To ask the Minister for the Economy whether she will bid for funding from the £55.2 million central fund identified by the Minister of Finance for further sectoral support.

Mrs Dodds

I thank the Member for his question. As I have said many times in the House, I remain committed to working with my Executive colleagues to provide support to as many businesses as possible as we deal with the health, economic and societal impacts of the pandemic. The £55·2 million fund was identified as part of the Executive's discussion on our economic recovery response. Since that time, there has been a concerning rise in the number of cases of the virus. The Executive have now introduced further measures, including enhanced localised lockdown restrictions in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. It is important that any further support measures are considered within the ever-changing context that we are operating in, and we must retain the flexibility to adapt to the changes in virus spread and public health advice. I have met businesses in the north-west about the impact on them and the restrictions that they now face, and there will be a significant impact on those local businesses. The Minister of Finance has brought forward a scheme to address those local restrictions, and that will be pertinent to other areas, should they experience the same issues.

Mrs Dodds

I thank the Member for his question. His concerns are absolutely uppermost, I presume, in the minds of most Members across the House today. To satisfy the Member, I will refer to a letter that I sent to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister on Friday after the Chancellor made his statement and it was assumed that around £200 million in Barnett consequentials would be made available to Northern Ireland in light of any restrictions that we would implement here to deal with the pandemic.

In that letter, I identified a very full range of supports that are needed in Northern Ireland, including for those who have been excluded so far: manufacturing, microbusinesses, further discretionary funds, councils and, indeed, the need for an economic recovery fund, for which I think that we will need around £500 million in the next year.

Mr Middleton

The Minister will no doubt be aware that we are facing a situation of further localised lockdowns or a national lockdown; we do not know at this stage. Do the Executive have the financial firepower to protect every job and business and ensure that we come out of this with some sort of economy?

Mrs Dodds

I thank the Member for his question. The House will be very aware that I have said that Northern Ireland cannot afford another lockdown. Just this morning, certain economists indicated very small green shoots of recovery for some sections of our economy. Those could be damaged by further restrictions and a further lockdown. I was with the Member in the north-west when we spoke to businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and representatives of tourism and hotels in the maiden city. We all recognise that, by ourselves, the Northern Ireland Executive do not have the financial firepower to support businesses in the way that they were supported in March, April and May. The job retention scheme, for example, during that period was worth £75 million every week to the Northern Ireland economy with the level of support that it gave to jobs. Any subsequent schemes that have been announced by the Chancellor see a restriction of that support and certainly will not support jobs in Northern Ireland at that level. We simply will not be able to do it in the way in which we have done. Therefore, I urge caution in the way in which we proceed during the week.

Mr Boylan

Minister, during the first lockdown, industries such as construction and tourism suffered heavily. If more restrictions were to be introduced, what can you do to support those industries? They were hit very hard first time around.

Mrs Dodds

I was heartened to hear a discussion on the radio this morning. They were talking about recovery, particularly in the construction sector, and I think that that is reflected across Northern Ireland. Indeed, I was delighted to be in mid-Ulster, where we announced an additional 130 jobs that were driven by the manufacturing/construction sector and their access to the Great Britain market. That was immensely encouraging. We will have national schemes, but we must at all costs avoid the propensity to rush without the proper facts, assessments and financial supports at our disposal. The Northern Ireland economy will suffer from the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions for many years to come. Indeed, we see that in hospitality and tourism, in which many businesses are just hanging on and nothing more. Any further restrictions, lockdowns or lessening of their ability to make a living will impact on their viability. We are at that stage, and we must recognise that. If we do that as an Executive, we have a duty to support those companies.

Mr Stewart

I agree totally that we need to speak with one voice and continue to lobby Her Majesty's Government for as much financial support as they can give to businesses. Back in September, when you were last at the Economy Committee, Minister, you talked about a scoping exercise that your officials were conducting with their Welsh and Scottish counterparts to look at a support package for businesses that had, to date, been unable to avail themselves of any funding and support. Will you give us an idea of how that scoping exercise is going and whether we are likely to see the fruit of their labour any time soon?

Mrs Dodds

Yes. I thank the Member for his question. My officials have been in touch with our counterparts in Wales and Scotland on this issue. We want to learn from the difficulties that they have had with the scheme. The main aspect of this that comes up, over and over again, is the fact that we need to have access to that HMRC data in order to make the scheme viable and be able to implement it. Wales and Scotland have highlighted that as a particular difficulty. Again, I refer to my answer and my letter, on Friday of last week, to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, which outlined the amounts that would be required for such bids.

Mr McCrossan

I thank the Minister for her answers so far. Minister, the Finance Minister recently announced the package for businesses in Derry and Strabane. Largely speaking, the reports are that it is not sufficient, given the challenges that they have faced. Does the Minister believe that it is sufficient? Has she had any conversations about increasing that funding, given that this is the second time that businesses in Strabane and Derry have had to close their doors?

Mrs Dodds

I thank the Member for his question. I, too, have spoken to those businesses and to many hotels in that area. The scheme that the Finance Minister introduced was one that was affordable by the Northern Ireland Executive. However, it clearly demonstrates the exact point that I make over and over again: without national interventions and the support of Her Majesty's Government, we will be unable to support businesses at the level at which they require.