Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP has announced the release of £102.6 million by the UK Government to support public service transformation in Northern Ireland
- The £102.6m funding represents the final allocation of the £235m transformation fund, provided by the UK Government as part of the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive package in 2024.
- This package will support six Executive projects across health, communities, finance, and agriculture.
- The largest single allocation, £42 million, is dedicated to the ePharmacy Primary Care Digital Reform Programme which will replace over 45 million annual paper prescriptions with an instant digital transfer.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP has announced the release of £102.6 million by the UK Government to support public service transformation in Northern Ireland.
The latest funding marks the final allocation of the £235 million transformation fund provided to the Northern Ireland Executive as part of the restoration package in 2024.
The major new package, announced by finance minister John O'Dowd, will support six Executive projects across health, communities, finance, and agriculture.
Some £42 million will go towards the ePharmacy Primary Care Digital Reform Programme. This project will replace paper-based prescriptions with a digital process that will enable the electronic transfer of prescriptions to community pharmacies across Northern Ireland. This is expected to dramatically improve services by replacing the manual processing of over 45 million paper prescriptions a year with instant digital transfer.
Speaking as the funding was announced, the Secretary of State said:
This £102.6 million investment is a significant milestone for Northern Ireland, and a clear signal of this Government's commitment to supporting the Executive to deliver better public services for the people of Northern Ireland.
At the heart of this funding is a simple goal: making public services work better for the people who rely on them every day.
The full allocation of the £235m transformation fund is supporting the framework to transform service delivery for the long term.
I look forward to seeing the results of all successful projects in the months ahead.
Matthew Patrick MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office said:
We promised to work with the Executive to transform public services and that's exactly what we're doing. From transforming access to prescription services, to giving children and families the support they need to thrive - this Government is funding real change for people in Northern Ireland.
I am also proud that this Government has been able to secure the largest ever devolution settlement for Northern Ireland, and an additional £750m in Barnett consequentials through the Budget and Spring Statement. These funding streams, alongside the transformation fund, provide the opportunity for the Executive to deliver the changes that public services need to ensure that they work for the people of Northern Ireland.
