A Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report finds the lack of an agreed Stormont budget is preventing delivery of infrastructure, skills and planning reforms and calls on both the NI Executive and UK Government to act with clear priorities and measurable objectives.
Committee: No agreed budget is limiting the Executive’s ability to fund infrastructure, skills programmes and clear the planning backlog.
Report lists concrete constraints: poor digital connectivity, wastewater capacity issues, and underdeveloped road and rail networks.
UK Government urged to publish a clear, measurable economic vision for Northern Ireland with objectives and KPIs.
Committee published the second and final report of its economic growth inquiry and concluded that the absence of an agreed budget at Stormont is actively holding back economic progress. The report ties the budget deadlock to delays in essential infrastructure projects, workforce skills development, and a persistent planning backlog that together drag on growth prospects for local businesses.
The committee lists several specific constraints on economic activity and investment in Northern Ireland:
These constraints are presented as practical bottlenecks requiring capital and policy action that the Executive cannot fully pursue while operating without a settled budget.
The report notes that many relevant policy levers are devolved to the NI Executive, but it also assigns a role to the UK Government. The committee finds that the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has not set out a clear overall economic vision for the region. It reiterates a prior call for the NIO to publish a vision accompanied by objectives and measurable key performance indicators so the impact of UK interventions can be assessed.
The committee also recommends the NIO create formal structures to ensure Northern Ireland's views are heard across Whitehall. That approach is framed as a way to reduce unintended negative consequences when UK-wide policies are designed without specific attention to Northern Ireland's circumstances.
Why this matters for businesses and public services
Departments such as health and education face large spending pressures when a budget is not settled. The report links the budget impasse to continued reliance on interim spending arrangements that limit new investments. For private firms, delays in infrastructure projects and planning decisions increase costs and uncertainty, reducing the incentive to expand or invest.
The committee's recommendations are practical and targeted:
The report frames these steps as necessary to unblock investments in connectivity, utilities and transport that underpin growth.
If the budget impasse continues, the report predicts prolonged delays to infrastructure and skills programmes that would slow private-sector growth and increase public-sector strain. If the Executive and the UK Government adopt the committee's recommendations, the region would gain clearer targets and structures designed to make interventions more effective and better tailored to Northern Ireland's needs.
The British government has made an offer of additional cash for Stormont in a bid to break the political deadlock over a budget.
Northern Ireland Executive parties had rejected an initial £1.1bn package over three years that was offered on Monday.
After recent talk of another future collapse at Stormont, the two leading parties failed to achieve on the one objective they currently agree on – getting more money from Westminster.
The parties were speaking after the executive met Sir Chris Bryant, who arrived on Monday for talks to resolve Stormont's budget deadlock.
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