On 22 January 2015 the Executive, as part of the Stormont House Agreement (SHA), agreed that there should be an independent audit of departmental spending to identify how divisions in society might impact on the delivery of goods, facilities and services, and to then consider how best to reconfigure service delivery in a manner consistent with the Shared Future concept. This follows on from a 2007 report by Deloitte (commissioned by OFMDFM) which estimated a £1.5 billion cost of division.
DFP subsequently commissioned the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre to produce an independent audit of the cost of division – commencing with an ‘empirical update’ of the Deloitte report. The full report and an Executive Summary are published below.
Cost of Division - Detailed Paper