Covid battle: NI to receive another £75m from Treasury

Northern Ireland is to receive another £75m from the UK government to help tackle the spread of Covid-19.

It follows talks between the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the devolved nations for increased funding as the Omicron variant continues to spread.

Earlier this week, the Treasury announced £75m for NI's health service,

But the Department of Finance said that it was mostly not new money and that £50m already featured in Stormont's spending plans.

On Sunday night, the Treasury announced it was doubling the amounts channelled to the devolved administrations.

It said that the NI Executive would receive £150m in total, the Scottish government an extra £440m and the Welsh government £270m.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "We will continue to listen to and work with the devolved administrations in the face of this serious health crisis to ensure we're getting the booster to people all over the UK and that people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are supported."

Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she wanted to check if the boost in funding was on top of the amount confirmed in the Autumn Budget.

"Not new money"

A spokesperson from the Department of Finance said the further funding is welcomed, but expressed concern about possible repayments.

Normally any additional funding for the devolved administrations is confirmed through a process known as the supplementary estimates, which happens in January or February.

The Treasury said that if the amount of funding provided up front is more than that confirmed at supplementary estimates, then the difference would be repaid in 2022-23, or over the spending review period if necessary.

The Department of Finance spokesperson said: "The Finance Minister will continue to call for Treasury to guarantee that additional funding comes without the caveat of possible repayment."