Published pre May 2022

This is a tag applied to all posts published before May 2022. This is because they are all using the same single post template that won’t be used on new posts going forward.

A line graph which shows that the level of fiscal transfer to NI has been fairly even over the last five years.

How much of what we spend on public services in Northern Ireland is paid for by locally raised tax revenue?

by Colin.Pidgeon
8th August 201631st March 2024

Northern Ireland (NI) receives a sizeable fiscal transfer from the United Kingdom (UK) Government. In other words, considerably more is spent on public services than is raised in revenue. NI therefore relies on taxpayers elsewhere in the UK. Fiscal transfers from national government to sub-national regions are commonplace; they are intended to help redress variances in local economic performance.

Figure 1: 2015-16 FTC Allocations and Returns

Financial Transactions Capital: What is it, and how can it be used?

by Pamela.Dugdale
1st August 201631st March 2024

Financial Transactions Capital (FTC) is funding allocated to the Executive by the United Kingdom (UK) Government. The Executive has discretion over FTC allocation to projects. However, FTC can be deployed only as a loan to or equity investment in a capital project delivered by a private sector entity (‘private sector’ is defined here using the Office of National Statistics classification and includes charities and universities).

What lies in store for the objects from our past?

by Dan.Hull
25th July 201631st March 2024

During the last mandate, it was estimated that almost 1.5 million objects from archaeological sites in Northern Ireland lie in temporary storage, uncurated and inaccessible to the public. What lies in store for these objects, and could the bringing together of policy teams for museums and the historic environment in the new Department for Communities represent an opportunity to leverage public benefit from this resource?

A map showing the constituencies of Northern Ireland.

Should the Assembly break the constituency link with Westminster?

by Ray.McCaffrey
18th July 201631st March 2024

The May 2016 election was the last at which 108 Members would be returned to the Assembly. At the next Assembly election there will be a reduction in the number of MLAs returned. The Fresh Start Agreement of November 2015 contained a commitment to reduce the number of MLAs from 108 to 90 and this commitment will be implemented through the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Bill 2016, which reduces from six to five the number of MLAs returned per constituency. These changes will take effect at the 2021 election or earlier if an extraordinary Assembly election is called. But the constituencies used for Assembly elections are defined in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as those used for UK parliamentary elections. Potential changes to the number of these constituencies would impact, therefore, on the number of MLAs at the time of the next scheduled Assembly election in 2021.

Front cover of the DARD resource accounts for 2014/15

What are Public Sector Annual Reports and Accounts and how can I access them?

by Pamela.Dugdale
11th July 201631st March 2024

The purpose of an ‘Annual Report and Accounts’ is to provide information about an entity’s financial position, changes in financial position, financial performance and cash flows. It should be useful to a wide range of users, enabling them to assess the stewardship and accountability of management for the resources entrusted to them.

The majority of public sector bodies in Northern Ireland (NI) operate a financial year which runs from 1 April to 31 March. By summer recess most public sector accounts are audited and laid in the Assembly. From July the public therefore can access a large number of audited public sector accounts on the organisation’s website.

The 2015-16 financial year has seen a number of significant changes to the format and content of Public Sector Annual Reports and Accounts. The following post sets out the reporting requirements for Public Sector Annual reports and Accounts for the 2015-16 year onwards.Read More »What are Public Sector Annual Reports and Accounts and how can I access them?

Further education enrolments as a proportion of the population aged 16 and over at ward level, 2013/14

An insight into Northern Ireland Constituency Profiles

by Barbara.Love
4th July 201631st March 2024

Please note that the Constituency Profiles have been updated with a new layout and are available on a new page here.

The Research and Information Service (RaISe) has just produced updated 2016 Constituency Profiles for each of the 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland. This article looks at why and how these profiles are produced.

The plenary chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly

Women in public life: Where does Northern Ireland stand?

by Michael.Potter
29th June 201631st March 2024

Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and Power in 2020.

Following the February 2016 election to Dáil Éireann, the Northern Ireland Assembly had the lowest representation of women of any legislature in Britain and Ireland. At 22%, the Dáil brushed in above the Assembly’s 21%. Even then, the number of women Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had been enhanced by more female than male co-options during the mandate: in 2011, 19% of elected MLAs were women. However, the 2016 Assembly election saw an unprecedented 30 female MLAs returned (28%), without the use of quotas.
Read More »Women in public life: Where does Northern Ireland stand?

Artwork hanging in the street during Belfast Culture Night (Image by David Bunting, Images-NI, under Creative Commons)

Where has the culture and arts strategy got to?

by Neil.Sedgewick
27th June 201631st March 2024

Back in November 2015, prior to the re-structuring of departments, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure published a consultation document, seeking views on the development of a ‘Strategy for Culture & Arts 2016-2026’. This article examines progress so far towards this strategy, including a comparison with some similar strategies elsewhere.

An image of a doctor and a couple having a discussion (Image: Rhoda Baer)

Advance decisions to refuse treatment: Where are we now?

by Janice.Thompson
22nd June 201631st March 2024

An advance decision to refuse treatment (sometimes known as a living will) is a decision a person can make now to refuse a specific type of treatment at some time in the future.

The Mental Capacity Act was passed late in the last Assembly mandate and received Royal Assent on 9 May 2016. With it, Northern Ireland became the first jurisdiction in the world to fuse mental health and mental capacity law as first recommended by the Bamford Review in its legislative report published in 2007. Under the new law, it will no longer be possible to treat a person who retains capacity (for a particular treatment decision) against their will. This principle will apply to both contemporaneous and advance decisions to refuse treatment, and to treatment decisions regarding both physical and mental conditions.

A snapshot of some of the key housing issues in the new mandate: an image of houses and money

A snapshot of some of the key housing issues for the new mandate: Housing supply and demand

by Eleanor.Murphy
20th June 201631st March 2024

Good quality, affordable housing plays a significant role in maintaining physical, mental and social wellbeing. Additionally, the housing market is an important driver of economic growth and regeneration. Therefore, it may be a concern that housing supply is not keeping up with demand in Northern Ireland.

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