To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any measures her Department is putting in place to mitigate the impact of the upcoming increase in the Minimum Wage and employers' National Insurance contributions on her Department’s budget and operations.

It is anticipated that the upcoming increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions (ERNI) will create additional pressures of approximately £15m for my Department and its Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs). It is not currently anticipated that the increase in the Minimum Wage will lead to significant additional costs.

It is reasonable to assume that some additional funding will be received in due course from the Executive for ERNI costs. However, this amount has not yet been confirmed by the Department of Finance and is unlikely to cover the full costs.

Decisions on prioritisation and service provision will therefore be required across the Department and its NDPBs to manage the remaining pressures in order to live within the budget allocation. All business areas will be required to implement cost reductions and efficiencies.