Front-line services in 'crisis situation' without a budget - Long

The justice minister has said the only way her department can "move towards balancing the books" without a budget is to make cuts to front-line services.

There had been hope that Stormont could agree a multi-year budget in January for the first time in more than 10 years, but that did not happen.

This means government departments started the financial year in April without being certain how much they have to spend.

Naomi Long said that has left her in the midst of a "crisis situation" and she was concerned about the impact it would have on front-line services such as policing, probation, prisons and the youth justice agency.

On Wednesday, the chair of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland said a recovery plan which aims to lift police officer numbers to 7,000 by 2028 was in "grave doubt".

Liam Kelly said the number of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers was "supposed to grow" to 6,500 by April 2026 - the end of year one of the recovery plan.

That number currently stands at 6,315 - "35 officers less than where the original baseline was drawn in 2025," he said.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme Long said: "I haven't waited for the Police Federation or the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to say it's a crisis, I have been saying it to the executive.

"Without a budget, I cannot give certainty to the chief constable or to any other body that operates in the justice system."

Long said that the proposed draft budget would have left the Department of Justice (DoJ) with a shortfall of more than £100m in year one - money, she said, that was essential for the department to "simply stand still".

She estimated that, if implemented, by year three, the draft budget would require her to make £215m of savings, which is the "entire operating budget" for the prison service, probation service, youth justice agency and forensic science service.

"That is a gap that I simply cannot fill," she added.

Overall, she said the situation was "not manageable".

"That is part of the reason why we have struggled to get an agreement on a budget, because other departments are also facing massive shortfalls."

UUP MLA Doug Beattie said the police wanted "to provide a first-class service, and they can't with the resources they have at this moment and time".

"We are at a tipping point."

He added: "The reality is there are so many frictions going on and so many things that different departments want and programmes that need to be funded."

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir agreed that a budget was needed.

He said a multi-year budget would provide greater certainty than a single-year budget.

"I need that multi-year budget, particularly for the farming community in Northern Ireland, giving certainty in terms of the support that we wish to deliver, not just in this year, but in future financial years."

He called on the UK government to provide better support which would enable the executive to set a budget.

"We've got to take difficult decisions, but the UK government also need to support us in this," he added.

Education Minister Paul Givan said it wasn't worth any minister agreeing to a budget that would "decimate public services".

He said he would continue to make the case for more investment, not less, and as the proposed budget would take money out of the education system, he could not support it.

"Why would you agree to a budget that's going to deliver a decimation of public services? That's not smart politics. That's politics that's doomed."

A UK government spokesperson said that NI Secretary Hilary Benn met the finance minister on Thursday morning to discuss the budget.

"The government is clear that the executive needs to come forward with a detailed, strategic plan for how it will manage its finances and move towards sustainability," they said.

"The secretary of state looks forward to hearing back from the executive on its plans to set a balanced, multi-year budget."

Speaking outside Stormont on Thursday, SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole, leader of the Opposition at Stormont, said it was a "shambolic and shameful situation that the executive cannot agree a budget".

"The fact that they are transferring all the blame to the UK government simply isn't good enough," O'Toole said.

"To be clear, the UK government needs to fund this place properly and as the opposition we will always support efforts to that end, but the executive has had months upon months, in fact it had nearly a year to agree a multi-year budget."

Sinn Féin's Deirdre Hargey said there had been "no response" yet to a request by the first and deputy first ministers to meet the prime minister to discuss the funding situation.

She said while recent instability in Westminster had taken priority, she hoped the Treasury would now refocus efforts on engaging with the executive.

"Instead of the chaos and being an afterthought in Westminster politics, the British government now need to do the right thing and treat citizens and public services here on the same level as they are in other jurisdictions," she said.

"They need to meet with the executive urgently."

Former NI Civil Service permanent secretary Andrew McCormick said that public services in Northern Ireland "are in a dire state".

He added: "The situation in hospitals, the water and sewage network - they're actually intolerable, beyond anything that should be acceptable.

"No budget means that keeps on getting worse, because we don't know what to do, what decisions to take in the departments."

When asked by BBC News NI if he accepted the executive had done all it could and it was up to the UK Treasury to act he said "not remotely".

"They've given us a fair, reasonable settlement, it's up to the executive to get on with it and start making decisions."

Prepare to be bombarded with figures in the coming weeks as the budget crisis starts to bite.

Though the money continues to flow no agreed budget means no spending plans for departments and civil servants left in limbo.

From the outside it appears ministers have given up on trying to agree a budget and have opted instead for the easier option of asking the treasury for more money.

If they succeed then agreeing a budget may be doable but not without pain.

But if they fail then executive cracks will appear as respective ministers head for the trenches with an election looming next year.

History shows the Treasury has buckled before and may do so again but nothing about this process will be pain free.