AQO 1253/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 21/11/2024
Answered On Date: 03/12/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance for her assessment of whether the departmental allocations in the October Monitoring round will adequately cover the 2024-2025 public sector pay awards.

Answer:

Departments reported Resource overcommitments of £791 million in the October Monitoring round, which included non-contractual public sector pay pressures of some £440 million.

Following the Autumn Budget the Executive had £631.5 million Resource DEL available for allocation.

Unfortunately, even with this unprecedented level of additional in-year funding £180 million of departmental overcommitments remained unaddressed following the outcome of the October Monitoring round.

Individual Ministers will need to decide how best to utilise the additional allocations to address these overcommitments, which included pay pressures, whilst remaining within their Resource DEL budget allocation.

However, despite these funding challenges we must do everything we can to find the money to cover public sector pay awards.

I remain fully committed to working together with Ministerial colleagues to try and find a way forward in respect of the Public Sector Pay challenges we face.

Our public sector workers deserve be paid fairly given their vital role in the provision of our public services and that we will not be able to deliver on our transformation objectives without their support.

That is why I continue to ask all Ministers to do what they can to deliver savings and identify these as early as possible so that any funding available can be prioritised for public sector pay awards.

I have been clear that I am determined to work collaboratively with colleagues to bring the best possible outcomes for our workers and for our citizens.