Autumn Statement 2022

Lord Rogan Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rogan (UUP)]

My Lords, I too welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Lea of Lymm, to the House. In the absence of a functioning Executive and Assembly at Stormont, I wish to place some concerns and some positive words on the record about how the Autumn Statement relates to Northern Ireland.

I welcome the £650 million in Barnett consequentials for public services in Northern Ireland over the next two years. However, there is something of a dark irony about this amount, given that it almost precisely mirrors the £660 million black hole in Northern Ireland’s budget in the current financial year.

In a Written Ministerial Statement published last week, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Chris Heaton-Harris, chose to adopt a rather aggressive stance towards the Province’s political parties, accusing them of failing

“to display the necessary political leadership for which they were elected.”—[Official Report, Commons, 24/11/22; col. 18WS.]

He followed this up with a BBC interview, where his tone was similarly blunt. This was disappointing on two levels.

First, by common consent—not a normal occasion in Northern Ireland politics—my Ulster Unionist colleague Robin Swann was an outstanding Health Minister, who, alongside the incredible health workers themselves, played a heroic role in tackling the challenges before him, particularly during the pandemic. The DUP’s decision to, in effect, collapse the Executive has robbed the Department of Health of the type of political leadership Mr Heaton-Harris said he wanted.

Secondly, a great many people in Northern Ireland are deeply worried about their personal finances as the cost of living crisis tightens its grip. The last thing they need at this moment is to see Mr Heaton-Harris on their television screens telling them that Northern Ireland-specific spending cuts are on their way. He then also threatened to increase fares on public transport, raise the regional rates and introduce water charges. What he failed to do was to provide an indication of when Northern Ireland consumers can expect to receive the £400 promised to them through the energy bills support scheme and the £200 home heating oil support payment promised by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement.

I pay tribute to His Majesty’s Government for setting aside these much-needed funds at this most difficult time, but it surely cannot be right that while households in Great Britain began receiving their energy bills support scheme payments in October, people in Northern Ireland are yet to receive any payment whatever. Speaking in another place two days before delivering his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor said he was “absolutely determined” to release this money to Northern Ireland households. However, two full weeks have come and gone and still there is no firm indication of how and when these payments will be made. Indeed, the Energy Minister, Graham Stuart, recently admitted that a joint task force set up to deliver the payments had met only twice—I repeat, only twice—between the middle of August and the middle of November. I would be grateful if the Minister, in her concluding remarks, could update me and, most importantly, the people of Northern Ireland on when she expects the first energy payments to be released, and by which mechanism. It is truly a dominant issue in Northern Ireland at present, as I am sure the Minister will fully understand.

One announcement in the Autumn Statement which did not get the attention it merited was the Chancellor’s promise to fund a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland next year. As your Lordships will be aware, next year marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast agreement, which, counter to the views of naysayers, should be a moment of pride and optimism for Northern Ireland. That landmark should also be used as a catalyst to attract inward investment, which we certainly deeply need. I would be grateful if the Minister could tell me more about the nature of the event the Government have in mind. I would be happy if she writes to me on that.

Finally, I was delighted to hear the Chancellor confirm that he intends to

“proceed with round 2 of the levelling-up fund, at least matching the £1.7 billion value of round 1.”—[Official Report, Commons, 17/11/22; col. 852.]

When he said, “at least matching,” I hope that he meant “increase” because I know many of the bids have been impacted by inflation, with the cost of building materials increasing significantly since the date for final submissions in July. I am delighted that Northern Ireland is very much part of this bidding process, with at least 3% of the £4.8 billion capital fund due to be allocated to bids in the Province, subject, according to the official guideline, to a suitable number of high-quality bids being submitted.

On a day when the minds of many in this House will be at least partially focused on a certain international football match in Qatar, I bring good news for Ministers about a high-quality levelling-up fund bid relating to local football in Northern Ireland. Earlier this month, I was invited to visit Coleraine Football Club, on the stunning Causeway Coast, to hear more about its bid to redevelop its home ground, which is located between two wards within the top 10% most deprived areas of Northern Ireland. The planned works include a vibrant community hub, with meeting rooms for community events and classrooms for educational programmes. There will also be a 3G community training pitch with floodlighting, which will provide a real boost to youth football, both male and female.

I was pleased to see that the club’s application has attracted the support of all sides—I stress, all sides—and at every level of community, business, political and sporting life in the north-west of the Province, as well as from several former Northern Ireland Secretaries of State and other distinguished parliamentarians. I urge the Minister to take an active interest in Coleraine Football Club’s bid, because it surely represents what the Government’s levelling-up agenda is all about.