Stormont should pay for victims payment scheme, insists Secretary of State Brandon Lewis

There has been a long campaign for payments for those severely injured in Northern Ireland’s troubled past.

It was delayed due to a disagreement between Sinn Fein and other parties over whether former terrorists should qualify. There has also been a stand-off over who should fund the scheme.

Mark Browne from the Executive Office told the Executive Committee that the First Minister Arlene Foster, deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Justice Minister Naomi Long are continuing to seek additional funds to pay for the scheme from the Treasury.

They recently sought a meeting with Mr Lewis.

In a responding letter, Mr Browne said Mr Lewis agreed to meet them but indicated he was maintaining Stormont should pay for the scheme.

“The Secretary of State reiterated the position that victims payments is a devolved matter and devolved matters are funded by a block grant… The Executive is funded through the block grant together with its own revenue raising capabilities in order to fund statutory responsibilities, including the victims payment scheme,” Mr Browne told MLAs.

“He states it is therefore for the Executive to manage it’s available resources to deliver its spending priorities.”

Mr Browne said it had initially been projected that around 2,000 would receive payments under the scheme, but they now expect the numbers to be “significantly higher”.

Committee chairman Colin McGrath said the block grant is “virtually committed in keeping the lights on and not much more”.

He added: “To start heaping this sort of pressure on is just unfair”.

“I can’t quite determine in my own mind whether the Secretary of State is disinterested or whether he lacks an understanding or whether it is a negotiating tact to simply say, ‘no, this is something to do with yourselves’.

“The British Government was a player in the Troubles process that resulted in the victims community… Therefore to completely absent themselves of any responsibility for having to pick up the tab at the other end, I think, is quite naive and I think it is something they will really have to consider.”

Meanwhile Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie queried whether the Irish Government should also contribute to the funding of the scheme.

“I am absolutely clear that I believe the UK Government should help with the financial support for this scheme,” he said.

“But the only reason the UK Government brought this in is because we failed to.

“We do say that the British Government has got responsibilities for what happened here… So was the Irish Government a player in this conflict and I don’t see them putting their hands in their pockets too much or making any movement towards supporting this whatsoever.”

Mr Browne said the Executive Office has released funding of £2.5million which has allowed a “substantial programme of work” to be taken forward.

Progress made includes dedication of project teams, critical IT development, the design of draft application forms, development work on the medical assessment process and the selection process for board members to start shortly.

He said they plan to have interim board members appointed in January and the scheme open for applications in March.