Assembly Written Question 18298/17-22

To ask the Minister for the Economy for her assessment of the adequacy of current engagement of social partners in addressing poverty and low pay, and in developing economic policy in Northern Ireland.

Answer: In line with New Decade New Approach, the Executive’s actions to address poverty will be contained within the new Anti-Poverty Strategy. The Department for Communities is leading on the development of the Anti-Poverty Strategy using a co-design approach. A public consultation exercise is scheduled for later in the year and it is planned that the Anti-Poverty Strategy will be published in December 2021, subject to Executive approval. Further information on the co-design process and timetable can be found at: Social Inclusion Strategies | Department for Communities (communities-ni.gov.uk)

I am fully committed to open and full engagement with all key stakeholders, including social partners, as my Department develops short and long-term economic policy.

The Executive’s Programme for Government is built upon, and informed by, partnership working and collaboration both internally within the Civil Service and with our external partners. The principles of this partnership approach is applied to economic policy development throughout my Department.

I recognise that social partners have an important role to play in the development of our economy. I want to see continued collaboration between all partners as we look to the future and improve our economic performance. By way of example, my Department has a cross sector engagement forum, which includes representatives from the business community, the voluntary & community sector, and from a wide range of sectors such as universities, retail, colleges, food, trade union, transport/haulage and local chambers of commerce. This was established in June 2017 to allow the Department to seek stakeholder views and to collectively discuss how best to work together throughout the EU Exit process.

The forum has since also facilitated engagement on issues arising from the pandemic and now on the new trading environment arising from the Protocol and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement that could affect key sectors of the Northern Ireland economy.

I have recently launched my Economic Vision for a Decade of Innovation which provides a bold ambition to build an innovative and inclusive economy. My Department and I will continue to engage with all key partners as we develop the work programme to deliver the Vision which aims to deliver better jobs with better wages, in a more flexible working environment and a better overall quality of life. This collaboration and engagement will be crucial if we are to succeed in our ambitions for Northern Ireland.