10. Mr O'Toole asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on when a Programme for Government will be published. (AQO 549/22-27)

12. Mr Boylan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline their plan to consult on a Programme for Government. (AQO 551/22-27)

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 10 and 12 together.

We are working to finalise a draft Programme for Government and hope to begin consultation soon. Publication and consultation dates are under consideration due to the pre-election period. We want to hear views on the draft document from as many people as possible during the consultation period. We will deliver a consultation process that allows individuals, stakeholders and delivery partners to help shape our vision, and we will make use of in-person and online events to help that process.

Are we to understand from the deputy First Minister that a Programme for Government is actually drafted but cannot be published yet? Secondly, in response to a question that I submitted, we established that at least 100 meetings between Executive parties and the Civil Service took place between the Assembly election in 2022 and the restoration of these institutions in February 2024. Given that it is now more than four months since we came back, and we still have not seen the Programme for Government, what on earth were you talking about?

The Member will be well aware of the difference between political discussions and being informed of ongoing issues and the duties that we, as Ministers, have to discharge in relation to the Programme for Government. Those are two entirely different processes. The Programme for Government process commenced when we took on these roles. Of course, there is learning to take from that process. We want to make sure that this is a Programme for Government that fits within our, sadly, limited budget flexibility, but one that makes a significant difference on the key issues. We have already highlighted what some of the priorities are: childcare, tackling the big challenges in our health system and supporting families with children who have special educational needs. Those are big issues that will be prioritised, but it is right and proper that we take the time to ensure that they are properly integrated, through the roles that we hold.

Will the deputy First Minister confirm how the Programme for Government will align with the Executive's legislative programme and budget?

The Member will be aware of how challenging the current Budget is, and the number-one priority initially must be to try to maintain our public services to the best standard that we possibly can within the budgetary envelope. That will inevitably limit the discretion and flexibility that we may have for new policies, but we are very clear that this is not about trying to do everything and put everything into a Programme for Government. We want to prioritise, and, as I said, we have highlighted a number of those issues already, such as the lack of affordable childcare, which puts pressure on families throughout Northern Ireland. We all know about the challenges in the health service. Let us make no mistake: there is not a significant amount of money that gives flexibility for a huge range of new issues. This must be about supporting our existing public services, trying to ensure the transformation of and absolutely necessary improvement in those and continuing to build for the opportunity when further investment is available to us as an Executive for new and prioritised areas.