To ask the Minister for the Economy whether she has any plans to introduce a top-up grant scheme of up to £9,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in Northern Ireland, comparable to the scheme in Great Britain announced by the Chancellor on 5 January 2021.

I can confirm that the scheme announced by the Chancellor is for England only, as these schemes are devolved there is no obligation to replicate the English scheme in Northern Ireland. However, the Department for the Economy, has developed a number of new schemes recently and will be presenting further options to the Executive which will address the issues faced by businesses in Northern Ireland.

The Department has delivered £350m of lifeline support to the Northern Ireland economy, and is in the process of delivering another £200m of essential support to businesses in NI.

This is an extremely difficult and challenging time for businesses, individuals and our economy in general, and the Executive will continue to do all that it can to protect both lives and livelihoods. This is a very live and fluid situation and I would encourage everyone to continue to monitor the websites below, and to listen for any future announcements through the various media outlets.

Further details can be found or will be published on the NI Business Info website, whilst new financial packages of support announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer will appear on the UK Coronavirus Business support site. I have included a link to both for your information:

https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/campaign/coronavirus-updates-support-your-business

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support