“This has informed the Executive’s decisions on capital allocations over this period..”

If you were wondering where any additional resources for the new allocations in the Executive’s “unanimously” agreed budget have come from, this paragraph in the Finance Minister’s statement [pdf file] would appear to provide the answer

Over the next three years of the Budget period, the [Capital Realisation] Taskforce report has identified a range of potential opportunities to reinvest the proceeds of up to £295 million of asset disposals. Further work remains to be done on analysing the scope and feasibility of these potential disposals. This has informed the Executive’s decisions on capital allocations over this period, taking into consideration our ability to realise these proceeds in the current market conditions and also our capacity to re-invest these proceeds.

It’s not clear if that emergency bunker was included..Also in the statement

As I will explain later, some additional resources have become available for allocation now. However in terms of scale, these are very much at the margins of the total allocations that were earmarked for departments in the draft Budget. Therefore, the only way to have allocated substantial extra resources to any single department now would have been to reduce the allocations that had been proposed for other departments.

In light of the significant pressures identified by all departments, the Executive decided not to pursue this option. Therefore, the main focus for our response to the consultation exercise lies in the discretion that each Minister and department has to deploy their available resources in pursuit of the Executive’s strategic priorities and objectives, as set out in our final Programme for Government.

And more on the Capital Realisation Taskforce

Last autumn the Executive set up the Capital Realisation Taskforce and it was asked to make recommendations that would remove present barriers to more efficient and economically effective use of the Executive’s assets, realising significant additional value that can be focussed on enhancing Northern Ireland’s infrastructure.

The Taskforce was asked to report its initial findings by December so that these could be incorporated into our final Budget position. The Taskforce Report has made a number of key recommendations including identification of the potentially significant value to be released from assets over the next 10 years, in the region of £900 million. This figure is in addition to the £1.1 billion already identified.

Over the next three years of the Budget period, the Taskforce report has identified a range of potential opportunities to reinvest the proceeds of up to £295 million of asset disposals. Further work remains to be done on analysing the scope and feasibility of these potential disposals. This has informed the Executive’s decisions on capital allocations over this period, taking into consideration our ability to realise these proceeds in the current market conditions and also our capacity to re-invest these proceeds.

Recommendations have also been made in the Report to improve the financial management and control of public sector assets. This does not mean selling assets and spending the proceeds to address short-term priorities. It is about the effective stewardship by the Executive, and the development of assets to their full potential involving all key stakeholders. This is to ensure we get the maximum benefit from all the assets at the Executive’s disposal in the support of public services.