Government and Executive need to deliver to make NI a place where business is supported and confident to grow and invest - Swann

Ulster Unionist MP and Northern Ireland Affairs Committee member Robin Swann has welcomed the publication of the Committee’s Report, Economic growth in Northern Ireland.

Robin Swann MP said:

“Northern Ireland should be a place where business feels supported and confident to grow and invest. That will only happen if both the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive do the work required to remove the barriers and provide proper backing.

“SMEs are a dominant business structure in Northern Ireland and they need targeted support to innovate, take risks and grow, especially when navigating the obstacles placed by the Windsor Framework. I welcome the Government’s commitment to a one-stop shop following the Lord Murphy Review, but the report is right to call for a more ambitious overarching hub that pulls together advice on innovation funding, East-West and North-South trade, EU access and practical support for investment and expansion.”

On Intertrade UK he said: “This Board needs broader membership to properly address the east-west trade challenges. I am pleased the Committee has recommended that the Secretary of State appoint a GB representative to the Intertrade UK Board. This was a UUP recommendation initially raised by Lord Empey, which I raised in the Committee, so it is good to see it reflected in the final report.”

On planning, Mr Swann said: “The Committee states bluntly that it has received no evidence to date of the NI Executive having a thought-through or deliverable plan to address and reform the deficits in planning policy and processes. This lack of progress is a major barrier to investment and it must be a wake-up call at Stormont.”

Mr Swann added: “The report also recommends that the NIO’s developing economic vision should clearly set out how the UK Government will tackle structural weaknesses in largely devolved but critical areas including infrastructure. The barriers to growth posed by Northern Ireland poor infrastructure and connectivity cannot be ignored and the NIO’s vision must align with ongoing work on an infrastructure strategy.”

Mr Swann emphasised the important inclusion of the Local Growth Fund: “The new Local Growth Fund replaces the UK Shared Prosperity Fund from April and the Committee has been clear that the Government must urgently reverse the 70-30 capital-revenue split. As it stands, hundreds of jobs in the voluntary and community sector are threatened along with vital programmes that tackle economic inactivity. These organisations also support broader services in health, justice and local communities.

“The lack of urgency shown so far on the Local Growth Fund is deeply disappointing. The voluntary sector is not seeking more buildings, instead it needs the revenue funding to retain staff and continue the support that actually moves people into sustainable employment. This cannot wait. The Committee has shone a spotlight on what needs to change. Now the Secretary of State, the NIO, the Treasury and the NI Executive must act decisively.”