Treasury rejects request to help with PSNI data breach costs

The development came in a leaked letter from the Treasury to Stormont's Finance Minister John O'Dowd

The Treasury has rejected a request from the Stormont Executive to help with the cost of paying hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation to police officers affected by a major data breach in 2023.

The move was confirmed in a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, to Stormont's Finance Minister John O'Dowd, which has been seen by BBC News NI.

The PSNI is also seeking £200m for a recovery plan to boost officer numbers, which the Northern Ireland Executive has said it cannot presently afford.

A Department of Finance spokesperson said it was "extremely disappointing" that the request had been declined, adding O'Dowd would "continue to press Treasury to reconsider".

Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said Stormont "chose not to set aside funding"

Last month, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the executive was hoping to make a reserve claim for the costs following the data breach, which involves a potential settlement of about £120m.

A reserve claim is a call on a Treasury fund which exists to cover unforeseen, unavoidable and unaffordable spending pressures.

In his letter to O'Dowd, sent earlier this month, Murray states the executive was "able to foresee these pressures" but "chose not to set aside funding for them".

"The Northern Ireland Executive must absorb these pressures as they do not meet the reserve claim criteria," it adds.

Matthew O'Toole, Stormont's leader of the opposition and chair of the finance committee, said it was "troubling" for officers awaiting compensation.

"It isn't enough to simply blame London all the time - they have had multiple chances to sort this out," he said. "The justice and finance ministers and the whole executive have real questions to answer."

The Department of Finance spokesperson said "strong representations" were made to Treasury on the need for access to the reserve given the "exceptional and unavoidable nature" of the costs.

"The budget position is extremely challenging and having to meet these costs will add further to the pressures public services are facing," the spokesperson added.

The PSNI has already accepted liability for the data breach, which occurred in August 2023, and talks over the settlement have been taking place for a year.

The incident involved the accidental release of some personal details of all 9,400 officers and staff.

Details of what could be offered to individuals have not been made public but the letter to O'Dowd confirms that the executive had requested help for covering costs of £119m.

This is the second time the Treasury has rejected such an ask, after a bid for one-off funding to help make the payments was turned down last November.

Murray's letter to O'Dowd goes on to say that the Northern Ireland budget this year faces general pressures of about £730m, some of which are related to pay awards.

He concludes that governments must make "difficult trade-offs" and that the Treasury would "not accept or agree to a reserve claim for any pay-related pressures".

'Cannot do a Pontius Pilate'

Liam Kelly is the chair of the Police Federation

Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) chair Liam Kelly earlier called on Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn to "step in and sort out the chronic funding crisis".

"We need a bail out to cover all outstanding financial elements," he said.

"Mr Benn has a duty to go into bat at cabinet and Downing Street for the service and the men and women I represent.

"He cannot do a Pontius Pilate and maintain he cannot interfere because policing is devolved."

The PSNI currently has 6,200 officers and 2,200 staff

The PSNI receives the majority of its funding from the Department of Justice (DoJ) out of the block grant.

There is a small additional contribution from the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to deal with the national security threat and paramilitarism.

The PSNI currently has 6,200 officers and 2,200 staff.

Mr Kelly said the PSNI's declining officer headcount is in "stark contrast" to the situation in Ireland.

In its last budget, the Irish government announced funding for 1,000 recruits for An Garda Síochána (Irish police).

PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher has recently flagged up annual spending of £25m on legacy costs related to the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The Northern Ireland Policing Board has backed his call for round-table talks on the issue with Benn.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson told BBC News NI that "policing in Northern Ireland is largely a matter for the NI Executive".

"The government is providing a record settlement of £19.3 billion per year on average for the Northern Ireland Executive between 2026‐27 and 2028-29," they continued.

"As agreed in the interim fiscal framework, this includes a needs-based factor of 24% for new funding in recognition of Northern Ireland's greater relative need for public services."

They added that "it is for the executive to set the PSNI's budget and for the Chief Constable to determine how to allocate these resources".