Belt Tightening Time
The Executive's draft budget isn't far off and many of our ministers have spent the last few days locked in meetings about projected Departmental spending. The Finance Department's best guess about what we are likely to get from London in the Comprehensive Spending Review due in early October is a 3.7% increase. Given that inflation is running at 2.7% that's around 1% real growth.
If the executive parties want to stick to their previous manifesto committments that consumers should not pay twice for their water, they may opt to offset any future water charges by reducing the rates. They are also facing a delay in hoped for cash infusions from projects like Workplace 2010, the sell off of many government offices. Either way there's likely to be less money around.
So the Executive's first budget could end up being a belt tightening exercise. Certainly some are already engaged in lateral thinking about how the Executive might raise some extra revenue. There are limits to what can be achieved by raising the regional rate (which would be an unpopular move anyway). So in the medium to long term watch out for other ideas, such as a tax or charge on developers, increased payments for planning services and more sell offs of government land. Road tolling appeals to some politicians but may be a toll booth too far for others.
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When will Peter Robinson follow up his previous idea of saving expenditure by downsizing the number of departments and a large civil service. I understand the reorganisation of the Health and Social Services has created an additional layer of managers and the department has expanded to employ staff either retired or displaced. I think nothing has changed, when in Rome do as the Romans. The chariots of war are parked and the battle dresses sent to the wardrobe.