AQW 6555/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 09/09/2020
Answered On Date: 05/10/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy whether her Department will be seeking to obtain a limited ability to redistribute funds to ensure flexibility on COVID-19 support scheme spending and avoid underspend.

Answer:

Earlier this year the Executive endorsed the recommendation of the Department of Finance to allow Departments flexibility to reallocate non-ring fenced funding for COVID-19 response measures. My Department took full advantage of this and reallocated £23.7m to fund emerging pressures.

Similar flexibility does not exist with regard to COVID-19 ring-fenced funding.

With respect to the latest COVID-19 Allocation Exercise, which was agreed on 24 September 2020, the categories are ring-fenced. However, the Executive has approved the ability of Departments to exercise flexibility across similar initiatives within the same category. This is helpful to us.

My Department always seeks to fully utilise the funding it receives, and where necessary, facilitate reallocations if it has approval to do so. Its excellent track record in effective budgetary management, which is noted both within its Annual Report and Accounts, and in its annual Business Plan, clearly demonstrates this.