Health and Social Care Trusts across Northern Ireland have been tasked by the Department of Health to make £70m worth of cuts in the 2017/18 financial year.

Primary and Nursery schools are being forced to make cuts of £56 per pupil – meaning tens of thousands of pounds less for each school.

Our public services are on the brink of a severe financial crisis and those who will suffer most are the sick, the elderly and our children. That is unacceptable.

All political parties should commit to sitting around the same table to negotiate a resolution to health, education, budgetary and equality issues that will see the restoration of power sharing institutions capable of delivering on the potential and the promise of the Good Friday Agreement.

We, the undersigned, refuse to stand by as political paralysis threatens the lives of those around us. We call on the leaders of all the main political parties to unite, fight and resist the cuts being applied to public services. We call on the leaders of the political parties to commit to reaching a resolution in the best interests of everyone living here.