DfI announces further cuts due to £112m budget shortfall but predicts overspend without political intervention

The Department had already reduced ‘discretionary’ spending, not entered into new resource funding commitments, maintained a limited service only on flood risk management and essential road maintenance, and stopped recruitment other than for business-critical roles.

On Monday it announced several further service reductions:

• Stopping Departmental spend on road safety advertising and other programmes;
• Ending the Cycling Proficiency Scheme (which supports teachers to develop children’s cycling skills);
• Reducing the grant to Community Places (which provides independent planning advice to communities);
• Providing a reduced allocation to the Active Travel School Programme;
• Dial-a-Lift services and the Disability Action Transport Scheme will be funded from 1 August at 95% of the level allocated for April to July;
• Funding for the Assisted Rural Travel Scheme (ARTS) will continue at current levels;
• Community Transport provision for the longer term will be reviewed, to ensure that we are maximising both value for money and outcomes through these key services;
• Reductions to Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) of £53.4m from their originally assessed requirements.

DfI Permanent Secretary Julie Harrison said: “Around 95% of the Department’s resource budget delivers essential, front-line services; the vast majority of which are regulated, statutory, or contractually obliged.

"This leaves very limited scope to make the kind of cuts to spending that are required. That challenge has been exacerbated by decisions that had to be taken last year and which cannot be repeated.

“After carefully considering the responses, I have had to make difficult decisions to ensure DfI and its delivery partners (DVA, Translink, NI Water, and Waterways Ireland) do everything possible to reduce spending and balance their budgets, while at the same time meeting responsibilities to deliver multiple statutory functions and keep people safe.”

The Department said some decisions that would need to be taken to live within budget allocations are not within the power of senior officials.

These include:

• stopping waste-water treatment;
• reducing essential road maintenance to emergency response only;
• reducing winter service to snow clearance only;
• stopping the community transport programme;
• switching off streetlights (options are being assessed for 24/25);
• stopping flood prevention programmes.

The Department warned that if political decisions are not taken during the year to increase budget allocations or to implement the measures listed above, spend in 2023/24 will exceed the current allocation.

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