On Wednesday, the secretary of state told the House of Commons there had to be “political accountability for finances”, and that he wanted to be able to settle the issue with the executive.
The government is due to publish its own budget next week, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously saying the executive needed to be “realistic” about what more Westminster could do, given some Whitehall departments are being asked to make in-year cuts.
SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole, who chairs the finance committee, said “ordinary workers are paying the price” for the executive’s failure, referencing a row between Sinn Féin and the DUP at another committee over tensions linked to the Drumcree dispute.
“Today’s scenes exposed everything that’s wrong with this Executive,” O’Toole said in a statement on Wednesday.
“While the two largest parties were busy attacking each other, more than 20,000 civil servants learned they have no prospect of seeing a pay increase in their Christmas pay packet,” he said.
“The mudslinging and manufactured outrage won’t hide the fact that this Executive has failed to agree a budget.”
