Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows MLA has urged that the Assembly's final full session of the mandate be defined by delivery, rigorous scrutiny and a budget process centred on how money is used, not simply how much is sought, as the institutions prepare to reconvene.

Jon Burrows said: "This is the last full session of the mandate, and the temptation will be to rush through legislation simply to claim progress. We know where that leads: bad law that must later be repaired, while the public lives with the consequences. I would rather this Assembly passed five good Bills than fifteen rushed ones. Committees must have time to do their work and Ministers must be properly held to account. Scrutiny is not obstruction; it is our job. "We want the budget resolved and will work constructively to achieve that. But more money must come with greater responsibility: wiser spending, waste rooted out and honest answers about why costs keep rising while delivery gets worse. Perpetual crisis, followed by another demand for more money, is not a budget process. It is a habit, and the public has lost patience with it."

Reaffirming support for reforms at Stormont while protecting core elements of the Belfast Agreement, he emphasised the need for collective responsibility and better decision-making.

Burrows said: "The Ulster Unionist Party remains the only unionist party supporting sensible reform of the institutions. Stormont was designed to exist, not to excel, and it is failing to deliver. The cross-community protections at the heart of the Belfast Agreement are fundamental and we will defend them. But a system that avoids difficult decisions, lacks collective responsibility and allows parties to hide behind the failures of others serves nobody.

"Collapsing Stormont is never the answer. Defending the Union means making Northern Ireland work, and Stormont must do much better."