The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and I apologise to him and to Northern Ireland Members. I had it in my head to say “privileged access to the EU”, but seeing him sitting there, I wanted to mention the UK first. It was a mistake. He is absolutely right that Northern Ireland’s right to trade unhampered into the UK is one that, as we explained at oral questions earlier, we continue to stand by and preserve, and which, under the Windsor framework, we have permanently guaranteed. I am grateful to him for clarifying that point. I will press on.
Before I provide an overview of the Bill, I should say a few words on Northern Ireland’s public finances. As the Bill’s provisions indicate, we are acutely concerned about the long-term sustainability of public finances in Northern Ireland. It was with considerable disappointment that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State found it necessary once again to step in and set a budget for Northern Ireland for 2023-24 in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. As the Secretary of State has made clear on multiple occasions, the extent of the budget pressures facing Northern Ireland Departments is extremely challenging. Departments are facing difficult and unavoidable decisions in the current difficult and frustrating circumstances.
The Government recognise that we need an Executive in place to take some of those difficult decisions and make the choices on budget priorities—choices that officials should not have to face without Ministers. We stand ready to work with a restored Executive on that,
but in the meantime, we the Government of the UK have a responsibility to ensure that public services and the management of public funds can continue in their absence, so we will in due course take forward legislation to put the budget on a legal footing. Members of this House will have the opportunity to debate those allocations in detail at that time, if and when we come to it.