Willie Hay says Barnett must be reviewed urgently as public investment in the North lags behind England
Willie Hay says Barnett must be reviewed urgently as public investment in the North lags behind England
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00:00My Lords, the time I have left I want to dwell very much on public services in Northern Ireland.
00:06No all of the parties have been campaigning that public services are constrained because of the Barnett formula.
00:14The Northern Ireland Fiscal Commission highlighted that funding for public services in Northern Ireland continues to fall well below the level of need.
00:26Therefore, my Lords, year in year, public services are being reduced.
00:33We are not receiving the uplift we need to run our public services in Northern Ireland.
00:41In fact, the Treasury's contribution to fund public services in Northern Ireland is going down rather than rising.
00:50As an example, in England up to 2025 spending will increase by over 6%, but only 3.6% in Northern Ireland.
01:01My Lords, these funding problems are not new and have been flagged up by the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council repeatedly over and over again.
01:11The Barnett formula is not working for Northern Ireland as it does not take account of need within Northern Ireland.
01:19My Lords, the Government need to understand that if public services in Northern Ireland are to be put on a sustainable footing,
01:27there needs to be real change in how Northern Ireland is funded into the future.
01:34My Lords, we need to see a review of the Barnett formula to ensure that Northern Ireland's funding is based on need rather than on population size.
01:44There is an urgent piece of work to be done on a new funding model for Northern Ireland.
01:52We are £500 million to £600 million short of what other parts of the United Kingdom receive.
02:01The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and all of its parties on the Committee, when they held an inquiry looking at the funding model for Northern Ireland,
02:10were very much aware of addressing the urgency of this particular issue.
02:15In fact, all the Members of that Committee supported a new funding model urgently for Northern Ireland.
02:22My Lords, I hope that this is an issue that this Government will focus on sooner rather than later.
02:29As a devolutionist, I want the devolved Government to succeed.
02:34Working alongside the Government, hopefully we can find the right funding model for Northern Ireland,
02:41provide the funding to reform our public services and deliver an effective Government in Northern Ireland.