Nicva Budget Analysis

Three documents for consultation

• Programme for Government 2008-2011

• Investment Strategy (ISNI) 2008-2011

• Budget 2008-2011

Principles for government

• Providing good leadership and working energetically in the interests of everyone

• Working in partnership as an executive and across the public, private and voluntary sectors

• Raising standards across government• Delivering fair outcomes and social

improvements

Over arching aim

A peaceful, fair and prosperous society

Cross cutting themes in Programme for Government

• A better future: fairness, inclusion and equality of opportunity will be the watchwords for all of our policies and programmes and;

• Sustainability: building a sustainable future will be a key requirement for our economic, social and environmental policies and programmes

Five priority areas

• Grow a dynamic innovative economy• Promote tolerance, inclusion, health and wellbeing• Invest to build our infrastructure• Protect and enhance our environment and natural

resources• Deliver modern, high quality and efficient public services

(1st one is priority)

General Comments on PFG:

• Short turnaround time – what is really up for discussion?

• Very little analysis of social and environmental issues

• Overall it’s about economics and business

• Assumptions that wealth will trickle down

• Welcome commitment to sustainable future – just warm words?

• Welcome move to promote good health and well being but still medical model

• Disappointed at absence of shared future and there's nothing to replace it

• No anti-poverty strategy

General Comments on PFG:• Very little innovation

• Not easy to see how the proposed actions relate to the aims, objectives and priorities

• No budgets for key issues – housing, health, fuel poverty

• Asset realisation

• 3% efficiency savings in each dept

• Hard to tell why things have been prioritised – no evidence or analysis

• Some key actions and goals seem random

Priority One: Dynamic Economy. Page 5

• Welcome but must include social outcomes• Rising tide will not lift all boats• Welcome commitment to highly paid, highly

skilled jobs – but question numbers• Skills development and promotion literacy and

numeracy will be key but not the only point of learning

• Tackling economic inactivity

Priority Two: tolerance, inclusion, health and well being. Page 9

• Agree with all of this• Links between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ issues• Child poverty target welcome BUT no policies

and no Children's and Young Peoples Fund• Free public transport welcome• £10million to combat rural poverty and exclusion

welcome but there is no more detail

Priority Two: tolerance, inclusion, health and well being. Page 9

• Goal on mental health welcome but is there enough money to ensure it happens?

• No key goals associated with ‘creating a better future’

• What education system will we be using?

Priority three: Protect and enhance environment. Page 10• Focus on sustainability throughout all documents

is welcome but shallow• Links between environment, wellbeing and

prosperity important• No mention of Environmental Protection Agency• Target of reducing carbon footprint by 25% by

2025 too far off – no interim goals and no policies to get there

Priority Five: Build our infrastructure

• Good roads infrastructure essential but so is public transport – need to make the shift - £268.5 m vs £642.9 m

• Investment strategy is for 10 years, budget is for three

• Need to use procurement to deliver social and environmental outcomes

• How much PPP/PFI?

Priority Five: Modern, efficient public services. Page 14

• Reform essential but people centred, not process• Need RPA decisions• Future should look different – eg co-location• Efficiencies should not mean cuts to front line

services• Priorities seem random eg red tape for farmers

Public Service agreements

• 23 cross cutting plans for what will actually happen• Targets• Going to focus on those most relevant to voluntary and

community sector• Levels of targets vary eg increasing sales in angling

permits, regenerating Maze and Crumlin Road, affordable housing

• Some targets are carried over without change from last year eg road deaths

Public Service agreements

• Lots of process targets• Need focus on outcomes• Not all actions have targets• Not all actions and targets would deliver the

objectives

PSA 6: Children and FamilyTo ensure children are cared for, live in safety, are protected from abuse, receive the support they need to achieve their full potential, become more independent and grow into well adjusted adults.

• Implement the Children and Young Peoples Strategy: OFMDFM/DE/DCAL

• Develop an early years strategy: OFMDFM/DE/DCAL

• Reduce the number of children in care: DHSS&PS

• Improve the life changes of children leaving care: DHSS&PS/DEL

• Provide a safe environment for children both in the family setting and those in foster care. DHPP&PS

PSA 7: Making Peoples Lives betterDrive a programme across government to reduce poverty and address inequality and disadvantage

• Anti-poverty strategy: OFMDFM/DSD/DHSS&PS• Elimination of severe child poverty by 2012 – first target

like this in the UK. • Targets on homelessness and older people are vague• Eradicate all fuel poverty by 2016 – resources?• Access to mental health services and less people

institutionalised is welcome – resources?• Promotion of equality very vague – where does

community relations and tackling sectarianism fit in?

PSA 8: Promotion health and reducing health inequalitiesPromote healthy lifestyles, address the causes of poor health and well being and achieve measureable reductions in health inequalities and preventable illnesses

• Measurable targets but one goes backwards!• Need to ensure ‘community based’ includes

services delivered by community providers• Resources for targets eg drink and drugs

programmes?

PSA 9: Promoting access to culture arts and leisure

• Promoting access, rather than actually enabling arts and cultural provision.

• Arts budget?

PSA 10: Helping our children and young people to achieve through educationEncourage all our young people to achieve their full potential by improving access to formal and non-formal education and provision tailored to the needs of disadvantaged young people

• Early Years Strategy• By 2011 30% of disadvantaged young people will gain

level 2 qualification: • Key stage 2 and 3 in Neighbourhood Renewal areas

should be within 5 points of NI average by 2010• Improve access to youth service for young people most at

risk of exclusion – no target• no mention of English as an additional language

PSA 12: Housing, Urban Regeneration and Community Development. Promote decent, energy efficient, affordable housing and regenerate disadvantaged areas and towns and city centres, and support community development to create environments which enhance quality of life and contribute to well being.• Implement Neighbourhood Renewal

• DSD/DE/DHSSPS/DEL/DETI/OFMDFM

• Implement the Semple Review, provide social housing – resources?

• Implement the Advice Services Strategy, establish a Charity Commission and develop a volunteering strategy – all welcome but have already begun

• Positive steps absent – no mention of Compact or Support Services Strategy

• all about service delivery?

PSA 17: Rural Infrastructure

• Welcome rural white paper

Budget

• Less of an increase in this year’s budget• Gap left by the expected water charges and freezing of

rates • £790 million is to be raised through efficiencies • 2/3 from education and health• Efficiencies or cuts?• Asset disposals • Budgets so general it is almost impossible to make

meaningful comment eg Hospital, Community Health - £2,559 m

Budget

• No real reallocation of resources - same as past years• Health 47%, education 21% • Northern Ireland at 89% of UK earnings average • Women in lowest 10% earning 43.7% of men • Inequality between top and bottom earners getting

worse – gap between top and bottom 10% 1990 £306/wk, 2005 £566/wk

Budget

• Equality and good relations statements vague• Education - 18 PPP/PFI projects • Health 600m short?• Budgets for poverty?• 10,000 housing units over 5 yrs?• 50% for fuel poverty?• Urban regeneration/community development budget will

fall by 20% over the three years

Investment Strategy

• £18bn over 10 years• £5.6bn over 3 yrs• Procurement - social and economic outcomes • Need decisions before buildings eg education• How much rests on uncertain asset realisation?• Hard to tell from PSAs and budget what Departments will

actually be doing with the money under the ISNI • Some areas of infrastructure heavily oversubscribed –

including housing and regeneration

General comments

• No anti-poverty strategy• No shared future• Sustainable development mostly warm words• Asset disposals alarming• Efficiency savings blunt instrument• Money not there to pay form promises• Don’t see radical change