OPINION | SINN FÉIN MLA JENNIFER McCANN

Budget aims to counter blow from Tory-led British Government

British PM and Chancellor David Cameron and George Osborne

THE Assembly’s draft Budget released for public consultation on December 15th contains several measures aimed at countering the severe economic blow inflicted by the British Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government.
In its October Comprehensive Spending Review, the British Government announced not only massive cuts to spending on public services, but also a cut of around £4billion to the North’s block grant.
To make matters worse, the British Treasury has also, without warning, snatched a further £300million from ‘end of year flexibility’ funds out of the North’s Budget
The most significant aspect of the Executive’s draft Budget is the fact that revenue-raising proposals aim to offset the impact of the cut to the block grant by sourcing an additional £1.6billion in revenue.
Despite pressure from other parties and the British Government to rush to an agreement on a draft Budget within the Executive, Sinn Féin insisted that the extra time required was taken to try to ensure the Budget defended jobs, services and the most vulnerable.

Opposed to cuts

Sinn Féin has strongly opposed the international austerity drive in the wake of the economic crisis caused by the banking sector.
In the North and South of Ireland and in the European Parliament, we have repeatedly called for an alternative approach to overcoming the recession - an approach that puts the needs of people and communities before ‘deficit reduction targets’. An approach that is based on stimulus measures - investment - to regenerate the economy.
We have produced realistic and costed economic proposals, North and South, outlining how economic recovery can take place without cuts to jobs and vital services.
Sinn Féin has also supported the trade union campaign against the British Government cuts and will continue to participate in this campaign to defend jobs and frontline services.
But we are operating within a power-sharing government that is dependent on the British Treasury for the block grant. Sinn Féin wants economic powers to be transferred from London to the Executive.

Raising revenue

There is no doubt that the cuts that have been imposed will cause pain to communities, and have a negative impact on jobs and services. Sinn Féin has aimed to try to minimise the impact of the cuts to the block grant.
An important aspect of this draft Budget is that, through innovation and examining every option in front of the Executive, an additional £1.6billion was found to offset the severity of the British Government’s cuts.
There remains scope to explore additional avenues of revenue-raising such as exploring further funding from European sources and exploring further efficiencies within departments.
The proposals issued in the draft Budget are in no means the be-all and end-all of seeking additional revenue and we will be revisiting these possibilities in the very near future.

No water charges

Despite pressure from some sectors to introduce domestic water charges on households as part of the Budget in order to raise revenue, this option had been ruled out.
Imposing water charges would have meant an estimated annual bill of around £400 per household - which would not only have caused further financial hardship on households but would also have a negative impact on consumer spending and the broader economy.
Sinn Féin Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy has categorically stated that he will not introduce water charges or privatise the water service.
Free travel on public transport for the over-60s, which was introduced by the Sinn Féin minister, will also continue.
Funding for the Casement Park redevelopment has also been secured, which is excellent news in terms of jobs and the general economic and cultural boost it will provide for west Belfast.

Health and social care

The Health Budget has received some protection in the Budget, as well as significant additional funding. However, Sinn Féin believes spending on social care must not suffer as a result of the Health Minister’s spending decisions.
The Health Minister must ensure that Social Services are not the poor relation in any spending over the next four years. Within this draft Budget, the Minister has the freedom to direct resources at those most in need. Social services are a key provider in this sector and must get adequate resourcing.

Social Investment Fund

The Executive has allocated £20million per year for the next four years to a Social Investment Fund to be administered by the Office of the First and deputy First Minister (OFMdFM) which aims to create jobs and boost economic recovery. OFMdFM will also administer a Social Protection Fund for those most vulnerable that will involve an initial amount of £20million in the coming year.

Green New Deal

Sinn Féin has also welcomed the adoption of measures to develop the green economy, including Sinn Féin’s plastic bag levy proposals, in the draft Budget. Sinn Féin recently introduced the Single Use Plastic Bag Bill to the Assembly which will place a levy on plastic bags.
Sinn Féin proposed not only that a levy be placed on plastic bags but that the proceeds go towards the Green New Deal Housing Fund which would help to create 2,000 to 3,000 jobs, make 100,000 homes more energy efficient over four years and help many vulnerable people who are living in fuel poverty.

Transfer powers

In October, Sinn Féin set out alternative economic proposals in our document ‘There is a Better Way’.
Our proposals were about tackling waste, saving money, raising revenue, and investing this to create jobs, build infrastructure and protect public services. They aimed to bring in almost £1.9billion in combined savings and new revenue.
Many of the revenue-raising proposals in the Executive’s Budget have been adopted from Sinn Féin’s economic proposals which were produced a number of months ago and I welcome this fact.
However, despite the positive aspects of the draft Budget aimed at defending the most vulnerable, the Executive and Assembly’s lack of fiscal powers severely restricts our ability to tackle the economic crisis.
We need the necessary economic levers - for example, the power to vary the tax rate so as to raise revenue and stimulate investment; the power to borrow; and the power to set the minimum wage.
The transfer of these powers would give the Assembly the ability to set our own economic agenda and spending priorities, target disadvantage and stimulate sustainable growth.
We reiterate our call to other parties, trade unions, and the broader community to consider the importance of being able to set our own economic agenda and join us in calling for the transfer of these powers to the Assembly.