Northern Ireland’s public services will face “significant budgetary pressures next year and up to 2020,” the North’s Finance Minister has warned following the latest UK spending review which outlines UK government spending plans and budget allocations.

Chancellor George Osborne highlighted in his annual spending review and autumn statement how Northern Ireland would benefit from an increase in the annual block grant it receives from the treasury each year.

“Northern Ireland’s block grant will be over £11 billion by 2019-20,” Mr Osborne said, “and funding for capital investment in new infrastructure will rise by over £600 million over five years, ensuring Northern Ireland can invest in its long-term future.”

He added that the conclusion of political talks had delivered additional spending powers to the North’s Executive and had opened the door to the devolution of corporation tax at a new rate of 12.5 per cent.

“That’s a huge prize for business in Northern Ireland and the onus is now on the Northern Ireland Executive to play their part and deliver sustainable budgets to allow us to move forward,” the chancellor said.

However, the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance Arlene Foster said that while the North had benefited in some ways from the chancellor’s decision to protect health and education in England, the Executive would still face difficult decisions ahead.

“The timing of the spending review announcement has left little time for our own budget process and presents significant operational challenges as well as the additional challenge of constructing a budget based on the new nine department structure,” she said.

Overall, her department said the resource budget would remain broadly flat in cash terms, from £9.7 billion in 2016-17 to £9.9 billion in 2019-20. Ms Foster said the increase in its conventional capital budget – which will rise by 12.4 per cent in real terms from £1 billion this year to more than £1.2 billion in 2020-21 – was very welcome.