comprehensive spending review

Comprehensive Spending Review offers to cut Northern Ireland’s budget by a mere 2%…

Mick Fealty on June 26, 2013, 2:15 pm

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Odd things Comprehensive Spending Reviews. They are more a statement of intent, than a finalised corporate plan. Thus it is an entirely political decision as to when they are timed. From the Guardian’s round up of George Osborne’s Review (applicable in the first term of the next government, if the coalition are re-elected), here’s the headline figures for the devolved Assemblies/Parliament: The governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are required to find resource savings of 2%, with a budget …

Paterson holds out hopes of lower corporation tax, challenges Executive over double jobbing and local budget

Brian Walker on November 17, 2010, 12:34 am

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Secretary of State Owen Paterson has weighed in with a meaty lecture in memory of the late Lord Steinberg of Belfast giving a timescale for various initiatives ( text courtesy, Jeff Dudgeon). The paper on “ rebalancing the economy” making the whole province an enterprise zone will come in a few weeks’ time and includes an examination of a differential rate of corporation tax, also noted by Conservative Home . This will look at possible ways of turning Northern Ireland into …

Clash looms with Westminster over welfare to work

Brian Walker on November 8, 2010, 9:00 pm

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This could be a very thorny issue for the Assembly and Executive. Nearly all the local parties will hate the coalition’s welfare to work policies. Politically they wouldn’t dare do otherwise. But this pushes them right up against their limitations. Alex Attwood the SDLP’s Social Development minister has branded as “Thatcherite” the coalition’s plans to cut welfare payments for at least three months if voluntary work is not accepted. The Scots are also up in arms. But the Scots appear to …

Wrangles over spending cuts expose flaws in political relationships

Brian Walker on November 2, 2010, 1:10 pm

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Northern Ireland’s only regular press commentator on economics John Simpson is the latest to pour cold water on harmonising corporation tax with the Republic. ( though as usual John does it very gently). Any extra foreign direct investment (FDI) gained would fail to make up the consequent shortfall in block grant revenues of about £200m a year and we haven’t got the range of skills base to attract enough FDI anyway. One suggestion he makes is to opt for a lower but not matching …

The Assembly – struggling to face cuts reality

Brian Walker on October 25, 2010, 9:06 pm

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In the interests of Slugger’s ” better politics campaign”, I sat through the on line coverage of the special Assembly debate on the cuts. (Note the lack of a full report on the MSM). MLAs were united on three things: that the British government had broken their promises, that MLAs themselves had to unite to do something about the cuts ; and three – and this one wasn’t deliberate – that no one had much of an idea what that …

“What do you propose?” The Executive must answer

Brian Walker on October 25, 2010, 11:15 am

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As MLAs stir themselves to return for a special debate on the cuts, will the Executive try to fill that other black hole, the answer the to the question : “what do you propose?” It’s not good enough for the parties to unite only to blame the Brits. They have to start behaving as a government. Peter now puts the shortfall at £5 billion rather than Sammy’s £4 billion when welfare cuts and increased pension contributions are taken into account. …

Cries of betrayal over funding will not help

Brian Walker on October 21, 2010, 10:21 pm

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Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness were hardly in the ideal place to respond the spending cuts, sending cries of betrayal down the line from the States that an agreement for £18 billion of funding struck with Gordon Brown had not been honoured. On that one, the dogs in the streets were barking doubts long ago. It all seemed too good to be true – at least in the version according to Peter and Martin. Investment promises just do not override …

The cuts: another straw in the wind?

Brian Walker on October 8, 2010, 1:10 pm

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The Guardian’s most centrist commentator Martin Kettle argues that the First Minsters’ case for leniency is one of the signs that the cuts mightn’t live up to their fierce billing. Or is being panglossian, as he himself wonders? Extracts Might it not instead be time for the long expected political hurricane to be cautiously downgraded to a tropical storm? Here are three very current reasons for thinking the answer is yes. The first is this week’s report in the Financial Times that …

Whitehall ” too busy ” to deal with First Ministers – claim

Brian Walker on October 7, 2010, 9:25 pm

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The fairly dismissive Verdict of my colleague, devolution expert Alan Trench, on the rainbow coalition of FMs’ call to scale down the cuts. But note the flier in the FT that the phasing may be changed in a direction they favour. Adds Friday. Warm words from deputy PM Nick Clegg about the likely impact of the cuts on a familiarisation visit. Extracts: The First Minister and Deputy First Minister raised with me in very clear terms their concerns about the …

The likely impact of the cuts – doom or just dread?

Brian Walker on October 4, 2010, 3:12 pm

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As the countdown quickens to the comprehensive spending review (CSR), in a fortnight’s time, Peter Robinson argues for Northern Ireland to continue to be treated as special case. This runs counter to other indications e.g.. “Any arguments made that the region requires special „exemption‟ from cuts or that there are specific circumstances requiring a sustained flow of support are almost certain to fall on deaf ears” – (Oxford Economics) Perhaps he knows something we don’t; let’s hope so. On the …