Civil servants being "forced to play the role of minister" with Stormont budget cuts is "indefensible", a senior official has said.
The permanent secretary in a Stormont department said the UK government's "refusal to act in a timely fashion is making matters needlessly worse".
Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris is due to set a Northern Ireland budget in the absence of local ministers, with some departments potentially facing cuts as large as 10%.
