Northern Ireland Budget Bill

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons & 3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee heard a couple of weeks ago from the Chief Constable about how difficult it is to budget from month to month. Given that we are entering the new budget-setting process for the next year, does my hon. Friend not agree that we should look at setting the budget for the next financial year as well as for this one?

[Dr Murrison]

I certainly share the concern about long-term planning. In general, we do such planning through the normal budget system, but it is not clear to me how that is going to be achieved for the financial year 2018-19. I suspect our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be considering how that can best be achieved in short order, since we have only a matter of weeks in which to determine the budget for Northern Ireland, as for the rest of the United Kingdom, for future years.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to refer to our evidence session with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, when he expressed his concern not just about finance, but about general accountability. Given that the Northern Ireland Policing Board has not been properly constituted, because of the impasse at Stormont, he is very concerned, as she will recall, about the democratic deficit and what that implies for accountability.

On testing the methodology on which the estimates are based, for me the most important thing to do is to look at the biggest spending Department. The biggest spending Department and the one with the second largest cash departmental expenditure limit is of course the Department of Health. Until the end of last year, the Minister in charge of the Department was Michelle O’Neill. She said last October, in response to Professor Bengoa’s health sector reform plan, that it was

“a foundation for my vision”—

we could not hope for a clearer statement of ministerial intent—and formed the basis of her 10-year vision.

It is not clear to me where and how that vision is captured in the budget presented, but we know that David Sterling has relied on what he understood to be the ministerial intent up to the point at which the Executive collapsed. It would be useful to know in greater detail how the purposes listed under the Department of Health in schedule 1 are being addressed with Bengoa’s plans in mind, given that they have been endorsed by the last Minister of Health in Northern Ireland. As it happens, those purposes are remarkably broad, but it is one of the smallest paragraphs in the schedule, which is somewhat strange given the extent of the health budget in Northern Ireland.

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[Dr Murrison]

Yes. I share the concerns of many about Northern Ireland’s voice at this time. Northern Ireland is at the forefront of what will happen to this country after we leave the European Union, for better or for worse—in my opinion, for better, but I am prepared to admit that there are risks and opportunities in the process. It is vital that Northern Ireland, of all the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, has its voice heard, loud and clear. It is a dereliction of duty by the institutions and political parties in Northern Ireland that that is not happening. It seems to me a betrayal of the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.

I mentioned Michelle O’Neill in my remarks about the Bengoa report and her stewardship of the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. It is a sad state of affairs that she appears to be willing the ends in her 10-year vision for healthcare in Northern Ireland without willing the means. Hon. Members have made the point today that things like health and education really worry people in Northern Ireland—it is exactly the same for all our constituents—yet we seem prepared to put other things before those extraordinarily important services. I do not think that that represents the needs and aspirations of people at all well. I hope that those parties that are not prepared to come to the table to discuss those matters sufficiently to restore the Executive reflect on that.

I suspect that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State shares my fears that, the budget process having been achieved, nothing much will happen. There is an impasse at Stormont and I see no immediate prospect of the restoration of the Executive. We therefore need to start considering what we now do to ensure that the important objectives, such as for health and education, that we have discussed this afternoon, and the apportionment of funds this year, let alone next financial year, are achieved. To do that, it seems to me that we need to look at historical precedent. The Northern Ireland Act 1974 gave special powers to the Northern Ireland Grand Committee, which could scrutinise and comment on draft Orders in Council.

I suspect that the Secretary of State is giving some thought to measures that can be taken to ensure some input from people in Northern Ireland—those elected to represent views in Northern Ireland from civic society and so on. That will become urgent as we tip into the new year and start to consider the financial year 2018-19. It would be useful to hear from the Secretary of State what measures will be taken to consult Northern Ireland generally, and particularly elected representatives, to ensure that that voice is heard.

Accountability is a difficult concept with which to grapple. We are accountable to our constituents. Ministers are not accountable for much of the grey area that we have been discussing today. Sadly, that is falling between the cracks. However, we need to make as best a stab at it as we can before the Executive are restored. To do that, we need to look at institutions in Northern Ireland and try to work out how they can best give voice to public opinion and at least keep the flame of accountability alive in the Province.

[Maria Caulfield]

Does my hon. Friend not think it is particularly important that the voice of the nationalist community is heard, given that they do not have representation in this place or in the Assembly? Theirs is a voice unheard in terms of electoral representation.

[Dr Murrison]

Yes, I really do. Although it is of course Sinn Féin’s choice not to take its seats here—one that, as a democrat, I regret. Nevertheless, we need to ensure that both communities are heard. The Assembly may be one way of doing that and it would at least give MLAs something to do.

The last time we discussed this matter, on 2 November, the hon. Member for Pontypridd was very keen for MLAs to continue to draw their pay and rations. I do not agree with that and the bulk of people in Northern Ireland do not agree with it either, but I welcome today’s announcement that Mr Trevor Reaney will be appointed to discuss the matter further with interested parties. He will come up with recommendations on how MLAs should be paid, given that this could go on for a considerable time. We try to restore faith in politics in Northern Ireland, as we do in the rest of the United Kingdom, and it is very difficult to see how that process is enhanced or advanced in the event that we are paying individuals largely for sitting at home. I accept that many of them will be working hard to try to represent and help their constituents as well as they possibly can; nevertheless, their primary role is to attend Stormont and represent those views there, and that is just not happening.

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[Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Nigel Dodds). I endorse his comments, as well as those of the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Owen Smith), and the Secretary of State, about the shocking events that occurred at the weekend. There is absolutely no place in Northern Ireland for pipe bombs. Following all the work and all the struggles of all the political parties in recent years to establish these arrangements, there is every possible means to express political opinion and no place for such behaviour, and I am delighted to note that the House condemns it wholeheartedly.

I became Secretary of State after the long process that preceded the Belfast agreement. Policing and justice had just been devolved, and incredibly difficult decisions had been made by John Major, followed by those of Tony Blair. We really, really tried to make the system work. I saw a need to balance the political arrangements with help for the economy through the devolution of corporation tax. We had the complete support of all the political parties and the business community, but corporation tax has still not been devolved. We have done our bit in the House—we have given the Assembly and the Executive the power to do that—but, tragically for all those businesses in Northern Ireland and all the people working in them, it has not been delivered.

I am as disappointed as anyone in the Chamber that we are having to pass a Bill that will directly deliver money to keep things going in Northern Ireland. I entirely endorse what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has done; I think that his patience in recent months has been extraordinary, and I fully understand why he intends to continue to do his best to persuade the local parties to agree. Sadly, however, we have reached this point. The Bill is technical and I hope that it will be passed shortly without amendment, although I know that other Members intend to speak.

My right hon. Friend made a key point in his speech. He said that his real concern was for good governance in Northern Ireland. What worries me is that it is simply not fair for the civil service in Northern Ireland to have to run the place without political decision-making. The hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) mentioned that in an intervention. Who is responsible? To whom will the permanent secretary be accountable? Sadly, this arrangement can be only for the short term. We hope that the Secretary of State pulls it off and gets the institutions up and running. He has spoken of a “glide path”, and I think that he will have to deal with the problem of the declining public services in Northern Ireland.

Let me rattle off a few facts. This has nothing to do with money. Northern Ireland receives £14,018 per head, while England, where our constituents are, receives £11,579. That means that, in Northern Ireland, the state has £2,721 more to spend per head. Several Members have mentioned health and education; let me briefly deal with those.

Last month, the BBC conducted a major health study. When it comes to healthcare, Northern Ireland is the worst-performing region. In some specialisms such as orthopaedics, waiting lists for treatment now exceed three years. Patients suffering chronic pain can wait up to two years to be seen by a specialist, and cancer care targets have never been met. In 2015, the target for the health service was to complete 70% of routine procedures in three months; it did not meet that target. The response was to lower the target to 50%, and the health service failed to meet that as well.

In many critical areas, performance continues to get worse rather than better. In the Belfast Trust, which is not necessarily the worst-performing trust, 29,500 people are waiting more than 12 months for an out-patient appointment—the target is zero—and 25% of patients wait for a year to see a specialist, while in England and Wales the figure is 2%. Clinicians are voting with their feet. Doctors are refusing to work in some small A&E departments: they believe that they are unsafe to operate, because they do not have access to the full range of services and specialisms.

There is a way out. One thing that Northern Ireland is very good at is generating reports recommending reform. My hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) mentioned Professor Bengoa’s report, which recommended a complete restructuring of the health service. It was supported by clinicians and by the Sinn Féin Minister, but, of course, it has gone nowhere. Reform requires decisions. It needs leadership, and the political will to design and implement a healthcare system that can work and deliver for all the people. However, that inevitably means challenging local political interests, and the necessary political courage has simply not been there.

This partly comes down to the duplication of services. As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I was a strong supporter of Shared Future, especially in the context of education. Education is critical to the future of the whole of Northern Ireland, but the sectarian division in education is a terrible waste—not just of human talent, but of money. There are two teacher training colleges. A proposal to rationalise them met with furious opposition, and was abandoned. The education boards were abolished and replaced by a new unitary education authority, but there is still waste. The authority now absorbs about 30% of the education budget. Some of that is spent on transport, but it shows that this terrible duplication is costly.

In 2015, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools proposed the closure of St Mary’s High School in Brollagh, County Fermanagh. It had just 121 pupils, which was far below the 500 that it needed to be viable. What happened? Against his own Department’s advice, the Sinn Féin Minister refused to close it. The roll has now fallen to below 90, and it will finally close in 2018. This fiasco has cost between £550,000 and £700,000 a year to keep it open. So if we are going to get a shared future, we should seriously consider the benefits of direct rule. Direct rule Ministers could take difficult decisions. We could end this ludicrous duplication, this ludicrous cost and this ludicrous waste in the delivery of public services.

I go to Northern Ireland quite regularly privately. Time and again in recent visits people have come up to me and said, “When are we going to get direct rule?” I know that no Front Bencher wants this, the devolved parties do not want it, and nobody in this House wants it, but we must now face up to the requirement to balance the problems of failing public services because of lack of political direction and the need to recognise the achievements of the process and to keep the political institutions going. That is a very difficult balance to judge at present, but when we hear the figures I have cited—I have plenty more, which I could have read out if I had the time—we recognise that we are letting down the hard-working people of Northern Ireland if we expect them to put up with failing public services, despite very high levels of public expenditure, because there is simply not the political decision-making process.

[Maria Caulfield]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Paterson]

No, as others want to speak.

It is simply not fair on the civil service to expect it to deliver this. So, without any great enthusiasm, I will be voting for the Bill tonight. I wish the budget had gone out to the local Members and there had been institutions spending this money months ago, but I wholeheartedly support what the Secretary of State has done, and I wholeheartedly sympathise with the difficult position he has been in. However, I ask him to think about the balance between what is happening on the ground, and what services the people of Northern Ireland are actually getting, and whether this stasis at the moment is really delivering for them.

Perhaps the Secretary of State should now begin to get his slow glide in order, to begin to think about direct rule Ministers. I agree with Opposition Front Benchers that once we get going on that it might be very difficult to get out, but I ask us all to think of that balance. We owe it to those hard-working people in Northern Ireland that they should get proper decisions made with public money.

Tonight, I will support the Bill, but I ask the Secretary of State to think about what happens over the next few weeks.