Revenue-raising measures such as water charges and higher tuition fees should be the focus of future Stormont budgets, UK Government officials have recommended.
A leaked Northern Ireland Office briefing paper estimates the devolved executive is losing £700million a year by failing to charge for services like domestic water supply, prescriptions, domiciliary care, transport for the over-60s and having significantly lower university tuition fees than England.
Savings through workforce efficiencies in the Civil Service should also be considered, the NIO document says.
