The talks to restore the devolved structures may have been stalled for the summer period but the absence of a deal means enormous financial uncertainty for many people.
Put simply, Stormont has been left without a budget and the civil servants who are effectively running Northern Ireland right now, only have access to 75 per cent of the block grant.
That will rise to 95 per cent at the end of July but officials will only be able to spend the full amount from the Treasury when a budget is passed.
James Brokenshire, who has failed to display any sense of authority as power-sharing experiences its biggest crisis in a decade, is now set to direct the allocation of around £120 million of the north's £10 billion block grant.
It is a situation that will fill no one with a sense of confidence, particularly those organisations that depend on public money for their existence.
One such organisation has already placed its staff on protective notice of redundancy and we can only expect that more will follow.
Sure Start in south Belfast, which provides pre-school support to 1,600 children and their families, has told its 50 staff that their jobs are at risk because funding is due to run out at the end of this month.
In all there are 39 Sure Start programmes across the north which aim to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds the best start in life.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised after it was learned that the a school uniform grant is facing a cut of £3 million.
This funding, which provides financial help to low income families struggling to find the money for uniforms and PE kit, is accessed by around 98,000 pupils every year.
As with the Sure Start scheme, the uniform grant is aimed at children who are already at a disadvantage in life.
When it comes to making cutbacks, it is alarming that it seems the poorest in our society will be left even worse off.
