To ask the Minister of Health whether the funding for the ongoing planned roll-out of multi-disciplinary teams is ring-fenced.

The extremely challenging workforce and financial constraints that the Department of Health have been operating under have been a limiting factor in our ability to progress implementation of MDT as widely, and as quickly, as desired.

Despite these pressures, as of January 2025, there are over 368 whole time equivalent front-line staff working across 117 GP Practices in 7 GP Federation areas in the Primary Care MDT programme.

A proposal to secure funds from NI Transformation Fund, if successful will enable completion of the model in existing MDT areas, and expansion to 5 new GP Federation areas with a population of roughly 670,000 people. This funding is ringfenced investment for transformation .

Following the announcement of the 2025-26 Draft Budget allocation, my Department has assessed that Health will be facing a significant funding gap in 2025-26 as a result of both inflationary pressures and increased demand.

My Department remains committed to the further implementation of the MDT model across Northern Ireland. As set out in, Health and Social Care NI – A Three Year Plan to Stabilise, Reform and Deliver, I have made a commitment to publish a plan, by April 2025, for the completion of the Primary Care Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) model across all areas of Northern Ireland.