Speeches by Benn.

“Well, I expect them to begin straight away, because that is what the Chief Secretary has said he is going to do. The honest answer is that it depends on their consideration of all of the issues that will be raised. That includes the Holtham review, which arrived fairly late in the day for the spending review process, a…”

“For agriculture, the funding was ringfenced previously, then it was unringfenced. In agreeing the figure that the spending review has for funding for Northern Ireland, once again, it will be funded at more than the 124%, compared with what is being spent in the UK. That was identified by the Northern Ireland Fiscal Cou…”

“I do not think you can look at the local growth fund in isolation from the other investment that the Government are making. That is why I referred to the £30 million that will be coming to Northern Ireland as part of UKRI innovation investment. The Government, as you know, had to make some really quite difficult decisi…”

“It is going to be a discussion between ourselves, MHCLG, which has the accounting officer responsibility, and the Executive.”

“It will be the result of those discussions.”

“It will be the result of the discussions. There are three parties—”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch the last bit of the question.”

“It will be taken between the Northern Ireland Office and MHCLG, having talked to the Northern Ireland Executive.”

“Well, in the end we will have to work out between us—I think we are still formally waiting for the settlement letter—how we are going to do this, but let’s be quite clear: the £46 million over each of the three years is for Northern Ireland, to be spent in Northern Ireland.”

“Well, that is the way that the spending review has turned out. I come back to my point about spending in the round. The Executive are going to have more money, and lots of decisions that they themselves need to make, but it is going to be a different programme from the one that was run, in effect, entirely by MHCLG pre…”

“I have done my best to answer the political question.”

“They will have an important part to play in the way in which those decisions are made. But ultimately, as I have stressed now for the third time, the accounting officer responsibility does actually rest with MHCLG rather than with the Northern Ireland Executive.”

“Local politicians have a huge amount of decision making in Northern Ireland, but in answering your questions I have done my best to set out that, in the expenditure of that money, the accounting responsibility does not rest with the Executive but with MHCLG. That is why it is different.”

“You did.”

“We went through a period where everyone was looking at the UK Government to say, “Well, are you going to make a contribution?” I met Gordon Lyons, the Communities Minister, and he said, “Are you going to make a contribution to Casement Park?” I said, “We will consider this as part of the spending review. If and when I …”

“It is financial transaction capital. That means that the funding will go to the Executive and they will acquire an asset, namely a part share, in whatever is built. That is the way that financial transaction capital works. What we are doing is not alone; it is funds that can be put towards the building of the stadium.”

“Yes, you would have an asset, and they would take an equity stake. That’s right.”

“Have to accept what?”

“I would be astonished if the Executive did not accept it.”

“The Communities Minister looked at me, when I met him, and said, “Are you going to make a contribution?” I gave him the answer I have just indicated. The Government has now made a contribution. I cannot conceive of any circumstances in which the Executive would say, “No thanks very much.””