To ask the Minister for Communities to detail what guidance his Department provides to local councils to ensure that Business Improvement District proposals and operations are inclusive of the full business community.

The Department does not provide specific guidance to BIDs but they are governed by the Business Improvement Districts Act (Northern Ireland) 2013, the Business Improvement Districts (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 and The Business Improvement Districts (Miscellaneous) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014.

BIDs should be controlled and managed by local businesses that are paying the levy. Most BIDs are delivered through Companies Limited by Guarantee with Directors elected from the BID levy payers. This organisation will be responsible for the delivery of the BID projects and directly responsible to all its business membership through an elected board.