Impact of NI’s public funding squeeze on special educational needs to be examined by Committee
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee will examine the sustainability of Northern Ireland’s public finances in a public hearing with Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and former Chair of the Independent Fiscal Commission for Northern Ireland, and Professor Gerald Holtham, former Chair of the Independent Commission on Funding and Finance for Wales.
Meeting details
With a separate panel, the Committee will examine whether there is adequate provision in Northern Ireland to support children with special educational needs and their families.
Following the collapse of Stormont in February 2022, the UK Government has stepped in to set Northern Ireland’s budgets and attempt to address the blackhole in Northern Ireland’s finances. While the budget shortfall had been estimated at £660m, it is now thought to be £297 million.
The cross-party Committee may also ask the panels for their views on whether the system which determines how much money devolved administrations receive from the UK Treasury, the Barnett Formula, is still fit for purpose.