Coronavirus: Northern Ireland

(asked on 15th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to support the recovery of the Northern Ireland economy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Answered by
Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 28th September 2020

The Government has worked closely with the NI Executive to support the businesses and employees of Northern Ireland throughout the pandemic by offering unprecedented levels of financial support to ensure their survival and to protect the productive capacity of the economy. The Government remains committed to supporting local economies to not only recover from the impacts of the pandemic but to thrive and grow as we emerge from the lockdown.

In the short term we have provided as much support as possible through UK-wide schemes, including the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and government-backed loans. In NI, at least 330,000 individuals and companies have benefited from these schemes to date.

The Winter Economy Plan of 24 September has extended SEISS until 21 April 2021. It introduced a new Job Support Scheme, which will ensure an employee who is working 33% of their normal hours will receive 77% of their pay. A reduced 5% rate of VAT for hospitality and leisure firms has been extended until 31 March 2021. The coronavirus government-backed loan schemes have been extended to 30 November, with greater flexibility introduced for the repayment of Bounce Back Loans.

In addition to this UK-wide support, £2.2bn of additional departmental funding has been allocated to the NI Executive to enable a strong and sustainable recovery from this crisis.

As we look forward, we will continue to do all we can to support the Executive to grow the NI economy: driving up innovation and productivity, making sure NI is well-connected to the rest of the UK and the world, and promoting Northern Ireland and its exports and talents as we level up opportunities for all.


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