Ulster Unionist finance spokesperson Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA has called on the Secretary of State and the Executive to set aside public recriminations and work together towards an agreed budget, warning that nurses and health workers cannot be left waiting any longer for their pay award.

Dr Steve Aiken said:

“The Secretary of State is right to say that the failure to agree a budget is abnormal. Setting a budget is one of the most important responsibilities of any Government or Executive.

“But simply expressing the frustration on the airwaves will not resolve the crisis. Northern Ireland is funded unfairly compared to Wales and Scotland, that is a simple matter of fact.

“We need a serious discussion about how the funding available here can be used, including greater flexibility to reprofile spending over the period as suggested by the NIO.

“Nurses, health workers and other public servants have already waited far too long for their pay award. The RCN ballot on industrial action is a clear warning of the damage continued delay is doing to relations with staff. Our health service workers should receive a fair award comparable to that delivered in England, and they need a decision urgently as the health service approaches its busiest time of year. I’m glad that the Minister of Health is keeping this issue at the centre of Executive discussions, but ultimately those staff want to see the Executive signing off on the Health Minister’s bid rather than just talking about it further.

“The Secretary of State and the Executive must now work towards an agreed budget and a way to deliver pay. It is time for both the Secretary of State and the Executive to come to an agreed conclusion, but that will require flexibility on both sides, not ultimatums by the Secretary of State delivered on the radio.

“Public recriminations will not get us over the line.”