Source · Select Committees · Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
The UK Government and NI Executive need to work together more closely on economic issues,...
Recommendation
The UK Government and NI Executive need to work together more closely on economic issues, aligning their strategies and co-ordinating their delivery. The NIO should set this out in the “economic vision” referred to in its annual report, and publish this within six months. In this “economic vision”, the NIO should include the steps the UK Government plans to take to deliver economic growth in Northern Ireland, and set objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). To that end, the NIO should note (in numbers) the additional economic growth, employment and productivity it expects this economic vision to provide. (Recommendation, Paragraph 22)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government shares the view on close collaboration and states its economic vision aims to address structural weaknesses and create conditions for growth. However, it rejects the recommendation to include specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives with numerical forecasts, stating this is not realistic.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
The Government shares the Committee’s view on the importance of close collaboration with the Northern Ireland Executive on economic issues. As set out in our annual report, the economic vision seeks to address structural weaknesses in the economy, build resilience to deal with challenges brought about by rapid changes in the national and global economy, and create the conditions for economic growth. It provides the basis for our joint work with the Executive. Because policy areas like skills, energy, planning, and infrastructure are devolved, a collaborative approach is essential. This shared vision seeks to address structural weaknesses in the economy through initiatives such as the Public Sector Transformation Board, City and Growth Deals, and the UK Industrial Strategy. The Government has noted the committee’s suggestion of an economic vision with forecasts for additional growth, employment and productivity, but does not believe this is realistic, given all the different variables that impact upon such measurements. Industrial Strategy Advisory Council There should be a Northern Ireland representative on the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, to ensure the voice of Northern Ireland’s business community can feed into policy development and ensure that the Strategy appropriately supports economic growth in Northern Ireland.
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