Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment the Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance has made of the effect in Northern Ireland of UK-wide interventions to promote business in Northern Ireland.

The Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance, which I chair, has been encouraging greater Northern Ireland participation in UK-wide access to finance schemes.

As reported in ‘Building a Prosperous and United Community: One Year On’, UK Government schemes are having an increasing impact for businesses in Northern Ireland. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme delivered £5.1 million in 2013-14, an increase from the previous year and bringing total Northern Ireland funding from this scheme to £36.1 million. The Business Finance Partnership and Start-up Loans schemes have also delivered £2.4 million and £400,000 respectively in their first year in Northern Ireland. The Task Force will continue its work and will discuss the progress being made at its autumn meeting.

I recently took part in a series of discussions in Belfast with banks active in Northern Ireland to encourage them to take part in schemes supported by the Busines Bank and Invest NI.