Stormont to get extra €136m from Westminster over next two years

The Northern Ireland Executive will get an extra £136 million in funding from the UK Government to spend as it chooses over the next two years.

Details of the budget boost were announced yesterday by the chancellor George Osborne in his autumn budget statement, which details the plans for the British economy.

Among his incentives to help support the recovery was the abolition of employer National Insurance contributions under the age of 21, which it is estimated could save businesses in the North about £10 million.

The Confederation of British Industry in Northern Ireland has welcomed the move, which could affect 39,000 people.

“Abolishing a ‘jobs tax’ on employing young people under 21 will make a real difference and help towards reducing the high level of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland,” said its director, Nigel Smyth.

'Positive impact'
The North's finance minister, Simon Hamilton, said the chancellor had made decisions that would have a "positive impact".

Mr Hamilton said these included the increase of £2.95 per week in the state pension from next April and the cancellation of a planned fuel duty rise next September that will benefit the drivers of 880,000 cars and vans in the North. He also highlighted the introduction of a married couples’ tax allowance, which will affect about 130,000 couples in the North.

But the president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Mark Nodder, said measures introduced to help business would be ineffective unless fully implemented in the North. He said: “The chancellor’s rates freeze will be welcomed in England but as control over Northern Ireland business rates lies with the Northern Ireland Executive, our own businesses need reassurance this cost won’t rise here too.”