Villiers urges Northern Ireland parties to strike budget deal

Failure by Stormont leaders to agree a draft budget will force civil servants to take control of financial decisions next year, the Northern Ireland Secretary has warned.

Theresa Villiers urged the executive parties to “buckle down” and strike a deal on the 2015/16 spending plans before a deadline of the end of this week.

British chancellor George Osborne set the time limit as a condition of allowing the power-sharing coalition access to an emergency £100 million (€127 million) loan earlier this month to help ease a £220 million funding crisis.

Ms Villiers stressed the need for consensus to be reached as Democratic Unionist Finance Minister Simon Hamilton prepared to circulate a proposed budget.

A proportion of the £220 million shortfall is an £87 million penalty imposed on the executive by the UK treasury for failing to implement the government’s welfare reforms in the region – a sum that will increase the longer it takes to introduce the controversial policies.

Ms Villiers, who is currently chairing an ongoing political talks process aimed at resolving a broad range of Stormont disputes, including those over budgetary matters and welfare reform, said civil servants taking the reins of spending would represent a “disastrous step back” for devolution.

PA