Select committee: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
4th Report – Economic growth in Northern Ireland: new and emerging sectors
Published 23 Mar 2026
Addressed to Northern Ireland Executive; Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Economic growth in Northern Ireland: new and emerging sectors All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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)
From: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, 4th Report – Economic growth in Northern Ireland: new and emerging sectors (HC 1193), 23 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 June 2026 (deadline 23 May 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government 'welcomes the Committee's report' and sets out its initial response to each recommendation, agreeing on closer working with the Northern Ireland Executive while not accepting some proposals, including the economic vision forecasts and a change to the Local Growth Fund split.
- On the NIO economic vision, the Government 'shares the Committee’s view' on close collaboration with the Executive. It has 'noted' the suggestion of forecasts for additional growth, employment and productivity but 'does not believe this is realistic'.
- On a Northern Ireland seat on the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, the Government is 'currently considering' how Northern Ireland voices can be more clearly heard in national policy structures. It does not state a decision.
- On the one stop shop for SMEs, the Government says it is 'fully committed' to the service, with a £16.6 million budget. It states it expects the service to go live 'within this financial year, as scheduled'.
- On the Local Growth Fund capital-revenue split, the Government states 'the split will not change'. It points to £11.8 million of resource funding in 2026/27 and PEACEPLUS options for the sector.