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Budget (Northern Ireland) Order 2007

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Budget (Northern Ireland) Order 2007. The noble Baroness said: We are considering the draft Budget order today as a result of the continuing suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. We are hopeful that locally elected representatives will soon be taking decisions on public expenditure in Northern Ireland with the restoration of devolution. However, while direct rule continues, we are determined to govern in an open and fair way to improve the delivery of public services for the people of Northern Ireland. The draft order has two purposes. The first is to authorise revised amounts of resources and cash for 2006-07. The total revised amount of resources for 2006-07 is £16.83 billion and the total revised amount of cash from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund is £11.194 billion. The second purpose of the draft order is to authorise a vote on account to allow funds to continue to flow to public services for the early months of the next financial year, until the main estimates for 2007-08 can be prepared and considered. To do this, the draft order seeks Parliament’s authorisation for the use of resources amounting to £6.217 billion, and for the issue of cash from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund amounting to £5.05 billion. In general, the resource and cash amounts required on account for the next financial year have been calculated as 45 per cent of the total voted provision for this year. The vote on account is not intended to seek final approval of the allocations for 2007-08. Instead, it seeks sufficient resources and cash to allow services to continue until the detailed work on the main estimates for next year has been completed in the early summer. I will not attempt to summarise the high level of financial detail contained in the Budget order and supporting documents. I will try to answer any specific points of detail raised during the discussion. The Government’s key objective in the use of expenditure continues to be the delivery of quality public services. Reallocating resources from lower to higher priority areas, focusing on the reform of our public services and raising more money locally to pay for better local services, will achieve this. As in other regions of the UK, work is under way in Northern Ireland to determine the spending priorities for the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Secretary of State has identified three key cross-cutting priority strategies as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review: a 10-year strategy for children and young people; an anti-poverty and social inclusion strategy which replaces New Targeting Social Need, the previous strategy; and the sustainable development strategy emphasising the importance of investing in our environment and renewable energy sources, as an important step in supporting the creation of a society which is genuinely sustainable. There has been an increase in real-terms investment expenditure of 43 per cent, or more than £300 million, on the amount spent just four years ago. The planned level of investment will continue to grow, with the investment strategy for Northern Ireland setting out a sustained capital investment programme for 2005-15. On 1 April this year, we will see the implementation of the water reform programme which will deliver significant benefits both to the public and the Northern Ireland economy. Through the new Northern Ireland water company, the Government will be putting in place the framework within which sustained investment will take place to improve the quality of our drinking water, better protect the environment and radically enhance the delivery of water and sewerage services to customers. Considerable investment is required to improve the water and sewerage infrastructure. The Northern Ireland Asset Management Plan 2 indicated that investment in the region of £3 billion, at 2001 prices, may be needed during the 20-year period from 2003. The introduction of domestic charges and the widening of non-domestic charges will establish a secure, reliable source of funding which will deliver the scale of investment that is required to improve the water and sewerage infrastructure and the service to the customer. The water reform programme will also benefit other public services in Northern Ireland as resources previously required to fund water and sewerage services will be available to allocate to other areas. Ultimately, when charges are fully introduced, we expect this figure to be around £300 million per year—a substantial sum which will provide much needed extra funding for our hospitals, schools and transport systems. We want to see society and the economy transformed by using public spending wisely to invest in the services that make a real difference to peoples lives—in health and education; in the lives of children and young people; in promoting long-term economic growth through investment in skills and training; and in protecting the environment through the development of new sources of renewable and clean energy. Investment must be accompanied by radical reform of how public services are planned and delivered so that front-line services are more efficient and responsive to the needs of the citizens who use them. It is in this context, therefore, that the process of implementing in full the announcements made following the review of public administration has already begun. This Budget aims to meet the needs and expectations of this and future generations in Northern Ireland through a combination of investment and reform. I commend the draft order to the Committee. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Budget (Northern Ireland) Order 2007.—(Baroness Amos.)