Marshalled List of Amendments - 27 January 2015

23 JANUARY 2015

Private Members’ Business – Motions

Item 2: Order Paper 253/11-16 – 27 January 2015

Motion: Budget 2015-16

That this Assembly approves the programme of expenditure proposals for 2015-16 as set out in the Budget laid before the Assembly on 19 January 2015.

[Minister of Finance and Personnel]

The Speaker has selected the following Amendments for debate:

Amendment 1

Proposed: Leave out all after the first ‘Assembly’ and insert:

‘notes the lack of transparency contained in the programme of expenditure proposals for 2015-16; believes that the failure of many Departments to produce draft spending and saving plans weakened and invalidated the process; notes with perplexity how the tens of thousands of consultation responses could have been analysed between the close of the consultation period on the 29 December 2014 and the Executive final decision only two weeks later; notes that the proposals were created in a vacuum of strategic direction and have not been based on a revised Programme for Government; and calls on the Minister of Finance and Personnel to modify the proposals, as set out in the Budget laid before the Assembly on 19 January 2015, including (i) removing the £26m DEL allocated for the Social Investment Fund, in light of its inability to spend the budget it had been allocated between 2011-2015; (ii) removing the reference to the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development headquarters to Ballykelly, as the project should not continue until a full business case is produced and value for money has been demonstrated - and changing its budget allocation accordingly; (iii) allocating £5m Resource DEL to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to partially alleviate the pressures on the Health and Social Care Trusts; (iv) allocating £3m Resource DEL to the Department for Regional Development to partially assist with funding Northern Ireland Water to the PC15 final determination; (v) allocating £1.5m Resource DEL to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to partially alleviate the reductions to the arts and Northern Ireland museums; (vi) allocating £1.5m Resource DEL to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to partially alleviate the reduction to the Fire and Rescue Service; (vii) allocating £15m Capital DEL to the Department for Regional Development to partially alleviate the pressures on Transport NI and to assist with funding Northern Ireland Water to the PC15 final determination.’

[Mr M Nesbitt]
[Mr L Cree]
[Mr R Swann]

Amendment 2

Proposed: At end insert:

‘; notes with caution the flexibility to use £200 million borrowing for a voluntary exit scheme; and calls on the Executive to improve on its record of public sector reform by ensuring that the voluntary exit scheme forms part of a published strategic plan which outlines measures to improve the efficiency of the civil service and the wider public sector and generate reductions in administrative costs.’

[Mr J McCallister]