Committee publication · Estimate memoranda · 30 April 2026

Northern Ireland Office Main Estimates Memorandum 2026-27

From: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Summary

The Northern Ireland Office's 2026-27 Main Estimates memorandum outlines requested parliamentary approval for £74.1m Resource DEL, £10.8m Capital DEL, and £24.7m AME, plus £26.16bn cash to the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. Resource spending increases 14.1% year-on-year, driven by Spending Review 2025 allocation and inquiry costs; capital spending rises 57.9% for NDPB office expansion; AME falls 101.3% due to non-recurring legal and Peace Plus provisions.

Key findings

Resource DEL increases to £74.084m (+£10.467m, +14.1%) primarily from SR25 settlement and second-year inquiry funding allocation
Capital DEL rises to £10.792m (+£6.251m, +57.9%) to expand office space for a non-departmental public body accommodating predicted operational growth
AME decreases to £24.706m (-£25.037m, -101.3%) following non-recurring uplifts in legal provisions and Peace Plus programme from 2025-26
Administration costs fall to £20.767m (-£2.808m, -13.5%) compared to final 2025-26 budget
Cash grant to Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund set at £26.160bn (-£1.093bn, -4.2%), determined by Spending Review 2025 Phase 2 settlement and Barnett formula application

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-financedevolved-governmentnorthern-irelandbudget-allocationadministration

Key actors

Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Executive, Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, HM Treasury, House of Commons Scrutiny Unit, Julie Harrison, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Notable line

“Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is the UK Government's centre of expertise on Northern Ireland and represents the interests of Northern Ireland in Government.”

Key Quotes

“Our strategic vision is to deliver a stable, prosperous and vibrant Northern Ireland.”
— Northern Ireland Office · departmental strategic objectives

“Our core departmental priorities include: replacing the 2023 Legacy Act through successfully delivering the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill”
— Northern Ireland Office · primary departmental priorities

“The information in this Estimates Memorandum has been approved by myself as Departmental Accounting Officer.”
— Julie Harrison, Permanent Secretary · accounting officer approval

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗