Stormont parties to meet Secretary of State for talks on NI's finances

Stormont parties will today meet the Secretary of State at Hillsborough Castle for talks on Northern Ireland's finances and public services.

It comes as separate meetings with the DUP continue, although the party and the UK Government both says these talks, which are aimed at restoring power-sharing, haven't yet concluded.

February will mark 2 years since the DUP walked out of the Stormont Executive in protest of post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The discussions in Hillsborough will also involve senior officials from the Northern Ireland Office, the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.

Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said, "I have invited representatives from the five largest parties in Northern Ireland to discuss how the Government will work with them to stabilise the finances of a returning Executive.”

"My intention is to set out how the Government would assist the parties to address the immediate challenges resulting from 21 months without a functioning Executive.”

"We will focus on the need for an incoming Executive to transform public services so they can be delivered in a more sustainable way.”

"We will also need to talk about what happens in the event the Executive is not reformed and it is once again left to the UK Government to set a budget for the next financial year.”

"In parallel to these meetings, I continue to engage with the DUP and am pleased that those negotiations have made significant progress over recent months, but at this point are yet to conclude."

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