Executive agrees 2025-26 Draft Budget
Date published:
Finance Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald has today presented the Executive’s Draft Budget launching a 12-week consultation giving the public the opportunity to have their say.
Announcing the Draft 2025-2026 Budget, Minister Archibald said: “The financial outlook for public services remains incredibly difficult.
“The bids for both Resource and Capital from all Departments far outweighed the funding available.
“Despite the challenges facing us this Draft Budget demonstrates the Executive’s commitment to ‘Doing What Matters Most’.
“It delivers and prioritises additional investment in our public services allocating resources to where they are most needed to improve the lives of workers, families and communities.”
Minister Archibald added: “It provides £8.4bn for health and social care.
“It funds actions to make our communities safer, including a particular focus on ending violence against women and girls.
“It invests in our children and young people with £3.2bn for education and enable delivery of more affordable childcare doubling the investment in funding for the Childcare Strategy helping parents stay in or return to work.
“It supports our farming community and agricultural industry.
“It focuses efforts on our economy by investing in skills and also sees investment in our waste water infrastructure helping to increase housing supply and provision of more social, affordable and sustainable housing. As well as capital investment in our hospitals, school estate, roads and transport network.”
The Draft 2025-2026 Budget sets out proposed Resource DEL and Capital (including Financial Transactions Capital) allocations as follows:
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs – £596.1m Resource DEL and £119.5m Capital
Department for Communities – £929.7m Resource DEL and £318.1m Capital
Department for the Economy – £799m Resource DEL and £206.6m Capital
Department of Education – £3,219m Resource DEL and £380.7m Capital
Department of Finance – £238.6m Resource DEL and £32.5m Capital
Department of Health - £8,402.3m Resource DEL and £391m Capital
Department for Infrastructure – £633.3m Resource DEL and £932.7m Capital
Department of Justice – £1,406.4m Resource DEL and £100m Capital
The Executive Office – £239m Resource DEL and £14m Capital
Highlighting the importance of budget sustainability, Minister Archibald added: “We would like to be able to meet all bids in full, but the reality of our funding envelope means that simply not possible. Continued work on Budget Sustainability and a Budget Improvement Plan will focus on developing long term plans for Departments and putting in place the building blocks for fiscal sustainability. We must keep a firm and sustained focus on transforming our public services if the Executive is to put its finances on a sustainable footing.”
Encouraging people to respond to the Draft Budget consultation which is now open and will run until 13 March 2025 the Minister concluded: “We must work together to do what matters most and that is why I am encouraging people to get involved in the draft Budget consultation and have their say on how to prioritise the finite funding available to us.”
Notes to editors:
- You can view the Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement and Draft Budget documentation at https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/consultations/draft-budget-2025-26-consultation
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