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Estimates Day debate: Spending of the Northern Ireland Office

The subject for this debate was selected by the Backbench Business Committee. The application for the debate was submitted by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, the chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.

Following debates on the other Estimates on 30 June, the House will vote on whether to approve the Main Estimate for the spending of the Northern Ireland Office in 2026/27.

The Northern Ireland Office

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is the UK Government’s “centre of expertise” on Northern Ireland and represents the interests of Northern Ireland in the UK Government. It works directly with the Northern Ireland Executive as well as carrying out its own work, largely focused on the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. It is a ministerial department with four public bodies.

Finances of Northern Ireland

Most of the Northern Ireland Executive’s available funding comes from grants from the UK Government including the block grant, although it also has some limited borrowing powers and can raise some funding locally (PDF). Most of the UK Government’s funding for Northern Ireland is included in the Estimates for the NIO, and funding for the Northern Ireland Executive makes up most of the NIO’s Estimate.

The Northern Ireland Executive sets its own budget based on the total amounts of funding available to it. As of June 2026, the Northern Ireland Executive has not agreed on a budget for 2026/27, although Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister has proposed his own budget.

Changes in the level of the block grant are set using the Barnett formula. The block grant has generally grown steadily in recent years, although there was a particularly significant temporary increase in 2025/26 following the 2025 Autumn Budget.

The Northern Ireland Executive overspent its budget by £400 million in 2025/26. The difference was covered by an advance from the Treasury Reserve, which must be paid back over three years.

Main Estimate for the Northern Ireland Office in 2026/27

The Northern Ireland Executive’s total planned budget at the 2026/27 Main Estimate is £19,141.0 million (PDF) (£16,701.5 million for day-to-day spending and £2,439.5 million for capital spending), an overall decrease of £15.7 million (‑0.1%) from the 2025/26 Supplementary Estimate totals of £19,156.6 million.  

Within this overall change, day-to-day spending decreased by £192.6 million (-1.1%) to £16,701.5 million, and investment spending increased by £176.9 million (+7.8%) to £2,439.5 million.

The planned budget for the Northern Ireland Office itself in 2026/27 is £74.1 million for planned day-to-day spending (up by 26.8% from 2025/26), £10.8 million for planned investment spending (up 137/7%), and £24.7 million for demand-driven spending (down 50.3%).