Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive about business rates relief in Northern Ireland.

Business rates in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. Following the decision to provide rates relief in England as part of the Government’s response to Covid-19, the Executive also introduced rates relief for NI businesses. The measures taken by the Executive include:

• A four-month rates holiday for all NI business ratepayers between April and July this year;

• An extended rates holiday for the hospitality, tourism, childcare, leisure and retail sectors (with the exception of certain supermarkets and off-licences). These businesses will pay no rates for the full financial year up until 31 March 2021.

These measures were enabled by the £2.2bn of additional UK Government funding provided to the Executive as part of our response to Covid-19.

We have regular engagement with Executive ministers on a range of issues, including responding to Covid-19. We will continue to work closely with the Executive as we work to see Northern Ireland recover.