Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, right, and First Minister Peter Robinson are set to reveal budget plans
The Stormont Executive has approved a budget plan aimed at absorbing £4 billion of spending cuts in Northern Ireland.
The move came after marathon late-night talks at Stormont Castle between the parties in the region's mandatory power-sharing coalition.
The two main parties - the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein - and the Alliance Party voted for the plan, while the Ulster Unionists and SDLP abstained.
DUP First Minister Peter Robinson hailed the blueprint as a "first class budget".
"This is the Northern Ireland Executive doing what it was elected to do, taking decisions, no matter how hard, on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the administration had risen to the challenge.
"The Executive showed real leadership," he said. "The Executive has shown decisive leadership and has faced up to these very difficult challenges."
Finance Minister Sammy Wilson said the Executive had passed the budget test "with flying colours".
"It will be a good Christmas present for the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
Details will be officially unveiled by Mr Wilson when he presents the four-year plan to the Assembly later today, but many of the main planks of the cost-saving and revenue raising programme have already emerged.
Whilst it is understood the much-debated health budget will not face significant cuts in the short term, potential NHS efficiencies are set to be explored by a team of experts.
A plastic bag tax, a pay freeze for civil servants earning more than £21,000 and a £200 million-plus raid on the reserves of Belfast Port and the region's housing associations are also believed to be among the measures in the plan.
The freeze on the domestic regional rate is also expected to end, with rates instead rising in line with inflation.
A multimillion-pound hardship fund for those impacted by changes to the UK welfare system and a major cash boost for deprived communities still suffering the legacy of Troubles are also understood to form part of the budget.
Northern Ireland was the last devolved administration to agree a spending plan in the wake of the Treasury's Comprehensive Spending Review in October.
The Executive's smaller parties, the Ulster Unionists and the nationalist SDLP, revealed they are willing to see the draft budget brought forward but stopped short of supporting the deal immediately.
Both argued that because the package had been primarily drafted by Sinn Fein and the DUP, they wanted more time to scrutinise it.
The two parties did not oppose the proposals being tabled at the Assembly, before the measures go out for a period of public consultation.
A UUP spokesman said: "We are happy that a draft budget has been delivered, but we will want time to consider it in detail."
He said they would not seek to oppose it at this stage.
"We are happy that further consultation take place."
The SDLP said: "The SDLP believes that the draft budget should go out for consultation, but we also believe it can be improved.
"Over the next three months the SDLP will be feeding in our ideas which we believe can improve what is on the table."
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