Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to improve skills in Northern Ireland.

While responsibility for skills is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, we are also investing in Northern Ireland’s skills as we level up the UK. Made possible through £15 million of Government funding from the New Deal for Northern Ireland, the ‘Skill Up’ initiative will fully fund further education colleges and universities to deliver approximately 15,000 training places to support key growth sectors. The Government has also committed £617 million through City & Growth Deals, with skills a key part of the Belfast Region City deal.