Post-Brexit Budgets

Oral Answers to Questions — Finance – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 2:30 pm on 13 September 2016.

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Photo of Emma Little-Pengelly Emma Little-Pengelly DUP 2:30, 13 September 2016

T4. Mrs Little Pengelly asked the Minister of Finance, following this week’s good example of toddler economics from the Ulster Unionist Party, with its “triple our funding but lower our taxes” cry to the British Government, whether he can, on a more realistic basis, outline the engagement he has had with Her Majesty’s Treasury on the protection of our capital budget in the short term and an enhancement of that capital budget, particularly for infrastructure, in the light of the additional funds coming back that would otherwise have gone to Europe post-Brexit and the benefit to Northern Ireland from that. (AQT 159/16-21)

Photo of Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Sinn Féin

I thank the Member for her question. For the Treasury to have had that level of engagement with me would mean that they have been speaking to me more than they have been speaking to any of the other devolved Administrations, more than they are speaking to the Opposition and more than they are speaking to one another. Every time I turn on the TV, Mrs May, Mr Davis and Mr Fox are arguing with one another, not to mention Mr Boris Johnson.

You can take it that it is my contention that the British Government can do two things to help.

First, if there is going to be a fiscal reset in the autumn statement and a new approach to austerity, I hope that there will be additional investment in infrastructure. We will not reach the cloud cuckoo land of trebling infrastructure spend. I do not know which particular portal it was going to be transported to Earth from, but we are never going to have the money to treble infrastructure spend, as the Ulster Unionists seem to want. But, there could be a stimulus from Mr Hammond in the Autumn.

Secondly, he could take his foot off the austerity pedal. He could say, "We are not going to oblige you to have a 4·1% real-terms reduction between now and 2020". Regrettably, he has not brought me into his confidence, but we will be keeping the Treasury under pressure on those issues.

Photo of Emma Little-Pengelly Emma Little-Pengelly DUP

I thank the Minister for his response. Can he give a commitment that he will work with his Executive colleagues to look at a stimulus and encouraging business and economic growth here? He will be aware that infrastructure projects, unfortunately, take considerable time in what is referred to as the pipeline; it could be three, four or five years. Will he do everything in his power to ensure that resources and processes are fit for purpose to enable these projects to get shovel-ready and be ready to go when we get that certainty from Her Majesty's Treasury?

Photo of Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Sinn Féin

As I know from my discussions with the business community — I have met maybe 15 or 16 different business organisations, chambers of commerce and so on — a surprising number of infrastructure projects are ready to go. They are not, perhaps, entirely over the line, with full planning permission, but when I meet with my ministerial colleagues, I find that there are projects sitting ready in each Department that they have had to hold back.

We have started a conversation in the Executive about creating our own stimulus locally, so whether it is through a stimulus of our own making or as a result of Mr Hammond's actions and the Barnett consequential, there is a series of projects that I would like to see realised. The South West College in Enniskillen was one of the most impressive visits that I have made since my appointment as Minister, and it is effectively ready to go. I think that would be a great project. Belfast City Council has a number of cultural projects close to the Ulster University that I would like to see happen, and there are some smaller game-changing projects, including an Cultúrlann in West Belfast that I would like to see happen as well.

In your own constituency, there is a little cycle and pedestrian bridge over the Lagan. I do not want to encourage you in baiting — never mind beating — the Ulster Unionists, but as you know, a previous Minister announced that cycle and pedestrian bridge, got full planning permission and then did not build it. If we had stimulus here of our own making or as a consequence of a Barnett consequential and a decision by Mr Hammond, those are the sort of projects — much more than just a bridge over the Lagan — that we could bring forward swiftly.