MPs have called for a more joined-up approach to economic growth in Northern Ireland, warning that fragmented support and weak investment in skills and infrastructure are holding back businesses and regional prosperity.
A new report from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee said the UK government must ensure its economic strategy for Northern Ireland is aligned with that of the Northern Ireland Executive, while giving small and medium-sized enterprises clearer and easier access to support.
The cross-party report, Economic Growth in Northern Ireland: new and emerging sectors, said the current mix of central and devolved government missions, strategies and support bodies is failing to give businesses enough clarity on the wider direction of travel.
With economic development devolved to Stormont, the committee said the overlap between different layers of government risked creating confusion rather than confidence for firms looking to invest and expand.
It called for the Northern Ireland Office to set out its economic vision with specific and measurable objectives linked to growth, employment and productivity, and said ministers in Westminster and Belfast should work more closely together on economic policy.
The report also highlighted the dominance of SMEs in Northern Ireland’s economy and said the number of organisations offering support in different ways may be adding to the problem. The committee said the government should establish an overarching one-stop shop for SMEs so businesses can more easily access help to invest, grow and make use of East-West and North-South trading opportunities.
On wider barriers to growth, MPs said Northern Ireland’s productivity and skills problems were long-standing and well understood, while inadequate infrastructure and delayed planning decisions continued to weigh on economic performance.
The committee was also critical of the Executive’s record in addressing those issues and said City and Growth Deals could be expanded to support investment not only in infrastructure but also in skills. It argued that such deals could help spread growth and prosperity beyond Belfast and into Northern Ireland’s wider sub-regions.
The report also returns to concerns over the Local Growth Fund. Following an evidence session in October, the committee has been pressing the UK government over proposed changes to the fund, amid warnings that the new structure could leave thousands without access to employment support services and lead to hundreds of voluntary sector job losses in Northern Ireland.
MPs said they were frustrated by the lack of progress and again urged ministers to reverse the planned capital-revenue split.
Tonia Antoniazzi, chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, says: “Northern Ireland’s economy has performed well in recent times but there are still challenges holding it back. The many central and devolved government economic missions, strategies and support bodies can be bewildering to businesses, while a lack of investment in skills and infrastructure is having a detrimental effect on growth, particularly beyond Belfast.
“Economic development is the responsibility of Stormont, and the Executive has been under-performing itself in this area for too long. But the UK government cannot afford to ignore these obstacles, given its core mission of kickstarting economic growth right across the UK.
“Ministers in Westminster need to make sure that the UK government and NI Executive are rowing in the same direction when it comes to their growth strategies, while committing to expanding City and Growth Deals to fund investment in infrastructure and skills.
“Northern Ireland’s many small and medium-sized businesses also need easy access to support so they can grow and take full advantage of all the trading opportunities on offer.
“While creating the right environment for businesses is vital, one of the keys to economic growth is tackling economic inactivity. We are frustrated that the government is still not listening to the warnings from across the voluntary and community sectors about the impact the funding make-up of the new Local Growth Fund will have on the ability to help people into and stay in work.
“It’s imperative that the UK government recognises the clear need for current spending to fund employment support services and either reverses the 70:30 capital-revenue split or support the sector to find the funds elsewhere.”
