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The funding represents the final allocation of the £235 million transformation fund, which was provided by the UK Government as part of the Northern Ireland Executive restoration package in 2024.

The package, announced by Finance Minister John O’Dowd, will support six Executive projects spanning health, communities, finance, and agriculture.

The largest single allocation from this final tranche is £42 million dedicated to the ePharmacy Primary Care Digital Reform Programme.

This project will replace paper-based prescriptions with an electronic transfer process to community pharmacies across Northern Ireland. The digital platform is expected to drastically improve services by replacing the manual processing of over 45 million paper prescriptions a year with instant digital transfers, expanding access to care closer to patients’ homes.

Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP stated that this investment is a clear signal of the government’s commitment to supporting the Executive in delivering better public services. He noted that the full allocation of the £235 million transformation fund is supporting the framework needed to reshape service delivery for the long term.

The funding follows the recommendations of the Public Sector Transformation Board, which comprises officials from the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the UK Government, alongside independent experts.

The six approved proposals receiving the funding include:

• £42.0 million —
  • ePharmacy Primary Care Digital Reform: Transitioning to electronic prescriptions and clinical services.
• £29.2 million —
  • Together for Families: A health and community partnership creating an early-help model for families. The National Lottery Community Fund will match this with an additional £30 million.
• £16.0 million —
  • Pathway to Work and Wellbeing: Integrating employability and health services to support citizens in finding and sustaining work.
• £6.0 million —
  • Digital Workplace Programme: Modernising records and information management across the Civil Service to reduce manual handling.
• £5.3 million —
  • NISRA Data Linkage Programme: Safe data linking across departments to support evidence-based policy making.
• £4.0 million —
  • Bovine Tuberculosis Research Project: A regional pilot to redesign disease control, supplemented by £5.6 million from the Shared Island Fund.

Matthew Patrick MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office, highlighted that the funding targets real change, from health services to family support.

He added that the UK Government has secured the largest-ever devolution settlement for Northern Ireland, including an additional £750 million in Barnett consequentials through recent Budget and Spring Statement announcements. These funding streams, alongside the transformation fund, form part of a broader £3.3 billion Executive restoration package designed to secure long-term NI public sector resilience.