The deputy First Minister and Finance Minister met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves in Belfast today to outline the Executive’s priorities and the importance of investing in public services to help deliver public sector transformation and drive economic growth.
Speaking after the meeting, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “This is the Chancellor’s first official visit here and today’s meeting demonstrates the importance of working together to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
“We had a constructive conversation during which I outlined the Executive’s priorities, our plans for economic growth and transformation, including our new Office of AI and Digital, and the need for funding so that we can deliver a modern service that meets the needs of our citizens.
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“Northern Ireland has so much to offer, particularly around AI, cyber and RegTech and today’s meeting with the Chancellor was an opportunity to discuss how best we can work together to make Northern Ireland an economically confident and globally competitive place as well as our role when it comes to growing economic growth across the UK.
“We raised a number of other key issues including the importance of supporting our hospitality sector, particularly in light of a high VAT rate, SMEs and the aerospace sector. We also highlighted the detrimental impact that Inheritance Tax changes will have on our farming community and agri-food sector, which is a cornerstone of our economy. We also discussed the pressure faced by businesses here due to increases in national insurance contributions.”
Finance Minister John O’Dowd said: “Today’s meeting was a useful opportunity to outline our priorities to the Chancellor. The Executive is focused on positive change that delivers real improvements in people’s lives. Despite the financial challenges significant progress has been made, including the delivery of a balanced budget and the recent Spending Review agreement, which will deliver an additional £600million for public services here, as a result of our negotiation with Treasury.
“The Executive’s multiyear budget will enable a long-term strategic approach, creating the conditions to drive real change and public service transformation. I stressed to the Chancellor the importance of increasing investment in our public services to stimulate our local economy and of Whitehall recognising that the fiscal decisions they make in London can have a disproportionately negative impact here.
“I will continue to work constructively with the Treasury on a full fiscal framework which gives the Executive the financial tools, including taxation levers and borrowing powers, to deliver sustainable public finances and services that our workers, families and communities deserve.”
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