GovWire

I am delighted to be speaking here today, in these wonderful surroundings. My thanks to Ulster University; indeed The Times UK University of the Year 2024, no less.

This institution does so much fantastic work and is truly a force for good in fostering peace, prosperity and cohesion, as the judges of that illustrious award so eloquently described you. And it has been a privilege for me to meet some of your remarkable students this morning.

This week, of course, we are marking the one year anniversary of the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland.

But before I come to that, I just want to say this about Storm Eowyn.

At its peak, over 280,000 properties were without electricity including acute hospitals and other essential services. But since the winds abated, there has been an extraordinary effort to deal with the damage, to clear fallen trees and to get electricity supplies up and running again.

And I know that lots of people have worked really hard over long hours to restore services and Im glad to say that NIE Networks is now very nearly there with the last electricity reconnections, and it has been a long time for some people to wait.

Its been a team effort which shows the strength of the United Kingdom in offering practical support. When trouble strikes, we come to the aid of each other.

The restoration of power-sharing a year ago was a significant moment. It followed yet another unacceptably long time without a functioning government.

When I was first appointed as shadow Secretary of State in September 2023, I said to Chris Heaton-Harris that my priority was to see the Executive restored.

I want to pay tribute to Chris for the pivotal role he played in bringing back the institutions, to the leadership of the DUP for deciding to go back into powersharing, and to them and the leadership of Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the UUP for the great start tht the Executive has made. We all hope that its restoration is for good - the good of the people of Northern Ireland.

By its very nature, power-sharing is difficult - very difficult - but just over a quarter of a century ago we saw extraordinary political leadership make it possible.

Courage and compromise triumphed over bitter stalemate, as political leaders agreed the principles of power-sharing that endure to this day.

I have great faith in Northern Irelands system of government. Indeed, there were long periods of relative Executive stability prior to 2017 in which we saw the devolution of policing and justice, and the establishment of the PSNI - which today enjoys significant cross-community support. Who could have imagined that 26 years ago? Its a tribute to the work that Naomi Long and her predecessors have done in the role of Justice Minister.

There was also significant economic growth, helped by Northern Irelands success in attracting inward investment. All examples of what can be achieved by sharing power.

The people of Northern Ireland need and deserve an Executive that works for them all the time, along of course with an Opposition that holds the Executive to account, an important role being undertaken by Matthew OToole and the SDLP. And it is vital that all of us do all we can to ensure that the stability of devolved government endures.

We have to put the days of collapse behind us and move forward.

Now I say that not because I am worried about a return to instability. On the contrary, I have been so impressed by the leadership shown by Michelle ONeill and Emma Little-Pengelly as First and deputy First Minister.

The Executive has worked constructively together to negotiate an Interim Fiscal Framework, publish a Fiscal Sustainability Plan, bring forward a strategy to end violence against women and girls and a childcare and early learning plan, and agree a draft Programme for Government.

Its been a successful start, and I believe the conditions are now in place for the Executive to grasp the opportunities that beckon for Northern Ireland.

The largest budget settlement since devolution with a funding formula that now reflects Northern Irelands level of need.

Certainty, after the uncertainty that immediately followed the EU referendum in 2016, about Northern Irelands place in the UK internal market.

Advantageous trading arrangements through the Windsor Framework, which can help draw in foreign direct investment.

And finally - after too many years in which Northern Ireland was too often treated by the previous government as an afterthought - this Executive has a partner in this UK Government that is committed to working together to generate investment and economic growth and to help improve the delivery of public services.

We all understand the scale of the challenge and the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, where poverty, paramilitarism and the past are entwined. And where the pain and trauma wrought by the terrible violence that shook this place continue - for many - to be deeply felt.

And all our thoughts this week, and in the weeks to come, are with those family members taking part in the commemorative hearings in the Inquiry into the Omagh Bombing - a monstrous and despicable act of terrorist violence.

We now must all play our part in building a more inclusive society which is at peace with itself as it looks to the future.

And this is the moment for Northern Irelands devolved government to address the concerns that citizens have about their lives and their wish to see public services improve.

My first six months or so in office as Secretary of State has reminded me about what Mo Mowlam once said:

People working together can overcome many obstacles, often within themselves, and by doing so can make the world a better place.

We are all aware of the acute challenges which we are grappling with right across the United Kingdom.

Today I want to talk about three of these.

First, reform and delivery of public services.

Second, how to ensure the smooth flow of goods across the UK, while seeking to deepen our trade ties with Europe.

And third, the need for sustained and sustainable economic growth, which is essential if we are to see raised living standards, and more money in peoples pockets on which subject, today the UK Government has announced a 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage from 1 April, which will benefit millions of people across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

The challenge for public services is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, and nowhere is this more urgent or obvious than in health.

The facts are frankly shocking.

Waiting time performance against cancer care targets continues to deteriorate, corridor care is becoming more frequent and it is striking how many people in Northern Ireland are now going private.

More than a quarter of people in Northern Ireland are on a waiting list. That is more than double the figure in England.

53% of people waiting for a first appointment with a consultant are waiting for more than a year in Northern Ireland.

In England, that figure is 4%. Thats right, 53% compared to just 4%.

Thats why the First Minister recently described the state of the health service as dire and diabolical.

I agree. And this is despite UK Treasury data showing that spending per head on health is nearly 300 a year higher in Northern Ireland than it is in England.

It is absolutely not that health and social care staff are somehow not doing all they can. On the contrary, they are working really, really hard to treat patients, but they are doing so in a system that clearly isnt working.

And why isnt it working? Because - over many years - the decisions necessary for systemic and not piecemeal reform to the health and social care system in Northern Ireland simply havent been taken.

Now the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt is developing a long term plan to stabilise, reconfigure and reform the health service. This is really encouraging and I sincerely wish him well.

And the challenge now for the Executive is to take the difficult collective decisions that are required to enable this change to succeed.

Doing so is now unavoidable.

The task of transforming public services wont be without cost. I get that. And I know that talk of transformation of public services inevitably leads to the issue of funding.

So, allow me to say this.

The Autumn Budget provided 18.2 billion for the Executive in 2025/2026 the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution.

This includes a 1.5 billion increase through the Barnett formula, with 1.2 billion for day-to-day spending and 270 million for capital investment.

The independent Northern Ireland Fiscal Council has calculated that the relative need in Northern Ireland is 24% more per head than in England for equivalent spending. This rightly reflects the greater needs that there are in Northern Ireland.

That is why, as part of the restoration agreement last year, a structural change was made to funding by adding a 24% needs-based factor to the Barnett formula, so as to ensure the Executive gets the level of funding it needs, now and in the future.

This financial year and next financial year, funding for Northern Ireland will actually exceed this level.

I frequently hear it said, however, that more funding is required from the UK Government and that that is the reason why public services are in such a state. But given the needs-based formula that is now in place, and given the

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