Health Minister defends "underspending" allegations

Health minister Bairbre de Brun has rejected allegations that her department had radically underspent its budget, claiming that any money returned to the executive represented a "technical adjustment".

The Minister defended her department's spending plan after Finance Minister Sean Farren revealed in the assembly that £23.9 million had been returned to the executive by the Health Department. He said that the money was returned because winter pressures on the health service had been less severe than expected.

Ms de Brun said that the funds were "a technical adjustment arising from the introduction of resource budgeting" and her department had in fact increased spending over the past year.

She added: “The pressures across all services are such that rather than underspending our allocated budget, we have spent an additional £60 million this year and have sought much more than that. The additional £60 million that we spent this year was made available for one year only as a result of reduced requirements in other departmental programmes."

The Minister said the returned funds would strengthen her hand when asking for increases in any future budget.

The Sinn Féin Minister faced strong criticism in the chamber. UKUP leader Robert McCartney described the underfunded health service as one of "the most powerless in Europe". He added that situation had been compounded by the money's return to executive coffers.

Ms de Brun's party colleagues went on the defensive and Sinn Féin health spokesperson West Belfast MLA Sue Ramsay wheeled on opponents claiming that the return of the £23.9million was "the successful result of the Health Minister's ability to make health boards and trusts more accountable for their spending".

Ms Ramsay continued: "The health department is in the ludicrous position of being punished for making the health service more accountable to the public. There needs to be an urgent review of the financial cycle and the development of 10-year spending strategy for the health service."

Mr Farren pledged that departments would be made to adhere to spending targets. "I can give an assurance that we will do all in our power to work with the departments to ensure that forecasting and spending plans are rigorous," he said.

(GMcG)