John Stewart
East Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Decisions taken over the next two months will determine whether Northern Ireland has a modern, responsive enterprise service or whether we simply roll forward a model that increasingly struggles to keep pace with the world around it.”
“<BR /> <BR />I understand that significant efforts have been made to bring the Department for the Economy, councils and Enterprise NI around a table to design collaboratively the modernised service for 2027, yet that meeting still has not happened. That is deeply disappointing.”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank Enterprise Northern Ireland and note the outstanding work of our local enterprise agencies, which go above and beyond, often in challenging financial circumstances, for our entrepreneurs and businesses.”
“I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party group on micro and small business, but I feel that I must highlight an issue that should concern every Member, regardless of party or constituency.”
“The infrastructure in Larne West is shambolic and fails residents and commuters daily. Minister, you will be aware of an ombudsman's investigation of the missing link road at Ballyloran that reported last February on the back of my office having brought the matter to it.”
“The Bill sends an important message that demonstrates confidence in the governance arrangements that are already in place and in the boards and management teams that have successfully led the organisations for many years.”
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“Yes, and that is the fear. I agree with my colleague from East Antrim about that. Undoubtedly, as I have said, online trade is growing exponentially year on year at a rate of 20% plus, so this is only going to affect more and more people. It is right, therefore, that we are discussing today the impact that it will have. <BR /> <BR />As I said, fortunately it is getting recognition at Westminster and in the other Chambers of the devolved institutions. I know that the Westminster all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking has already addressed this at its past two or three meetings. The chair, Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, said that not only will the costs inevitably be passed on to consumers but that it is completely unjustifiable and akin to profiteering and opportunism in the Visa/MasterCard duopoly.”
“'Which?' said that just last week in raising concerns about it. <BR /> <BR />The increase will be relatively small. It seems that this is quite niche, but we only have to look at the amount of turnover and the increasing transactions that are taking place online to realise that this will affect a lot of people, particularly at a time when businesses face extra costs for checks and paperwork as a result of the protocol.”
“I will try to get back onto the subject at hand. On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, it is not my intention either to divide the House, and I thank the Members who tabled the motion and those who tabled the amendment. <BR /> <BR />British consumers make tens of billions of pounds of purchases every year from European merchants on credit cards alone, and the hike, both from MasterCard and Visa, will affect the majority of those transactions. Hopefully, the concerns of border communities will be alleviated by the point that my colleague for South Belfast made that face-to-face contact in those trades will not be dealt with, but, undoubtedly, the impact will be felt by online retailers. It goes without saying in the traditions that we already see that any costs borne by traders and merchants will be passed on to the consumer.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. The Minister will be aware that the gas caverns project has been, and remains, contentious, particularly in Islandmagee. I am interested in getting more detail on the advice that he has received on the full marine licensing review and on the abstract licence and consent to discharge. Is the Minister minded, on the back of legal advice, to refer the issue to the Executive? Will he support calls to instigate a local public inquiry?”
“I thank the Commission member for that very thorough response. I do not think that I am the only person in the House who, from time to time, feels like banging their head against a brick wall when it comes to accessing either the Wi-Fi network or the hard-wired network. I have just come from two Zoom meetings, both through the PC in the office, where I had to turn off the camera. That was probably a good thing for those at the other end of the line, but it was not so practical for the actual running of the meetings. It seems that, given the ongoing number of meetings that are taking place, we will need more and more access. Is there any way that we can look at speeding up that connection so that we can get more for the ongoing number of meetings that we are having?”
“I thank the Minister for her response. That will be of great interest to those learning to drive, driving instructors and everyone who owns a car that needs an MOT. You will be aware that drivers currently are not receiving their MOT test notice until five weeks before. They are experiencing massive difficulty with booking a test. It is hugely frustrating for many of my constituents and, I am sure, for constituents across the country that they are not able to get a test slot, even though they need the car for work, for family commitments and for everything else. There are simply not enough slots available. When will you be able to increase capacity so that MOTs can take place within an acceptable time frame?”
“The deputy First Minister rightly said that the pandemic has been cruel. That cannot be any more the case than for our tourism and hospitality sectors, which have been massively hit. Some predict that many businesses will not be able to open on the back of it. Aside from the additional financial support that they need, they need assurances about when they will be able to reopen and the lead-in time to that. Can the deputy First Minister tell me what conversations she has had with the hospitality and tourism sectors about plans to reopen and the measures that they need to put in place ahead of that?”
“We have an obligation to do all that we can for them, and extending the £500 grant support would be one way of doing that.”
“The Minister replied directly to my questions for written answer on the topic and outlined why the Department could not go further, but, where there is a will, there needs to be a way. The pandemic has told us that we need to find creative solutions no matter what the problems are. If that means engaging with student finance organisations or creating a direct application process, so be it. We have overcome bigger adversities than this so far in the pandemic, and there can be a way of solving it. <BR /> <BR />Your days as a student are meant to be the best days of your life, but, for students in Northern Ireland studying here, in GB or in the Republic of Ireland, that could not be further from the truth. They are isolated, financially strained and getting nowhere near the student experience that they expected.”
“<BR /> <BR />I remember being a student, and it was difficult to get by in normal circumstances. I have been contacted in recent days and weeks by so many constituents studying here and in GB, whether they are full or part time, who are finding the stresses and strains almost unbearable. To many in the House, a £500 payment may not seem very much, but for people who have just paid rent to a landlord for a property that they cannot use, leaving them with less than £1 left in their bank account, it means everything. It is a lifeline. Extending the payment would recognise the students who were originally excluded and would acknowledge their hardships, even though they are ineligible at this stage. <BR /> <BR />There simply has to be a way to provide equality and fairness for all students, no matter what their situation.”
“Our colleague from South Belfast highlighted that, while enforcement is legal, it is morally repugnant. Landlords are charging full rent, and some people have not even set foot in those buildings. It is disgraceful. Hopefully, collectively, we can work to push that issue. <BR /> <BR />Students are not able to avail themselves of the part-time jobs that all of us who were students used as a financial safety net to get through university. Many struggle to access broadband in rural areas. There is a lack of access to the right study equipment, to libraries and other facilities, and, let us face it, much of what being a student is about is the social environment and everything that goes with it, but they are not getting anywhere near that experience.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have heard from Members about the deep pressure, stress and anxiety that students here face as a result of the pandemic, and I pay tribute to the SDLP, which has done great work surveying and working with students to get a real feel for the pressures that they are under, and to all Members who have engaged with students. The numbers are startling, especially when we look at the mental health aspects. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to cover old ground, but I will cover a few points. Full-time students, higher education students in Northern Ireland, GB and ROI face mounting problems and difficulties as a result of the pandemic. They pay full fees for courses that are primarily taking place in their bedrooms. They pay extortionate rent to private landlords for accommodation that they cannot use.”
“<BR /> <BR />Since that announcement, like many in the House, I have been contacted by dozens of students in further education colleges, students in GB, students studying in the Republic of Ireland, students enrolled in theological colleges and students studying part time in higher education institutions in Northern Ireland. The disruption, uncertainty and financial difficulty suffered by those students as the result of the pandemic is no different from that of those who met the original criteria; in fact, it is often worse. How is it fair or equal not to give similar access on a similar level?”
“At the outset, I acknowledge the £500 COVID disruption payment announced by the Minister on 4 February. That payment was extended to every student from the UK or EU enrolled in a full-time higher education course in Northern Ireland. The one-off discretionary payment rightly acknowledges the disruption that students have suffered as a result of the pandemic. Sadly, the limited scope of the eligibility criteria means that almost 75% of students in Northern Ireland are not able to avail themselves of that vital support. Despite the matter being raised with the Minister on a number of occasions, requests have so far fallen on deaf ears.”
“On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, I support the motion.”
“The concern among businesses that have availed themselves of the scheme is that they are unsure whether it will be extended if restrictions continue. Can the Minister give some assurances that the scheme will continue?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. It is, undoubtedly, good news for those businesses. The process will never be perfect when we have to work within the current time frame, but I acknowledge that that money will go out to them. <BR /> <BR />I want to raise two aspects, if I may. First, can the Minister clarify whether the extension of rate relief to retail businesses will also apply to close-contact services, including salons and hairdressers, given the impact that COVID has had on them? Secondly, we are waiting for information on the COVID restrictions business support scheme (CRBSS), which is run through Invest NI via the Department for the Economy, to see whether it will be extended past 1 April.”
“Does the First Minister agree that equality of opportunity for goods and services has been undermined as a direct outworking of the Northern Ireland protocol?”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, in my last 15 seconds, I will talk about the need for our SMEs to be supported in the strategy. Too often, support measures go to big business in particular and miss out the 90% of our economy that should be focused on.”
“Regrettably, despite many months of delays to make it Northern Ireland-specific, the scheme has been put on ice, even though it only cost £16 million. I have been contacted by many young people who want to avail themselves of the skills and on-the-job learning that the Job Start scheme would have provided. Worse still, they are talking about going to GB or further afield to avail themselves of schemes that will be supported. We often talk about the brain drain and the impact of losing the young people whom we most need to keep. That scheme was designed purely to keep them here, and it is very important to get it back off the ground and to make that public plea. Minister, you could speak to the Minister for Communities to stress how important the cross-community nature of that scheme is.”
“Regrettably, there will be job losses and an even greater need for retraining and new skills opportunities. I want to see a bespoke version of the UK Government's Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which is a scheme designed to help adults gain in-demand skills and open up job opportunities. We could adapt that scheme to make it Northern Ireland-specific. <BR /> <BR />Another key scheme worth mentioning is the Department for Communities Job Start scheme. I have mentioned the Job Start scheme before and how important it is to keep that scheme going. The Job Start scheme was designed to provide internship places for people coming out of education with businesses that did not have the means to provide paid internship places.”
“The strategy needs to be live and needs to be able to be adapted, and there are enough recommendations to do that. I know that the Minister wants to see that as well. <BR /> <BR />The report also, rightly, mentions the need for inclusive learning for people with disabilities and mental health problems. I welcome the report's call for an inclusive skills-for-all strategy. We will all acknowledge that our social enterprise sector has done amazing work to give disadvantaged people employment and training opportunities. It is essential that, within the skills strategy, we engage with the sector and avail ourselves of its skills and knowledge to develop a skills-for-all strategy. <BR /> <BR />As has been said, the economic impact of COVID-19 has not yet been fully realised.”
“The key to that is to ensure that the strategy is a live document that adapts over time, with collaboration and cooperation from all Departments as well as local government. The skills strategy must be given time and be supported in successive mandates. Too often in the past, we have seen bright ideas come along in key strategies and publications that, two years later, are on a shelf gathering dust. Everything that we do, whether economic recovery, skills or the reform of our health service, will take years or, potentially, decades. We need to formulate policy and stick to it. Yes, we can adapt policy while working it through, but sticking to the policy is key. I will be really annoyed and upset, and it will be regrettable if, in the next mandate, we are looking at a new skills strategy because the previous one did not work.”
“There has often been an assumption that your school and the courses that you chose dictated the path that you would take, whether that was university or vocational studies. We need to change those mindsets to try to adapt to the modern world that we are living in. <BR /> <BR />We eagerly await the consultation and the final publication of the skills strategy. Given the many years of underinvestment in skills and the impact of COVID-19, the strategy will never be more important, and it is needed as quickly as possible. I hope that the work that has been put into this micro inquiry will ease the passage and production of the consultation and final skills strategy and help it get out as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />The report says:”
“Like the Member who spoke previously, I agree, for the most part, with the Chair of the Committee. I pay tribute to Peter Hall and the entire team in the Committee for the Economy for pulling this report together. The report is very detailed and informative and will play a very important role in the forthcoming skills strategy. Key to the report are not only the questions it asked but the people of whom it asked them. The answers that came back from over 80 stakeholders, listed in appendix A, show the level of engagement that took place, and that was key to making it the report that it has become. <BR /> <BR />I agree with the previous Member who spoke on the careers aspect and changing the age-old opinions and assumptions about where people go.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I totally agree that any strategy must be aimed at providing new jobs and retraining people. Does he agree that the cancellation of the Job Start scheme after it was evolved to try to make it Northern Ireland-specific is deeply lamentable, given the impact that this will have on people who now want to get into paid apprenticeships and on sectors that want to encourage young people to join them?”
“— because those are the businesses that are operating right now, and they need solutions as quickly as possible.”
“I would love to see that as a cross-cutting strategy in the Executive. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the motion refers to the benefits of the protocol. I want to see the Department focusing on the impacts right now of the protocol rather than aspirational job creation, if that is something that others think might happen. Right now, businesses in my constituency are massively under the cosh. They cannot get goods in, they are struggling with their logistics, and they are paying more than double in tariffs. So, I encourage the Minister to set up a designated point in her Department to catalogue the hundreds of issues that businesses here are raising to try to work towards solutions —”
“<BR /> <BR />Businesses and dozens of young people who were meant to start that scheme have been in touch with me to say that they are completely disgusted that it has been removed for the sake of £16 million. I am sending a message to the Minister for Communities and the Minister of Finance to refund that scheme and get it back up and running. We talk about our young people being our most important asset, and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why that scheme has been withdrawn for the sake of £16 million. The opportunities that it would create, specifically in the sectors in which it was meant to work, would be absolutely massive. We talk about the brain drain here and the impacts of that, and many young people are leaving, but that scheme was there to target exactly that.”
“The Job Start scheme was launched here briefly, which was a reincarnation of the Kickstart scheme that was launched by Westminster. I find it almost impossible to believe that, just three months after it was launched and tinkered with by the Department for Communities, it has now been binned. Young people who have returned from studying in GB or the Republic of Ireland and want to get into an apprenticeship or a paid internship are now being told that that scheme is no longer available. How can we say that we want to invest in our most important asset — our people — and throw them a lifeline and then take it away just when the opportunity is about to begin.”
“<BR /> <BR />We eagerly await the publication of the Northern Ireland economic recovery plan, and we understand from last week that there is a bid of £160 million for that, but I hope that it includes recognition of our microbusiness and small business sectors, which make up over 90% of our economy. I also hope that it recognises the need to grow our social economy through social enterprise acts, potentially looking at a Northern Ireland-first public procurement process, a focus on skills and jobs and an ambitious attempt to promote and grow our fintech and green energy sectors and to regenerate town centres, which have been under major pressure since well before the pandemic broke out. <BR /> <BR />We often say that Governments do not create jobs but businesses do when given the right conditions.”
“The Minister will know that I was somewhat critical of that because, in the medium-term recovery strategy that it intends to address, there were the same three cornerstones that every economic strategy has ever had, which are: creating highly paid jobs; developing a highly skilled and agile workforce; and rebalancing the regional economy. I do not think that anybody could be against any of those things, and I think that was aspirational, but I could never understand how that could fit into a 12- to 18-month strategy. It was almost unachievable that we would ever have got to that stage.”
“<BR /> <BR />That said, it is important to recognise the huge levels of government intervention, from Her Majesty's Treasury and the Executive, that have helped to shore up businesses and provided a safety net for workers. We can only imagine the true and horrific impact without that. Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel. An excellent vaccination programme is being rolled out, as we have been discussing, and, hopefully, we will come out of lockdown and start to see economic recovery very soon. <BR /> <BR />The Department for the Economy is working through the 'Rebuilding a Strong Economy' document, which was published in June 2020.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was not expecting to get in so soon. I want to thank the proposer of the motion and the proposer of the amendment. There was a similar motion in October. Unfortunately, things have not moved on much since. We are still in lockdown, businesses are still under pressure, and the economy is suffering as a result. I share the frustrations that, to date, there has been a lack of a clear economic pathway and I also share the need for an ambitious, innovative and cross-cutting economic strategy. I recognise the need for the entire Executive to play a role in that. We should all be concerned about the impact of furlough ending. No one should be under any illusions about the impact of ending it too soon, even in a targeted way.”
“It sounds penny wise and pound foolish. How do we get to a position where those repairs can be carried out in a timely manner?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. At the outset, I declare an interest as a member of the boards of governors of a number of schools. Setting aside the frustrations and concerns about COVID and the lack of information, sometimes, that principals receive, the single biggest issue and complaint that is raised with me by principals and teachers is about delays with minor schemes and capital works. Almost every school in my constituency has raised concerns, having been on waiting lists for years. One school has had 20 repairs to its roof in the past two years, even though it has been on the waiting list for a new roof for 10 years.”
“I am sure that the Minister is a sports fan, as am I and many others in the House. It beggars belief that the LRSS has continued to exclude sports and social clubs throughout Northern Ireland, regardless of the sector they are from. Those clubs are run by volunteers for profit to invest in the club and community and they have been ruled out of every scheme. The sports sustainability fund will not support some of those clubs, and they will go to the wall. Given the massive underspend in the Budget, will the Minister look at that again so that sports clubs that have been forced to close can avail themselves of the LRSS?”
“At the very least, we need an urgent extension to the grace period of at least nine months, even up to a year. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you said in December 2017 that, post Brexit, Northern Ireland businesses would have unfettered access to the UK single market and that there would be no internal trade borders in the UK. How did you get that so wrong? What will your Department do to work with businesses to get them through this, and will it continue to work with the British Government to see the end of the protocol?”
“I thank the Minister for coming here today to answer the question for urgent oral answer. In the past week, Minister, as you have, we have met many businesses across the wholesale and haulage sectors that are desperately concerned about the impact that the Northern Ireland protocol is having on trade and supply here. We have been told repeatedly that things will only get worse, but no one seems to be listening. Contrary to the dismissive and naive opinions of some, this is not just about high-end products such as avocados being absent from our shelves; this affects almost every aspect of goods being brought into Northern Ireland from GB. Delays are mounting, freight costs are growing by the day and businesses are crying out for support and clarity.”
“Will people who have been asked to extend automatically get a payment, or will they have to reapply?”
“I thank the Minister for her answers so far. You rightly say that the businesses that apply for the scheme are ones that have limited cash flow, and that is a serious problem for them, especially given the conditions that they face. I had a phone call just before we came in here from a lady who rents a chair in a salon. After three weeks with no updates by email or from your Department about her application, she received an email today asking for her accountant's details. She does not have an accountant; she cannot afford one. How has it taken three weeks to get to that point? When will they get their money? How is it that, given the accreditation that driving instructors have from the Department to say that they exist, not one in Northern Ireland had received their money as of Friday?”
“<BR /> <BR />Those are a couple of issues that you may be able to come back to me on, Minister, although perhaps not today.”
“<BR /> <BR />When I worked in the pub industry, I was always on the lookout. John O'Dowd touched on that. If you saw somebody come in who seemed to be a bit down or was drinking more than normal, there was that interaction. There is a danger that people lose that and disappear into the house and consume much more alcohol than they ever would, because their measures are not controlled, they are not concerned about the final bell, people are not challenging them or their friends are not saying, "Man, you've had one too many". Household drinking was growing before, and it is undoubtedly growing now. My fear is that, if we see a lack of pubs open and more pubs closing, we are going to see more and more people drinking at home. That can hopefully be addressed in the legislation, because there is no way of controlling that at present.”
“That was happening before COVID, and I can only imagine how many are not going to come out the other side of COVID, given its impact on them. We need to look at a different way for when they reopen. The current system, although working for some, is not working for everybody. It would be a real shame if many of those pubs close down and do not reopen. They not only are key economic drivers but are key to our tourism offering and to our community. <BR /> <BR />Many Members touched on the impact of household drinking, which, again, was rising pre-COVID and is now off the scale. You just have to look at the record figures for off-sales trade. People will say, "Fair play to them", but there is no control, no regulation and no social aspect to it, and there is no one to challenge them.”
“You are not going to go to an industrial estate for a night out, but you may well get a lift there with a couple of friends, where you can try a few and support the company. The company needs to get money in. That is the only way in which it is going to grow, especially in the current climate, so I would love to see that be the case. As Kellie Armstrong said, 99% of the products that we consume here are imported. If we could support our local industries, that would have such a positive impact on the community. <BR /> <BR />Again as Mr O'Toole said, we have a concern about the way in which our entire system is set up. It is not just here but across the rest of the UK and Ireland. Our community pubs are closing on a weekly basis.”
“<BR /> <BR />This is just the beginning, and Northern Ireland could set itself up as a bastion of craft beer, craft ale, whiskey and gin. There is no reason that that cannot be the case if we give them all the support that they need. I would love to see that in the legislation. I welcome the stuff around the online aspects and the ability to offer tastings, but we really need to look at taprooms. <BR /> <BR />I get the concern from some in the sector that it might have an impact on them, but it is a completely different experience. The menu has a limited range. It is an experience that you might have before you go out. People need to understand that. As Matthew O'Toole said, a lot of the taprooms are not in the most desirable of areas.”
“The Tiny Rebel company in Wales, where I went to university, has done the same thing. They were given support and nurtured. That is exactly what we want to do, because can you imagine where they could get to if we were to give the 10 or 12 that we already have and that I have just named that level playing field or even promote them above it? The possibilities are endless. These are responsible organisations using local products and producing stuff that, because of their offerings, could go anywhere around the world. There is potential in the growing Chinese market and in the Japanese market, and in America, where craft beer sales are going through the roof. Twenty years ago, you could not have given a gin and tonic or pint of real ale to anybody, but now everybody wants one.”
“Up to now, and until this has even been discussed, they have not been able to sell online, at trade fairs or markets, or when they go to the Titanic market or the Christmas market. They cannot sell the stuff to you when you go to taste it in their premises. That seems completely out of kilter with our strategy to try to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and give companies a level playing field. Many are very responsible in what they do. They have a community ethos. They sponsor local organisations and work with communities. It is so important to grow that work. It is essential that we look at offering the taprooms' offerings, as happens in England, Scotland and Wales. <BR /> <BR />A company such as BrewDog in Scotland has gone off the scale in its ability to sell worldwide.”
“We have the Hercules Brewing Company; Farmageddon Brewing; the Hilden Brewery; McCracken's Real Ale, which stocks our local club in Carrickfergus; Boundary Brewing; the Norn Iron Brewing Company; the Whitewater Brewery; and the Mourne Mountains Brewery to name but a few. They have got to where they are despite the regulations and legislation that are in place now; against all the odds, compared with their competitors in the rest of the UK and Ireland. It is testament to the entrepreneurial spirit and determination of those companies and the people who have given up other jobs to take up positions in the microbrewing industry that they have got to where they are.”
“I do not think that anyone wants to see points schemes in which you collect points, points mean prizes and the prizes are free pints. The schemes that exist in many sports and social clubs do not encourage that. Members are able to save money on the drinks that they buy and benefit from membership. It is important that people know who is in their club, so that they can have control over their members. Therefore, I will be concerned if the clause impacts on them as well. <BR /> <BR />I will turn to an issue that has been discussed by many — Matthew O'Toole, in particular, mentioned it a great deal — which is craft brewers. We have some fantastic ones here. I am a fan.”