Funding for public services 'unfair to Northern Ireland and will continue to get even worse': DUP MP

​The DUP MP for East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said the current budget allocation is “unfair” and will get worse in the coming years.

“If Stormont returned tomorrow morning the budgetary cake will not get any bigger and will still have to be sliced between same number of departments. The primary problem is not a lack of Stormont, it is a lack of money. That is a decision made by Treasury,” he said.

“I have been warning for some time that the Barnett Formula used for divvying up the budget for the UK regions is unfair to Northern Ireland and will continue to get even worse in coming years. There needs to be a complete reform of the funding model. The Treasury contribution to fund public services in Northern Ireland is going down rather than rising. As an example, in England up to 2025, spending will increase by 6% but only 3.6% in Northern Ireland.”

Mr Robinson added: “The cost of providing public services for a small place is more expensive than a large one. We don’t benefit from economies of scale or critical mass. To provide vital services, we need a disproportionately larger public service, and for as long as we receive 3% of what England needs under the Barnett formula, we won’t and don’t get enough."

Last week, a leaked briefing paper for NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said that some Stormont departments were facing cuts of up to 10% in the budget.

Among those expressing concern was DUP MP Ian Paisley, who said: "The Windsor Framework undermines the NI economy and our position within the UK yet the Secretary of State threatens us to accept it or face punishing cuts to our services."

He added: "The Secretary of State must think the people of NI are daft, that they can’t see through his threats and his punishment attack on the British people of Northern Ireland."

However, a spokeswoman for Mr Heaton-Harris responded that NI is itself responsible for its own financial difficulties and affirmed that he would indeed impose a "tough" budget.