance, Budget 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, (October 2014)
7
Budget 2015-16
construction output in Northern Ireland decreased by 3.7 per
cent in Quarter 2 2014.
2.13. According to Ulster Bank’s latest Purchasing Managers’
Index (PMI), Northern Ireland’s private sector recorded a
decrease in business activity during December 2014. This
was the first time since June 2013 that this rate has fallen
below the 50.0 ‘no change’ mark 5. The fall in activity in
Northern Ireland contrasted with ongoing growth across the
UK economy as a whole.
Labour Market
2.14. After a decade of jobs growth, the global financial crisis and
the resultant economic downturn led to large scale job
losses. Sectors most severely impacted included
Construction (-13,740 jobs), Manufacturing (-8,170 jobs),
Retail (-6,390 jobs) and Business and Financial Services
(-3,960 jobs). 6
2.15. Overall, the number of employee jobs in Northern Ireland fell
by around 41,000 from Quarter 1 2008 to Quarter 1 2012,
taking the figure back to just below the level reported in
Quarter 1 2005 (Chart 2.4). However, recent data shows
that the number of employee jobs has began to increase
again, with almost 28,000 employee jobs created between
Quarter 1 2012 and Quarter 3 2014. Over this period there
were increases across the Services sector (+24,460 jobs),
the Manufacturing sector (+4,070 jobs) and the ‘Other
Industries’ sector (+710 jobs). However, the number of
employee jobs decreased in the Construction Sector (-1,550
jobs).
5
Index readings above 50.0 signal an increase on the previous month while readings below 50.0 signal
a decrease.
6
NISRA Quarterly Employment Survey 2007-2012
10
Budget 2015-16
Key Challenges Ahead
2.20. It is encouraging to see that the Northern Ireland economy
has returned to growth, and it is hoped that this will continue
to gain momentum over the coming months. There are a
range of structural challenges that continue to hamper the
region’s economic performance. These issues are long
standing and have been widely documented – in particular in
the Northern Ireland Executive’s Economic Strategy
‘Priorities for Sustainable Growth and Prosperity’ 8 which
summarises that:
• Northern Ireland living standards have persistently lagged
behind GB, with the main factors being lower levels of
employment and productivity;
• Growth in output and jobs has tended to be in relatively
low value added areas, which has resulted in average
wages remaining significantly below the UK average;
• The comparatively small private sector also contributes to
a very large fiscal deficit. As a result the public
expenditure reductions from the UK Spending Review will
continue to have a negative impact on economic
prospects going forward. In addition, the impact of these
cuts will be felt more severely in Northern Ireland given
our relatively higher dependence on the public sector;
• The economy has historically been under-represented in
higher value added sectors such as finance and business
services;
• A large proportion of the population is registered as
economically inactive, with social exclusion levels well
above other parts of the UK;
• Almost half of the working age population in receipt of
incapacity benefit have been diagnosed with mental and
behavioural disorders; and
• A significant number of households have experienced
intergenerational poverty or joblessness and are far
removed from job readiness and the labour market.
8
http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/ni-economic-strategy-revised-130312.pdf
15
Budget 2015-16
2.21. Overall, the long standing issues of relatively low productivity
and high economic inactivity need to be addressed if
Northern Ireland living standards are to improve. Improving
skills, promoting enterprise, innovation and research &
development, and investing in economic infrastructure are all
vitally important.
2.22. The Northern Ireland Economic Strategy sets out a number
of priority areas and associated actions aimed at helping to
address these issues. These include investment in skills and
education, growing the private sector, strengthening our
competitiveness through export led growth and targeting
sectors that have the most potential for growth such as
Telecommunications and ICT; Life & Health Sciences; Agri­
food; Advanced Materials; and Advanced Engineering.
2.23. The Northern Ireland Executive also continues to engage
with the UK Government on a number of areas to help
support economic growth in Northern Ireland. Recently
these have included initiatives on access to finance for local
businesses as well as looking at the potential to devolve
additional fiscal powers to Northern Ireland.
2.24. Following extensive engagement between the Northern
Ireland Executive and the UK Government, a Bill was
introduced to the UK Parliament in January 2015 to transfer
corporation tax rate setting powers to the Northern Ireland
Assembly. This power, once transferred, will provide the
Executive with a significant additional lever to transform the
Northern Ireland economy.
16
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER THREE: FINANCING
Introduction
3.1 This chapter sets out the overall public expenditure context
for Budget 2015-16, including the control framework within
which public spending operates.
Public Expenditure Control Framework
3.2 An overview of the public expenditure control framework for
both the UK and Northern Ireland is set out below. The most
important point to note is that all allocations are made on the
basis of a clear separation between Resource DEL and
Capital DEL.
3.3 Within Resource DEL there is a further disaggregation
between ring-fenced Resource and non ring-fenced
Resource. Ring-fenced Resource is that which has been
ring-fenced by HM Treasury to cover the non cash cost of
depreciation and impairments. Non ring-fenced Resource,
which is the larger element of the Resource DEL, reflects the
ongoing cost of providing services (for example, pay,
operating costs and grants to other bodies).
3.4 Capital DEL reflects investment in assets which will provide
or underpin services in the longer term (for example,
schools, hospitals, roads etc.).
Capital DEL is also
disaggregated into conventional Capital and Financial
Transactions Capital (FTC).
3.5 In 2012-13 the UK Government introduced FTC in order to
boost investment. Northern Ireland has benefited from this
additional funding through allocations in the Chancellor’s
recent UK Budgets and Autumn Statements.
3.6 FTC can only be used to provide loans to, or equity
investment in, the private sector. It therefore can stimulate
private sector investment in infrastructure projects that
benefit the region, over and above the level of investment
made by the Executive from its conventional Capital DEL
budget.
17
Budget 2015-16
Government was borrowing one pound for every four it
spent.
3.11 The UK Government introduced significant curbs on public
spending when it came to power in 2010. Their deficit
reduction plan is based on a ‘fiscal mandate’ requirement to
balance the Cyclically-Adjusted Current Budget (CACB) –
the amount the Government has to borrow to finance noninvestment spending, adjusted for the state of the economy –
five years ahead.
3.12 In December 2014, the Office for Budget Responsibility
(OBR) forecast that the CACB would be in surplus by 2.3 per
cent of GDP in 2019-20.
3.13 The UK Government’s supplementary target is for Public
Sector Net Debt (PSND) to be falling as a share of GDP in
2015-16. OBR expect PSND to peak at 78.7 per cent of GDP
in 2015-16, fall by a small margin in 2016-17 and then to fall
more rapidly to 72.8 per cent of GDP by 2019-20.
3.14 The UK Government have made it clear that the
improvements in the wider economy will not be reflected in
increased public spending until the deficit has been brought
within manageable levels.
3.15 Clearly these UK-wide policies will have significant
implications on public spending budgets across both
Whitehall and the Devolved Administrations.
3.16 The outworking of this policy has been to restrict the amount
of funding available for public services at a UK level and this
policy decision ultimately affects the Northern Ireland
allocation from HM Treasury.
3.17 Looking at the longer term picture, the OBR has forecast UK
public spending to the end of the decade and their estimates
are that Resource DEL spending at a UK level will continue
to decline until at least the 2019-20 financial year. Capital
spending, including FTC, at the UK level will fluctuate but will
see an average growth of 4.2 per cent (1.8 per cent real
terms) by 2019-20.
19
Budget 2015-16
Sources of Financing for Northern Ireland Public Expenditure
Allocations from HM Treasury
3.24 The main source of funding for public expenditure within
Northern Ireland remains the Departmental Expenditure
Limits (DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) from
HM Treasury. AME is used to fund volatile
items such as pensions and benefits. By
contrast, DEL includes expenditure that is
generally within a department’s control.
Both DEL and AME are ultimately funded
through the proceeds of general taxation
across the UK. The Executive does not
have discretion over AME funding and the
2015-16 Budget is therefore concerned
primarily with DEL allocations. However
tables setting out AME spend are included in
Annex A to this document.
3.25 The infographic illustrates how public
spending is funded by allocations from HM
Treasury. The Northern Ireland citizen pays
taxes directly to the UK Government. The
UK Government then allocates the funding
via DEL and AME budgets to its
departments
and
the
Devolved
Administrations. The taxes generated within
Northern Ireland are considerably less than
the level of funding received from HM
Treasury. This shortfall is known as the
fiscal deficit and in 2011-12 it was estimated
to be £9.6 billion9.
3.26 Changes in the level of DEL funding
for Northern Ireland are determined via the
application of the Barnett Formula – in
simple terms Northern Ireland receives a
population-based share of changes in
funding for comparative spending programmes in England.
Material allocations, or reductions, are made to the Northern
9
DFP Net Fiscal Balance Report http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/ni-net-fiscal-balance-report-2011-12.pdf
23
Budget 2015-16
Ireland Executive’s funding as part of the national Spending
Review process.
3.27 Allocations received through this mechanism are generally
“unhypothecated” meaning that the Executive and Assembly
can determine allocations for specific priorities and
programmes regardless of the nature of the comparable
spending in England that gave rise to the Barnett allocation.
2015-16 Spending Round Outcome for Northern Ireland
3.28 The Chancellor announced the UK Government’s Spending
Round for 2015-16 in June 2013, and that set the overall
quantum of resources available to UK departments.
3.29 As changes to the level of funding for Northern Ireland are
automatically determined by changes in funding for
comparable spending programmes in Whitehall departments,
the outworking of the UK Government’s deficit reduction plan
has led to restricted levels of funding being made available to
the Northern Ireland Executive. The Executive’s Draft Budget
was based on the 2015-16 Spending Round outcome.
Autumn Statement
3.30 In December 2014 the Chancellor announced his Autumn
Statement, as a result of which the Executive received an
additional £67 million of Resource DEL, £5.7 million of
Capital DEL and £1.3 million of Financial Transactions
Capital.
3.31 Table 3.1 sets out the Resource and Capital DEL allocations
received from HM Treasury for 2015-16 following the Autumn
Statement. The percentage real terms change from the
2014-15 position is also highlighted.
24
Budget 2015-16
Table 3.1: Northern Ireland 2015-16 Allocation from HM
Treasury
Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
Ring-fenced Resource DEL
Capital DEL
Of which Financial Transactions:
£million
Real
Terms
Change
2014-15
2015-16
9,692.1
9,758.1
-1.4%
479.4
550.4
13.0%
1,051.9
1,099.3
3.1%
62.8
129.0
Stormont House Agreement
3.32 The Stormont House Agreement, finalised in December
2014, provided the Executive with a number of key financial
incentives including additional funding and flexibility on
certain issues.
3.33 Specifically, the Agreement provided for the following in
2015-16:
• Up to £50 million of additional Capital DEL for new
Shared and Integrated Education projects, to be
agreed with HM Treasury;
• Flexibility to use £200 million borrowing for a Voluntary
Exit Scheme;
• An additional £100 million borrowing for Capital
projects; and
• Up to £30 million Resource DEL funding for bodies
dealing with the past.
3.34 These a
mounts are not subject to any carry forward
arrangements and should the Executive be unable to spend
to the agreed amounts it will not be possible to carry forward
any unspent funding into future years.
3.35 The Stormont House Agreement also committed the
Executive to the payment of the £114 million cost of non­
25
Budget 2015-16
implementation of welfare reform. This amount will be
deducted from the Executive’s 2015-16 Resource DEL now.
If the implementation of welfare reform is completed during
2015-16 part of the £114 million reduction will be reinstated
to reflect the proportion of the year subsequent to welfare
reform implementation.
3.36 The result of these changes on the Northern Ireland DEL
control totals are outlined in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2: Northern Ireland DEL Control Totals
£million
Draft Budget
Non RingRingFinancial
fenced
fenced Conventional Transactions
Resource Resource
Capital
Capital
9,691.1
550.4
964.6
127.7
Autumn Statement
67.0
-
5.7
1.3
Stormont House Agreement
30.0
-
50.0
-
-114.0
-
-
-
9,674.1
550.4
1,020.3
129.0
Welfare Reform Reduction
Final Budget
Note: The final Control Totals will be dependent on the outworking of the Stormont House Agreement
and the timing of welfare reform implementation
3.37 Of course, the allocation from HM Treasury does not fully
represent the spending power available to the Executive.
There are currently two strategic ways in which the Executive
can increase gross spending power above the allocations
determined by HM Treasury. These are the Regional Rate
and the borrowing power within the Reinvestment and
Reform Initiative (RRI).
3.38 In addition, the Executive benefit from funding provided from
the European Union. Income generated from receipts may
also increase the Executive’s spending power.
Regional Rate
3.39 There are two elements to the rates bills paid by both
households and the non-domestic sector in Northern
Ireland. The district rate, set by each of the District Councils,
is used to finance the services provided by those
Councils. The Regional Rate, which is determined by the
Executive, generates additional resources to support those
26
Budget 2015-16
central public services that are the responsibility of the
Executive.
3.40 Regional Rate revenue is also “unhypothecated” meaning
that the revenue collected is not targeted on any specific
public spending programme. Instead
the revenue received is added to the
total sums available for allocation by
the Executive.
3.41 Aside from the UK Spending
Round allocation for Northern Ireland,
the most significant source of funding
for the Executive is revenue
generated
locally
through
the
Regional Rates.
3.42 In
Budget
2011-15
the
Executive agreed that both domestic
and non-domestic Regional Rate
should be uplifted in line with
inflation. This was agreed because
the Executive was mindful of not
imposing undue additional burdens
on households in the difficult
economic climate that prevailed at
the time.
3.43 The
Executive’s
2015-16
Budget is predicated on the
continuation of this policy, with
overall revenues from both the
normal domestic and non-domestic
Regional Rates being held in line with
inflation. This, alongside the decision
not to implement water charges,
helps Northern Ireland maintain the
lowest household taxes in the UK.
3.44 It is also worth noting that for 2015-16, the actual nondomestic rate (as expressed in pence per pound of rateable
value) will be ‘reset’ for a new Valuation List after a
27
Budget 2015-16
revaluation of the non-domestic sector, and the large retail
levy will no longer apply.
3.45 In addition, the revenue forecasts associated with the
Regional Rate for the Budget period assume that
manufacturing rates will continue to apply at a level of 30 per
cent liability until 31 March 2016. This will require the
necessary legislation to be approved by the Northern Ireland
Assembly in advance of the 2015-16 financial year. Given
that economic development is a top priority of the Executive
this approach will provide continued support for the
manufacturing industry. This will help to safeguard
employment during these difficult economic times and assist
Northern Ireland in its economic recovery.
3.46 In relation to rating matters the Budget also proposes that
the Small Business Rate Relief scheme should continue to
operate for the additional year of the Budget period. There
will also be new provision put in place through the rating
system to manage the process of district rate convergence
by phasing in increases attributed to that convergence over
an extended period of time. The Executive has already
agreed to forgo Regional Rate revenue of up to £30 million
over the life of the scheme, which will begin in April 2015.
RRI Borrowing
3.47 The Reinvestment and Reform Initiative, announced in May
2002, included a new borrowing power intended to support a
substantial infrastructure investment programme in Northern
Ireland. It provided access to £125 million in 2003-04 and
£200 million per annum thereafter of additional expenditure
funded by borrowing from the National Loans Fund. This
counts as AME and is hence over and above the Northern
Ireland Executive’s DEL.
3.48 The borrowing power and arrangements are broadly,
although not exactly, equivalent to the prudential borrowing
regime available to local authorities in GB. Borrowing must
be to finance spending deemed to be capital in nature. The
purpose of the programme is to increase capital investment
over and above increases in DEL agreed with HM Treasury
in Spending Reviews.
28
Budget 2015-16
3.49 Borrowing under the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative
(RRI borrowing) is covered by the Northern Ireland (Loans)
Act 1975. This had a limit on outstanding debt of £2 billion,
which was raised to £3 billion by the Northern Ireland (Misc
Provision) Act 2006. This limit also covers loans drawn by
the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund to facilitate onward
lending to local councils.
3.50 The formal RRI borrowing limit is agreed by HM Treasury as
part of the Spending Review process. For 2015-16 this limit
was maintained at £200 million. Furthermore, under
Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC), announced
in 2013, the Executive is able to access an additional £100
million to use on shared education or housing projects. This
is profiled over three years beginning 2014-15.
3.51 The Stormont House Agreement provided the Executive with
the flexibility to use £700 million of capital borrowing to fund
a Voluntary Exit Scheme over a period of four years, with
£200 million in 2015-16, £200 million in 2016-17, £200
million in 2017-18 and £100 million in 2018-19.
3.52 It is considered that this remains an effective way to deliver a
Voluntary Exit Scheme. Each £100 million of borrowing will
cost between £3 million and £4 million a year in loan
repayments, but will yield annual savings in excess of £50
million. These are savings that can be used to deliver other
priorities.
3.53 To address concerns that this approach would limit access to
borrowing for important capital projects, the Stormont House
Agreement also provided for up to £350 million of additional
borrowing to support important capital investment projects.
The spending profile is across four years with £100 million in
2015-16, £100 million in 2016-17, £100 million in 2017-18
and £50 million in 2018-19. This therefore increases the
2015-16 RRI borrowing limit to £326.8 million.
3.54 Table 3.3 sets actual and planned borrowing from the
introduction of the RRI borrowing facility to the end of the
2015-16 period.
29
Budget 2015-16
3.55 The table includes RRI borrowing used for on-balance sheet
Private Finance Initiative (PFI). In 2007 HM Treasury
granted the Executive a concession in respect of PFI
projects. This allows the value of an on-balance sheet PFI
project (which would otherwise be a direct charge to the
Capital DEL) to be substituted for RRI borrowing on the basis
that it essentially represents ‘borrowing’, although from a
different source.
3.56 This has had the advantage of minimising the interest costs
compared to the original agreement, where the Executive
incurred the interest costs of both projects funded under RRI
borrowing and those arising from a PFI contract. However, a
change in the guidance used to assess PFI projects from
2009-10 has resulted in less PFI projects being regarded as
‘on’ balance sheet in the intervening years.
Table 3.3: Actual and Planned Use of RRI Borrowing Facility
£million
NLF Borrowing
On-Balance
Sheet PFI
Total Use of
RRI Borrowing
Facility 3
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15 (plans)
2015-16 (plans)
79.4
168.7
162.9
214.6
97.6
16.6
113.1
1
36.9
2
375.0
150.9
195.9
264.9
326.8
243.4
132.9
200.0
-
79.4
168.7
162.9
214.6
97.6
260.0
246.0
236.9
375.0
150.9
195.9
264.9
326.8
TOTAL
2,203.5
576.3
2,779.8
1
2010-11 includes borrowing to fund NICS Equal Pay claim – funded from previously undrawn
borrowing
2
2011-12 includes £175 million additional borrowing power iro Presbyterian Mutual Society rescue
package
3
In any other year total use of borrowing in excess of £200 million is due to HM Treasury approved
access to previously undrawn borrowing, or new borrowing under T:BUC or the Stormont House
Agreement
3.57 Based on the outturn and plans shown in Table 3.3, the
Executive has set aside £57.5 million to cover the forecast
annual interest repayment on RRI loans for 2015-16.
30
Budget 2015-16
3.58 The level of outstanding debt (i.e. loans drawn less principal
repaid) in respect of these RRI loans will be an estimated
£1,834 million at the end of 2015-16.
Cost of Borrowing
3.59 The Executive considers it important to give due regard to
the total level of indebtedness in respect of RRI borrowing.
Although predicted levels of outstanding debt at the end of
2015-16 are well below the total £3 billion permitted by
legislation, incurring large levels of debt that future
generations will be responsible for servicing must be
carefully managed.
3.60 The RRI borrowing facility will still have allowed an additional
£2.6 billion of additional capital expenditure in Northern
Ireland by the end of 2015-16. Therefore it has already
contributed significantly to addressing the infrastructure
deficit inherited by the Devolved Administration.
3.61 The Scottish Government under the Scotland Act 2012 has a
borrowing limit of £2.2 billion, which equates to £415 per
head of population. Our projected level of indebtedness in
2015-16 of £1.8 billion equates to £1,002 per head of
population. However, as highlighted above, it is important to
remember that the Executive has been addressing a
significant legacy of under investment.
3.62 Interest liabilities incurred in respect of RRI borrowing reduce
the level of funding available for other services. Although
interest repayments reduce over the term of the loan, the
annual interest repayment based on the loans planned to the
end of 2015-16, i.e. without taking account of any additional
borrowing, will still be approximately £33.5 million in 2024­
25. These forecasts are based on interest rates remaining at
around the current level until the end of 2015-16. Should
interest rates rise significantly before the end of 2015-16
then the forecast interest repayments will also rise.
3.63 For 2015-16, the £57.5 million budget for interest payments
in respect of RRI borrowing equates to 0.6 per cent of the
Executive’s overall non ring-fenced Resource DEL of £9.7
billion. This would appear to be a relatively small proportion
31
Budget 2015-16
but it exceeds the non ring-fenced Resource DEL budget of
each of the non-Ministerial departments, with, for example,
the Northern Ireland Assembly’s non ring-fenced Resource
DEL budget in 2015-16 being £38.7 million.
3.64 In addition, as outlined previously, the medium term forecast
of UK public expenditure shows a downward trend in
Resource DEL with the OBR showing a cash terms reduction
of approximately 11.6 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019­
20, putting further pressure on an already constrained
Resource DEL Budget.
RRI Borrowing Strategy
3.65 It is clear that the Stormont House Agreement has changed
the nature of the Executive’s approach to RRI borrowing.
The agreement that the Executive may use most of its
borrowing power over the next four years to fund a Voluntary
Exit Scheme provides a useful and necessary vehicle for
workforce planning and will generate significant long term
resource savings that will more than cover the associated
borrowing costs. In addition, the provision of a further £350
million of borrowing over four years will provide support for
important capital projects that will support economic growth.
These two factors combined mean it is likely that the
Executive’s strategy will be to maximise the use of borrowing
in the short term.
3.66 For this reason the 2015-16 Budget is predicated on the full
drawdown of available RRI borrowing. However, given the
need to be mindful of both the overall Resource DEL position
and the level of indebtedness that results from RRI
borrowing, the Executive will consider mechanisms for
capping RRI borrowing in advance of this flexibility
arrangement coming to an end in 2019. This will ensure that
the overall level of borrowing remains within manageable
limits.
EU Funding
3.67 Departmental expenditure over the budget period will include
spending that will take place under the 2014-20 EU
Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds Programmes, the
32
Budget 2015-16
Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme, and the
European Fisheries Fund Programme. In addition Northern
Ireland will also receive EU income from its 2007-13 EU
Programmes, all of which are on track to meet the regulatory
closure targets set by the European Commission.
3.68 EU funding provided through the European Commission
requires a matched funding element that Member States
may provide or, in a change for the 2014-20 programme
period, may be provided from external private sources.
3.69 Where the EU income is matched by national resources it
provides the Executive with additional spending power,
however any national match funding contributions come from
within the DEL Budget. Funding cover for national match
funding contributions in respect of EU Structural and
Investment Programmes, which was held centrally at Draft
Budget stage, has now largely been disbursed to
departments. Due to a delay in the finalisation for some
projects there remains a residual amount held centrally to be
allocated as part of the In-year Monitoring process.
33
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER FOUR: FINAL BUDGET OUTCOME
Background
4.1 There were a number of strategic considerations that the
Executive had to incorporate in the formulation of the 2015­
16 Budget. These are outlined below.
Programme for Government
4.2 In the absence of a formal Programme for Government (PfG)
that would cover the 2015-16 financial year, the Executive
agreed that the Final Budget would be predicated on a carry
forward of the five key PfG priorities. The priorities are as
follows:
• Priority 1: Growing a
Investing in the Future
Sustainable
Economy and
• Priority 2: Creating
Opportunities,
Tackling
Disadvantage and Improving Health and Well-Being
• Priority 3: Protecting Our People, the Environment
and Creating Safer Communities
• Priority 4: Building a Strong and Shared Community
• Priority 5: Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public
Services
4.3 These priorities have influenced the Executive’s key plans for
2015-16 and guided the final departmental outcomes as set
out in Chapter Five.
Budget Construction
4.4 In terms of Resource DEL, the approach to constructing a
one year Budget favoured an incremental approach. This
was reinforced by comments from pre-consultation
stakeholders. Therefore, rather than seeking to establish
departmental resource budgets from a zero base, the 2015­
16 Budget was established based on a substantive roll
forward from the 2014-15 Opening Monitoring position but
removing time-bound allocations.
34
Budget 2015-16
4.5 For Capital DEL, it was recognised that spending profiles can
be significantly different from one year to the next, reflecting
the nature of creating or purchasing capital assets. The
2015-16 Budget was therefore predicated on a zero based
approach where capital budgets were built up without
assuming any continuation of trends from preceding years.
4.6 The key stages in this approach involved an examination and
assessment of existing Executive and contractual
commitments on an evidence based approach and an
assessment of additional requirements based upon
consideration of PfG targets and relative departmental
priorities.
4.7 This work, carried out at Draft Budget stage, has largely set
the capital envelopes for departments, with some
adjustments to specific departments at Final Budget stage to
reflect emerging issues.
2014-15 Access to the Reserve
4.8 As part of the October Monitoring process the Executive
secured access to the UK Reserve of up to £100 million to
enable it to fund a number of inescapable pressures. The
Chancellor made it clear that this would be fully repayable in
2015-16. The Draft Budget set aside £100 million centrally
for this to be repaid from our Capital Budget. The Stormont
House Agreement has subsequently secured this flexibility.
Approach to Funding Water and Sewerage Services
4.9 Unlike all other areas of the UK, where water and sewerage
services are funded by consumer charges, in Northern
Ireland the services are currently primarily funded from public
expenditure. This creates pressures in other areas, due to
no funding being received via the Barnett Formula, as the
comparable service is delivered by the private sector in Great
Britain. Thus Barnett additions arising in other areas, for
example health and education, need to be diverted to cover
the associated water service costs.
4.10 The Executive has decided that it should continue to defer
the introduction of domestic water charges.
35
Budget 2015-16
Public Sector Pensions
4.11 As indicated in the Draft Budget, there has been ongoing
work with HM Treasury on the revaluation of public sector
pension schemes. The Draft Budget set aside £133.2 million
to cover this cost. The work has now been finalised and the
final cost will be £122.5 million. This will be held centrally
pending work to attribute costs to individual departments and
allocations will be made as part of the In-year Monitoring
process.
Public Sector Restructuring and Reform
4.12 At the time of the Draft Budget the Executive recognised that,
given the wider public expenditure context, there needed to
be an acceptance that the deteriorating Resource DEL
position will necessitate proactive measures to reduce the
size of the public sector pay bill.
4.13 This follows the trend across all UK
regions, with England, Scotland and Wales
having made more significant reductions to
public sector employment in earlier years.
4.14 More recently as part of the Stormont
House
Agreement,
the
Executive
recognised the need to adopt a wide range
of strategies as part of a comprehensive
Public Sector Restructuring and Reform
programme. This will be aimed at
delivering savings for the Executive but
also at improving public services.
4.15 While the preference would always be to provide increased
resources for our public services, this is simply not possible
within the constrained public expenditure environment
currently facing us.
4.16 Therefore part of this will involve looking at major workforce
restructuring across the public sector. While all possible
personnel interventions will be considered there will also
inevitably be the requirement for Voluntary Exit Schemes
across the public sector.
36
Budget 2015-16
4.17 Of course this will require setting aside funding upfront. As
part of the Stormont House Agreement the Executive has
secured approval to utilise up to £700 million of RRI
borrowing to fund a Voluntary Exit Scheme over a period of
four years. This provides for £200 million in 2015-16. This
funding is held centrally until details are finalised.
4.18 Delivering public sector restructuring and reform will be
essential in preparing the public sector for the Resource DEL
reductions anticipated over the coming years.
Support for Health and Education
4.19 For Budget 2015-16 no department has been given a
‘blanket’ protection from the impact of tightening budgets and
the need to pursue greater efficiencies in service delivery.
4.20 However, there is recognition of the need to provide a degree
of protection for front-line health and education services.
4.21 For health this has been derived by exempting front-line
health and social care from the baseline reductions facing
other departments. Additional allocations of £204 million
were also provided, resulting in a Final Budget outcome for
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
which is some 3.4 per cent higher than the baseline position.
4.22 While the education budget faced the same level of baseline
reductions as other departments, additional allocations
totalling some £252.9 million were provided. This has
resulted in a Final Budget outcome for the Department of
Education which is only 1.5 per cent less than the baseline
position.
4.23 In t he context of constrained budgetary pressures, this
provides considerable support for both our health and
education sectors.
Department of Justice
4.24 One issue that was an important consideration was the
treatment of the Department of Justice (DOJ). When policing
and justice was devolved in 2010 the UK Government put in
37
Budget 2015-16
place a specific funding package. In order to manage this
the DOJ Budget was ring-fenced.
4.25 With the exception of funding for national security measures,
which remains ring-fenced, that funding package has now
come to an end and it is only appropriate that the ring-fence
on DOJ does likewise. This will fully integrate DOJ into the
local Budget process and allow effective management of the
aggregate financial position.
4.26 In 2015-16 DOJ has received £29.5 million Resource DEL
and £1.5 million Capital DEL of ring-fenced national security
funding from HM Treasury.
Budget Outcome
Departments
4.27 The following tables set out the overall Budget outcome for
individual departments in terms of non ring-fenced Resource
DEL and ring-fenced Resource DEL.
4.28 For non ring-fenced Resource DEL the Final Budget has
allocated a further £151.6 million to departments, compared
to the Draft Budget position.
38
Budget 2015-16
TABLE 4.1: NON RING-FENCED RESOURCE DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
197.6
189.9
-3.9%
99.9
91.7
-8.3%
1,943.7
1,914.2
-1.5%
Employment and Learning
756.2
707.9
-6.4%
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
184.2
202.8
10.1%
Finance and Personnel
155.9
141.2
-9.4%
4,542.7
4,697.9
3.4%
116.6
104.2
-10.7%
1,089.0
1,044.7
-4.1%
Regional Development
335.5
333.6
-0.6%
Social Development
653.9
590.6
-9.7%
65.8
67.9
3.2%
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
1.8
2.3
24.4%
Food Standards Agency
8.5
8.4
-0.5%
40.7
38.7
-5.0%
NI Audit Office
7.9
7.6
-5.0%
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
0.1
0.2
158.7%
32.7
32.4
-1.0%
10,232.6
10,176.1
-0.6%
Agriculture and Rural Development
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Environment
Justice
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
Non Ministerial Departments
NI Assembly
Public Prosecution Service
Total Planned Spend
Totals may not add due to rounding
39
Budget 2015-16
TABLE 4.2: RING-FENCED RESOURCE DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Agriculture and Rural Development
16.0
Culture, Arts and Leisure
5.4
Education
0.6
Employment and Learning
158.1
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
3.7
Finance and Personnel
34.3
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Environment
117.5
3.5
Justice
84.1
Regional Development
108.2
Social Development
9.7
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
1.5
Non Ministerial Departments
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
0.0
Food Standards Agency
0.0
NI Assembly
3.4
NI Audit Office
0.3
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
0.1
Public Prosecution Service
1.4
Total Planned Spend
547.8
Totals may not add due to rounding
40
Budget 2015-16
Chart 4.1: 2015-16 Public Services Budget (Non Ring-fenced
Resource DEL)
4.29 As can be seen in Chart 4.1, almost half of Northern Ireland’s
non ring-fenced Resource DEL budget goes to DHSSPS.
4.30 Over a quarter of the budget is allocated for education and
skills (Department of Education 19 per cent and Department
for Employment and Learning 7 per cent)
4.31 The “Other” 18 per cent includes eight departments and
other public services such as the Northern Ireland Audit
Office and Utility Regulator.
4.32 A pie chart demonstrating the split of non ring-fenced
Resource DEL funding across departments is shown in Chart
1 in Annex A to this document.
4.33 Turning to Capital DEL, the overall funding level has shown
an increase in 2015-16 which has been primarily due to the
increased levels of Financial Transactions Capital.
41
Budget 2015-16
4.34 The Executive’s Final Budget allows for over £1.1 billion of
departmental Capital spend. In addition to this, £50 million
provided under the Stormont House Agreement for Shared
and Integrated education is being held centrally for
disbursement in-year, increasing the potential departmental
capital spend to some £1.2 billion.
4.35 This has meant that the Final Budget provides a similar level
of funding to that of the Draft Budget, when taking into
account both departmental and centrally held items.
Chart 4.2: 2015-16 Building and Infrastructure Budget (Capital
DEL)
4.36 A pie chart demonstrating the split of Capital DEL funding,
including FTC, across departments is shown in Chart 2 in
Annex A to this document.
42
Budget 2015-16
TABLE 4.3: CAPITAL DEL (NET OF RECEIPTS)
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Total
Capital
Capital Capital
Agriculture and Rural Development
34.4
-
34.4
8.1
-
8.1
146.8
-
146.8
Employment and Learning
33.2
-
33.2
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
20.0
25.3
45.3
Finance and Personnel
23.0
-
23.0
203.4
10.0
213.4
7.5
50.5
58.0
95.9
-
95.9
Regional Development
328.3
-
328.3
Social Development
122.1
2.3
124.4
4.2
-
4.2
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
0.0
-
0.0
Food Standards Agency
0.1
-
0.1
NI Assembly
1.8
-
1.8
NI Audit Office
0.0
-
0.0
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
0.0
-
0.0
Public Prosecution Service
0.8
-
0.8
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Environment
Justice
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
Non Ministerial Departments
Total Planned Spend
1,029.6
Totals may not add due to rounding
43
88.1 1,117.7
Budget 2015-16
4.37 It is worth noting two specific strategic Capital allocations:
Together: Building a United Community
4.38 As part of the “Together: Building a United Community”
strategy and the Economic Pact with the UK Government,
the Executive has negotiated £100 million of additional
borrowing power that can be utilised for shared housing or
education schemes. In July 2014 the Executive confirmed
the schemes which will benefit from the £100 million
borrowing made available to help deliver the Good Relations
Strategy projects.
4.39 These include funding for the Lisanelly shared education
campus, spending to improve the facilities at integrated
primary schools including at Omagh, Portadown and Corran,
shared neighbourhood schemes such as those at Felden Mill
and the Ravenhill Road in Belfast, and a new further
education campus in Craigavon. The 2015-16 allocations are
set out in Table 4.4.
Table 4.4: Together: Building a United Community
£million
Shared Housing / Education Schemes
Department of Education
Omagh Integrated Primary School
Portadown Integrated Primary School
Corran Integrated Primary School
Lisanelly
Total Department of Education
2015-16
2.0
0.8
1.0
8.0
11.8
Department for Employment and Learning
Craigavon Further Education College
5.0
Department for Social Development
Feldon Mill, Ravenhill Road
Mixed Tenure Loans
Total Department for Social Development
3.0
7.0
10.0
TOTAL
26.8
44
Budget 2015-16
Northern Ireland Community Safety College
4.40 An allocation of £53.3 million has been given to the
Department of Justice in relation to the Northern Ireland
Community Safety College at Desertcreat. This allocation is
dependent on both the Department of Justice putting in place
a viable project plan and agreeing the drawdown of unspent
funds from HM Treasury in 2015-16.
Change Fund
4.41 The current budgetary climate serves as a reminder of the
challenge that the Executive faces in delivering high quality
public services to citizens despite increasing demand and
reducing budgets.
4.42 Upfront investment is necessary to stimulate innovation,
improve outcomes for citizens and generate savings.
Therefore the Executive has established a £30 million
Change Fund for 2015-16. In the current budgetary climate
the Change Fund will drive forward reform initiatives.
4.43 The Fund will finance upfront investment in cross-cutting
reform initiatives and preventative measures that are
expected to generate savings in the longer term. It will assist
transformation and change in the public sector through the
introduction of new innovative ways of working.
4.44 Preventative spending will be key to encouraging innovation
in our public services and will assist in achieving better
outcomes for citizens. This in turn will contribute to savings to
the public purse in the longer term. The Change Fund is an
opportunity to implement initiatives that could alleviate
pressure on front-line services in the longer term.
4.45 As part of the Final Budget allocations have now been made
to eligible projects and these allocations are included in the
Financial Tables in Annex A.
45
Budget 2015-16
Central Items
4.46 Details of the centrally held items are included in Annex A to
this document; however, it is worth referencing specific
allocations.
EU Match Funding
4.47 While the majority of the EU match funding has been
allocated to departments, there remains
£3.6 million
Resource DEL and £1.1 million Capital DEL which is still held
centrally pending the finalisation of EU programmes across
departments. This will be allocated as part of the In-year
Monitoring process.
Public Sector Pensions
4.48 As highlighted above, a particular issue that all departments
will have to address in 2015-16 is the financial impact of the
ongoing public sector pension scheme revaluations. This
work has resulted in significant additional employer
contribution costs – particularly for the health and education
sectors. The cost for 2015-16 is expected to be £122.5
million and this has been held centrally pending work to
attribute costs to individual departments. Allocations will be
made as part of the In-year Monitoring process.
Delivering Social Change
4.49 In recognition of the Executive’s Delivering Social Change
agenda, Social Investment Fund and the commitment to
funding the Childcare Strategy Action Plan, funding is being
maintained at 2014-15 levels. This provides £11 million
Resource DEL and £15 million Capital DEL for the Social
Investment Fund along with £3 million of Resource DEL
Childcare Strategy funding. This funding is held centrally for
disbursement by Executive decision.
Together: Building a United Community
4.50 In recognition of the Executive’s Together: Building a United
Community strategy, £10 million has been held centrally for
allocation to relevant programmes and projects as part of the
2015-16 In-year Monitoring process.
46
Budget 2015-16
Asset Management Unit Receipts
4.51 The Executive has anticipated that the Asset Management
Unit will deliver £50 million of capital receipts in 2015-16.
This has been factored into the overall Capital DEL position.
Welfare Reform
4.52 The Executive’s package of measures to mitigate the impact
of welfare reform is estimated to cost £26.9 million in 2015­
16. This is predicated on the implementation of welfare
reform half way through the year. As a result £26.9 million
has been held centrally to fund these key measures. This
will be allocated to the Department of Social Development
through the In-year Monitoring process to be directed to
welfare reform initiatives.
Workforce Restructuring
4.53 As a result of the Stormont House Agreement the Executive
has the ability to fund up to £200 million of workforce
restructuring costs, in the form of a Voluntary Exit Scheme
from RRI borrowing. £200 million is therefore held centrally
pending final decisions on the operation of the Voluntary Exit
Scheme.
Stormont House Agreement – Additional Allocations
4.54 As well as additional Capital flexibilities, the Stormont House
Agreement included additional allocations of up to £30 million
Resource DEL in 2015-16 for bodies dealing with the past,
as well as up to £50 million Capital DEL for new Shared and
Integrated education projects. This funding is held centrally
and will be allocated as part of the In-year Monitoring
process.
Northern Ireland Investment Fund
4.55 Investment in infrastructure is a key driver of economic
growth. The Executive invests directly in large scale projects
such as roads, public transport, hospitals, schools and water
infrastructure, which are all areas within public sector
ownership. However, there are a number of areas where
47
Budget 2015-16
significant infrastructure investment is usually taken forward
by the private sector but where Government has a particular
interest, since investment helps to deliver on specific
Northern Ireland Executive objectives. These areas include
social and affordable housing; energy production, energy
efficiency and renewable energy; telecommunications; and
urban regeneration.
4.56 The Executive is keen to ensure that project promoters in all
of these areas have easy access to affordable project
finance. It is therefore proposing to establish a Northern
Ireland Investment Fund to support investment in local
infrastructure. This Fund may utilise some of the FTC funding
available to the Executive in 2015-16. It would also
potentially allow large international investors, including the
European Investment Bank, to invest in local projects that
would usually be too small in scale to access this type of
finance.
4.57 The Executive has agreed to commission a study into the
feasibility and extent of this Fund, which is envisaged to take
4-5 months to complete and a Project Board has now been
established to oversee the process. The feasibility study will
inform the scope, scale, design and investment strategy of a
potential Fund. This will include determining realistic and
deliverable investment need/demand, an appropriate
investment strategy and delivery options (i.e. in terms of
financial products and structures) to meet the Executive’s
objectives.
4.58 The feasibility study will also inform the ideal scale of the
Fund but in the interim the Executive has agreed that a
further £28.8 million FTC be set aside to provide a balance
for the Fund of £40.9 million. The Executive can then further
review the funding requirements once the feasibility study
has concluded.
48
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER FIVE: DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET OUTCOMES
Introduction
5.1 This chapter outlines the roles and responsibilities of
Northern Ireland departments along with detail of their Final
Budget settlements.
5.2 Departmental sections provide detail on the key issues and
challenges departments are facing in 2015-16 as well as the
impact that the Budget settlement will have on service
delivery.
49
Budget 2015-16
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)
The DARD vision is of a thriving and sustainable rural economy,
community and environment to promote social and economic
equality. The Department has five associated strategic goals:
• To help the agri-food industry prepare for future market
opportunities and economic challenges;
• To improve the lives of farmers and other rural dwellers
targeting resources where they are most needed;
• To enhance animal, fish and plant health and animal
welfare on an all Ireland basis;
• To help deliver improved sustainable environmental
outcomes; and
• To manage our business and deliver services to our
customers in a cost effective way.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
In 2015-16 the key priorities for the Department will be to deliver:
• CAP Reform including the new Rural Development
Programme;
• Actions in relation to Going for Growth;
• HQ Relocation Programme;
• Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation schemes; and
• Flood alleviation.
Financial Outlook
In common with all public sector organisations, the Department
faces unprecedented financial pressures. A non ring-fenced
Resource DEL reduction of £29.9 million in 2015-16 against
allocations of £22.6 million means that very difficult decisions have
had to be made to implement the necessary savings. However a
balanced and fair approach to finding these savings has been
taken to ensure that the needs of rural dwellers and farming
communities in particular, have been kept to the fore at all times.
In order to meet this challenge the Department is undertaking a
programme of change. The programme will review every aspect of
the Department’s business with the objective of becoming a more
modern, leaner and digital organisation.
50
Budget 2015-16
Staff Reduction
A key issue for the Department in 2015-16 will be the successful
management of the Voluntary Exit Scheme. Work has already
commenced on a new operating model (which incorporates
people, structures and services) and the Department will seek to
manage a transition during 2015-16.
HQ Relocation
DARD will continue to progress the work necessary to relocate the
Department’s headquarters to Ballykelly, Forest Service to County
Fermanagh, Fisheries Division to South Down and Rivers Agency
to the Loughry Campus at Cookstown in a cost effective way.
Implementation of Going for Growth
The Department has an important role to play in addressing the
wider economic challenge to grow and re-balance the local
economy. In conjunction with the industry and stakeholders, the
Department will seek to provide an integrated and balanced
approach to investment that supports the development of the
economy and improves profitability, job creation and access to the
global market place. This will be a key aim as the Department
takes forward implementation of the Executive’s response to
‘Going for Growth’. The Executive has agreed to make up to £250
million available to implement the recommendations that fall to
DARD.
Animal Health and Welfare
The Department will continue to maintain partnerships to help
improve animal health and protect the food chain and has
established a Strategic Partnership Group to develop a
Government/Industry long term strategy to eradicate tuberculosis.
Plant Health and Forestry
The Department will continue to maintain a high plant health
status, with particular emphasis on monitoring for emerging
disease risks to grassland and arable crops, horticulture and
forestry.
51
Budget 2015-16
Wider Rural Community
The Department will actively pursue and highlight the needs of
rural dwellers within the Executive and wider public sector. As part
of this advocacy role the Department will promote and provide
guidance on the key issues impacting rural communities, through
the process of Rural Proofing. In addition, the Department will
seek to deliver the Rural Development Programme in a timely and
effective way, by helping to ensure that the funding assists the
rural community to emerge from the economic difficulties of the
past few years. A key departmental priority will be to continue to
support the rural community through the Tackling Rural Poverty
and Social Isolation (TRPSI) programme.
Flood Alleviation
Rivers Agency is progressing major flood alleviation works in East
Belfast, at a cost of £11 million, which are planned for completion
during 2016. Other smaller flood alleviation schemes are also
being constructed and the Agency will continue to operate an
ongoing rolling programme of maintenance of designated
watercourses and flood defence assets.
North/South Co-operation
DARD will continue to work with the Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine (DAFM) to implement the actions in the AllIsland Animal Health & Welfare Strategy Action Plan and input to
the EU Animal Health Regulations to progress the aim of free
movement of animals as envisaged by the Strategy. Work is also
ongoing to ensure closer co-operation on north/south projects
within the Rural Development Programme.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The proposed Resource DEL and Capital DEL allocations will
allow the Department to continue to take forward the key priorities
set out above.
Resource DEL
On Resource DEL, the additional £22.6 million allocation will:
52
Budget 2015-16
• Provide additional funding for the TB Compensation
programme (£7.3 million);
• Provide budget for disallowance (£5.0 million);
• Improve the accuracy of data under EU Audit Compliance
Programme and associated controls (£6.3 million); and
• Provide a first step in a programme of investment to support
sustainable growth of farm businesses under the Farm
Business Improvement Scheme (FBIS) (£2.0 million);
• Continue the Department’s programme of relocation (£1.0
million); and
• Further improve the Department’s controls for managing EU
Funds and minimise disallowance (£1.0 million from the
Executive’s Change Fund).
Capital DEL
On Capital DEL, the £34.4 million allocation will allow the
Department to take forward priority investment in programmes
(£21.1 million), IT Systems (£7.0 million) and recurring Capital
(£6.3 million). The key elements include:
• progressing the Headquarter relocations as discussed
above (£4.2 million);
• extending the current TRPSI programme into 2015-16 and
replacing some of the Resource DEL budget (£1.7 million);
• taking forward the first step of the FBIS which will assist the
sustainable growth of farm and commercial horticulture
businesses (£2.0 million);
• providing new or upgrading existing infrastructure to protect
people and property from flooding from rivers and the sea
(£8.5 million); and
• opening the new DARD Direct office in Strabane (£1.1
million).
The IT Systems Capital allocation includes:
• delivering essential ICT to support developments required
for CAP Reform including systems integration and
development of the NICS EU replacement system (£5.3
million); and
• replacing the existing Animal and Public Health Information
System (APHIS) by the ICT element of the NI Food Animal
Information System (NIFAIS) programme (£1.7 million).
53
Budget 2015-16
Impact on Service Delivery
Although the Budget will allow the Department to continue to take
forward the majority of its existing schemes and programmes, the
level of the Resource DEL reductions of £29.9 million (15.1 per
cent) will present many challenges as the Department seeks to
maintain the delivery of priority services. In addition to seeking to
optimise the use of resources, the measures the Department has
identified to live within its reduced budget involve:
•
•
•
•
taking forward cost reductions measures (£3.7 million);
reducing the number of staff by 300 (£5.6 million);
raising additional revenue (£6.0 million); and
scaling back programmes (£14.6 million).
Further details on these savings can be found on the DARD
website.
European Funding
The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a critical funding
source to support farming and the wider rural economy. It consists
of two Pillars with the main farm support scheme Direct Payments
located in Pillar 1. Pillar 2 Rural Development has a focus on
improving the competitiveness of farm businesses, delivering
environmental outcomes and providing assistance to rural areas.
Approximately £300 million of EU funds are processed by the
Department each year.
CAP Reform
Reform of the CAP will have a significant impact on how the
Department operates. The new arrangements are more complex
and will require changes to procedures and systems. In line with
the target set out in the DARD 2012–2020 Business Strategy to
deliver services electronically, the Department is adopting ‘digital’
as the primary method for delivering area-based schemes. This
will mean that scheme delivery arrangements will be designed to
optimise the use of an electronic channel rather than paper which,
until now, has been the primary channel.
54
Budget 2015-16
Rural Development Programme (RDP)
The support available under the RDP is vitally important in
delivering the Department’s Strategic Goals. Funding within the
RDP will be used to support the agri-food industry through
promoting sustainable growth and competitiveness.
The
programme will deliver many of the actions falling to DARD within
the Executive’s response to ‘Going for Growth’, including the FBIS.
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
The new CFP provides greater opportunities for a regionalised
approach to fisheries management which will involve Member
States with an interest in particular sea areas working to devise
long-term management plans for the fisheries exploited by their
fleets. The Department will be working closely with its southern
counterparts on a multi-species management plan for the Irish
Sea.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department remains fully committed to the fulfilment of its
statutory equality obligations, and in line with the requirements of
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 will ensure that all new
policies and proposals are subject to a rigorous equality screening
process. All of the Department’s savings, Resource and Capital
expenditure proposals requiring equality assessment have been
subject to scrutiny through the process of completing a High Level
Impact Assessment (HLIA).
The Department considers that the majority of its proposals may
have neutral or positive equality implications. The Department
also considers that there are some negative implications and have
identified mitigating measures to help offset any disproportionate
adverse impacts. At this stage there is not enough information to
assess the full implications which could range from minor to major
equality impacts. Where this initial assessment signals the need
for further work, the Department will undertake Equality Impact
Assessments (EQIA).
55
Budget 2015-16
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Objective A
Service Delivery Group
Veterinary Service
Central Policy Group
N/S Body : Foyle, Carlingford & Irish Lights
Rivers Agency
Forest Service Agency
EU Structural Funds (Rural Dev etc)
Total Objective A
88.6
40.0
42.7
1.8
19.2
5.3
197.6
86.9
38.2
39.5
1.8
17.9
5.5
0.0
189.9
Total
197.6
189.9
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Service Delivery Group
Veterinary Service
Central Policy Group
N/S Body : Foyle, Carlingford & Irish Lights
Rivers Agency
Forest Service Agency
EU Structural Funds (Rural Dev etc)
Total Objective A
4.4
2.3
7.5
0.2
0.4
1.2
16.0
Total
16.0
Totals may not add due to rounding
56
-1.9
-4.4
-7.4
-0.7
-6.6
4.2
100.0
-3.9
-3.9
Budget 2015-16
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Service Delivery Group
Veterinary Service
Central Policy Group
N/S Body : Foyle, Carlingford & Irish Lights
Rivers Agency
Forest Service Agency
EU Structural Funds (Rural Dev etc)
Total Objective A
10.9
3.5
4.7
0.3
12.0
3.1
0.0
34.4
Total
34.4
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
57
Budget 2015-16
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL)
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is dedicated to fully
harnessing the transformative power of the creative and cultural
sectors to deliver wider social and economic change.
Through culture, arts and leisure, the Department and its arm’s
length bodies will continue to deliver innovative programmes
aimed at improving the economy and the environment; enhancing
education, health and wellbeing; and promoting social inclusion
across society.
All of DCAL’s activities support the overarching Departmental
objective of promoting equality, tackling poverty and social
exclusion. This is underlined in the DCAL Mission Statement.
DCAL’s Mission Statement is “To promote social and economic
equality, and to tackle poverty and social exclusion:
• Through systematically promoting a sustainable economic
model;
• Proactively targeting meaningful resources at sectors of
greatest inequality, within areas of greatest objective need;
• In the wider context of effectively developing tangible
opportunities and measurable outcomes for securing
excellence and equality across culture, arts and leisure; and
• Through a confident, creative, informed and healthy society
in this part of Ireland”.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
Like all other departments, DCAL faces tremendous challenges in
accomplishing its mission in 2015-16 and into the future.
The key issue facing the Department is mitigating the effect on
front-line services of the reduction in its Resource budget.
Although every effort will be made to protect these services, the
extent of budget reductions is such that no area of the
Department’s activities will remain unaffected.
58
Budget 2015-16
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Draft Budget provided the Department with an overall savings
requirement of £10 million, which represents 10 per cent of its
2014-15 Resource baseline of £99.9 million.
In the Final Budget the Department secured a further £2 million for
additional pressures in relation to NI Screen/Cinemagic, PRONI
and the production of the outline business case for the sub
regional stadia. The Department also transferred £0.2 million as
part of the 2015-16 new Council structures.
The new 2015-16 Resource Budget is £91.7 million. However, the
additional funding will not affect the need to achieve overall
savings of 10 per cent as these pressures were not funded.
Impact on Service Delivery
The Department has now reviewed its expenditure and that of its
arm’s length bodies in order to determine where the required level
of savings could be delivered while minimising the impact on front­
line services and on employment levels.
The Department has therefore determined that the 2015-16
allocation will allow the culture, arts and leisure family to deliver
the following:
Arts Council
DCAL, alongside the Arts Council, is currently working on
developing an Arts and Culture Strategy. This will look at the
potential of the arts and culture sector as a driver for the
achievement of broader social and economic goals such as social
inclusion and cohesion, urban regeneration, tourism, inward
investment, employment, development of high added value
creative industries, education and health.
Museums
National Museums NI (NMNI), with the support of the Department,
will continue to develop innovative outreach work programmes. In
addition NMNI will develop affordable opportunities for school
children to attend museums, and a further strand of NMNI’s work
59
Budget 2015-16
will centre on lifelong learning. There will also be a focus on
facilitating the increase of access to collections.
Libraries
In recognition of the important role that libraries play within local
communities, a decision has been taken to offer Libraries NI
sufficient protection to enable all existing libraries to remain open.
In addition, Libraries NI will continue to prioritise its resources to
encourage new users from areas of social deprivation to make use
of the wide range of facilities and activities on offer, whilst at the
same time provide a service for everyone. The needs of those in
rural communities will continue to be at the forefront of Libraries
NI’s outreach programme.
Sport
Sport NI will look to develop initiatives which will seek to increase
the number of people from areas of greatest need participating in
sport and continue their work in developing skills within areas of
greatest social need.
Capital
The Capital allocation in 2015-16 provides some funding to allow
the Department to meet pressing statutory, health and safety and
essential maintenance requirements in different sectors. In view of
the circumstances in which the Regional Stadia funding was
surrendered, the Executive will consider any specific in year bid
from DCAL favourably, subject to available funding.
Equality and Good Relations
Promoting equality and tackling poverty and social exclusion are
central to the Department’s mission. This will continue to be a key
priority as the Department manages the proposed savings in the
Resource budget. Consequently, the Department intends to carry
out a full equality impact assessment on savings proposals.
60
Budget 2015-16
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Objective A
Arts
Museums
Libraries
Sport
Cultural Policy
Inland Waterways & Inland Fisheries
N/S Body - Languages
N/S Body - Waterways Ireland
Public Record Office (NI)
Total Objective A
16.3
16.2
33.9
12.4
0.9
5.6
6.3
4.4
4.0
99.9
15.2
14.2
31.2
11.9
0.8
4.9
5.6
3.9
3.9
91.7
Total
99.9
91.7
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Arts
Museums
Libraries
Sport
Cultural Policy
Inland Waterways & Inland Fisheries
N/S Body - Languages
N/S Body - Waterways Ireland
Public Record Office (NI)
Total Objective A
0.1
2.8
0.4
0.6
0.1
0.8
0.6
5.4
Total
5.4
Totals may not add due to rounding
61
-7.1
-12.0
-7.9
-3.6
-11.2
-12.1
-11.2
-11.1
-1.1
-8.3
-8.3
Budget 2015-16
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Arts
Museums
Libraries
Sport
Cultural Policy
Inland Waterways & Inland Fisheries
N/S Body - Waterways Ireland
Public Record Office (NI)
Total Objective A
2.2
0.5
0.9
2.5
0.4
0.5
0.3
0.8
8.1
Total
8.1
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
62
Budget 2015-16
Department of Education (DE)
The Department’s vision is for “an education system that is
recognised internationally for the quality of its teaching and
learning and for the achievements of its young people, and of an
education service that has at its centre a focus on the needs of
children and young people”.
The Department wants to see every young person achieving to his
or her full potential at each stage of his or her development. This is
supported by the following five goals:
•
•
•
•
•
Raising standards for all;
Closing the performance gap, increasing access and equity;
Developing the education workforce;
Improving the learning environment; and
Transforming the governance and management of
education.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
Good educational outcomes at all levels are a key determinant in
achieving sustainable, long term economic growth in the region,
and promoting wealth and job creation to the benefit of all citizens.
Delivering a stable economic base and rebalancing our economy
will only be possible with increased education and skills levels
among the current and future workforce by ensuring better
outcomes for all pupils, particularly in terms of literacy, numeracy
and ICT.
The future success of our economy, and of society in general,
depends on there being a high quality education service that can
compete with the best internationally. Equally, all of our young
people have the right to a quality education that enables them to
reach their full potential, a right enshrined not only in our own
legislation but in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
While very much welcoming the significant increase to the
Department’s final allocation, the Budget 2015-16 outcome for
Education remains challenging. It is important that in meeting that
63
Budget 2015-16
challenge, the key issues of raising standards and delivering front­
line services are maintained, and that the finite resources available
are prioritised carefully and used to greatest effect.
The Department’s Resource Budget allocation covers funding
associated with providing education and youth services. The
increase in funding as provided for in the Final Budget will be
directed to a range of front-line services, with the vast majority
going to the Aggregated Schools Budget.
Capital allocations support investments in education assets,
including School and Youth facilities, which will provide or underpin
services in the longer term.
The Department’s Capital Budget allocation has been significantly
reduced. In order to minimise the impact on longer term projects,
the major capital programmes have been prioritised. The capital
investment secured as a result of the Stormont House Agreement
for Integrated and Shared Education projects will greatly assist in
reducing the pressure on the Department’s Capital budget.
The Department received an allocation of £1.6 million for Nurture
Units from the Executive’s Change Fund. These Nurture Units are
an innovative approach to addressing social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties in very young children. During 2015-16 the
units will be able to directly assist around 200 additional children.
Impact on Service Delivery
Nearly four fifths of the Education budget relates to the Aggregated
Schools Budget and the Education Authority’s Block Grant. These
budgets provide the core funding for individual schools and for
Special Education, School Meals and Transport respectively.
Hence making significant reductions, without directly impacting
upon such services, is extremely difficult without placing an
unsustainable level of reduction on the remainder of the Education
budget.
In determining strategic priorities, the Department will focus on
protecting these front-line services as far as possible, promoting
equality and raising education standards.
64
Budget 2015-16
The Resource budget position for Education in 2015-16 underlines
the importance of ensuring that there is a strategically planned
estate of sustainable schools. While respecting diversity in
education, there is clearly considerable scope for a more coherent
approach to area based planning based on a network of viable and
sustainable schools.
European Funding
The Department will be involved in the PEACE IV Programme
during 2015-16.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department is committed to ensuring that it fulfils its duties
under Section 75 (1) and (2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in
relation to having due regard to the need to promote equality of
opportunity and to have regard to desirability of promoting good
relations.
Tackling educational inequalities and disadvantage is a core
priority for the Department and the budget will continue to be
deployed in support of this objective. The promotion of equality of
opportunity and good relations is also an important part of ongoing
policy development, legislative activities and operational
programmes. An initial high level assessment had been
undertaken in relation to the Draft Budget proposals and they were
largely considered to have no or minor impacts. Potential equality
implications will be kept under review as final decisions on
allocations are made and measures implemented. In managing the
proposed Resource budget reductions, the Department is making
every effort to protect front-line services whilst cutting out
unnecessary administration.
65
Budget 2015-16
Department of Education - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final Budget Outcome
Final
%
Budget Change
1,943.7
1,914.2
Decisions on the allocation of the Education Budget 2015-16 have not yet been finalised, and are still being
considered by the Education Minister.
Department of Education - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Final Budget Outcome
0.6
Decisions on the allocation of the Education Budget 2015-16 have not yet been
finalised, and are still being considered by the Education Minister.
Department of Education - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Final Budget Outcome
146.8
Decisions on the allocation of the Education Budget 2015-16 have not yet been finalised,
and are still being considered by the Education Minister.
This department’s outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
66
-1.5
Budget 2015-16
Department for Employment and Learning (DEL)
The Department’s overall aim is “to promote learning and skills, to
prepare people for work and to support the economy”. It is
responsible for further and higher education, training and skills and
employment programmes. In pursuing its aim the Department’s
key objectives are:
• To promote economic, social and personal development
through high quality learning, research and skills training;
and
• To help people into employment and promote good working
practices.
The Department seeks to achieve these objectives through four
key areas of activity:
• Enhancing the provision of learning and skills, including
entrepreneurship, enterprise, management and leadership;
• Increasing the level of research and development, creativity
and innovation in the Northern Ireland economy;
• Helping individuals to acquire jobs, including self
employment, and improving the linkages between
employment programmes and skills development; and
• The development and maintenance of the framework of
employment rights and responsibilities.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
In pursuit of this aim and these objectives, the Department has
committed itself to an ambitious and challenging agenda in 2015­
16, set in the context of the Executive’s Programme for
Government and Economic Strategy and Northern Ireland’s Skills
Strategy Success through Skills – Transforming Futures. In
addition to its existing extensive range of programmes and
services, during 2015-16 the Department will take forward the
development and implementation of a number of important new
aspects of policy including:
• The development and implementation of the new Youth
Training system;
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Budget 2015-16
• The development and implementation of the new,
employer-led Apprenticeships system in line with the
Apprenticeships Strategy Securing Our Success;
• The implementation of the recommendations contained in
the Independent Careers Review 2014, and the
recommendations of the Employment and Learning
Committee Inquiry into Careers (October 2013), in
conjunction with the Department of Education;
• Continued delivery of the Higher Education Strategy
Graduating to Success, in particular through continued
rebalancing of provision to support the economy;
• The development of a refreshed strategy for the further
education sector to update Further Education Means
Business;
• The development of the United Youth Programme and
implementation of pilots as part of the Together: Building a
United Community strategy;
• The implementation of the new Northern Ireland European
Social Fund (ESF) programme to provide funding for
programmes supporting those who need assistance in
accessing the labour market and securing employment; and
• Subject to the support of the Assembly, the enactment of an
Employment Bill to update Northern Ireland’s employment
legislation.
Implementing this wide-ranging agenda will present major
challenges in terms of delivery capacity and capability. However
the single biggest challenge facing the Department arises from the
significant reduction in the Department’s budget allocation in 2015­
16 compared with its allocation in 2014-15. This will require
reductions in a number of areas of programme spend, resulting in
an inability to deliver the same volume of services as in the
previous year, and also in the staffing resource in the Department,
reducing delivery capacity. The Department will participate in the
Northern Ireland Civil Service Voluntary Exit Scheme with a view
to reducing its pay bill costs to free up resources for spending on
its programmes and to meet budget reductions in 2015-16 and
beyond. This will require careful management to mitigate the risk
of loss of business continuity which inevitably accompanies such
staffing upheaval.
In addressing the impact of this very challenging budget reduction
in 2015-16 the Department will focus on two broad priorities:
68
Budget 2015-16
• To maintain programmes designed to contribute to the
growth and transformation of the Northern Ireland economy
through the skills agenda; and
• To protect programmes for the most vulnerable in our
society.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
Resource Budget
The Resource budget for 2015-16 is £707.9 million which includes
allocations of £13 million under the Change Fund. Including the
new Change Fund allocations, the reduction from 2014-15 is some
£48 million (6.4 per cent). Of course, excluding the ring-fenced
Change Fund allocations the reduction amounts to £62 million. In
addition, funding totalling £35 million in 2014-15 previously
allocated for the Youth Employment Scheme, the Economy & Jobs
Initiative and Pathways to Success will cease with effect from 31
March 2015 as these were time-bound initiatives.
Capital Budget
The Capital budget for 2015-16 is £33 million which represents a
reduction of £22 million from the 2014-15 Capital budget of £55
million.
Change Fund
The Department is committed to transforming and reforming the
local economy through the continuing provision of a skilled
workforce. The Executive’s Change Fund for 2015-16 will provide
funding for upfront investment in order to achieve longer term
benefits. The aim of the Change Fund is to encourage innovation
in the public sector and support the introduction of new and/or
proven ways of working and to support transformational change
required to sustain medium to long term efficiency measures. The
Department is committed to reform and innovation in its policies
and programmes and has been allocated £13 million for bids
submitted to the Change Fund which will allow the Department to:
• Provide Essential Skills courses to 14-16 year olds as a
supplementary programme to support better achievement in
GCSE english and maths for pupils in schools and support
teacher professional development in these areas;
69
Budget 2015-16
• Target and support all Employment Service clients who
have health-related barriers to work;
• Run a number of pilots to inform a young-person-centred
programme for the United Youth Programme;
• Run pilots for the new Apprenticeships and Youth Training
systems to provide higher level skills and establish a flexible
system that ensures progression into an apprenticeship,
further education, or sustained employment; and
• To develop more collaborative approaches to increasing the
level of relevance and use of skills across all key economic
sectors.
Meeting the Challenges
In light of the size and scale of this reduction, the Department has
considered and identified a range of options to address the
anticipated Departmental pressures in 2015-16. These identified
reductions amount to approximately £33 million.
To help deliver the balance of savings required the Department
will:
• Reduce Departmental administration costs through
improving the efficiency of the delivery of services, although
the quantum of savings required means that staffing
reductions will have to be made. It is anticipated that the
Department may aim to reduce its staffing complement by
up to 400 posts, out of a total staffing level of just over
2,000; approximately half of these post reductions relate to
plans already in place, with the remainder arising from the
2015-16 budget allocation. By reducing its pay bill costs the
Department will aim to mitigate the impact of the budget
reduction on its programme expenditure. It is, however,
recognised that the full savings may not be realised in
2015-16 as the proposed Voluntary Exit Scheme will take
time to be implemented. The Department is reviewing
where these posts could be identified in order to protect
front-line service delivery wherever possible;
• Review how further education colleges could operate more
efficiently through, for example, the development of shared
services facilities;
70
Budget 2015-16
• Take a more strategic approach to Youth Training,
consolidating provision into a more streamlined set of
programmes;
• Make better and more strategic use of ESF money by
minimising duplication between the programmes funded;
the focus of the ESF programme will be mainly on Level 1
provision and other support required by learners with
barriers to employability, in which voluntary and community
providers have particular expertise;
• Work with the higher education sector to identify and
eradicate any inefficiencies in their operations and permit
greater flexibility in the use of budgets to ensure that priority
needs can be met;
• Rigorously examine all areas of expenditure to identify any
spend that creates inefficiencies or inflexibilities which,
because of the magnitude of the budget reductions now
being imposed on the Department, can no longer be
justified;
• Explore the potential for increasing income; and
• Review ways to seek alternative funding mechanisms for
capital projects, for example, through greater use of FTC.
Impact on Service Delivery
A resource reduction of £62 million will not be delivered through
efficiencies alone and it is inevitable that the budget outcome will
have a significant impact on the Department’s ability to deliver its
key strategic services.
Given the scale of the reductions necessary, all business areas
must contribute and will be expected to improve their operational
efficiency.
The level of reductions for the Department will have an impact on
higher education institutions. Although the Department and higher
education institutions will make every effort to maintain
undergraduate places, it is likely that there will be reductions. The
reductions will also have an adverse impact on other areas such
as the universities’ research capabilities, the overall student
experience, the number of courses on offer, and their ability to
attract top academics and international students.
71
Budget 2015-16
The further education reductions will have a direct impact on the
number of places available in further education. Although the
Department and further education colleges will make every effort
to maintain places, it is inevitable that there will be reductions. It is
likely that the budget reduction will lead to staff losses and a
significant reduction in student enrolments.
Reductions to the skills in industry budget will impact on the
quantity of training provided to business, especially for small and
medium-sized enterprises. It will impact on the Department’s
objective of up-skilling staff in the workforce. Similarly, the
reduction in funding for management and leadership programmes
will reduce the numbers of individuals trained by as much as 70
per cent.
The capacity of the front-line functions of the Employment Service
has largely been protected through a combination of efficiency and
budgetary provisions elsewhere in the service. Any reductions in
the Department’s staffing budgets will impact adversely on service
delivery and could result in failure to deliver the suite of services
required to meet business objectives and client needs.
The budget reductions will impact adversely on the Department’s
ability to trial new approaches to tackling long standing socio­
economic problems such as Northern Ireland’s high levels of
economic inactivity.
The Department was planning to invest Capital in the higher and
further education sectors in line with the 2014-15 budget
allocation. The Capital budget reduction of £22 million for 2015-16
will mean a curtailment of the Department’s ability to invest in
capital projects at the level of previous years’ investments. The
Department is examining the scope for using alternative Capital
funding mechanisms to support its Capital investment programme.
European Funding
The Department is the Managing Authority for the Northern Ireland
ESF Programme 2014-2020, the successor to the Northern Ireland
ESF Programme 2007-2013. The strategic aim of the ESF
Programme 2014-2020 is to combat poverty and enhance social
inclusion by reducing economic inactivity and to increase the skills
base of those currently in work and those future potential
participants in the workforce.
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Budget 2015-16
This aim will be realised through the implementation of three
thematic objectives. These are:
• Promoting sustainable and quality employment and
supporting labour mobility;
• Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty and any
discrimination; and
• Investing in education, training and vocational training for
skills and life-long learning.
The Department will face a challenge in ensuring that the
appropriate level of 25 per cent Departmental contribution is in
place to enable projects submitted under the programme to
proceed and to enable the drawdown of ESF funds. The extent of
any shortfall in the Department’s ability to provide match funding
will not be known until all of the applications submitted under the
ESF programme have been considered.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department gives priority to promoting equality of opportunity
and to good relations, and ensuring fair and inclusive delivery of its
programmes and services. A high level impact assessment of the
budget reduction has been prepared and will be published on the
Department’s website. Equality screening of individual measures
will be completed. The high level impact assessment shows that
the reductions in the budget will have adverse impacts on a
number of Section 75 categories. The adverse impacts will be
addressed by utilising the individual screening documents for each
programme reduction.
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Budget 2015-16
Department for Employment and Learning - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Employment and Skills
Higher Education (inc Teacher Training)
Student Support and Postgraduate Awards
Labour Market Services
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective A
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
380.5
203.2
140.5
32.0
756.2
342.5
186.5
125.4
33.1
0.4
687.9
-10.0
Final Budget Allocation
-8.2
-10.7
3.3
100.0
-9.0
20.0
Total
756.2
707.9
-6.4
Totals may not add due to rounding
Confirmation of the apportionment of the Final Budget allocation is still to be determined by DEL and will be presented to
the Assembly in their Main Estimate.
Department for Employment and Learning - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Employment and Skills
Higher Education (inc Teacher Training)
Student Support and Postgraduate Awards
Labour Market Services
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective A
15.0
1.7
141.0
0.5
158.1
Total
158.1
Totals may not add due to rounding
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Budget 2015-16
Department for Employment and Learning - Capital DEL
£million
Objective and Spending Area
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective A
Employment and Skills
Higher Education (inc Teacher Training)
Labour Market Services
Total Objective A
17.7
15.5
33.2
Total
33.2
Totals may not add due to rounding
This Department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
75
Budget 2015-16
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI)
The Executive’s Programme for Government places the Economy
as its top priority with the aim of achieving long term economic
growth by improving competitiveness, and to build a larger and
more export-driven private sector. The focus is on rebuilding the
labour market in the wake of the economic downturn and
rebalancing the economy to improve the wealth and living
standards of everyone. The Executive’s Economic Strategy details
how sustainable economic growth and prosperity will be delivered
across Government through rebalancing and rebuilding the
economy.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
The key aims and objectives of the Department for 2015-16 align
with the key priorities identified in the Economic Strategy. This
includes delivery of initiatives to rebalance the Northern Ireland
economy in the medium to longer term in the following key areas:
• Stimulating innovation, Research and Development and
creativity;
• Increasing collaboration between business, Higher
Education/Further Education and public sector;
• Attracting and embedding greater levels of higher value
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI);
• Growing and diversifying the export base;
• Increasing the economic contribution of the tourism sector;
• Encouraging business growth (including social economy
and reducing the regulatory burden); and
• Developing our telecoms and energy infrastructure.
In the short term, the Department will continue to take action to
rebuild the local labour market and address the impact of the
global economic downturn by promoting investment and offering
accessible job opportunities, particularly for those in areas of
economic disadvantage.
Significant progress has been made in recent years on the
implementation of the Economic Strategy and helping to support
the economy recovery. Over the period of the Programme for
Government, to date over 34,400 new jobs have been promoted
and £2.5 billion investment commitments secured, in spite of the
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Budget 2015-16
very negative impact of a sustained economic downturn. The
Department has also continued to develop our infrastructure as a
crucial element to economic growth and has invested significantly
in improving and extending our telecoms networks in supporting
business and citizens.
Whilst the improvements in the local economy are welcome and
contribute towards improving Northern Ireland’s prosperity, the
recovery is still fragile and much remains to be done to ensure it is
sustained. We need to build on the steps that have been taken
and there is still a strong need to rebalance the economy.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Department non ring-fenced Resource DEL has increased by
10.1 per cent in comparison to the 2015-16 baseline position and
by 0.1 per cent compared with the estimated 2014-15 outturn.
Conventional gross Capital DEL of £33.2 million (inclusive of
expenditure funded by receipts) has been allocated, together with
an allocation of £25.3 million FTC.
In terms of allocations, Invest NI has been allocated funding to
meet legally binding commitments which result from its
unprecedented successes in the last few years in promoting new
jobs, driving investment in research and development and securing
new inward investment. Invest NI has also been allocated £7.1
million from the Change Fund in relation to a joint bid with the
Department for Employment and Learning towards support for
increases in the relevance and use of skills across all key
economic sectors.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has been allocated funding to
address inescapable commitments following the successes of
Northern Ireland in attracting prestigious international events.
These events will build on Northern Ireland’s reputation as a world
class venue for hosting events and, in doing so, will attract
thousands of tourists to the country.
The Department has been allocated a further £0.25 million from
the Change Fund for a Health, Innovation and Life Sciences Hub
pilot project.
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Budget 2015-16
Invest NI
Invest NI will continue to target inward investment and promote
domestic investment, provide trade support, and support private
sector investment in R&D. The allocation would enable the
promotion of additional new jobs; a leveraging of R&D investment;
and continued investment in trade promotion in support of export
sales growth.
Invest NI will have a key challenge in terms of prioritising
resources towards funding projects and activities that maximise
the return to the Northern Ireland economy. Additionally, Invest NI
will focus on maximising its uptake of EU funding in areas that
provide the best return to the Northern Ireland economy.
Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB)
The Budget will allow for continued investment in tourism as a key
driver of the economy and seek to increase its economic
contribution in line with the Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland.
Opportunities to boost tourism during 2015 will be exploited,
including the Irish Open, Giro Gran Fondo and Tall Ships 2015.
Funding will also be made available for other such events in 2015­
16.
Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI)
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland will be
guided by the strategy - “Health and Safety at Work – Protecting
Lives, Not Stopping Them”, the focus of which is the better
regulation of health and safety at work. This Strategy will also
reduce the perceived burden on business arising from Health and
Safety requirements. HSENI will also support the continued
development and implementation of the innovative Farm Safety
Partnership Action Plan.
Consumer Council (CCNI)
The Consumer Council will continue to implement its statutory
remit to represent consumers in the areas of transport, energy and
water, and to educate consumers on their rights and
responsibilities. The budget allocation will also be used to create
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Budget 2015-16
opportunities and tackle disadvantage in the areas of financial
capability, fuel poverty and consumer education.
Tourism Ireland
The Tourism Ireland budget allocation will be used to promote
overseas visitors coming to Northern Ireland, and support Northern
Ireland to realise its tourism potential.
InterTradeIreland
InterTradeIreland will deliver a portfolio of cross border Innovation
activities, and will continue to provide its Information & Advice
Services and Business Networks.
Energy
The Department will work with the economic regulator NIAUR and
private sector energy companies to deliver on the key energy
goals within the Strategic Energy Framework (SEF) 2010, namely:
building competitive energy markets; ensuring security of supply;
enhancing sustainability and development of our energy
infrastructure; and increasing the level of electricity and heat from
renewable sources in line with the proposed SEF targets to 2020.
Telecommunications
The Department will work to ensure that a broadband service
remains available to any customer regardless of where they live or
do business. It will also engage with the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport to secure Northern Ireland funding to roll out
faster broadband services.
Support for R&D and Innovation
The Department will continue to support and encourage the growth
of Northern Ireland’s knowledge and innovation based economy
through the work of Matrix and by support to high tech start ups
through innovative programmes such as Connect.
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Budget 2015-16
Meeting Obligations
Funding has been allocated in 2015-16 in relation to estimated
liabilities that will arise in regard to the Department’s obligation to
meet approved asbestos-related claims.
Capital
The Capital DEL allocation will support the Department’s activities
and projects across a number of investment measures. The
allocation would provide funding for:
•
•
•
•
•
Invest NI’s existing capital commitments and the provision
of Selective Financial Assistance (SFA) support to new
projects on an ongoing basis;
NITB capital investment on HMS Caroline, a key heritage
and tourism asset of National and International
significance;
Continued work on a telecoms superfast broadband
extension programme;
Commencement
of
the
strategically
important
infrastructure project to bring gas to the west of Northern
Ireland; and
Support towards the planned expansion of the Northern
Ireland Science Park.
FTC will be used by Invest NI to support a range of projects
including an Agri-food Loan Scheme, Access to Finance
programmes and to develop projects for the sustainable use of
poultry litter. The department will also use this funding stream to
support the planned expansion of the Northern Ireland Science
Park in tandem with the capital investment support detailed above.
Impact on Service Delivery
Whilst the Department received additions in the Budget to meet
existing commitments to jobs and investments projects and for
commitments to international events, the Budget agreement also
requires significant savings to be made totalling £27.9 million.
These savings will be delivered across the Department and its six
arm’s length bodies.
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Budget 2015-16
There is a focus on reduction in administration costs across the
public sector. The Department and its arm’s length bodies will
realise savings by adopting measures including cutting back on
planned recruitment, suppressing unfilled vacancies, reducing
overtime working and seeking access to Voluntary Exit Schemes.
The new European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Programme for 2014-20 does not support tourism activity which
had been a feature of the previous ERDF Programme. As a result,
NITB will no longer have access to £2 million EU funding annually
for marketing activity. NITB’s destination marketing budget will be
subject to significant reductions and Tourism Ireland’s budget will
also be subject to reductions. Funding towards both national and
international events will be lower in 2015-16.
HSENI plans to reduce staff headcount and reduce its other
operating costs, including training and travel. The body will seek to
work with key partners in the private sector to offset the impact of
programme reductions as far as is possible in areas such as farm
safety.
CCNI will reduce its administration costs, and will scale back its
work programme across a number of areas including advertising
and consumer research.
The Department’s contribution to the InterTradeIreland budget will
also be reduced compared with 2014-15.
European Funding
The European Union remains a key source of funding for the
Department and its agencies. ERDF funding from the Sustainable
Competitiveness Programme and the Investment for Growth and
Jobs Programme will help deliver a range of Invest NI’s core
initiatives. It will be focused on delivering key economic drivers by
supporting business based research and technological
development, innovation activity, and the competitiveness of SMEs
at regional and local level. This will be done through the provision
of advice, grants, and financial instruments such as equity and
loan funds.
In respect of tourism activity, European funding will support the
development of the Belfast Convention Centre and a number of
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Budget 2015-16
smaller projects across Northern Ireland which aim to increase
visitor numbers and corresponding visitor spend as well as
enhancing the overall visitor experience.
As we face increasing pressure on public expenditure it is also
important that companies and researchers succeed in securing
R&D funding from outside Northern Ireland. In line with the
Executive’s priority to drawn down additional elective funding from
Europe, we have put in place a network of research experts to help
businesses and researchers successfully compete for funding from
Horizon 2020, the European Union’s flagship Research and
Innovation Programme.
We will also draw down funding from the INTERREG IVA
programme to support a range of projects such as the Gobbins cliff
path and number of business support programmes designed to
enhance the economy of the region.
Equality and Good Relations
In overall terms the Budget outcome for DETI has the potential to
positively impact on each of the Section 75 groupings given the
allocations to meet known commitments in Invest NI and NITB and
which will assist in delivering economic growth, employment
opportunities, wealth creation, and tourism activity.
The Budget outcome will mean that reductions will be applied
across the Department and all of its arm’s length bodies. Whilst
there is potential for negative impacts on each Section 75
grouping, the Department will act to mitigate negative impacts
where possible.
The Department’s policies promote equality of opportunity for
Section 75 groupings. At this stage there is no indication that there
would be a differential impact within the Section 75 groups of the
potential positive and negative impacts noted above.
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Budget 2015-16
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
Objective A
Economic Development, Policy & Research
Economic Infrastructure/Energy & Minerals
Invest Northern Ireland
Development of Tourism
Tourism Ireland Ltd.
N/S Body - Inter Trade Ireland
EU Support for Economic Development
Business Regulatory Services
Health & Safety Executive For NI
Total Objective A
19.4
3.1
116.0
14.8
14.1
3.2
1.4
5.4
6.8
184.2
17.5
3.0
132.6
21.7
12.0
2.7
2.7
4.7
5.9
202.8
-9.9
Total
184.2
202.8
Objective and Spending Area
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Economic Development, Policy & Research
Economic Infrastructure/Energy & Minerals
Invest Northern Ireland
Development of Tourism
Tourism Ireland Ltd.
N/S Body - Inter Trade Ireland
EU Support for Economic Development
Business Regulatory Services
Health & Safety Executive For NI
Total Objective A
0.6
2.6
0.3
0.1
0.1
3.7
Total
3.7
Totals may not add due to rounding
83
-2.9
14.3
46.2
-14.8
-15.0
93.9
-11.8
-13.0
10.1
10.1
Budget 2015-16
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Capital
Capital
Total
Capital
Objective A
Economic Development, Policy &
Research
Economic Infrastructure/Energy & Minerals
Invest Northern Ireland
Development of Tourism
N/S Body - Inter Trade Ireland
EU Support for Economic Development
Business Regulatory Services
Total Objective A
1.0
6.1
17.9
3.1
0.9
-9.0
20.0
9.4
15.9
25.3
1.0
15.5
33.8
3.1
0.9
-9.0
45.3
Total
20.0
25.3
45.3
Totals may not add due to rounding
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Budget 2015-16
Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
The overall aim of the Department is “to help the Executive secure
the most appropriate and effective use of resources and services
for the benefit of the community”.
In pursuing this aim the key objective of the Department is to
deliver quality, cost effective and efficient public services and
administration in the Department’s areas of executive
responsibility.
DFP has a critical role in working with departments to ensure value
for money, sound financial management and accountability in line
with the financial processes set by the Executive and has a
responsibility to ensure that corporate NICS human resource
policies and services support Departments in meeting their
business aims. The Department also has a vital role to play in
providing momentum, focus and structure to public sector reform.
The rating system is the main financial flexibility currently available
to the Executive and DFP has responsibility for both policy and
operational delivery.
A significant part of the Department’s resources are utilised in
providing a range of common corporate services, primarily to NICS
departments, in the areas of HR, training, finance, ICT, property
management, legal and statistical services, and procurement.
In addition to this, the Department provides a range of front-line
services, for example, in the areas of civil registration, rates
collection, valuation, land registration and mapping information,
and is responsible for the NI Direct programme.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
The priorities for the Department in 2015-16 will be:
• Managing and monitoring public expenditure in line with the
Executive’s priorities;
• Delivering sufficient cost reductions to ensure the
Department does not exceed its expenditure allocation;
• Supporting departments in meeting their staffing
requirements through effective NICS workforce planning;
• Facilitating reform across the NICS and wider public sector;
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Budget 2015-16
• Delivering, high quality, effective services to NICS
departments and the wider public sector;
• Maximising the collection of rates revenue;
• Continuing to improve access to government services and
information in Northern Ireland;
• Improving the commissioning and delivery of infrastructure
projects;
• Preparing for the introduction of a Northern Ireland rate of
Corporation Tax for profits generated by trading activities;
and
• Developing effective rating policy that ensures that sufficient
revenue is available to supplement public expenditure and
help pay for essential services/investment, but ensuring that
reliefs concentrate on households least able to pay and
businesses that are worth supporting.
The key focus will be on the need to maintain service delivery
levels across the Department as far as possible, whilst pursuing a
significant programme of measures to both reduce costs and
increase income to ensure the Department can manage within its
budget allocation.
It is important that in addressing the short term challenges that the
2015-16 budget brings, that consideration is still given to the need
to drive longer term measures that will assist both DFP and the
wider public sector in meeting our budget challenges in future
years.
In particular, the Public Sector Reform Division will work
collaboratively with departments, business areas and front-line
staff, as a catalyst and an enabler of reform and Enterprise Shared
Services will work with other public sector organisations to
facilitate them in benefitting from the economies of scale that using
our shared services brings.
The NI Direct Programme will continue to enhance the citizen’s
experience of government and drive down costs through pursuing
its aim of improving and simplifying access for citizens to
government services through a range of channels including
internet, telephone, SMS and social media.
The Department will also play its role in delivering the Executive’s
Asset Management Strategy, by delivering the strands relating to
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Budget 2015-16
collaborative procurement and the Reform of
Management, further driving savings through
management of our contracts and office estate.
Property
effective
The sustainability and acceptability of the current rating system is
an issue. In 2015-16 the Department will initiate a review of
business rates and re-engineer policy on rates support for working
age households to complement wider changes occurring under
welfare reform.
Land & Property Services (LPS) will continue to work vigorously to
deliver its portfolio of services to customers, and in particular
increase the level of collectable rates and to reduce the amount of
year end debt, whilst recognising the difficult economic situation
which is impacting on the rate payers’ ability to pay. LPS will also
strive to optimise the strategic use of Northern Ireland land and
property data and information.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Department has been allocated a non ring-fenced Resource
DEL budget of £141.2 million for 2015-16. This is a 9.4 per cent
reduction on the 2015-16 baseline and includes a £1.6 million
allocation from the Change Fund to progress specific reforms in
the public sector.
The Department will be required to make some difficult and
challenging decisions to enable it to live within the allocated
budget while maintaining business critical services.
The Department’s Capital allocation of £23 million will enable DFP
to invest in refurbishment work to facilitate lease consolidation and
provide modern, open plan office space. This will not only reduce
the overall footprint and operational costs associated with the
Northern Ireland Government office estate but also transfer staff
into more acceptable working environments.
Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) shared services will continue
to maintain and develop the systems which support the essential
accounting, human resources and ICT services that it provides to
its customers. Other line of business IT system developments will
also be supported.
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Budget 2015-16
The funding allocation will support a new General Registration
Office registration system which will provide a more streamlined
and efficient service, and will enable the completion of a new Civil
Service Pensions IT system to administer the new Career Average
Scheme which will be introduced in April 2015.
Impact on Service Delivery
The main impact will principally be on the services delivered to
other departments in particular by Enterprise Shared Services. For
example, volume recruitment has been postponed and there will
inevitably be a reduction in the levels of planned maintenance.
Priority will be given to meet legislative and statutory
responsibilities to provide safe, healthy and sustainable
environments.
With such a significant percentage of the Department’s spend
attributable to wages and salaries it will be impossible to leave
staff costs untouched. The Department will seek to identify where
reductions in staff numbers will have the least impact on our
services, particularly those that are public facing.
European Funding
The EU budget allocation will allow the Department to fulfil its
commitments under the PEACE III and INTERREG IV
programmes. The allocation will provide support to projects under
the INTERREG IVA Programmes Public Sector Collaboration
theme priority. The aim of the theme is to promote cross-border
co-operation and the exchange of expertise, information and best
practice between public sector bodies and other relevant
stakeholders. The allocation will also support technical assistance
costs which facilitate and support the management, monitoring,
evaluation and publicity requirements of the PEACE III and
INTERREG IV as required by European Commission regulations.
In addition initial allocations have been included which will support
the management, monitoring, evaluation and publicity
requirements of the 2014-2020 PEACE IV and INTERREG V
programmes. These allocations will be further refined during 2015­
16 as the programmes get final approval from the EU.
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Budget 2015-16
Equality and Good Relations
The Department has assessed each of the budget reduction
measures for likely equality impacts and a high level impact
assessment has been completed for the overall cost reductions.
The assessment of these proposals revealed neutral impact in
relation to Section 75 groups and this has been reflected in the
High Level Impact Assessment that was completed at the time of
the Draft Budget announcement.
The Department’s Capital spending plans were also subject to
Equality Impact Assessments and again these revealed a neutral
impact in relation to Section 75 groups.
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Budget 2015-16
Department of Finance and Personnel - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
%
Baseline Budget Change
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Finance & Personnel Policy & Other Services
NICS Shared Services
NI Statistics & Research Agency
Land & Property Services
EU Programmes
Special EU Programmes Body
NICS Accommodation Services
Total Objective A
22.2
39.3
9.6
19.5
0.8
1.4
63.2
155.9
19.6
39.4
9.1
18.7
1.3
1.4
51.8
141.2
-11.7
Total
155.9
141.2
-9.4
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department of Finance and Personnel - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Finance & Personnel Policy & Other Services
NICS Shared Services
NI Statistics & Research Agency
Land & Property Services
EU Programmes
Special EU Programmes Body
NICS Accommodation Services
Total Objective A
0.6
18.1
1.0
1.9
0.1
12.6
34.3
Total
34.3
Totals may not add due to rounding
90
0.3
-5.4
-3.9
59.4
-3.7
-18.0
-9.4
Budget 2015-16
Department of Finance and Personnel - Capital DEL
£million
Objective and Spending Area
2015-16
Final Budget
Objective A
Finance & Personnel Policy & Other Services
NICS Shared Services
NI Statistics & Research Agency
Land & Property Services
EU Programmes
Special EU Programmes Body
NICS Accommodation Services
Total Objective A
1.3
6.6
2.0
1.5
0.7
10.9
23.0
Total
23.0
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
91
Budget 2015-16
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
(DHSSPS)
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety’s
overall aim and vision is to improve the health and wellbeing of the
people of Northern Ireland, drive up the quality of health and social
care for patients, clients and carers, to improve outcomes, to
safeguard the vulnerable, and to ensure that patients, clients and
carers have the best possible experience in every aspect of their
treatment, care and support.
The Department has three main business responsibilities:
• Health and Social Care (HSC), which includes policy and
legislation for hospitals, family practitioner services and
community health and personal social services;
• Public Health, which covers policy, legislation and
administrative action to promote and protect the health and
well-being of the population; and
• Public Safety, which covers policy and legislation for fire
and rescue services.
The Department aims to improve the health and social well-being
of the people of Northern Ireland by:
• Leading a major programme of cross-government action to
improve the health and well-being of the population and
reduce health inequalities. This includes strengthening
cross-sectoral collaboration on the wider determinants of
health, interventions involving health promotion and
education to encourage and support people to adopt
activities, behaviours and attitudes which lead to better
health and well-being. The aim is a population which is
enabled and supported in achieving its full health and
wellbeing;
• Ensuring the provision of appropriate health and social care
services, both in clinical settings such as hospitals and GPs'
surgeries, and in the community through nursing, social
work and other professional services; and
• Ensuring the delivery of an effective fire and rescue service
across Northern Ireland, contributing to the safety and
wellbeing of the community.
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Budget 2015-16
Key issues/Challenges in 2015-16
The rapid development of medicine in recent years means that the
diseases and illnesses that would once have killed, can now be
effectively managed. People live longer and the age profile of the
population is becoming older.
This is a hugely welcome
development but brings with it pressures and increased costs in
delivering primary, secondary and social care services. The only
sustainable long term strategy is one that works with a population
actively engaged in looking after its own health and wellbeing.
Whilst this will help to alleviate the strain placed on services,
challenges will remain in providing patient centred care and high
quality services.
In parallel there are challenges in creating the conditions to
support health improvements and reduce health inequalities.
The extent of the cost pressures facing the Department continue to
increase each year and have typically been in relation to pay and
non-pay inflation, and the costs of meeting the healthcare needs of
an aging population, including continued developments in
healthcare technologies and treatments. This trend is expected to
continue into 2015-16 and beyond.
Whilst the Department has developed a plan to address some of
these pressures within the available budget, there are two
significant challenges for health, social care and public safety in
2015-16.
Firstly, substantial savings must be delivered by the Department
and all its arm’s length bodies in order to live within the resources
available.
Whilst savings from non front-line areas will be
maximised, efficiencies will also need to be delivered from front­
line services which will inevitably impact on the pattern of service
delivery (whilst still meeting needs). However, maintaining the
safety of services for patients and clients will remain a priority.
Secondly, the Department’s budget does not allow for the funding
of new service developments in 2015-16, across a number of
areas including elective care; unscheduled care; family and
childcare; normative nursing levels; public health initiatives
including vaccinations; revenue consequences of Capital
schemes; National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) drugs
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Budget 2015-16
and specialist services; mental health and learning disability; and
Transforming Your Care (TYC) transitional funding.
The
Department is therefore continuing to explore all options to finance
some of these service developments, including the potential for
income generation. Areas will need to be prioritised in order to live
within the resources available.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome/Impact on Service Delivery
In determining the distribution of resources across the key
spending areas within the DHSSPS budget, a key focus will be to
ensure that resources are allocated efficiently to secure the best
possible value from all available funding.
Improving and protecting population health and wellbeing and
reducing inequalities
The protection and improvement of the health and wellbeing of
people in Northern Ireland, through a focus on the wide range of
determinants of health, is an important cross cutting objective for
the Executive in conjunction with the health and social care sector,
partners in local government and other stakeholders.
A key objective for all partners must be to reduce the significant
inequalities in health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland.
The Department’s funds will be targeted, through various early
intervention strategies, aimed at raising awareness and improving
and protecting the health of the population. Screening and
immunisation programmes will be delivered across Northern
Ireland, oral health and mental health promotion will continue, and
solutions that address lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol,
diet and physical activity will be implemented to improve the
general health and well being of the population, with a particular
emphasis on those most at risk. Every opportunity will be taken to
promote key public health and wellbeing messages and to provide
interventions at key stages across the life course.
Providing high quality, safe and effective care
Improving the quality of health and social care services in terms of
safety, effectiveness and a focus on patients and clients, is a
continuous process of evaluation, learning and application of best
practice. In addition to the work already on-going as part of
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Budget 2015-16
Quality 2020, the Department will need to respond in a meaningful
way to the findings of both the review of governance in health and
social care (the Donaldson Review) and the independent Inquiry
into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths.
Ensuring more accessible and responsive services
People need access to health and social care services in the right
place and at the right time. Our goal is to ensure that, when need
arises, the relevant intervention takes place in good time and as
close to home as possible in line with the principles outlined in
TYC.
The Department is clear that person-centred care in the right
setting is absolutely integral not only to ensure that resources are
maximised, but also to support individuals. People naturally want
to live dignified and independent lives in their own homes for as
long as it is safe to do so. For those who are generally healthy, a
stay in hospital will usually be short and followed by a prompt
discharge to their own home. However, people with long term
conditions, or the more elderly and frail, may need targeted and
tailored support to live safely at home or manage the transition to
and from more intensive care settings. Demographic changes
mean that there will be greater need to support an ageing
population and those living in the community with disabilities.
During 2015-16, the Department will continue to promote a
continuum of integrated and responsive primary, community and
secondary care services to ensure that people have access to the
right care in the right place at the right time and to support older
people and people with long term conditions to live independently
at home for as long as possible through the development of
person-centred care plans with an emphasis on patients and
clients as partners in their care.
During 2015-16, the Department will be maintaining a focus on
reducing the level of unplanned and emergency admissions,
improving the performance at Emergency Departments and
reducing the level of hospital readmissions. The Department will
also continue to support the HSCB in its work to ensure that
waiting times for outpatient/inpatient/daycase appointments,
diagnostic tests, specialist drugs and cancer care services are as
short as possible, within the resources available.
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Budget 2015-16
Work will continue on the draft Mental Capacity Bill in 2015-16,
with DHSSPS and the Department of Justice aiming to seek
Executive approval to introduce the Bill in the Assembly; and there
will be a focus on making improvements in the quality and
effectiveness of social work services within the resources
available.
Listening to and learning from patient and client experiences in the
design, delivery and evaluation of policies, strategies and services
Patients, clients, carers and communities will be put at the centre
of decision making in health and social care. In accordance with
statutory requirements, each organisation involved in the
commissioning and delivery of health and social care will provide
information about the services for which it is responsible; gather
information about care needs and the efficacy of care; and support
people in accessing that care and maintaining their own health and
wellbeing.
During 2015-16, the Department will continue to implement the
policy on Personal and Public Involvement to enhance the direct
involvement of users, carers and communities in the
commissioning, provision and evaluation of their health and social
care services.
Ensuring that HSC services are resilient and provide value for
money in terms of outcomes achieved and costs incurred
The scale of the financial challenge facing the Department and the
HSC in 2015-16 is both significant and unprecedented. In
ensuring that HSC services are resilient, a key priority will be
maintaining the safety of front-line services in line with the wider
strategic vision for the HSC. There will also be a focus on making
progress on key reforms, including those being taken forward
under TYC, within the resources available.
During 2015-16, the focus will be on improving the efficiency and
effectiveness of our services, targeting them to where they are
most needed, avoiding harm and waste and reducing unjustified
variation. This requires innovation and the application of best
practice across the HSC in a robust and consistent way.
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Budget 2015-16
The workforce is the HSC sector’s most important resource. The
Department is fully committed to engagement with staff and their
representatives to ensure that strategic goals are met and that the
workforce, at all levels, is equipped with the resources and skills
required to deliver. Workforce planning initiatives are anticipated
to be progressed in 2015-16 in order to inform education and
training commissioning decisions.
Ensuring the delivery of an effective and efficient fire and rescue
service across Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) also faces
considerable financial challenges in 2015-16. In ensuring the
delivery of an effective and efficient fire and rescue service, the
safety of both the Northern Ireland public and the front-line
firefighters is a key priority. During 2015-16 the focus will be on
the identification, management and mitigation of fire and rescue
risks across Northern Ireland, while also making progress on
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of services.
Capital
The £213 million Capital DEL provided will enable a significant
capital development programme to be delivered during 2015-16 in
order to reconfigure, reform and modernise the delivery of Health
and Social Care services, and improve the quality of patient care,
outcomes, and access to new treatments and services.
Major projects will be managed within the available budget and will
include:
• Progress with the Regional Children’s Hospital;
• Completion of Royal Victoria Hospital Critical Care Block;
• Taking forward Belfast City Hospital Mental Health Inpatient
Unit;
• Ulster Hospital Phase B General Ward Block and beginning
Acute Service Block;
• Taking forward Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Project;
• Taking forward Omagh local Hospital;
• Ballymena Ambulance Station;
• Craigavon Area Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital Paediatric
Units; and
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Budget 2015-16
• Completion of Ballymena and Banbridge Health and Care
Centres.
The available funding will also enable significant investment in fleet
replacement for Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS),
NIFRS and an ICT investment programme including investment in
e-health.
Change Fund
Through the Executive’s Change Fund the following projects will
be progressed in 2015-16:
• Belfast Trust Outpatients Modernisation Project, whose
objectives are to modernise outpatient service delivery
models and pathways in order to reduce waiting times for
new and review appointments, reduce hospital
cancellations, reduce Did Not Attend rates and reduce the
number of face to face appointments required;
• RAID (Rapid Assessment Interface Discharge) which
provides the capacity to impact on a range of societal
issues such as mental ill health, dementia and substance
abuse;
• Northern Ireland Strategic Innovation in Medicines
Management Programme, which includes a regional model
for medicines optimisation in older people, progressing the
Small Business Research Initiative and development of a
regional innovation hub;
• Project Echo, which aims to expand the capacity to provide
best practice care for common and complex diseases in
rural and underserved areas and to monitor outcomes; and
• Congenital Cardiac Service Model in collaboration with the
Republic of Ireland. Longer term health benefits include
improved waiting times, emergency transfers and patient
experience.
Equality and Good Relations
Addressing inequalities has long been integral to the business of
the Department and its associated bodies. Section 75 of the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 creates specific duties for the
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Budget 2015-16
Department, HSC Board, Public Health Agency, Trusts and
executive Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and other
HSC bodies with regard to equality and good relations. The
Department’s established mechanisms for allocating resources, for
example via its capitation and local equity arrangements, ensure
that available health and social care is accessible to those in need
of it.
In accordance with their Equality Schemes, the Department and its
arm’s length bodies will use the tools of screening and equality
impact assessment to assess the likely impact of a policy
decisions on the promotion of equality of opportunity and good
relations. In carrying out these assessments the Department and
its arm’s length bodies will relate them to the intended outcomes of
the policy in question and will also follow Equality Commission
guidance as appropriate.
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Budget 2015-16
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Hospital Services
Social Care Services
FHS - General Medical Services
FHS - Pharmaceutical Services
FHS - Dental Services
FHS - Ophthalmic Services
Health Support Services
Public Health Services
Paramedic Services
Food Safety Promotion Board (N/S Body)
Total Objective A
Objective B
Fire and Rescue Services
Total Objective B
Total
Totals may not add due to rounding
100
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
2,479.8
870.5
245.4
538.5
102.9
22.4
124.4
21.3
56.8
2.4
4,464.5
2,643.8
973.7
238.6
464.8
103.5
22.3
96.9
23.9
57.9
1.9
4,627.4
6.6
78.2
78.2
70.4
70.4
-9.9
4,542.7
4,697.9
3.4
11.9
-2.8
-13.7
0.6
-0.5
-22.1
11.9
2.0
-20.5
3.6
-9.9
Budget 2015-16
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Hospital Services
Social Care Services
FHS - General Medical Services
FHS - Pharmaceutical Services
FHS - Dental Services
FHS - Ophthalmic Services
Health Support Services
Public Health Services
Paramedic Services
Food Safety Promotion Board (N/S Body)
Total Objective A
102.7
0.1
10.6
0.1
3.9
0.0
117.5
Objective B
Fire and Rescue Services
Total Objective B
-
Total
117.5
Totals may not add due to rounding
101
Budget 2015-16
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Capital
Capital
Objective A
Hospital Services
FHS - General Medical
Services
FHS - Dental Services
Health Support Services
Paramedic Services
Total Objective A
Objective B
Fire and Rescue Services
Total Objective B
Total
Totals may not add due to rounding
102
Total
Capital
172.2
-
172.2
19.6
1.0
6.6
199.4
10.0
10.0
29.6
1.0
6.6
209.4
4.0
4.0
-
4.0
4.0
203.4
10.0
213.4
Budget 2015-16
Department of the Environment (DOE)
The overall aim of the Department is to protect and improve the
environment, promote and protect community well being and
support a sustainable economy and strong effective local
government.
Key issues/Challenges in 2015-16
The Department’s main functions for 2015-16 include:
• Strategic Planning, Planning and environmental policy and
•
•
•
•
legislation;
Local government policy;
Road safety and vehicle regulation policy, including
strategies to reduce the number of people killed or seriously
injured on our roads;
Driver & Operator Licensing and Driver, Operator & Vehicle
Testing; and
Protection and conservation of the natural environment and
built heritage.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
Under the Budget for 2015-16, the DOE’s non ring-fenced
Resource DEL budget was reduced by 10.7 per cent to £104.2
million. The Department has also been allocated £3.5 million in
ring-fenced Resource DEL, relating mainly to depreciation
charges, Capital funding of £7.5 million and FTC funding of £50.5
million.
Impact on Service Delivery
Reductions of such magnitude in non ring-fenced Resource DEL
means that 2015-16 will be an exceptionally challenging year for
the Department.
In order to deliver on its core statutory obligations and ensure
protection of public health the Department will have to reduce
activity across a wide range of discretionary functions.
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Budget 2015-16
EU Funding
DOE is an Accountable Department for the delivery of the priority
relating to Environmental Protection for the INTERREG
Programme. Funding allocated to the Department will help it to
recover the habitat and species of EU concern within the eligible
region, achieve an integrated approach to marine management
across the region and improve water quality across the region in
accordance with the EU Water Framework Directives.
This overall investment will lead to results beyond the lifetime of
the Programme in the form of increased compliance with EU
directives and targets in this important area of environmental
protection.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department is committed to ensuring that it fulfils its duties
under both Section 75 (1) and (2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998
in relation to the promotion of equality of opportunity and the
desirability of promoting good relations.
The Department has completed a high level screening of the draft
budget proposals and this has revealed neutral impact in relation
to Section 75 groups. Where necessary, further equality screening
and full Equality Impact Assessments will be undertaken as budget
reduction measures are further developed and implemented by the
Department.
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Budget 2015-16
Department of the Environment - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
Objective A
Road Safety
Environment
Strategic Planning and Policy
Local Government Services
Total Objective A
13.6
41.1
13.8
48.1
116.6
14.9
36.4
6.1
46.8
104.2
9.7
Total
116.6
104.2
Objective and Spending Area
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department of the Environment - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Road Safety
Environment
Strategic Planning and Policy
Local Government Services
Total Objective A
0.6
1.9
0.9
3.5
Total
3.5
Totals may not add due to rounding
105
-11.6
-56.1
-2.5
-10.7
-10.7
Budget 2015-16
Department of the Environment - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Capital
Capital
Total
Capital
Objective A
Road Safety
Environment
Local Government Services
Total Objective A
4.1
3.0
0.4
7.5
50.5
50.5
4.1
53.5
0.4
58.0
Total
7.5
50.5
58.0
Totals may not add due to rounding
106
Budget 2015-16
Department of Justice (DOJ)
The Department of Justice supports the Minister of Justice in
building a fair, just and safer community in Northern Ireland. In
addition to its statutory functions, the Department provides
resources and a legislative framework for its agencies and arm’s
length bodies which jointly constitute most of the justice system in
Northern Ireland. Together with these organisations, the
Department is responsible for ensuring there is a fair and effective
justice system in Northern Ireland and for increasing public
confidence in that system.
The Department’s priorities are:
Safer, Shared Communities – to promote and contribute to Safer
Communities through partnership working with statutory
organisations, communities, the third sector and businesses.
Faster, Fairer Justice – to promote faster fairer justice through
cross cutting policy, procedural and structural reforms.
Rehabilitating Offenders – to have a prisons delivery model that is
capable of withstanding changes in both prisoner population size
and needs.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
There are a range of challenges facing the Department in 2015-16.
Whilst the Department has sought to protect front-line areas as far
as possible within the total funding envelope available, very difficult
funding and prioritisation decisions have been required that will
have a major impact on the wider justice system and the services
the Department provides.
The core Department, including Compensation Services (formerly
the Compensation Agency) accounts for approximately 6 per cent
of the total budget, with 94 per cent of funding allocated to
agencies and NDPBs.
In allocating Resource DEL budgets across the Department for
2015-16, the Justice Minister’s high level priorities were as follows:
• Protecting front-line policing as far as possible;
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Budget 2015-16
• Ensuring Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has
adequate additional security funding; and
• Protecting other front-line areas across the Department as
far as possible, with the aim of protecting outcomes for the
public.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
In 2015-16, the specific funding package put in place as a result of
the devolution of policing and justice comes to an end, with the
exception of funding for national security measures. In light of this,
the Executive’s ring-fencing on DOJ has also come to an end.
This will fully integrate the DOJ into the Budget process.
The 2015-16 Budget outcome for the Department is summarised
below:
• The starting point for all DOJ spending areas was reduction
of 15.1 per cent from 2014-15 opening baselines;
• An allocation of £90.2 million was provided by the
Executive. Of this, £65 million has been allocated to the
PSNI;
• In some areas, additional funding has been used to offset
specific demand led pressures. In other areas it has been
used to offset the impact of baseline cuts and so some
areas have cuts lower than 15.1 per cent. Conversely, some
areas have higher cuts so that funding can be reallocated to
front-line priorities, in line with Ministerial priorities; and
• A further allocation of £29.5 million refers to a separate
PSNI security funding stream from HM Treasury, which
cannot be used to offset the impact of cuts.
These priorities, together with an assessment of the impact of
savings, have been used to set budget allocations and savings
targets for each DOJ spending area.
PSNI
The additional funding of £65 million allocated to the PSNI reflects
the priority to protect front-line policing as far as possible.
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Budget 2015-16
The PSNI’s Budget allocation will allow the Chief Constable to take
forward necessary recruitment plans in 2015-16 and will avoid
some of the more severe impacts on policing and public safety.
In addition, PSNI will receive an additional £58 million of security
funding (Resource DEL and Capital DEL total). This includes £29.5
million Resource DEL and £1.5 million Capital DEL of additional
security funding that has been provided by HM Treasury in 2015­
16. This is a particular package of funding for a specific purpose
and is treated separately from the PSNI’s baseline funding.
The NI Prison Service and Probation Board
The NI Prison Service (NIPS) and Probation Board, and other
critical front-line services, have been protected as far as possible.
The NIPS savings target takes account of the fact that it delivered
savings of 15 per cent in the Budget 2011-15 period, the majority
of which were through the Staff Exit Scheme.
Legal Aid
The Justice Minister has introduced significant reforms and
savings in the area of legal aid since the devolution of justice.
However, legal aid is demand led and historically the available
budget has not been sufficient to meet this demand. This will
continue to be the case next year. Therefore the Justice Minister is
considering a range of urgent measures to bring before the
Executive with a view to closing the gap and living within the
funding available.
Capital
The 2015-16 Budget provides capital funding totalling £95.9
million. However, £53.3 million of this relates to the NI Community
Safety College (NICSC) and £1.5 million relates to HM Treasury
security funding. The Department is prioritising and re-phasing
capital projects to make best use of the 2015-16 allocation.
Legacy
Legacy and related costs facing the Department in 2015-16 and
beyond, including related litigation costs, continue to grow. The
Department expects these to be addressed in the outworking of
the Stormont House Agreement.
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Budget 2015-16
Change Fund
The Department has received a total of £0.8 million from the
Change Fund. This will allow projects in the Prison Service and
Probation Board to be taken forward.
Impact on Service Delivery
Although the Budget will allow the Department to continue to
deliver the majority of its existing schemes, the level of Resource
expenditure reductions of £44 million will present many challenges
as the Department seeks to maintain priority services.
In addition, to optimise the use of resources, and to protect the
PSNI, NIPS, the Probation Board and other critical services the
Department has identified measures to live within its reduced
budget include:
• The core Department is planning for baseline cuts of over
20 per cent so that funding can be released to front-line
priorities;
• Further Legal Aid reforms; and,
• Savings targets across the Department and its arm’s length
bodies, with reduced savings targets to protect front-line
areas as far as possible.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department is committed to ensuring that it fulfils its duties
under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in relation to
having due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity
and to have regard to promoting good relations.
The Department undertook a high level impact assessment of its
proposals on Section 75 groups. This identified potential equality
impacts across a number of groups, based on draft budget
proposals. A part of the process of developing final savings
delivery plans, each spending area will further consider Section 75
implications so that these can be taken into account in setting final
budget allocations across the Department and impacts are
minimised as far as possible.
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Budget 2015-16
Department of Justice - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Objective A
Forensic Science Northern Ireland
Access to Justice
Compensation Services
Safer Communities
Northern Ireland Prison Service
Youth Justice Agency
Police Ombudsman NI
Probation Board for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Criminal Justice Inspectorate
Courts & Tribunals Service
NI Legal Services Commission
Total Objective A
0.6
25.1
21.7
767.2
103.1
19.0
9.1
18.4
7.4
1.3
41.6
74.7
1,089.0
0.4
17.4
17.4
738.9
96.3
17.9
8.6
17.2
6.3
1.1
36.6
86.7
1,044.7
-37.3
Total
1,089.0
1,044.7
-4.1
Totals may not add due to rounding
111
-30.8
-19.5
-3.7
-6.6
-5.7
-5.0
-6.7
-15.1
-12.0
-12.0
16.1
-4.1
Budget 2015-16
Department of Justice - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Forensic Science Northern Ireland
Access to Justice
Compensation Services
Safer Communities
Northern Ireland Prison Service
Youth Justice Agency
Police Ombudsman NI
Probation Board for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Criminal Justice Inspectorate
Courts & Tribunals Service
NI Legal Services Commission
Total Objective A
1.1
8.4
0.4
48.9
13.1
1.0
0.6
1.0
0.1
0.1
9.0
0.3
84.1
Total
84.1
Totals may not add due to rounding
112
Budget 2015-16
Department of Justice - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Forensic Science Northern Ireland
Access to Justice
Compensation Services
Safer Communities
Northern Ireland Prison Service
Youth Justice Agency
Police Ombudsman NI
Probation Board for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Criminal Justice Inspectorate
Courts & Tribunals Service
Total Objective A
4.4
0.0
1.8
78.6
9.4
0.1
0.0
0.3
0.1
0.0
1.2
95.9
Total
95.9
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
113
Budget 2015-16
Department for Regional Development (DRD)
The overall aim of the Department is to improve the quality of life
by maintaining and enhancing a range of essential infrastructure
services and by shaping the region’s long-term strategic
development. In pursuing this vision our Strategic Objectives are:
• Objective A - Supporting the economy by planning,
developing and managing safe and sustainable
transportation networks; setting the legislative and policy
framework for harbour services; enhancing transport
infrastructure links to airports and harbour gateways; and
shaping the long-term future of the region; and
• Objective B - Contributing to the health and well-being of
the community and the protection of the environment by
maintaining and developing the policy and regulatory
environment which provides sustainable, high quality water
and sewerage services.
Key Issues / Challenges in 2015-16
The Department will continue to provide its services to the best of
its ability despite the continuing reduction in funding, however it is
acknowledged that some services may not be provided to the
same high standard or extent as was previously possible.
The Budget ensures that Concessionary Fares are fully funded.
However, the scale of budget reductions which the Department
has had to make means reduced funding to Translink is
unavoidable.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Executive’s Budget provides an allocation of £441.9 million in
Resource DEL, which will allow the Department to take forward a
number programmes and services in public transport, water and
sewerage and roads activities.
The Capital allocation for the Department is £328.3 million. The
DRD Minister will continue to review the allocation of capital within
his Department and there may be changes to the distribution of the
Capital allocation within year. The allocation will allow for the
Department and its arm’s length bodies to support:
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Budget 2015-16
• NI Water to invest in water and sewerage infrastructure
although the funding available may be less than the £155
million Capital funding requirement set out in the Northern
Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation’s PC15 Final
Determination;
• The completion, ahead of schedule, work on major roads
schemes on the A8 (Ballyclare to Larne) and the A2 at
Greenisland;
• Work on dualling of the A26 between Glarryford and the A44
Drones Road, and on the A31 Magherafelt Bypass;
• Cycling as a sustainable travel alternative to the private car,
promoting specific projects including those facilitating journeys
to school;
• Continued progress of Belfast Rapid Transit;
• The commencement of Phase 2 of the Coleraine/Londonderry
rail line further enhancing rail services; and
• The replacement of the Strangford and Rathlin ferries.
Impact on Service Delivery
Whilst the Department and its arm’s length bodies have sought to
minimise the impact on front-line services, budget reductions of
this scale simply cannot be realised without a detrimental impact
on front-line water, waste water, roads and public transport
services.
Given the pressures facing the Department in respect of funding NI
Water and Translink, the majority of the reductions have fallen on
Transport NI, namely the development, management and delivery
of the roads network. The Department has already had to take the
difficult decision to stop a wide range of roads maintenance
activities and the repair of street lighting outages.
European Funding
To date over the 2011-15 Budget period the Department has
successfully secured over £57 million of funding under the
European sustainable competitiveness programme, INTERREG
IVA, INTERREG IVB and TEN-T.
During 2015-16 under the 2011-15 EU Programme the
Department will avail of some £11.1 million from the ERDF
INTERREG IVA Programme to helps support strategic cross
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Budget 2015-16
border co-operation and improve access to services (so as to
enhance the quality of life for those living in the area).
Equality and Good Relations
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires the
Department, in carrying out its functions to have due regard to the
need to promote equality of opportunity between specified groups
and to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations
between these groups. The Department carried out a High Level
Impact Assessment of the equality, good relations, poverty / social
inclusion and sustainable development impacts for all current and
capital expenditure proposals considered as part of the
development of this Budget.
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Budget 2015-16
Department for Regional Development - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
Objective A
Roads
Transport
EU Structural Funds
Total Objective A
166.4
68.2
234.6
150.8
82.1
0.5
233.3
-9.4
Objective B
Water and Sewerage
Total Objective B
100.9
100.9
100.3
100.3
-0.6
Total
335.5
333.6
-0.6
Objective and Spending Area
Totals may not add due to rounding
Department for Regional Development - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Roads
Transport
EU Structural Funds
Total Objective A
39.8
0.1
39.9
Objective B
Water and Sewerage
Total Objective B
68.4
68.4
Total
108.2
Totals may not add due to rounding
117
20.3
100.0
-0.5
-0.6
Budget 2015-16
Department for Regional Development - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Roads
Transport
EU Structural Funds
Total Objective A
146.5
47.1
2.8
196.5
Objective B
Water and Sewerage
Total Objective B
131.8
131.8
Total
328.3
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
118
Budget 2015-16
Department for Social Development (DSD)
The Department’s vision is “helping people change their lives for
the better” and this underpins our Mission Statement “together,
tackling disadvantage, building sustainable communities”.
Our three themes of housing, welfare reform, and strengthened
communities & vibrant urban areas form the framework for our
strategic objectives which are to:
• Provide access to decent, affordable, sustainable homes
and housing support services;
• Meet the needs of the most vulnerable by tackling
disadvantage through a transformed social welfare system,
the provision of focused support to the most disadvantaged
areas and encouraging social responsibility; and
• Bring divided communities together by creating urban
centres which are sustainable, welcoming and accessible to
live, work and relax in peace.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
Allowing for a reduction in budget, the Department will seek to
continue to deliver a “business as usual” standard to people who
rely on its services.
The Department has also embarked on a major programme of
reform across the business areas of welfare, housing, child
maintenance and urban regeneration which involve developing
radically different ways of delivering services.
Therefore, delivering an acceptable level of service and protecting
the most vulnerable while progressing these major reform
programmes is the key challenge for the Department.
With regard to its Resource allocation, and to help inform where
reductions should be made, the following priorities have been
applied:
• Within the constraints of the Budget, the Department will
seek to provide an acceptable level of service in
discharging our statutory responsibilities;
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Budget 2015-16
• The Department will seek to protect the level of support
available from the Social Fund, and the support available to
help people to continue to live independently in their own
homes (Supporting People);
• Management and administrative overheads will be
controlled to ensure that any impact on front-line service is
minimised; and
• Where potential alternative sources of finance exist for
specific services these will be explored.
In determining a way forward for capital spending, the following
priorities have been applied:
• Honour existing capital commitments;
• In housing, strike an appropriate balance between meeting
the needs of new and existing tenants;
• Sustain our investment in fuel poverty;
• Exploit the potential of other funding sources; and
• Sustain urban regeneration investment as far as possible.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The opening Resource budget for the Department in 2015-16 is
£590.6 million and includes a Change Fund allocation of £0.4
million to explore new areas of service delivery. The Budget
allocation is a reduction of £63.3 million (9.7 per cent) on the 2014­
15 opening baseline and the Department will be required to make
difficult decisions to stay within budget while maintaining service
standards.
Including £2.3 million of FTC, the proposed net Capital budget for
the Department is £124.4 million. This is £12 million less than the
2014-15 Capital budget. However, £103.9 million of receipts need
to be realised to reflect the actual £228.3 million of capital spend
managed by the Department. This is to cover investment in
existing social housing, building new social housing, disabled
facilities grants, energy improvement schemes, and urban
regeneration and Social Security Agency (SSA) capital
requirements.
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Budget 2015-16
Impact on Service Delivery
The Department expects to reduce staffing by 450 posts, but will
protect front-line service delivery as far as possible within existing
budget constraints. It is therefore intended to ensure that services
to the most vulnerable are afforded an appropriate level of
protection.
Within the SSA, any reductions in funding will be carefully
managed. However, they may still impact on services in certain
areas and potentially result in increased clearance times, reduced
accuracy and increased levels of fraud, error and debt.
Within Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) reductions will
be applied to both the regional and landlord activities of the
organisation.
The Child Maintenance Service is currently pursuing a major
programme of reform which will fundamentally change the way its
services are delivered. The reform is expected to deliver
productivity savings and these will be deployed to protect service
delivery and cover the cost of the introduction of the new system.
Whilst some reductions are likely in Urban Regeneration, the
Department has now directed additional funding secured towards
projects which demonstrate, most effectively, delivery against the
strategic priorities. Support for volunteering and community based
organisations, and funding to support the sustainability of the
sector going forward, including Social Enterprises, will be
prioritised.
In respect of Capital, a key priority will continue to be the upkeep
and provision of social housing to meet need as far as possible.
Some £98 million will be made available for 1,500 new social
homes and £13 million is being made available to commence
much needed capital investment in the existing NIHE housing
stock. A further £10 million is being made available for around 300
affordable homes under co-ownership and we will seek to increase
this budget during the course of 2015-16. Affordable warmth and
funding for disabled adaptations will be maintained at 2014-15
levels. Some £3 million is being made available for housing led
regeneration initiatives.
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Budget 2015-16
With regard to urban regeneration, the Department aims to ensure
that £25 million is made available in 2015-16 reflecting that
additional funding of £13.5 million was allocated in 2014-15 to
accelerate planned projects.
European Funding
DSD is the Accountable Department for the European Programme
for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE III) Measure 2.1 ‘Creating
Shared Public Spaces’.
The Department will provide funding to the SEUPB to complete the
delivery of the 18 capital build projects in the programme by 31
December 2015. These projects are designed to regenerate
urban, rural and border areas that appear derelict, segregated,
underused, threatening and/or unwelcoming and transform them
into shared spaces.
In addition initial allocations have been included which will support
the management, monitoring, evaluation and publicity
requirements of the 2014-2020 PEACE IV and INTERREG V
programmes. These allocations will be further refined during
2015-16 as the programmes get final approval from the EU.
Equality and Good Relations Impact
High level Impact Assessments to consider the equality and good
relations implications, in accordance with Section 75(1) and (2) of
the Northern Ireland Act 1998, are currently being progressed.
Adverse impacts on the level and quality of services cannot be
avoided given the scale of the necessary reductions. These
proposals protect the most vulnerable in terms of maintaining
existing budget cover for both the Social Fund and Supporting
People. The Supporting People budget is used to support a
number of Section 75 groups such as the elderly and disabled. It
will negate the harsher impacts of the settlement for those in
receipt of such funding. Protecting the Social Fund budget will also
benefit some of the most vulnerable in our society.
In terms of social housing, the budget provides £98 million for
investment to build 1,500 new social homes in areas where need
has been assessed by NIHE. This will include the elderly and
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Budget 2015-16
young single parent families. Access to the new homes will be
assessed by individual need as opposed to membership of a
Section 75 group; therefore minimal impact on Section 75 groups
is anticipated as a result.
Reductions in posts will be on a voluntary basis, so there are no
apparent Section 75 impacts. The quality of services may fall but
this will fall evenly across all Section 75 groups. We intend to carry
out a more detailed assessment of the equality impact of DSD’s
budget reductions.
With regard to good relations, in addition to the generality of the
Department’s activity, it is actively promoting good relations
through its Shared Neighbourhood programme.
Where potential for a negative impact is anticipated, the
Department will, where possible, take action to resolve it.
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Budget 2015-16
Department for Social Development - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Objective A
Social Security Administration
Child Maintenance Services
Dept Work & Pensions Agency Services
Total Objective A
407.0
18.2
425.2
360.6
19.2
379.8
Objective B
NI Housing Executive
Total Objective B
174.2
174.2
155.5
155.5
-10.7
54.5
54.5
54.7
0.6
55.3
0.4
100.0
653.9
590.6
-9.7
Objective C
Urban Regeneration/Community Development
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective C
Total
Totals may not add due to rounding
124
-11.4
5.5
100.0
-10.7
-10.7
1.5
Budget 2015-16
Department for Social Development - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Social Security Administration
Child Maintenance Services
Dept Work & Pensions Agency Services
Total Objective A
3.6
0.6
4.2
Objective B
NI Housing Executive
Total Objective B
5.5
5.5
Objective C
Urban Regeneration/Community Development
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective C
Total
9.7
Totals may not add due to rounding
125
Budget 2015-16
Department for Social Development - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Capital
Capital
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Social Security Administration
Total Objective A
Total
Capital
9.6
9.6
2.3
2.3
11.9
11.9
Objective B
NI Housing Executive
Total Objective B
89.9
89.9
-
89.9
89.9
Objective C
Urban Regeneration/Community Development
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective C
20.0
2.6
22.6
-
20.0
2.6
22.6
122.1
2.3
124.4
Total
Totals may not add due to rounding
126
Budget 2015-16
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
(OFMDFM)
The Department’s overall aim is to build a peaceful and
prosperous society with respect for the rule of law where everyone
can enjoy a better quality of life now and in years to come.
Growing the economy, securing investment, creating opportunity
and tackling disadvantage are key priorities for the Executive in the
Budget period. OFMDFM contributes to these priorities through
lead or shared responsibility for the following Programme for
Government commitments:
• Growing a Sustainable Economy and Investing in the
Future;
• Creating Opportunities, Tackling Disadvantage and
Improving Health and Wellbeing;
• Building a Strong and Shared Community;
• Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public Services.
In pursuing the overall aim the Department’s key interlinked
objectives are:
• Driving investment and sustainable development through
regeneration of strategic former military sites; promoting
effective long-term capital planning and delivery; and,
promoting the Executive’s policy interests internationally;
• The effective operation of the institutions of government in
the delivery of an agreed Programme for Government by
providing a central source of information, co-ordination and
advice to departments on Executive, Assembly, and
legislative procedures; co-ordinating and reviewing the
Programme for Government; driving the more efficient and
sustainable use of capital assets across Government; and,
ensuring the structure of public administration is efficient,
effective and sustainable;
• Tackling Disadvantage and Promoting Equality of
Opportunity by driving a programme across Government to
reduce poverty; promoting and protecting the interests of
children, older people, people with disabilities, victims and
survivors, and other socially excluded groups; addressing
inequality and disadvantage; and, driving the delivery of
Government responsibilities in a sustainable manner; and
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Budget 2015-16
• Building a united, shared and reconciled community and
improving community relations by delivering a strategic
approach to good relations through the delivery of the
Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC)
programme. The strategy outlines seven headline actions
essential to make this happen in addition to a range of
supporting actions and commitments – working towards
making tangible improvements in good relations across four
strategic priorities:




Our Children and Young People;
Our Shared Community;
Our Safe Community; and
Our Cultural Expression.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Budget settlement for 2015-16 provides OFMDFM with a total
non ring-fenced Resource allocation of £67.9 million, an increase
of 3.2 per cent on the 2015-16 baseline. Within this total, £6
million is to be allocated to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry
(£5 million) and EU funds (£1 million). The settlement also includes
additional resources which have been set aside for the Victims and
Survivors Service. Outside of these specific areas, the budget
represents a reduction in the Resource baseline for the
Department’s activities of 12.8 per cent on the opening baseline
position for 2014-15.
In relation to Capital, the Department has been allocated a budget
of £4.2 million for 2015-16.
The Budget provides an allocation for the Delivering Social
Change (DSC) initiative of £14 million Resource and £15 million
Capital which will support the roll-out of the Social Investment
Fund (SIF), DSC Signature Projects and the Childcare Strategy.
The Final Budget settlement makes a £10 million Resource
allocation for T: BUC, to be held centrally and allocated as part of
the In-Year Monitoring process.
The resources provided through the 2015-16 Budget settlement
will support the activities of government departments, including
OFMDFM, in continuing the achievement of the Executive’s
Programme for Government commitments.
In the current
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Budget 2015-16
constrained financial climate, there is a clear requirement to work
efficiently and innovatively to ensure that we continue to deliver
within available resources. The accountability and management
structures for the Programme for Government, for which OFMDFM
has primary responsibility, will support the efforts of Departments
to achieve this – helping to ensure a focus on delivery as well as
necessary financial discipline in programme management.
Delivering Social Change
Creating opportunities and tackling disadvantage remains a key
priority for the Department in the 2015-16 Budget period. The
allocations to the Delivering Social Change Delivery Framework
will help to ensure that disadvantaged areas of our community and
vulnerable groups will continue to be targeted to address
persistent patterns of poverty and disadvantage through the
implementation of the Social Investment Fund, Childcare Strategy
and the Signature Projects.
Together: Building a United Community
On 23rd May 2013, OFMDFM published the Executive’s new good
relations strategy, Together: Building a United Community. The
strategy outlines a vision of “a united community, based on
equality of opportunity, the desirability of good relations and
reconciliation - one which is strengthened by its diversity, where
cultural expression is celebrated and embraced and where
everyone can live, learn, work and socialise together, free from
prejudice, hate and intolerance.” Together: Building a United
Community represents a key building block of the PfG and the £10
million central funding provided reflects the Executive’s
commitment to improving community relations and building a
united and shared society.
Another key element of our good relations agenda is the Racial
Equality Strategy. As our society becomes increasingly multi­
cultural, it is important to guard against the creation of patterns of
inequality, disadvantage and community tension. To assist this,
resources have been provided in the budget to support groups in
implementing the strategy and maintaining a crisis fund to help
people who find themselves in difficult circumstances and would
otherwise have no access to public funds.
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Budget 2015-16
Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry
The remit of the Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse is to
examine if there were systemic failings by the state or institutions
in their duties towards children under 18 in their residential care
between 1922 and 1995. The Inquiry Chairperson has requested a
one year extension to the Inquiry, meaning that oral hearings will
continue until June 2016 with the Chairperson’s report completed
by January 2017.
Victims and Survivors
Addressing the needs of victims and survivors is a priority area for
both the Department and the Executive. The additional funding
included in the 2015-16 Budget will help to provide a more
comprehensive and responsive solution to meeting the needs of
individual victims and survivors and supporting the groups and
organisations which work in this sector.
International Relations
OFMDFM will continue to drive implementation of the Executive’s
International Relations Strategy. The establishment of a Northern
Ireland Bureau in Beijing will help develop links with the Chinese
Government and realise key targets in the economic, education
and tourism sectors. The Executive’s offices in Washington DC
and in Brussels will ensure that our profile remains high and our
interests continue to be promoted in these influential locations.
Key priorities will be to develop further our existing relationships in
the United States and Canada, increase our influence in Europe
and foster new mutually beneficial international relationships.
Infrastructure Investment
In 2015-16 the Department will progress the disposal of the former
military sites at Shackleton, St Patricks and St Lucia and, through
Ilex, the further development of the Ebrington site. The Capital
funding in 2015-16 will allow a further four buildings in Ebrington to
be brought back into use. Regeneration activity at Crumlin Road
Gaol will focus on necessary enabling works to facilitate the further
regeneration of the site and refurbishment of the former Wardens’
Cottages.
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Budget 2015-16
Impact on Service Delivery
The overall Budget allocation for OFMDFM is challenging as the
settlement implies Resource budget reductions of 12.8 per cent
when specific allocations for the Historical Institutional Abuse
Inquiry, Victims and EU funds are taken into account.
Within the Department, reductions of this magnitude will require
cuts in staffing and the proposed Voluntary Exit Scheme will be
important in this regard. Action will also be required to constrain
costs (for example by disposing of the transferred military sites)
and to reduce discretionary spend (for example in research).
Funding for arm’s length bodies and for programmes will also be
impacted and the emphasis will be on ensuring that statutory
responsibilities are discharged, contractual commitments met and
Programme for Government and Ministerial priorities progressed
as far as possible within the available resources. While the
Department will seek to ensure that the effects on front-line
services are minimised, there will inevitably be an impact as a
consequence of the budget reductions.
European Funding
2015-16 will see the completion of the Department’s work on the
delivery of two key areas of the EU’s Peace III Programme:
reconciling communities; and contributing to a shared society. The
Department is preparing for the EU Peace IV Programme which is
due to launch in 2015-16.
Equality and Good Relations
The Department is committed to ensuring that it fulfils its duties
under Section 75 (1) and (2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in
relation to the promotion of equality and the desirability of
promoting good relations. A High Level Impact Assessment has
been undertaken of the equality, good relations, poverty/social
inclusion, and sustainable development impacts of spending and
savings proposals put forward by the Department with respect to
Budget 2015-16. The outcome of these assessments has informed
the Budget allocations set out in this document.
As decisions on allocations are made and measures implemented,
potential equality implications will be monitored across all Section
131
Budget 2015-16
75 groups. The programmes funded through the Budget allocation
will be subjected to equality screening and where appropriate, full
Equality Impact Assessment, in line with statutory duties.
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Budget 2015-16
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
Budget
%
Change
Objective A
Support for the Executive
Support for Equality, Human Rights & CR
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective A
29.2
36.6
65.8
28.8
38.1
1.0
67.9
-1.5
Total
65.8
67.9
Objective and Spending Area
Totals may not add due to rounding
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Support for the Executive
Support for Equality, Human Rights & CR
EU Peace Programme
Total Objective A
1.2
0.3
1.5
Total
1.5
Totals may not add due to rounding
133
4.1
100.0
3.2
3.2
Budget 2015-16
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Support for the Executive
Total Objective A
4.2
4.2
Total
4.2
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
134
Budget 2015-16
Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (NIA)
Established in 1998, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds
Ministers and their departments to account in carrying out
executive functions. It has legislative authority for policy in such
areas as education, health, agriculture and environment.
Within the Assembly there is an Assembly Commission (the
Commission) whose role is defined by the Northern Ireland Act
1998. The Commission ensures the Assembly is provided with the
property, staff and services required for the Assembly to carry out
its work and engage with the public. It sets the Assembly
Secretariat’s (its administrative body) strategic direction and
purpose to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the
Assembly and to support members in fulfilling their Assembly,
constituency and office-holder duties.
The Northern Ireland
Assembly Commission is not represented by a Minister.
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Budget 2015-16
NI Assembly - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Objective and Spending Area
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Objective A
Northern Ireland Assembly
Total Objective A
40.7
40.7
38.7
38.7
-5.0
Total
40.7
38.7
-5.0
Totals may not add due to rounding
NI Assembly - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
Objective and Spending Area
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective A
Northern Ireland Assembly
Total Objective A
3.4
3.4
Total
3.4
Totals may not add due to rounding
NI Assembly - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Objective and Spending Area
Objective A
Northern Ireland Assembly
Total Objective A
1.8
1.8
Total
1.8
Totals may not add due to rounding
This department's outcome does not include a Financial Transactions Capital allocation
136
-5.0
Budget 2015-16
Other Departments
The following departments are also not represented by a Minister.
The Budget for these departments, although relatively small, must
still be found from within the Northern Ireland Executive’s DEL.
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints (AOCC)
The Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Complaints provides for the independent
investigation of complaints by people who claim to have suffered
injustice through maladministration by Northern Ireland
government departments, their agencies and public bodies. It
provides an independent investigative resource to support the
work of the Committee on Standards and Privileges in dealing with
complaints against Members of the Assembly.
Food Standards Agency (FSA)
The Food Standards Agency aims to protect public health from
risks arising in connection with the consumption of food and the
interests of consumers in relation to food. In doing this it aims to:
• Ensure that food being sold is safe to eat;
• Consumers understand about safe food and healthy eating;
• Consumers can make informed choices; and
• Regulation in the food chain is effective and proportionate.
Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO)
The Northern Ireland Audit Office seeks to hold public bodies to
account for the way they use public money. It also seeks to
promote accountability and the best use of public money. It aims
to provide objective information, advice and assurance on how
public funds have been used and to encourage high standards in
financial management, good governance and propriety in the
conduct of public business.
Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR)
The Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation is responsible
for independently regulating the electricity, gas and water and
sewerage sector. The aims of the NIAUR are:
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Budget 2015-16
• Protecting the interests of electricity consumers with regard
to price and quality of service by promoting competition in
the generation, transmission and supply of electricity;
• Promoting the development and maintenance of an
efficient, economic and co-ordinated gas industry and
protecting the interests of gas consumers with regard to
price and quality of service; and
• Protecting the interests of water and sewerage customers
with regard to price and quality of service where appropriate
by facilitating competition in the supply of water and the
provision of sewerage services.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS)
The PPS is the principal prosecuting authority in Northern Ireland.
The primary role of the PPS is to reach decisions to prosecute or
not to prosecute and to have responsibility for the conduct of the
criminal proceedings in court.
The PPS is statutorily obliged to take decisions as to prosecution
in cases investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) and thereafter to take proceedings. While not required to, it
has also historically considered cases investigated by other
statutory authorities, such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
and NICS Departments.
The workload of the PPS is driven by the general level of crime
and the numbers of cases transferred to it by the PSNI. The
progress of cases at court is administered by the NI Courts and
Tribunals Service (NICTS) who are responsible for listing cases.
Key Issues/Challenges in 2015-16
The strategic priorities of the PPS are:
• Delivering an efficient and effective prosecution service
• Building the confidence and trust of the community we
serve
• Strengthening our capability to deliver
• Building the capability of our people
The achievement of these aims and maintaining momentum in
improvements is made more difficult as PPS is faced with material
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Budget 2015-16
budget reductions.
Budget 2015-16 Outcome
The Budget outcome for PPS is challenging as non ring-fenced
Resource DEL in 2015-16 will be £32.4 million, a decrease of 5 per
cent when compared to the 2014-15 position. However PPS will
endeavour to maintain the delivery of its strategic priorities and
statutory obligations.
Impact on Service delivery
PPS is a demand led organisation conducting a statutory function.
This restricts the Department’s ability to discontinue activities.
PPS has already taken a number of measures to control costs and
is considering all possible further means to improve operational
efficiency and deliver additional savings. The majority of the PPS
Budget is allocated to staff costs and therefore reductions in
staffing will be required. PPS will plan to make these reductions in
such a way as to minimise the impact on the ability of the Service
to prosecute effectively, in order to maintain public confidence in
the criminal justice system.
Following the Criminal Justice Review in March 2000, PPS was
established as a regionalised service with seven offices located
throughout Northern Ireland across the communities it serves. Due
to the proposed budget reductions PPS is looking at options to
rationalise the estate. However this will be subject to current lease
commitments which may prevent or delay any significant changes
in PPS office locations in the short to medium term.
Equality and Good Relations impact
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires the
Department, in carrying out its functions to have due regard to the
need to promote equality of opportunity between specified groups
and to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations
between these groups.
The PPS carried out an impact assessment on the equality of
opportunity across the Section 75 groupings of operational
planning within the 2015-16 Budget outcome. No inequality of
impact was identified at this stage.
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Budget 2015-16
Other Departments - Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Baseline
Final
%
Budget Change
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
Food Standards Agency
NI Audit Office
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
Public Prosecution Service
1.8
8.5
7.9
0.1
32.7
2.3
8.4
7.6
0.2
32.4
Total
51.0
50.8
Totals may not add due to rounding
Other Departments - Ring-fenced Resource DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
Food Standards Agency
NI Audit Office
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
Public Prosecution Service
0.0
0.0
0.3
0.1
1.4
Total
1.9
Totals may not add due to rounding
140
24.4
-0.5
-5.0
158.7
-1.0
-0.4
Budget 2015-16
Other Departments - Capital DEL
£million
2015-16
Final
Budget
Assembly Ombudsman/Commissioner for Complaints
Food Standards Agency
NI Audit Office
NI Authority for Utility Regulation
Public Prosecution Service
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.8
Total
1.0
Totals may not add due to rounding
These Departments’ outcomes do not include Financial Transactions Capital allocations
141
Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER SIX: CONSULTATION
Background
6.1 Following the publication of the Northern Ireland Executive’s
2015-16 Draft Budget on 3 November 2014, an eight week
consultation period commenced, ending on 29 December
2014.
6.2 Comments were invited from all interested individuals and
groups and by the closing date, the Budget public
consultation process has received 19,050 responses via the
Budget website and its corresponding postal address. In
addition, individual departments received over 30,000
consultation responses on their individual plans.
6.3 All responses have been considered and have helped to
inform the development of the Final Budget. In recognition of
the timescale for consultation, late responses were also
considered where possible.
6.4 In a consultation as wide ranging as the Budget consultation
it is inevitable that a wide range of differing views are put
forward by groups and individuals. Whilst it is not possible to
reflect and address every view, there have been some key
themes emerging from the consultation process.
General Budget Themes
Programme for Government
6.5 The Executive’s decision to roll forward the key themes of the
2011-15 Programme for Government attracted some criticism
with some respondents outlining their preference for a
revised Programme for Government for 2015-16.
Consultation Process
6.6 A number of respondents criticised the eight week timeframe
for budget consultation. Whilst acknowledgement was given
to the need to set a Budget as soon as possible, respondents
felt that the period was not long enough, especially when
departmental information was not available immediately.
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Reductions to Departments
6.7 Most consultation respondents who raised the issue of
reductions to budgets urged Ministers not to make a
universal reduction to all aspects of their departmental
business, but rather to apply strategic reductions, whilst
affording some degree of protection to priority services.
Strategic Budget Items
Public Sector Voluntary Exit Scheme
6.8 Some of those who raised the issue of the public sector
Voluntary Exit Scheme expressed concern over the lack of
information regarding its scale and scope. Others welcomed
the introduction of such a scheme and the subsequent
reduction of the public sector. Some concern was expressed
about its possible impact on the delivery of front-line public
services.
Corporation Tax
6.9 A number of groups urged the Executive to continue pressing
for the devolution of Corporation Tax, stating that it will assist
local industry and attract inward investment, thereby
supporting job creation.
Specific Funding Issues
Arts Funding
6.10 A large number of respondents expressed their opposition for
cuts to Arts funding and the corresponding negative impacts
it would have on society in general.
Further and Higher Education
6.11 There were a large number of responses outlining the impact
that cuts to the Department for Employment and Learning
would have on university places, courses and students. A
number of respondents also highlighted the key link between
the creation of workplace skills though our further and higher
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education sectors and the subsequent rebuilding and
rebalancing of the economy.
Education
6.12 The most significant number of responses (over 21,200) was
received in relation to primary, post primary and special
educational needs funding. Respondents expressed the
dangers of cutting the education budgets to primary, postprimary and special educational needs students and the
subsequent effect it would have on the future economy.
Neighbourhood Renewal
6.13 A number of respondents expressed concern that
neighbourhood renewal funding may be reduced or cut
entirely and the subsequent implications for local
communities.
Transfer of Functions to Councils
6.14 Local Councils made representations to the Executive
expressing the need for the grant for the functions
transferring to the Councils to be protected from any future
reductions to departmental budgets in the period beyond
2015-16.
Film Industry
6.15 A large number of organised responses were received in
support of the work of NI Screen, Cinemagic and the wider
film industry, especially given the recent success of
productions based in Northern Ireland.
Rural Economy
6.16 A number of budget responses were in relation to the rural
economy and the key part that the Executive can play in
maximising rural industry.
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Environment and Heritage
6.17 A number of responses were received that advised of the
detrimental effect of the cuts on environmental bodies and
the negative outcome of ignoring Northern Ireland’s built and
natural heritage.
Assembly
6.18 There were a number of concerns raised about the Assembly
not reducing its expenditure when front-line public services
are being cut.
Conclusion
6.19 The number of respondents and variety of topics in this
consultation process has proved that the decisions made by
government are of interest and importance to the public.
6.20 In light of available resources, departmental pressures and
public consultation the Executive made a number of funding
allocations as part of the Final Budget. It is anticipated that
those allocations will help Ministers to address some of the
issues outlined above however given the limited finance
available the Executive recognise that these allocations will
not achieve all that the consultation responses aspire to.
6.21 A table showing the total Budget allocations is presented in
Table 6.1.
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Budget 2015-16
Table 6.1: Total Non Ring-fenced Resource DEL Budget
Allocations
£million
Draft
Budget
Allocations
Final
Budget
Allocations
Total
Allocations
AOCC
DARD
DCAL
DE
DEL
DETI
DFP
DHSSPS
DOE
DOJ
DRD
DSD
FSA
NIA
NIAO
NIAUR
OFMDFM
PPS
19.6
5.1
188.2
32.5
37.7
6.6
200.0
4.7
99.7
37.3
15.1
0.2
0.0
9.5
2.8
3.0
2.0
64.6
33.2
10.4
1.6
4.0
1.9
20.8
5.0
3.5
0.1
1.5
-
22.6
7.1
252.9
65.7
48.1
8.2
204.0
6.6
120.5
42.3
18.7
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.1
9.5
2.8
Departmental Total
659.0
151.6
810.6
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Budget 2015-16
CHAPTER SEVEN: EQUALITY CONSIDERATIONS
Background
7.1 This chapter sets out the actions taken by the Executive and
individual departments in assessing the potential equality,
good relations, poverty, social inclusion and sustainable
development impacts of the 2015-16 Final Budget.
7.2 In line with Equality Commission guidance that equality
considerations should be mainstreamed into the policy
decision process, there remains a greater onus on the
departments responsible for spending proposals to ensure
that the equality and sustainable development impacts are
considered in the appropriate manner.
Statutory Equality Obligations
7.3 Section 75 and Schedule 9 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998
came into force on 1 January 2000. It placed a statutory
obligation on public authorities to ensure that they carry out
their various functions relating to Northern Ireland with due
regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity
between:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Persons of different religious belief;
Persons of different political opinion;
Persons of different racial group;
Persons of different age;
Persons of different marital status;
Persons of different sexual orientation;
Men and women generally;
Persons with a disability and persons without; and
Persons with dependants and persons without.
7.4 In addition, public authorities are also required to have regard
to the desirability of promoting good relations between
persons of different religious belief, political opinion, and
racial group.
7.5 From January 2007 public authorities are also required to
have due regard to the need to promote positive attitudes
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Budget 2015-16
towards people with a disability and to encourage
participation in public life by people with a disability.
7.6 The Delivering Social Change framework was set up by the
Northern Ireland Executive to tackle poverty and social
exclusion. It represents a new level of joined-up working by
Ministers and senior officials across Executive departments
to drive through initiatives which have a genuine impact on
the ground. Delivering Social Change is a new way of doing
business, moving away from plans with long lists of existing
activities towards a smaller number of actions which can
really make a difference.
This framework provides
departments with an outline for cross-cutting policy
development in the context of reducing poverty and social
exclusion.
Equality Impact Screening
7.7 The 2015-16 Budget sets out a framework of resources that
will underpin the Executive’s priorities and help achieve the
overall aim of a peaceful, fair and prosperous society in
Northern Ireland. Due to the economic context, we are
dealing with a Final Budget that once again represents a real
terms decline in public spending.
7.8 In this context, and in recognition of the fact that the
allocation of resources has always the potential to impact on
Section 75 groupings, an equality impact screening
document was produced, in accordance with statutory
requirements, to consider the equality impacts of the Budget
and this was provided to Executive Ministers, as an aid in
their deliberations on the final Budget.
7.9 For departments who identified a differential impact a
summary of the impact was provided to the Executive with
the acknowledgement that the focus was on the overall
provision of resources rather than the specific services to be
provided or outcomes generated.
7.10 Due to the strategic focus of the Budget and the subsequent
high level allocations, the equality impacts of individual
policies, programmes and capital projects are subject to
separate screening by departments as outlined below.
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Budget 2015-16
Departmental Role
7.11 The final delivery of policies, programmes and projects at
departmental level will be informed by the screening
document and Draft Budget public consultation. These
departmental decisions will continue to be subject to specific
equality screening and, where appropriate, full Equality
Impact Assessments (EQIAs) by departments, their agencies
and relevant statutory authorities, as part of their respective
equality schemes and in accordance with the criteria set out
in the guidance produced by the Equality Commission for
Northern Ireland.
7.12 In that context, the Executive will ensure that departments,
government agencies and relevant statutory authorities
continue to meet their obligations under Section 75 and
Schedule 9.
7.13 Details of departmental Equality Screening and EQIAs on
relevant programmes and projects will be available from
individual departments. Departmental contact information
can be found in the contact section of www.nidirect.gov.uk
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Budget 2015-16
ANNEX A: FINANCIAL TABLES & CHARTS
Table 1
Reconciliation of Planned Spend to HM Treasury
Control Totals – Resource DEL
Table 2
Reconciliation of Planned Spend to HM Treasury
Control Totals – Capital DEL
Table 3
Annually Managed Expenditure by Programme
Table 4
Annually Managed Expenditure by Department
Table 5
Change Fund Allocations by Department
Chart 1
Breakdown of 2015-16 Non Ring-fenced
Resource DEL Expenditure by Department
Chart 2
Breakdown of 2015-16 Capital DEL Expenditure
by Department
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Budget 2015-16
Table 1: Reconciliation of Planned Spend to HM Treasury Control Totals
- Resource DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Non RingRingFenced
Fenced
Total
Resource
Resource Resource
Total Departmental Resource DEL
10,176.1
547.8
10,723.9
3.6
-
3.6
11.0
-
11.0
3.0
-
3.0
10.0
-
10.0
122.5
-
122.5
Dealing with the Past
30.0
-
30.0
Welfare Reform
26.9
-
26.9
RRI Interest Repayment
57.5
-
57.5
-651.1
-
-651.1
Overcommitment
-58.4
-
-58.4
Resource Capital Switch
-57.0
-
-57.0
-
2.5
2.5
9,674.1
550.4
10,224.5
EU Funding
Social Investment Fund
Childcare Strategy
T:BUC
Pensions
Regional Rates Income
Unallocated Funding
Total Resource DEL
Totals may not add due to rounding
The final Control Totals will be dependent on the outworking of the Stormont House Agreement and the timing of
welfare reform implementation
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Budget 2015-16
Table 2: Reconciliation of Planned Spend to HM Treasury Control Totals
- Capital DEL
£million
2015-16 Final Budget
Financial
Conventional Transactions
Capital
Capital
Total Departmental Capital DEL
Total
Capital
1,029.6
88.1
1,117.7
100.0
-
100.0
1.1
-
1.1
50.0
-
50.0
-50.0
-
-50.0
15.0
-
15.0
200.0
-
200.0
-300.0
-
-300.0
RRI Borrowing (T:BUC)
-26.8
-
-26.8
NI Community Safety College
-53.3
-
-53.3
-
40.9
40.9
Resource Capital Switch
57.0
-
57.0
FTC Repayment to HMT
0.0
-
0.0
-2.3
-
-2.3
1,020.3
129.0
1,149.3
Repayment of HMT Reserve
EU Funding
Shared Education
AMU Receipts
Social Investment Fund
RRI -Workforce Restructuring
RRI Borrowing
NI Investment Fund
Overcommitment
Total Capital DEL
Totals may not add due to rounding
The final Control Totals will be dependent on the outworking of the Stormont House Agreement and the timing of
welfare reform implementation
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Budget 2015-16
Table 3: Annually Managed Expenditure by Programme
£million
2015-16
Benefits
Pensions
Non Cash Costs
Student Loans
NI Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme
Arm's Length Bodies Corporation Tax Payments
5,676.1
2,479.3
834.7
215.2
12.1
11.0
Total Programme Allocations
9,228.5
Totals may not add due to rounding
Table 4: Annually Managed Expenditure by Department
£million
2015-16
Agriculture and Rural Development
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Employment and Learning
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Finance and Personnel
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Environment
Justice
Regional Development
Social Development
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
Non Ministerial Departments
30.9
9.0
731.2
224.0
45.7
522.6
1,102.8
0.9
566.2
256.5
5,736.4
2.4
Total Departmental Allocations
9,228.5
Totals may not add due to rounding
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Budget 2015-16
Table 5: Change Fund Allocations by Department
£million
2015-16
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Integration of control information for EU area-based schemes
1.0
Department of Education
Nurture Units
1.6
Department for Employment and Learning
Essential skills of maths and English for 14-16 year olds
Condition Management Programme (CMP)
United Youth Programme Pilot Phase 2015-16
Apprenticeships and Youth Training
Collaborative Skills
Total Department for Employment and Learning
0.2
0.5
3.0
7.5
2.0
13.2
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Health, innovation and life sciences
Collaborative Skills
Total Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
0.3
7.1
7.4
Department of Finance and Personnel
Collaborative Procurement
Public sector innovation lab
Total Department of Finance and Personnel
1.3
0.3
1.6
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Belfast Trust Outpatients Modernisation
RAID (Rapid Assessment Interface Discharge)
NI Strategic Innovation - Medicines Management Programme
Project Echo
All Island Congenital Cardiac Service Model
Total Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
0.2
0.8
1.5
0.5
1.0
4.0
Department of Justice
Underachieving Boys: Supporting young offenders
Intensive resettlement and rehabilitation project
Total Department of Justice
0.3
0.5
0.8
Department for Social Development
Want to work or why work
Pilot project to deliver services to older people in the home
Total Department for Social Development
0.3
0.1
0.4
30.0
Total Change Fund Allocations
154