Wilson confirms record level of investment in public services by NI departments in 2008-09

Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, has confirmed that in 2008-09 local departments invested more than £10,000 million in public services for the first time in history.

The Minister was speaking after announcing to the Assembly the expenditure outturn position for NI Departments in 2008-09 as well as the changes to the expenditure plans for the current financial year as part of the June Monitoring Round.

Mr Wilson said:

“Northern Ireland Executive departments spent £8,600 million in current expenditure in 2008-09, an increase of 5.1% on the previous year with spend on Health & Social Care increasing by 8.2%, highlighting the significant level of investment in priority frontline services.

“The position on capital was even more positive with almost £1,500 million in net capital investment being taken forward, equivalent to an increase of 32.0% on 2007-08 or almost £1 million a day in additional investment, providing a real boost to the local construction industry during these difficult times.

“In addition, whilst there have been concerns regarding the downturn in the property market, and the consequential impact on capital receipts, the outturn level of gross capital investment was almost £1,700 million equivalent to a 20.1% increase on last year.

“This strong performance has been made possible by the pro-active management of public resources by the Department of Finance and Personnel during the course of 2008-09, as well as improved financial management by local departments, which has resulted in 99.7% of the Executive’s budget being spent. This is a vast improvement on the performance of NI departments under Direct Rule when, for example, almost £380 million of resources were left unspent at the end of 2005-06.

“I believe that the best way in which the Executive can provide support to local families and businesses during the economic downturn is to deliver against the plans set out in the Budget and the Programme for Government.  Whilst the level of public spending is only one piece of the jigsaw, the performance of departments last year on this measure provides clear evidence that we are making a real difference to the lives of people in Northern Ireland.”

In terms of additional funding allocations as part of the June Monitoring Round the Minister stated: “Despite the challenging overall financial position I am still able to make over £210 million in additional allocations to departments as part of the June Monitoring Round, in respect of commitments previously entered into by the Executive including the deferral of the introduction of water charges for a further year.

“In addition I am making a £20 million capital allocation to social housing for Disabled Adaptations and Renovation Grants which will also enable the Social Development Minister to release the funding for Egan Contracts, which had been held back. This will have the dual impact of allowing necessary maintenance work to proceed and providing support to the construction sector.”

However, the Minister cautioned that significant uncertainties remain with the potential for some difficult decisions ahead:

“Although the Executive was able to address a range of pressures as part of June Monitoring there are a number of risk areas for the remainder of this financial year, including the potential implications of the NICS Equal Pay Claim. There is also a need for the Executive to take an early decision in respect of the funding of water and sewerage services for 2010-11 in light of the level of costs involved.

“However, despite the challenges ahead, I will continue the work of Nigel Dodds and Peter Robinson in ensuring that the resources available to the Executive are used to deliver the best possible services for all the people of Northern Ireland in light of the limited resources available.”

Notes to editors:

1. Although the Final Outturn position is available later in the year, the expenditure levels declared at Provisional Outturn are the main basis for assessing the expenditure performance of NI departments each year. There is not expected to be a significant difference in the Provisional and Final Outturn positions for most departments. For details of the 2008-09 Provisional Outturn position for NI departments go to http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/june-2009-monitoring-speech.
2. Egan contracts refer to the longer-term arrangements between the Government and local construction firms which were designed to deliver better quality and efficiency for the Government in terms of the maintenance of the social housing stock and at the same time provide enhanced certainty for contractors regarding work levels. They were established following recommendations from the 1998 Construction Taskforce led by Sir John Egan.
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