23 June 2025 

The independent Fiscal Council will be given new legal powers to mark Executive performance against key Programme for Government targets under Opposition plans announced today.

The Opposition will bring forward amendments to the Fiscal Council Bill, due to be introduced in the Assembly on Monday, to give the watchdog the legal duty to annually assess the Executive on delivery against a specific list of targets published in the Programme for Government (PfG).

The annual assessment would be published and made available to the public to assess Executive performance.

The SDLP has been vocal about the need to improve accountability in local politics, after the PfG was published later, and with few specific, measurable targets. One of the very few specific targets – to start nearly 6,000 social homes by 2027 – already looks all but certain to be missed, just weeks after the PfG promise was made.

A report from think-tank Pivotal last week was critical of the Executive record at policy delivery. The Fiscal Council Bill, which is around a year late and finally puts the spending watchdog on a permanent legal basis, is seen by the Opposition as a vital opportunity to improve accountability and oversight of delivery.

The Fiscal Council was first created in 2020 and has existed on a non-statutory basis since then. The Fiscal Council Bill, introduced on Monday 23 June, will have its second reading before the Assembly summer recess.

Opposition leader Mathew O’Toole MLA said:

“The SDLP Opposition has been clear that we face a crisis of accountability in our politics. The Executive is marking time, drifting on fumes and filling their time with pointless photo-ops – all while crises are left to get worse.

“The public have lost confidence in the Executive parties’ ability – or even willingness – to work to improve their lives. Just weeks after the target was published, the Executive has virtually given up on its housing goals. And for a range of other urgent priorities, from our wastewater crisis to waiting lists, there are no clear targets.

“We need to use every tool possible to force politicians and civil servants on delivery. The SDLP will therefore seek to amend the Fiscal Council Bill to allow the independent watchdog to properly mark the Executive on whether it is improving people’s lives.

“This Bill is a huge opportunity to improve accountability and delivery. And a constructive SDLP Opposition is bringing forward practical measures to do just that.”