TUV question why NI Executive hasn't spent all of the childcare cash it received from London on a local scheme for 'hard working families'

The TUV says £50m allocated to childcare in the budget is £7.2 million less than what Stormont received from Westminster – and has called for clarity on where the money has gone.

But the Department of Finance says the money was “not linked to individual policies” and it is “for the Executive to decide” how it is used.

​Increasing childcare provision has been a flagship policy of the Executive since its return – but the only sum mentioned in the document was £25m invested over the past year “to support parents struggling with the cost of childcare”.

At Stormont’s Executive Office (TEO) committee this week, TUV MLA Timothy Gaston questioned officials on an apparent disparity between £57.2m provided by the UK government – after it increased spending on childcare in England – and the spend locally.

While the Programme for Government (PfG) does not mention the sum that will be spent on childcare in the next financial year, First Minister Michelle O’Neill told MLAs that the Executive would “double the funds” from “£25 million initially to a total of £50 million for this year in the draft Budget”.

This week, officials told the TEO committee that a £25 million figured mentioned in the document is “ringfenced” spend for the current financial year - with £50m the “anticipated allocation” for 2025/26.

£57.2m was provided to Stormont during 2024-25, as a consequence of increased childcare spending in England. When questioned on the funds in September, the previous finance minister Caoimhe Archibald said “Barnett consequentials are, of course, unhypothecated, meaning that they do not have to be used for the purposes for which they were issued but, rather, in line with the Executive's priorities”.

Timothy Gaston told the News Letter that the delivery of a package on child care “has been hailed by the Executive as one of its greatest accomplishments”.

The North Antrim MLA said: “No other policy is mentioned so many times in the PfG. The problem and the supposed solution is referenced some thirty times. However, as with waiting lists and PSNI numbers a little probing is more than the claims of delivery can stand.

“England and Wales have already rolled out a child care scheme and as a result Stormont received £57.2 million from Westminster in Barnett consequentials. Basically this means that London wrote Stormont a cheque which permits us to introduce a scheme of similar quality in Northern Ireland to the one operating on the mainland.

“However, the only figure in the Programme for Government linked to child care is £25 million. This is in spite of the fact that the First Minister quoted a sum of £50 million when referring to it on Monday.

“I asked for an explanation of this on the Assembly floor but was not provided with one.

“I then returned to the matter on Wednesday in the TEO committee, asking officials what the actual figure was. Was it the £25 million in the Programme for Government, the £50 million claimed by the First Minister or the £57.2 million we received from Westminster?

“The response of officials was confusing but they seemed to suggest that £25 million was the figure already spent and that a further £50 million will be invested in child care this incoming year.

“When pressed on where the other £7.2 million was which we received from Westminster for child care there was no response.

“When they return to committee next week I will be seeking clarity on where the £7.2 million which should have gone to supporting hard working families with their child care bills has gone.”

The News Letter asked the Department of Finance (DoF) how much money it expects to receive as a result of spending in England for 2025/26. We also asked, if the £57.2m figure has not reduced - and given that childcare is the Executive's flagship policy - where has the £7.2+m been diverted to in the budget for 2025/26.

DoF were also asked where the missing £32.2m Barnett consequential provided by the UK government for 2024/25 was allocated, if not childcare.

A DoF spokesperson said: “The Executive agreed £25 million to support early learning and childcare in 2024-25 reflecting its priority to this area. The Draft Budget 2025-26 provides £50 million for the Childcare Strategy, doubling the amount available in 2024-25. In addition, the Executive has also committed to providing a further £5 million in the June Monitoring round.

“Barnett consequentials received in the Autumn Budget 2024 were provided at departmental level and not linked to individual policies. All Barnett consequentials are unhypothecated and it is for the Executive to decide how these should be used, taking account of their priorities and competing financial pressures.”