Executive calls on Prime Minister to meet to address mounting financial pressures

Date published: 13 August 2026

The letter, signed by all Executive Ministers, outlines the considerable financial pressures facing the Executive and calls for a meeting in person to discuss them.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said:

“We have repeatedly made the case to the British Government for a fair and sustainable funding package, but our calls have consistently not been met. People here deserve high-quality public services, but we cannot deliver the transformation they need without the necessary investment.

“The people we represent  should not be left paying the price for a failure to properly fund public services here. We need action and we need it urgently.”

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: 

“When we spoke to the Prime Minister following his appointment, we were very clear about the urgent need to resolve these issues.

“Transforming our public services and delivering real change for the people of Northern Ireland is our priority but we cannot do this alone. We are committed to working with the UK Government to deliver economic growth across the UK, securing a funding envelope that enables us to invest in our public services and secure better outcomes for everyone living here.”

Full text of the letter to the Prime Minister

Prime Minister

Your appointment comes at a critical time for our public finances, and the Executive would welcome an early meeting with you to discuss these challenges.

You will be aware of the considerable financial pressures facing the Executive, as well as the recent talks held at Hillsborough regarding these challenges. The Executive is committed to achieving a budget position that is balanced and sustainable. However, we need a fair funding envelope that enables transformation and supports the delivery of the high-quality public services that our citizens rightly expect and deserve. 

The work of Professor Holtham and recent analysis by the independent Fiscal Council demonstrate that the Executive is not currently being funded on a basis comparable to Scotland and Wales. Funding parity with Wales would provide the Executive with an additional £1 billion each year, while parity with Scotland would deliver around £3 billion more annually. This would provide a transformative opportunity to advance our shared ambition of creating an economically successful and socially balanced society.

The existing funding framework does not provide a sufficient basis to fund public services, support economic growth or respond to ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

To address these challenges effectively, Treasury must work with the Executive to deliver sustainable public finances and continue the transformation journey that is already delivering real change for our citizens, businesses and communities. Agreeing a fair funding model and a full Fiscal Framework must form part of the solution. It is a matter of concern that discussions on a Fiscal Framework have stalled over the last year, with missed opportunities to address barriers to sustainability, such as Housing Executive borrowing powers and access to the National Wealth Fund arising from the different structure of public service delivery here.

We must also highlight the frustration caused by decisions taken in London and imposed without local agreement, such as the Local Growth Fund, whose capital-heavy profile does not reflect local need. We would also highlight the urgent need to resolve the funding position regarding Victims' Payments, which entered dispute resolution in 2022.

The Executive must have a formal role in shaping future Government funding streams that impact on devolved responsibilities, ensuring that investment reflects local priorities and respects devolution.

Introductions have been made with the Chancellor, and additional information has been provided following the June talks at Hillsborough. You will appreciate the urgency of concluding this work. In the continued absence of an agreed budget, departments are increasingly constrained to short-term decision-making, undermining effective planning and delivery.

The sustainability of public finances and services cannot be delivered by the Executive alone. It will only be through joint working and delivery from both your Government and the Executive that we can deliver in the long-term.

We would welcome an early meeting in person to discuss these matters, and look forward to working with you to deliver for people here and to building a relationship founded on trust, mutual respect and genuine partnership.