UK to set N.Ireland budget in absence of devolved government

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Thursday it would set the 2022/23 budget for Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning devolved government there.

"We recognise the public in Northern Ireland must be protected in future by bringing the public finances under control so it is with significant regret that I am now setting a Northern Ireland Budget," the British government's Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said in a statement.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Farouq Suleiman, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)