CIH Northern Ireland has described the 38% cut to the Department for Communities’ capital budget in the recently approved 2024/25 budget as “a devastating blow”.

The budget announced on 25 April £856.0m to the Department for Communities (DfC) for resource spending, covering day-to-day operations, and £133.4m for capital spending, earmarked for investments in projects like housing development.

Compared to last year’s budget settlement (2023/24) which provided the DfC with £861.6m for resource spending and £216.1m for capital spending, this represents a 38% reduction in the DfC’s capital budget.