AQW 35023/22-27


Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley


Tabled Date: 07/11/2025
Answered On Date: 21/11/2025
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any engagement he has had with the Finance Minister, to secure additional funding for the Education Authority.


Answer:
I have consistently placed on record with the Finance Minister and the Department of Finance (DoF) that Education requires substantially more funding.
From the outset of the 2025-26 budget process, even before the final budget allocation was known, my Department had engaged with DoF as part of an information gathering exercise to identify the funding requirement for 2025-26. At that time, using the initial planning budget provided by DoF, my Department advised DoF of a funding shortfall for Education of c£700m for all resource pressures and submitted resource bids of c£660m for additional funding for 2025-26, in respect of inescapable pressures only.
Upon publication of the draft budget in December, in which my Department was allocated additional funding, my Department was still forecasting a significant budget shortfall for Resource DEL. This budget shortfall, and the implications for the Education sector, were clearly communicated directly to the Finance Minister in my response to his Draft Budget 2025-26 Paper.
Upon finalisation of the Opening 2025-26 Budget my Department was forecasting a Resource DEL shortfall, after taking account of indicative June monitoring allocations of £32.9m, of c£310m. Again, the implications of this shortfall for Education were communicated to the Finance Minister in my response to his Draft Final Budget Paper.
Subsequent to this I, along with my officials, have continuously stressed the quantum and inescapable nature of the financial pressures facing Education in all budget correspondence, monitoring rounds and monthly forecast outturn returns to DoF.
To date the only opportunity for my Department to bid for and receive additional funding was the June monitoring round. As part of June Monitoring, my Department re-assessed previously identified pressures and submitted Resource bids totalling £347m and Capital bids totalling £91.6m. Additional Resource funding of £53.3m (which included the previously indicated allocation of £32.9m) and £12.3m Capital was secured at this time, together with £55m of Executive funding in respect of the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy.
The Finance Minister has provided a commitment to my Department for first call on additional funding available in December monitoring, up to £37m in respect of Teachers’ Pay. However, whilst this commitment is welcome, we have also been advised by DoF that it is unlikely that any further funding will be available at December monitoring.
Whilst I welcome the additional funding that has been allocated to my Department to date, I remain committed to advocating for the required level of investment in Education. Latest forecasts indicate my Department will overspend by c£288m for 2025-26.
However, given the scale of pressures faced by the Northern Ireland Block Grant, the Executive also needs to continue to make the case to HM Treasury for additional funding for Northern Ireland.