Benn does not want to step in to set Stormont budget

The Northern Ireland secretary of state has said he does not want to reach a point where he may need to step in to set a Stormont budget.

Hilary Benn said it was the "responsibility" of the Northern Ireland Executive and ministers in the power-sharing administration "should do their job".

He was speaking at a Westminster committee amid concerns over Stormont's finances in the absence of a budget three months into the financial year.

Talks between the government and executive parties were held at Hillsborough Castle earlier this month as efforts continue to find a resolution.

Benn said that "clearly there being no budget is a problem" and the executive needed to "meet the government halfway".

Stormont departments are facing spending pressures of up to £1.6bn, according to a spending watchdog.

With no budget agreed so far, public services have been operating under contingency arrangements since the start of the financial year in April.

Speaking at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, the secretary of state said the government was seeking to "understand what these pressures are".

"So we are in the process of analysing the disclosure that we've had from the different government departments," he added.

With Andy Burnham set to enter Number 10, Benn said it was their job to "offer advice to the new prime minister about the current situation".

"Because when he speaks to the first and deputy first minister, I suspect that this will be the first item on the agenda."

The secretary of state was repeatedly asked whether he may need to set a budget for Northern Ireland if no executive agreement is reached.

Benn responded: "I really hope that that is not going to have to prove the case, because I repeat, it is the responsibility of the executive to set a budget."

The Labour minister added: "I do not want to sit here before you today and say, 'Well I'm going to take that responsibility away from you.'

"It is the responsibility of the executive and they should do their job."

Earlier the head of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council said the Treasury "finds itself in a difficult position" having stepped in to provide additional funding to Stormont in previous years.

Sir Robert Chote told MPs that refusing additional money this time "obviously would have serious consequences" for public finances in Northern Ireland.

"But providing those resources without conditionality attached to it arguably creates an environment where people assume this is going to happen again," he added.