Northern Ireland secretary orders money-raising consultations

Chris Heaton-Harris, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland secretary has formally directed Stormont departments to launch public consultations on proposed options for raising money.

They will include consultations on introducing water charges, drug prescription charges and increasing university tuition fees.

Chris Heaton-Harris said he also plans to review the level of the regional rate.

The rate forms part of the calculation of annual rates bills.

The proposals first emerged in August as part of 40 revenue-raising measures compiled by civil servants.

They drew criticism from political parties, with Sinn Féin accusing the secretary of state of using the proposals to apply pressure on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to return to power sharing.

'Make the necessary decisions'

However, on Wednesday, Mr Heaton-Harris said generating revenue is "not merely an option but a critical necessity" to improve the sustainability of Stormont's public finances.

He said it would be for a restored devolved government to "consider responses to these consultations and use this to make the necessary decisions".

Mr Heaton-Harris added that the consultations will allow departments to "identify ways to improve the sustainability of public services and public finances, paving the way for long-awaited improvement and transformation of these services that we all rely on and want to protect".

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"I am keen that the public and all interested parties have an opportunity to consider the range of options being examined and to feed in their views."

Mr Heaton-Harris set a budget for Stormont earlier this year in the absence of local ministers, leaving civil servants faced with making substantial cuts.

Under current legislation the secretary of state does not have the power to unilaterally implement revenue-raising measures, but he has not ruled out taking that power at some stage.

Stormont's power-sharing executive collapsed last year after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) withdrew in protest against post-Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The Windsor Framework was struck by the UK government and European Union earlier this year in an effort to address concerns with previous arrangements under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

But DUP has said the deal does not go far enough. The party has been in talks with the UK government to seek further legal assurances of Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market.