‘You’ll be billed £201m if you don’t implement welfare reform,’ warns Alexander
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has advised DUP MP Gregory Campbell that if Northern Ireland doesn’t implement welfare reforms on a par with Great Britain he’ll bill us £87m this year and £114m in the next.
Mr Alexander gave the warning when Mr Campbell asked “what estimate he has made of the likely reduction to the block grant for Northern Ireland in the current financial year arising from lack of progress on welfare reform?”
He responded: “I have written to the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance and Personnel setting out that the Treasury will reduce Northern Ireland Executive budgets to reflect savings foregone as a result of the lack of progress on welfare reforms already in place in the rest of the United Kingdom. For 2014-15 those estimated savings are £87 million and in 2015-16 they will rise to £114 million.”