UK government office in Belfast 'dismantles devolution' - Mallon

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said the office would remove power from people in NI

Plans to open a Belfast office by a UK government department is "dismantling devolution", Stormont Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has said.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it will shortly recruit "a small number of civil servants" to be based in NI.

This would "help implement new UK-wide investment programmes", a spokesperson said.

Ms Mallon said it represents "removing power from local people".

The minister was briefed about the plan during a meeting with the UK government on Wednesday.

The meeting was also attended by Stormont's Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Economy Minister Diane Dodds.

Speaking on BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster on Thursday, Ms Mallon said it should be for Stormont ministers to decide on priorities, rather than officials being "parachuted in".

"It will sit outside the programme for government, there won't be any executive oversight, there won't be any assembly scrutiny or accountability," she said.

"Housing is a devolved matter, we have a five-party executive, it is very difficult to get agreement, but we hammer out consensus, we agree a programme for government and we all try to work in the common interest."

The minister said the government already has an office in Belfast, namely the Northern Ireland Office, headed by NI Secretary Brandon Lewis.

A review is to examine the feasibility of a road or rail link between NI and Scotland

A spokesperson for MHCLG said the UK government is "fully committed to devolution in Northern Ireland and any suggestion to the contrary is wrong".

They explained the officials would help implement investment programmes contained in the budget, "benefitting from local knowledge of projects coming forward".

The civil servants, the statement added, would be "working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and others to maximise investment opportunities".

'Breach of trust'

On Wednesday, Ms Mallon criticised the government for "concentrating power" in a review to be carried out on the feasibility of a bridge or tunnel being built to connect NI and Scotland.

She said it was a "gross breach of trust" and is "detaching" NI ministers from making decisions.

Nichola Mallon sees this as a bit of a power grab.

The office will basically look at the way money from London is spent in Northern Ireland.

This concerns the infrastructure minister who believes this is an attack on devolution and another attempt to remove power from local people.

It comes after her criticism yesterday of Boris Johnson and his plans to look at a rail link.

Others will take a different view.

Unionists and Conservatives will argue the UK government is perfectly entitled to have an office and perfectly entitled to examine how UK money is being spent.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds said it is "completely acceptable and understandable" that the government would wish to extend its "footprint" in Northern Ireland.

"Devolution doesn't mean that we don't have a national government with national priorities, it means that we work together with our national government," she said.

Mrs Dodds said it was "strange" for Ms Mallon to raise concerns about the establishment of an office by the government in Belfast, adding that it would bring "good" plans to Northern Ireland.

She criticised the SDLP for not raising issue with the EU having an office in Belfast to administer policy decisions taken in Brussels prior to Brexit.

"I suspect that the real word that is bothering here is the word 'union', and we need to get over this and work together for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland."