To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether his Department will consider rates relief or the deferment of rates payment for new business start-ups to encourage growth in this sector and to allow new businesses to establish themselves.

Members of the Belfast Chamber met with my predecessor at the end of last year and made a similar suggestion about rate relief for new businesses. This is something that can be looked at as part of the review of the non domestic rating system but introducing such a measure is not without difficulty in terms of readily distinguishing the genuine new business from a displaced business under a new name.

The deferment suggestion is an interesting and novel one. It is not something that anyone has raised before or as part of the ongoing Review. It was, however, a measure that was introduced in the domestic sector for pensioner ratepayers a few years ago but that scheme was abandoned due to its high cost of administration and its very low take up. This was because it required a legal charge to be placed on a property and for there to be sufficient equity available to protect public revenues. Many new businesses rent and therefore it may not be a practical proposition.

Notwithstanding these difficulties, any changes of this nature would ultimately require legislative change which means that these are matters for the next Finance Minister to consider and for the new Executive to decide. I will, however, ask my officials to bear these ideas in mind when drawing up proposals for the new administration.