Jan 20, 2022, BBC News: Education department to get £40m [$54M] in Stormont funding boost https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60075275.amp
Northern Ireland
The Department of Education is to get an extra £40m from the reallocation of money across Stormont departments.
The move was announced by the finance minister, Conor Murphy, as part of a £151m budgeting exercise known as a monitoring round.
A large part of the education money is for coronavirus pandemic pressures including the cost of using substitute teachers.
It also includes £18.4m [$25M] for special educational needs.
Mr Murphy said the school sector had been under "significant pressure right through the autumn and through the winter".
"Access to sub teachers and people going off with Covid or isolating because of close contact with Covid has presented a real challenge in the schools, so I hope some of that [money] helps ease that," he said….
"If further bids to meet urgent priorities come forward from departments, further allocations can be made," he added.
"However, given the constrained budget position next year, the executive does want to carry over funding into the next financial year."
Mr Murphy said he would be meeting public sector unions in the coming weeks to discuss pay.
"Of course they recognise the limited resources that we are working in, they know that the budget outcome is not what we wanted and that we are trying to address issues of public pay," he said….
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