The UK government should consider making more decisions on Northern Ireland at Westminster during Stormont's absence to stop a further decline of public services, a study has said.
Northern Ireland is being governed on a "limited and piecemeal basis" since the collapse of power-sharing as "no-one is in charge", think tank Pivotal warned.
Civil servants are running Stormont departments but there is "no legislative basis" for officials to make many big decisions needed to help ailing public services.
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It said that while Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris has set a budget, other key areas have been left for a returning Executive and Assembly to consider.
The report, "Who is governing Northern Ireland?", calls for an "urgent restoration" of the power-sharing institutions to "allow proper decisions to be made with democratic accountability".
But it said if the Stormont stalemate continues, the UK government "should consider how to ensure that important decisions are taken in order to prevent the further deterioration in public services".
It added: "While legislating in Westminster would be against the principle of devolution, it could ensure the improved delivery of essential services."
Other recommendations include encouraging senior civil servants to "look for opportunities to provide more information" about their departments' activities in the absence of ministers, such as progress reports, oral briefings and media interviews.
For the past year the DUP has been blocking the formation of a power-sharing government in protest against Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
The party is refusing to restore Stormont until significant changes are made to the trade deal, which has angered unionists for implementing new checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
Negotiations are continuing between the UK and European Union in a bid to resolve disputes over the protocol.
It comes as Stormont departments face cuts of at least £500million in the next financial year.
Ann Watt, director of Pivotal, said: "There is no doubt that Northern Ireland is being governed on a limited and piecemeal basis.
"Civil servants are in charge of departments, but are unable to make any significant, cross-cutting or controversial decisions. The Secretary of State has stepped in with legislation to address some major issues, but otherwise has said that he is leaving decision-making for the return of an Assembly and Executive.
“This puts severe constraints on what progress can be made to tackle Northern Ireland’s many challenges in health, education and the cost of living.
"It's not clear who, if anyone, is responsible for making decisions in Northern Ireland at present.
"The absence of the Assembly and Executive means there hasn’t been proper government here for four of the last six years, and we are seeing a real deterioration in public services as a result. People are feeling the effects of all this in their day-to-day lives."
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