Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his planned timetable is for the Northern Ireland Assembly to bring forward revenue raising proposals.

The UK Government remains determined to support the Executive to unlock the opportunities that the financial package presents.

To help stabilise the Executive’s financial position, the UK Government has agreed to pause its debt repayments from 2022-23 and 2023-24 of up to £559 million and will no longer require these funds to be repaid, subject to the Executive publishing a plan by May 2024 which outlines how it will deliver sustainable public finances and services and demonstrating implementation of that plan by May 2025.

This sustainability plan must include the delivery of a balanced budget for 2024-25 by raising a minimum of £113 million through locally generated income. It will be for the Executive to determine if it will consider a different course of action to deliver the public services that Northern Ireland needs as part of its sustainability plan.