Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant has ruled out providing additional funding beyond the £525 million already allocated for this financial year, escalating tensions with Stormont ministers who have yet to agree a budget. Bryant said the UK government will not front-load the £1.5 billion package offered over three years, despite suggestions that a larger share could be released immediately.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster, Bryant said there is no front-loading to be done and that he has made this clear repeatedly to executive members. He criticised what he described as a lack of financial accountability across the executive, stating that no local council in the UK can overspend without consequences. He warned that the executive must pass a balanced budget.

The executive has not agreed a budget for this year, blaming the UK's devolution funding formula for leaving Northern Ireland underfunded compared with Scotland and Wales. Without an agreed budget, departments are operating under contingency arrangements allowing them to spend up to 95% of last year's funding. Bryant said he could impose a budget through Westminster if necessary, with an absolute deadline of January 2027 when funds run out.

DUP assembly member Trevor Clarke rejected Bryant's comments, saying all executive parties agree Northern Ireland is underfunded relative to other devolved regions. Clarke said it is unfair to compare Northern Ireland with Scotland and Wales given its particular problems. People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll also said the British government should provide more money, describing Bryant's position as obscene given corporate wealth.

The budget impasse has delayed pay rises for healthcare staff, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. The Royal College of Nursing has opened a ballot for industrial action. RCN's Rita Devlin said it is despicable that nurses in Northern Ireland must fight for pay awards that colleagues in Great Britain receive automatically.

Health Minister Robbie Butler said the lack of a budget is the primary obstacle to releasing the pay award. He warned that industrial action would set back health reforms and that avoiding it requires making the pay award. Butler said he told executive colleagues that transformation could be undone if industrial action proceeds.

Bryant's offer of about £1.5 billion over three years, made last month, was rejected by executive parties as insufficient. Stormont departments face a shortfall of up to £1.6 billion, according to a spending watchdog. The secretary of state insists his offer is final.