News

Critical part of agreement

WELFARE reform is a critical part of the Stormont House Agreement. A financial package agreed as part of the deal, which in itself was billed as saving Stormont's institutions from collapse, will be thrown into jeopardy if the parties do not pass the Welfare Reform Bill.

As an inducement, the British government had agreed a £700 million loan from the Treasury to fund a public sector voluntary redundancy scheme.

Any stumbling block to welfare reform could also mean that the long-awaited devolution of corporation tax may not go ahead.

Other projects at risk include up to £150 million over five years to fund bodies to deal with the past. Stormont's increased borrowing powers may also be removed.

As part of the Stormont House Agreement, parties agreed that welfare reforms would begin to be implemented by the start of the 2015-16 financial year, which begins on April 1.

The British government had agreed that the latest fine for not implementing welfare reform - £114m - would be reduced if welfare was reformed.

However, the full fine will have to be paid without agreement on reform.