Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

(asked on 28th February 2024) - View Source

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether capital funding for shared and integrated education was included in the Assembly restoration financial settlement.


Answered by
Steve Baker Portrait
Steve Baker
This question was answered on 5th March 2024

The UK Government is providing the Executive with a significant £3.3 billion spending settlement to stabilise its finances and protect public services. Within this package, we are increasing the spending power of the Executive by repurposing over £700 million of existing and new UK Government funds.

The Fresh Start agreement in 2015 made provision for funding for integrated and shared education over 10 years. As that capital funding was due to expire at the end of 2024-25, the decision to remove the ring-fence on £150m of Fresh Start Agreement funding was made by the UK Government after assessing existing funding in Northern Ireland. We came to a considered position in response to the challenging budgetary position faced by the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Northern Ireland Executive will be able to decide how it uses the non-ring fenced funding element of reprioritised and new UK Government funding streams which contribute to the settlement package.

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