UK Secretary of State Chris Bryant visits Stormont to break budget deadlock and discuss institutional reform

The Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, has arrived at Stormont Castle where he is holding talks with Northern Ireland's political parties in a bid to break the deadlock on the budget.

The executive has said it cannot agree a budget for this financial year without additional support from the Westminster government.

Following the passing of a deadline in August, Stormont officials were given legal powers to spend up to 95% of last year's funding in the absence of ministers agreeing the budget.

Last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged to get the Stormont government functioning properly with a budget, but it is unclear how much money London could provide.

Sir Chris is holding talks with the executive on that issue, as well as seeking their views on potential reform of the institutions, when he makes his first visit to Stormont.

He is holding talks with the executive before meeting party leaders and holding one-to-one bilaterals with the five largest parties.

Alliance and the SDLP have long called for the power-sharing institutions to be reformed to prevent them from collapsing again.

In June, Sinn Féin - the largest party at Stormont - published its own proposals urging similar measures to be introduced.

It called for the removal of what it called a "veto" on executive formation - namely the nominations of parties to the roles of first and deputy first minister.

If the largest party within nationalism or unionism in Northern Ireland refuses to nominate for the role an executive cannot be formed.

Sinn Féin is arguing that in future, if either of those parties chooses not to nominate, the opportunity to take up the role should pass to other parties.

It said this would ensure the institutions can continue to function while maintaining the principle of power sharing.

The use of the veto has been used by both Sinn Féin and the DUP in the past and has been criticised by smaller parties at Stormont.

Any changes to the current structures would require the UK government to legislate for them.

It is not clear how quickly the secretary of state wants to progress discussions on this area, with the next assembly election due in May 2027.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said agreement on a budget and reform of Stormont should happen "in tandem", but neither should be conditional on the other.

She said the budget "should never be a cat's paw in a negotiation".

Hanna said there had already been harm to public services from using the budget as a "negotiating ploy".

She described claims that the lack of an agreed budget was not affecting services as "a nonsense".

SDLP opposition leader Matthew O'Toole described the suggestion that Stormont could operate on 95% of available funding as "a ridiculous proposition".

"The answer to that is not to impose a 5% cut on yourself," he said.

Ahead of the meetings, Sinn Féin assembly member (MLA) Deirdre Hargey said there needs to be a "different mood and tone" from the British government in relation to devolution.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, she said: "We need to see an adequate package which meets the needs here so that we can get on with the job of delivering public services and doing the transformation the executive have committed to."

Hargey said the budget would need to be calculated on the basis of need.

"If the secretary of state is serious and genuine in terms of having stability within our institutions to ensure that we have a fiscal way forward then they need to be funding us appropriately."

UUP MLA Steve Aiken said he was "quite hopeful that the secretary of state is going to say there is more money on the table today", given the Chancellor John Healey is expected to say the UK economy is "turning the corner" in his first major speech since taking the role.

Also speaking on Good Morning Ulster, he said any funding "has to be linked to some sort of reform".

"If we are getting extra money, and I think we are due extra money and we should be getting extra money, it should actually be tied to make sure that Northern Ireland is run much more effectively."

Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said that the issues around finances "cannot be divorced" from political stability and the need for reform around the institutions.

"I believe there is now a real momentum and if we are serious about breaking this cycle of crisis and collapse... We need to grasp the nettle in reforming the institutions," he told the programme.

Tennyson said he believes that Northern Ireland is not getting a "fair deal" compared to Scotland and Wales adding this was "not a sustainable position".