To ask the Minister of Finance whether consideration is being given to undertaking an independent review of Non Domestic Rating System.

I have no plans to have an independent review of the non-domestic rating system undertaken. The Public Consultation, undertaken less than a year ago as part of my Department’s comprehensive Review of Business Rates, provided a broad and extensive range of independent responses. That Review led to the Executive’s reduction of the non-domestic regional rate by 18%, the extension of the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme, and the re-introduction of the Rural ATMs Scheme. That evidence, along with the advice from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, helped in the development of the unprecedented £313m in additional rate relief provided by the Executive since April, and I have no doubt it will continue to shape our ongoing response.