Doods warns of impact of potential treasury cuts

Finance Minister, Nigel Dodds, has warned of the consequences of possible efficiency cuts, imposed by the Treasury, on the Executive’s budget.

He was speaking before travelling to Edinburgh for a meeting involving the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper, and the Finance Ministers of the three devolved administrations.

Discussions at the meeting will cover the Chancellor’s proposed efficiency cuts, which would affect the Executive’s budget in the 2010/11 financial year.

The Minister said: “Today will provide the devolved administrations with the opportunity to warn the Chancellor of the impact of these cuts.

“The proposed cuts are not truly efficiency savings. True efficiency savings encourage a more effective use of resources and free up money to reinvest into front line services. The proposals from the Chancellor are about taking money away from Northern Ireland altogether. This would constitute a material change in the three-year budget promised by the Chancellor and would inevitably have a major impact on delivering the Executive’s priorities.

“I will use today’s meeting to impress upon Yvette Cooper that the Chancellor should honour his promises and not impose cuts that will impact on the ongoing work of the Executive to help our economy through the current recession.”

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