While Economy Minister Diane Dodds welcomed the Chancellor’s additional Covid-19 response funding yesterday, Finance Minister Conor Murphy warned that it “does not go far enough.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s summer economic update revealed a further £155m of funding for Northern Ireland. The mini-budget includes a temporary VAT cut for tourism and hospitality from 20% to 5%, and a £1,000 bonus for companies for each employee they bring back off furlough.
Minister Murphy responded: “The announcement of an additional £39m for economic recovery as well as the further £116m confirmed by Treasury today for COVID-19 is a welcome boost towards the Executive’s COVID-19 response.
“It is important that we act quickly and I will be discussing the prioritisation of this funding with my Executive colleagues as a matter of urgency.
“The cut in the VAT rate and the Job Retention Bonus Scheme are also welcome measures, as is the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme.
“However, the measures are not ambitious enough to spur economic recovery. COVID-19 will continue to have a dramatic impact on our economy for some time to come. What is needed is a comprehensive stimulus package. This unfortunately does not go far enough.”
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Minister Dodds however, felt that the Executive has benefited from the funding and added that it “is important that we grasp this opportunity and invest this money in the right areas to aid our economic recovery”, reiterating the important role of skills development;
“I have made no secret of the fact that I wish to see a very significant increase in the level of investment in skills.
“Developing a highly effective skills pipeline is key to our economic future as we lay a strong foundation for our economy post Covid-19.
“Since taking up office in January, and particularly since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have approved a number of skills-based initiatives.
“I will continue to focus on establishing a world-class skills system which is sustainable and boosts opportunities for everyone across Northern Ireland.”
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Minister Dodds announced a free Skills Focus programme earlier in May to be delivered by Northern Ireland's various regional colleges, with the 25% cost to businesses being removed until 31 March 2021, to support companies throughout the pandemic.
This included free tech courses delivered by Belfast Metropolitan College, which are fully funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE).
The department has also supported multiple Assured Skills Academies in partnership with fintech and professional services firms such as PwC and FinTrU.
Another skills initiative the NI government is running is a free postgraduate certificate in software development, delivered virtually by Queen’s University Belfast, and a more recently announced PgCert in Operation and Supply Chain Management, with 100 fully funded places being offered.
