Treasury written question – answered at on 23 June 2026.
Robin Swann
UUP, South Antrim
To ask the Chancellor of the exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Open Book exercise on the Northern Ireland Executive budget.
Lucy Rigby
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Open Book review of the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget identified up to £3.3 billion in potential annual savings and additional spending power.
It is now vital the Executive consider these findings and take the necessary decisions to place its finances on a sustainable footing.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I are keen to support the Executive in this work, and I have met with the Finance Minister to discuss the budget.
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The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
