Latest figures detail UK Government’s record funding of £15 billion a year for the Northern Ireland Executive

15 Dec 2021 12:03 PM

Treasury figures published today show breakdown of the record £15 billion per year settlement for the Northern Ireland Executive.

• Northern Ireland Executive receives £121 per person of Barnett-based funding for every £100 per person of equivalent UK Government spending in Great Britain
• Figures reaffirm UK Government’s commitment to levelling up across the whole of the UK

Figures released today by the Treasury set out how the UK Government will provide a record level of funding to the Northern Ireland Executive over the next three years – worth £15 billion a year. The Block Grant Transparency publication provides a detailed breakdown of the funding settlements announced for the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at Spending Review 2021.

The £15 billion annual funding settlement is the largest, in real terms, since devolution more than 20 years ago. It ensures that the Northern Ireland Executive are well-funded to improve public services such as education, housing, health and social care, and will support the UK Government’s mission to level up the UK and build back better and greener from the pandemic.

In addition to Block Grant funding the UK Government is also making direct investments in Northern Ireland such as committing around £50 million through the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Ownership Fund, which will help to improve local infrastructure, regenerate town centres, and could even help to buy your local pub or community sports club. Northern Ireland will also benefit from cuts to Air Passenger Duty to improve connectivity and support jobs at airports in Northern Ireland.

UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke said:

We are committed to ensuring Northern Ireland receives its fair share, and the latest Spending Review has provided a record £15 billion a year to the Northern Ireland Executive.

This funding is crucial in enabling the Northern Ireland Executive to invest in towns, cities, and villages across Northern Ireland.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis said:

The record level of funding allocated in this year’s Spending Review - the largest since devolution began over 20 years ago - will give the Northern Ireland Executive greater flexibility to build up public services that benefit communities across the region.

This funding provides the Northern Ireland Executive with the opportunity to invest in skills, infrastructure and to unlock the potential of key growth sectors. This is an exciting time for Northern Ireland.

At Budget 2017, the Treasury committed to publish an annual Block Grant Transparency publication after each UK Government Budget to show a breakdown of changes to the devolved administrations’ block grant funding.

This report is intended to support greater transparency and accessibility to the people of Northern Ireland as to how the UK Government provides funding to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Further information

• The fifth edition of the Block Grant Transparency provides information for the years covered by the 2015 Spending Review, Spending Round 2019, Spending Review 2020 and Spending Review 2021. The previous release was in June 2021.
• The publication sets out a detailed breakdown of the devolved administrations’ block grant funding and is intended to increase transparency of the block grant calculation process. This includes how much the devolved administrations receive through the Barnett formula and other UK Government funding such as for City and Growth Deals and support for farmers. It also sets how the block grants are adjusted in relation to tax and welfare devolution but does not include details of devolved administration tax revenues nor how they choose to spend their funding.
• The Barnett formula determines changes to the block grant funding in relation to changes in UK Government departmental spending. The formula essentially provides the same pounds-per-person change in funding in each nation of the UK. It is applied when departmental budgets change at Spending Reviews, fiscal events and Main/Supplementary Estimates.
• Further information on how the devolved administrations are funded can be found in the Statement of Funding Policy 2021