Press release

Ministers meet on NI economy

UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive ministers held the fourth meeting on Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy.

• From: HM Treasury and The Rt Hon David Gauke
• Published: 18 October 2012

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Ministers from the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive held the fourth meeting of the Ministerial Working Group on Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy this afternoon in London.

The meeting was attended by Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers; the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Mike Penning; First Minister, Peter Robinson; deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness; Northern Ireland Minister for Finance and Personnel, Sammy Wilson; and Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Arlene Foster.

After the meeting, David Gauke said:

The Government is committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy and this group has enabled us to make real progress on understanding the practicalities and potential impacts of the devolution of Corporation Tax to Northern Ireland. We will report our findings to the Prime Minister soon

Theresa Villiers said:

This was an important meeting and the Ministerial Working Group has now reached the conclusion of its work. We need to recognise just how much has been achieved. We now know the broad shape of what a devolved corporation tax regime for Northern Ireland might look like. There are still some issues to be considered and resolved. We will take stock, write up our findings and report them to the Prime Minister.

Notes for Editors

1. The UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have a common objective to rebalance the Northern Ireland economy, to increase the size of the private sector and drive faster economic growth in the area.

2. The Ministerial Working Group was established to consider issues raised by the UK Government consultation on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy. A response to this consultation was published on 20 December 2012.

3. The Group first met in December 2011, when it agreed a programme of work. It met again in March 2012 and June 2012 to discuss progress.

Published 18 October 2012