Conor Murphy
Newry and Armagh · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“More detailed consultations with individual childcare providers and parents are taking place this month and into February. The group agreed that the research would conclude in March 2025. The work is on schedule; there has been no delay. Childcare is an excellent example of various Departments coming together to deliver for our people.”
“The Bill looks at the issue of flexible working, but at every meeting that we have had with employers, we have made a point of talking to them about the need for them to be flexible, particularly in relation to women who are returning to the workforce, and to offer people arrangements that entice them back to the workforce and give them t…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Although the Department of Education leads on childcare, it is a priority for the Executive as a whole. When setting the Budget for this financial year, the Executive earmarked an additional £25 million for childcare.”
“As a matter of fact, I publicly launched the scheme and the courses in the Met last summer. My officials are also working with our six further education colleges to develop childcare microcourses for future delivery. <BR /> <BR />I also offered to assist Minister Givan's Department as required.”
“The group identified the need to better understand the business models for childcare, what type of support is needed to ensure the sector's financial viability and how support should be targeted. Given my Department's business expertise, we volunteered to take that work forward.”
“No tensions or obstacles have been placed in the way of any of that work, and I hope that that continues to be the case, because the issues are much more important than party political exchanges across the Chamber. We will continue to work in that manner.”
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“One was the impact of coronavirus, while the other was not knowing its extent and whether it could be dealt with in another way until the full cost was known. <BR /> <BR />I dealt with Mr Allister's second point about not intending to use this again, because we have given a commitment that we will take account of the impact of the pandemic on businesses at 1 October 2021, and there is no intention on my part or that of officials to use any sleight of hand to undo that date in the time ahead. <BR /> <BR />The question that the Member asked was this: why am I moving ahead with that? The answer is that it had already been legislated for. The valuation list had already gone through a process. We were heading into a situation in which there was a choice, at that stage, on 1 April 2020.”
“It is difficult for a rates provision such as this to reach all those businesses in a way that would be equitable. We should recognise that. <BR /> <BR />Pat Catney raised points about the impact of article 39A. As I said to Mr Buchanan, there are two impacts to be considered: will it be liable as a consequence of coronavirus, and what is the cumulative cost? We did not know that, because, in spring 2020, we were operating on the same basis that everyone in the Chamber was operating on, which was that, if we took sufficient action to deal with it, coronavirus might be with us only for a short period. It has gone on, however, and restrictions have been reintroduced and extended for longer than any of us dared to consider at that time in 2020. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we were dealing with two issues.”
“Of course, we no longer have the COVID financial support that we had from Whitehall and Treasury to meet those costs. If the Executive were to do something in the new financial year, it would come from their own coffers. We have, however, looked at those matters. <BR /> <BR />The issue of travel agents that Mr Wells mentioned in the earlier debate is a useful example. We were trying to find a way to support travel agents, and we recognise the loss that they have incurred. Eventually, the Executive Office undertook to put together and did put together a programme of support for them. One of the issues with travel agents in particular, however, is that half of them operated out of their home or in their own property and thus did not have a rateable property.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Wells has gone, but I need to correct what I said in the debate on accelerated passage, which was that I had provided Committee members with a chronology. I since understand that that is on its way and has not reached Committee members yet. I apologise for incorrectly saying that in the earlier debate. We will provide it, and the officials and I will be there, if need be, to talk to the Committee in the time ahead. <BR /> <BR />We have all heard about and get this, but Mr Wells mentioned the exceptional circumstances that people have suffered. We have asked Ulster University, beyond the end of this rates holiday and coming into the new financial year, to look at businesses that continue to struggle and that will do so in the time ahead.”
“It is, however, the strongly held opinion of the commissioner of valuation and the director of rating policy, both of whom are chartered surveyors with much experience, that the courts tend towards a wider interpretation of rating legislation in applying reductions to rateable values. The estimations have not been taken lightly. <BR /> <BR />Andrew Muir made the point about being briefed. I am happy for departmental officials to brief him on the matter, if he so wishes, in the time ahead. I appreciate his argument to the Committee about expediting the matter. He raised the issue of transitional rate relief. It is a traditionally complex scheme that applies in Britain. It is generally self-funded, meaning that the reval winners fund the reval losers. As far as our circumstances are concerned, it is less than ideal.”
“It was developed through very detailed analysis of every property sector and the likely impact of the pandemic on each sector across four scenarios. We believe that they are realistic and that they take account of relevant factors that will minimise the risk, including a very generous package of rate relief. We have implemented the publication of a new valuation list on April 2023, and that will act as a backstop for the losses.”
“They have developed, and legal advice has developed, and that is why the Bill was introduced in Westminster only in late spring this year. It was different, and we had to introduce our own legislation. That is why Scotland has yet to introduce a Bill in its legislature on the same issue as we have been dealing with since that time. I assure Members that nobody was sitting back and putting the public purse in jeopardy in the hope that this would go away or that we would not have to deal with it. The full costs of this have accumulated over the period of lockdown, and, the longer the lockdown has gone on, the greater the costs that have accumulated. <BR /> <BR />That brings me to Matthew O'Toole's point about the Estimates. Of course, he can interrogate this when the Committee comes to deal with it. The revenue loss outlined is estimated.”
“We were hoping that an initial lockdown would enable us to cope with the virus, and, as a matter of fact, a lot of businesses reopened in summer 2020. Then, around this time last year, we went into a more protracted lockdown that lasted through to the spring. That meant that the cost of this — it may well have been a smaller cost to the Executive and one that they could have absorbed in a different way — has gone up incrementally over the duration of the pandemic. That is an added factor. <BR /> <BR />There are two factors. One is whether people would have the power to claim compensation on that basis, having already been compensated for that, and the other factor is what the total cost of that was to the Executive. That necessitates the legislation. None of those things was known in spring 2020.”
“I remind him that the two-year rates holiday goes on until at least 31 March, and it will then depend on what we are able to do after that. <BR /> <BR />Keith Buchanan and others raised the issue of the time frame and the advice received in spring 2020. There are two pieces to that. One is whether the impact of coronavirus could be a factor in allowing somebody to claim compensation, and there was advice around that. The second piece is the potential impact of that. This is November 2021. He should take himself back to spring 2020. The initial restrictions were brought in for, I think, a period of six weeks. The legislation was time-bound and could only go that far. None of us knew, in spring 2020, what the financial impact would be.”
“I have said publicly that it will take account of COVID, so there is no sleight of hand to try to head this off down the track somewhere. That is the middle ground in that we are saying to businesses, "You were paid. You got compensation for the impact of the pandemic on your business". The Assembly, in passing the legislation, agreed which businesses would and would not get support, and we felt that some did not need support during the pandemic. However, we had, in fact, compensated those people. We therefore need to act on something that would give them the opportunity to be doubly compensated. In that regard, the middle ground is to take account of the impact of the pandemic through the revaluation on 1 October and how that will impact in 2023. <BR /> <BR />Steve Aiken incorrectly asserted that rates bills are resuming.”
“I am sure that he would be the first to stand up in the Chamber and denounce me if I had decided to not introduce legislation and had just allowed that to run its course and, in doing so, potentially, undercut the public purse. <BR /> <BR />Steve Aiken, as Chair of the Committee, mentioned the possibility of a middle ground approach. Of course, the Committee now has the opportunity to discuss and analyse the Bill. This goes back to the point that Mr Allister made, and I will deal with that as well. I would argue that Reval 2023 and the date that we have settled on — 1 October — is, in fact, the middle ground. That will take account of the impact of the pandemic on businesses in the time ahead when we get to the Reval in 2023. I will answer Mr Allister's point.”
“One of the issues that concerns the Chair is the right to appeal. It should always concern us when the right to appeal against anything is removed. Of course, in this case, it applies only and singly to the issue of coronavirus, given that the Executive had already taken measures. <BR /> <BR />Again, I do not recognise where Mr Carroll is coming from. We have provided over half a billion pounds of support to businesses through rate relief and grants during the pandemic. He wants to protect the public purse and make sure that public funding goes to public services, which are under pressure, yet he seems to be making an argument against supporting the Bill by saying that he would prefer that money to go to businesses.”
“Of course, it is not hypothecated, but, in answer to Mr O'Toole's question, if the Bill is not passed today within that time frame, I am not sure what argument he would like me to deploy to say that the Executive should ring-fence that £50 million for rates support when the non-passage of the Bill leaves open the prospect of people appealing and getting further support for something for which they have already been paid. On that basis, I am not sure what argument I would make for ring-fencing £50 million to provide support to businesses if the legislation does not pass. The £50 million Barnett consequential, however, will come to us if the legislation is passed in the British Parliament.”
“The Barnett consequential will come to us if the legislation is passed in Westminster. Interestingly, the House of Lords is complaining about the legislation being rushed through Westminster. Scotland has not yet introduced its Bill, and, by the way, none of the other legislatures are facing the same issues as us with the prospect of a mandate ending in the next couple of months. That Barnett consequential will come across if the legislation is passed. It will be provided for the purpose of the passage of the Bill.”
“I thank Members for their contributions. I will try to address some of the points raised. <BR /> <BR />I will say at the outset that I absolutely support some of the last points, and legislation supports the right of people to come forward and be whistle-blowers. One difference is that I will stand in front of the Assembly and account for all the decisions that the Department and I have taken. My officials will go in front of the Committee, and, in a public fashion, account for and provide documentary evidence to support what they did. After that has run its course, maybe you can judge whether there is a scandal here and not simply from one article in one newspaper on a Saturday afternoon. <BR /> <BR />Some Members raised questions in relation to the £50 million Barnett consequential.”
“I therefore commend the Bill to the Assembly.”
“We all wish that the pandemic had not occurred and that the public health measures that were taken by the Executive in March 2020 had not been necessary. That, in turn, would have rendered today's Bill unnecessary. What the Executive did not intend to do with those public health measures was to destabilise our only devolved tax or to create a massive risk to the tax base and local government income. The Executive share my view that, as has already been decided in England, Scotland and Wales, the COVID rates holiday, and the supplementary rate relief funding that will be provided on passage of the Bill at Westminster, is the correct means of dealing with the effects of the pandemic. Damaging wholesale valuation reductions are not. The Bill secures that objective and preserves the rating system as we know it.”
“I do not think that Members could support the hiking of rates to confer a valuation reduction on businesses that have already had a two-year rates holiday. The Bill represents a reasonable solution in comparison with the chaos of unwarranted refunds, rate hikes and systemic tax-based losses, not to mention clogging up the courts with appeals for years to come, which would add more uncertainty to revenue streams. <BR /> <BR />The Executive have already provided compensatory and mitigating rate relief to the business ratepayers who were affected by the health restrictions through the separate provision of more than £515 million in COVID-related business rate relief for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 rating years.”
“<BR /> <BR />To underscore the importance of some of my opening comments today, I highlight the financial implications that are associated with the Bill. Although no direct cost implications are associated with the implementation of the Bill, the failure to implement the Bill presented to the Assembly has an upper revenue loss estimate of £255 million. Notwithstanding what some have tried to suggest, that is a realistic estimate. That is money that the Executive and local government cannot afford to lose in the context of funding front-line services. Failure to pass the Bill is, therefore, likely to result in either the cutting of public services at local and central government level or consequential increases in the rate poundage.”
“Clause 1(2) gives examples of what is to be included in matters that are directly or indirectly attributable to coronavirus. Clause 1(3) provides an enabling power to allow the Department of Finance to make consequential retrospective changes to the clause in the event of any future change to the naming conventions surrounding the coronavirus or pandemic outbreak, such as if the virus mutates and is renamed "COVID-20" etc. Clause 1(4) makes use of the enabling power in clause 1(3), subject to draft affirmative control in the Northern Ireland Assembly. That gives the Assembly the highest level of control over the exercise of that power. Finally, clause 1(5) provides the definition of the terms "coronavirus", "net annual value list", "Rates Order" and "statutory provision" in the Bill.”
“The Bill consists of just one substantive clause in relation to the rating system. Clause 1 provides that matters that are attributable to coronavirus should not be taken into account in the net annual value of a hereditament in a non-domestic rating list. In other words, rateable values are not affected by coronavirus. Clause 1(1) makes retrospective provision for the matters affecting the net annual values, as referred to in article 39A(1A) of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977:”
“Neither my Department nor the Executive could plan around the timing of the pandemic or the time required to address the complexities arising from it. The alternative, which would be to have no Bill or a delayed Bill, would only make the issues that face us collectively even more difficult. <BR /> <BR />On consultation, there are certain fiscal matters that do not lend themselves to public consultation because they are brought forward as financial matters that are pursued in the public interest. Consultation must be meaningful. Following Executive agreement of the Bill, however, my Department undertook significant engagement to raise key stakeholders' awareness of the Bill and its objectives. <BR /> <BR />Having noted some of the contextual issues, I will turn to the detail of the legislation.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are two other issues that I want to put to bed around timing and consultation: issues that were also of note in the accelerated passage debate. On timing, this is an extremely complex policy issue arising at the end of the mandate. While the Bill is still moving through Westminster, Members will note that our Bill has to be tailored to our local needs and local rating legislation. Extensive legal advice from experienced counsel underpinned the thinking behind the Bill. For the Bill to be precise in its effect, that process could not be rushed. Despite that, Members will note that the complexity was navigated successfully in only a matter of months, bringing the Bill forward in a devolved context to allow time for passage before the end of the mandate.”
“I also note that, in most cases, the retrospective effect is only notional. As many have not had rates bills since the start of the pandemic, no backdated rates bills will arise from the Bill. If anything, it does the opposite, acting retrospectively to prevent the misguided scenario of backdated reductions being processed and awarded to ratepayers who, thanks to Executive support, have had no rates liability at all for the last few years. I would find that situation inappropriate at a time when public finances are so squeezed and we need funding for services such as health and education, which have been at the front line during the pandemic. That is why the Bill steps in to act in the public fiscal interest.”
“For the Bill to have the necessary effect of protecting the rate revenues, therefore, it must be retrospective to the same date. In this case, that is the date of impact on the valuation list.”
“The Bill is solely concerned with the challenges that could lead to a double benefit from this system, namely a reduction in rates bills due to valuation reduction based on pandemic restrictions when rate relief has already been provided to compensate for those same restrictions. <BR /> <BR />There are some other issues that I am sure Members will be keen to comment on and that I want to address. One of those is the retrospective nature of the Bill. As with the interventions taken in England, Scotland and Wales, the Bill has effect from the start of the pandemic. At the Committee briefing with my officials, there was discussion about the retrospective effect. It is critical to note that, in our case, that is not only justified but necessary, because any change to a valuation following an appeal is backdated to 1 April 2020.”
“<BR /> <BR />What was not envisaged under long-standing rating legislation either here or in England, Scotland and Wales was an event that would impact on almost every business property within the jurisdiction. However, the coronavirus pandemic — or, more specifically, the nature and timing of the measures that were put in place to control it — led to such an event. This short Bill is necessary to deal with the unintended consequences of that set of circumstances. <BR /> <BR />Neither the traditional kinds of challenge received by my Department nor the ability to appeal valuations is removed by the Bill. All the traditional reasons for and forms of valuation challenge, such as structural alterations and roadworks, are unaffected by the Bill.”
“I will briefly illustrate the need for the Bill by making reference to a previous operation of the statute as intended. The rating and valuation system, as framed, is intended to deal with matters affecting property on an individual or local level. The Bill does not change that long-standing feature. To give an example, the Primark fire created a set of circumstances in which the statutory provision worked as intended. That localised event took place in 2018, after the valuation date and prior to a new list, and had a specific impact on a number of properties. The effects of that localised event were properly taken into account in an adjustment of the net annual values (NAVs) for those properties.”
“This important Bill mitigates that unintended impact of the Executive's public health measures on the rating system. It prevents the pandemic restrictions from being used as a means of reducing valuations for business rate purposes, when the Executive were already taking forward separate policy measures to support those businesses that have been adversely affected by the pandemic.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members will acknowledge that those emergency health steps had to take priority at the time, but Members will also appreciate that they were not intended to erode the tax base of a rating system that delivers critical revenue for Executive Departments and typically funds up to 75% of council expenditure.”
“<BR /> <BR />In layman's terms, the Bill primarily serves to mitigate an unintended consequence of the Executive's emergency public health measures that were implemented in March last year. Following Executive agreement, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 came into effect at 11.00 pm on Saturday 28 March 2020, specifying businesses here that were either required to close or were restricted in their operation. That once-in-a-generation public health intervention occurred just three days ahead of the publication of the new valuation list. If the health regulations had been introduced on 1 April or later, this Bill would not have been necessary. The Bill is necessary because of a technicality.”
“I very much welcome the opportunity to open the debate on the Bill, which introduces an urgent and critical measure required to stabilise central and local government tax bases between now and the implementation of Reval2023. This short Bill performs one important technical function: it mitigates the risk of appeal to rateable valuations within the non-domestic valuation list brought on COVID-19 grounds. The Bill also contains a power to allow the Executive and Assembly to respond to any change in the naming conventions surrounding coronavirus or any new pandemic that may arise in the future. The exercise of that power will be subject to Assembly agreement.”
“I emphasise to them that there is a need for urgency and that there are consequences for public finances and for councils' ability to organise their public finances if it is not passed with some degree of expedition. As I said, the Committee is, given the Chair's undertakings, willing to work with us. We will do that in the time ahead, and, although I have moved the motion, I am fairly certain what the outcome will be.”
“The reason that we responded to the questions that, we knew, were coming to us was to facilitate the Committee with information when it was having its discussion on accelerated passage so that it would have that information, rather than us waiting for the Committee to write to us and it not having the information at the meeting where the matter was discussed. I am sure that he will acknowledge that that level of cooperation is a useful standard for engagement between Departments and Committees. <BR /> <BR />Mr Carroll's argument that we had a two-year wait for this is not correct, and the evidence that will be presented in due course will show that it is not. <BR /> <BR />I recognise, given the discussion in the House, that this is not likely to pass. As I said, I fully respect the decision of Members to scrutinise the Bill.”
“Hundreds of them have, I am sure, acknowledged that to you, as they have done to me as the Minister responsible. People will end up being doubly compensated if this anomaly is not closed. That is the unique nature of the legislation, and that is why it has to be retrospective. I appreciate that that creates its own difficulties as well. The Committee has undertaken to look at it, and we will give it every support that we can in the time ahead to do that as quickly as it can, because we are also aware of the consequences of not doing this quickly. <BR /> <BR />I am glad that Mr Wells acknowledges the good diligence of Department officials in monitoring the Committee, because that is their job. We have a departmental Assembly liaison officer whose specific role is to work with the Committee. Of course we monitor.”
“Regardless of whether we can move ahead with this today — it is evident that we will not get accelerated passage, but I will move the Second Stage and start that process as soon as this debate concludes — the essence of this is that the legislation was not intended for issues like a pandemic; it was intended to address localised restrictions on a business's ability to operate. We recognised that through the support that we provided to businesses over the pandemic. We did the two-year rates holiday. We had the localised restrictions support scheme (LRSS) for businesses. We recognise that, for many businesses, that may not have been enough, but it was as much as the Executive could give. That, allied with the furlough scheme from Treasury, meant that a lot of businesses were able to keep their head above water.”
“That may not have made its way to Mr Wells's inbox, but I attempted to ensure that it was provided yesterday so that Committee members had that chronology of when advices were received, when courses of action were taken in other jurisdictions and how we have ended up taking our course of action at this time. I hope that that will inform the Committee. I am happy to go there and give my evidence in support of what the officials said in that regard. <BR /> <BR />Mr Wells in particular mentioned compensation for businesses. Of course, he acknowledged that over £1 billion of support was given to businesses.”
“Mr Wells was effusive in his praise of LPS, as many Committee members and Members of the House have been over the last 18 months, given the fact that it repurposed itself from a rate collection agency to a grant-giving body and given its communication with the public on all of this. On the one hand, we say, "They did a wonderful job", and, on the other hand, we say, "Why the hell were they not working on this legislation over that whole period?". It is the same people doing the same job. There were issues, and I have provided a chronology to the Committee.”
“I thank the Committee Chair for that. I also thank him for acknowledging that there was an attempt to gloss over my inability to appear at the Committee last Wednesday. For the record, the Executive meeting was called forward to Wednesday to facilitate people going to the British-Irish Council in Wales. It was then moved, at a late stage, to the afternoon, which knocked out my ability to attend the Committee, to which I had committed to going at a late stage. I had a brief conversation with the Chair the day before to offer an early reappearance before the Committee if I was not able to make that meeting on Wednesday. There was some attempt to portray that as me somehow ducking the issue, which clearly was not the case. <BR /> <BR />I appreciate the officials from LPS briefing the Committee in that regard.”
“My officials and I will certainly engage with the Committee in the time ahead. I thank Members for acknowledging the fact that —.”
“The reality is that we are ending our mandate in May, and the only option for me, as a member of the Executive coming to the Assembly to move the legislation through in the time needed, is to ask for accelerated passage. If the Committee wishes to engage in its own form of scrutiny, it is very much entitled to do so, if the House supports that. Not moving this through within the time frame will have consequences for the setting of budgets, knowing what the rates propositions in the budgets are and, indeed, councils striking their own rates and budgets early in the new year. <BR /> <BR />As I say, I fully respect the democratic mandate of the House and its entitlement to take its own approach to those matters. I hope that we can work together. Mr O'Toole said that there are multiple ways to speed up the legislation.”
“It is evident that the motion to approve accelerated passage will not pass. Of course, that is the prerogative of MLAs. Regardless of whether the Executive decide that it is the appropriate approach, parties, individual MLAs and Back-Benchers are, of course, very much entitled to take their own position. I fully respect their choices on the matter. <BR /> <BR />A number of Members mentioned that this is going through other legislatures and that accelerated passage was not required. Those legislatures are not ending their mandate in May; we are. Therefore, there is a time frame for this. Mr Muir outlined some of the consequences of not doing it within the time frame.”
“I agree that retrospective legislation is unusual. There is, however, no other way of dealing with the issue. Again, the Governments in England, Wales and Scotland have come to the same conclusion. <BR /> <BR />The Bill addresses an unintended consequence of the pandemic. It is necessary in order to provide protection of funding for public services. That is why the same approach has been adopted across the water, and it is why all Executive Ministers have endorsed the approach. Accelerated passage is required, owing to the short time available in the mandate. I hope that the Assembly grants accelerated passage and protects public services.”
“The higher end of the revenue losses sits in the region of £255 million over a three-year period from April 2020 to March 2023. It is vital that that revenue not be lost to public services delivered by the Executive and councils. <BR /> <BR />Finally, let me address two of the concerns that the Committee for Finance expressed during engagement with officials. One is that there has been insufficient consultation with businesses. Even if there were time to undertake a three-month consultation, it would not be meaningful. The Bill is an emergency measure that is necessary to safeguard funding for public services delivered by the Executive and councils. For that reason, similar legislation has been taken forward without consultation in England, Wales and Scotland. Another concern is that the legislation is retrospective.”
“We are ahead of Scotland in bringing forward legislation on the matter, because the equivalent Bill has yet to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament. In England, the equivalent Bill is still being brought through Westminster. The pending close of the mandate here, however, means that there are only a few months in which to enact the legislation. <BR /> <BR />Accelerated passage is less than ideal, and my Department is having to undertake engagement on the Bill and its provisions in a much more compressed time frame than it would wish. The approach is necessary, however, given the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic and the short time remaining in the mandate. My Department has made a detailed assessment of the financial implications of legislation not being passed.”
“Article 39A is not an appropriate vehicle for dealing with the pandemic, as Governments in England, Scotland and Wales have also concluded. <BR /> <BR />I will turn to why I am seeking Assembly approval for accelerated passage, as required under Standing Order 42(4). Since the introduction of the public health measures, my Department has engaged with specialist counsel, here and in England, on the matter of article 39A. After the announcement in March 2021 that legislation would be introduced in Westminster to remove COVID-19 as a valid ground for challenging valuation, my Department focused on a local solution in the same vein. <BR /> <BR />It was not as simple as adopting the same approach here. Our rating legislation is similar, but there are important differences to consider.”
“To be clear, the Bill will not affect the right of ratepayers to appeal net annual values for any other reason. It is also the case that businesses have been financially supported in response to the pandemic. Businesses here have received rate relief and grants on a more generous basis than those in England, and that far outweighs any potential refund that they would have got under article 39A. <BR /> <BR />A new revaluation is under way that will reflect the impact of the pandemic on the property market at 1 October 2021. I will propose to the Executive that an estimated £50 million Barnett consequential from the equivalent legislation in Westminster be ring-fenced to support business ratepayers in the next financial year. Those are the ways in which the impact of the pandemic on businesses should be and has been responded to.”
“The Bill under discussion today is a short but important one. It corrects an unintended consequence of the public health measures that were introduced in response to the pandemic. Article 39A of the Rates Order 1977 requires events that affect the physical enjoyment of a property, and where they could affect its rental value, to be taken into account when assessing the net annual value (NAV). Article 39A was intended to apply to localised events, such as the Primark fire in Belfast in 2018; it was not designed to deal with a general pandemic. Therefore, the legislation will remove the impact of COVID-19 as a valid ground for appealing net annual values in the 2020 list. Similar legislation is being introduced in England, Wales and Scotland.”
“No, there is no sense of that with any of the projects, and I do not think that it could be the case that they would apply for funding on the basis of getting match funding from us, because we are not in that application process. Over the course of last year, we replaced funding that we had lost through the EU. The previous Economy Minister will know that we had to replace skills funding that was lost through the European social fund, but that was at our own expense. If we have to do that again this year, it will be from the Executive's Budget.”
“What we require, particularly on lost EU funding, is that the money comes to us, this institution decides the priorities, and we allocate accordingly — not the random way in which it has been done to date.”