Other News In Brief

Proposed Revenue Raising Measures Will 'Cause Alarm' For NI Households – SDLP

The SDLP has raised concerns over revenue raising measures proposed by Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris.

SDLP Stormont Leader and Public Finance Spokesperson Matthew O'Toole said that the proposed measures will "cause alarm" for NI households.

Mr O'Toole said: "The measures that the Secretary of State is consulting on today will clearly cause widespread concern, particularly in households where people are struggling to make ends meet.

"The failure to bring the North's public finances onto a stable footing, however, is shared not just by the Executive but by the British Government which has singularly failed to invest in public services and those who operate them over the course of decades.

"The SDLP understands that Northern Ireland cannot continue on its current financial trajectory. But using revenue raising as a scarcely concealed stick to beat the DUP back into government is hardly strategic or ethical. Our proposal for a public finance Triple Lock would allow us to protect public services, get ourselves back on a sound financial footing, make the most of any investment coming our way, all while ensuring that we don't end up back in this same position in future."

UUP Commit To Continuing Work Amid Council Funding Pressures

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has committed to continuing to work in the best interest of people amid significant funding pressures in Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

UUP Councillor Roy Beggs said: "We wholeheartedly supported the PWC review of council finances and operations. Following the initial report to the council by our experienced interim Chief Executive, we have requested greater transparency on the issues that have been reported.

"The public deserves a greater understanding of the issues highlighted and the difficult choices this new council will have to make. We will need to concentrate on core services and bring about efficiencies and improvements promised by RPA but not delivered."

UK Govt 'Punishing' Workers And Families – SF

The UK government has been accused of punishing ordinary workers and families, by Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy.

Mr Murphy was speaking after British Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris announced a consultation on a wide range of punishing charges on workers and families.

Conor Murphy said: "In the absence of an Executive as a result of one party's refusal to respect the democratic outcome of the 2022 Assembly elections the British Tory Secretary of State set a budget with savage cuts to our public services.

"These cuts by the British government have also denied fair pay rises to local workers in health, education and other frontline public services.

"Those workers have been forced to go out once again on picket lines to demand their rights by a Tory minister whose party has no mandate here, not even a single elected councillor.

"Now Chris Heaton Harris is consulting on further punitive charges on workers and families.

"These include water charges, increased student fees, prescription charges and other domestic charges which will increase the pressure on ordinary people struggling with the cost of living crisis.

"In the past the Executive has been able to protect people from Tory policies despite more than a decade of Tory cuts to public services. That was and is the right thing to do.

"We need an end to the DUP's blockade of the political institutions, which has left us at the mercy of these Tory cuts.

"Workers can't wait, people on waiting lists can't wait and families struggling to put food on the table can't wait. Everyone has been more than reasonable in giving space and time, but there are clear limits and public patience is rightly wearing thin.

"We need a restored Executive with all parties working together to get the investment needed to properly fund our public services over a three-year period."