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Influence View from the Chair

Unleashing potential: NI Chamber’s message to the Westminster Government

8th Oct 2024

This week, the new Labour government will mark 100 days in office. As Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet team roll-out the specifics of their ‘Plan for Growth’, keeping Northern Ireland’s voice at the table is critical.

That is a mission of NI Chamber, working alongside the Executive and the wider business community.

We are focused on this because we know that this is a region of the UK with a wealth of untapped economic potential that cannot be left behind in this government’s plans to ‘kick-start’ economic growth across the UK.

Tapping into Northern Ireland could also be the secret to ensuring that the UK meets its net zero targets. However, that potential can only be realised with appropriately ambitious and long-term policy making at both Stormont and Westminster.

Stepping-up direct engagement and meaningfully involving business early in that policy making process is key. Which is one of the reasons NI Chamber chose to take its message directly to this year’s Labour Party Annual Conference.

In partnership with Queen’s University Belfast, we brought a delegation of business leaders to address conference delegates, hosting a fringe event which focused on the Westminster-based policy actions that we believe will help Northern Ireland’s economy to grow.

Our asks, all drawn from NI Chamber’s manifesto ‘Mission: Business Growth’, were focused on how we can maximise the region’s strengths especially in sectors like aerospace, green industries, tech and advanced manufacturing.

Business leaders from Denroy, Eakin Healthcare, Kainos, NIE Networks and Queen’s University gave voice to the issues, speaking directly to an audience of Party members including Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP, using the platform to focus on key priorities including competitiveness, international trade, net-zero and skills.

Before the General Election, we asked our members what they needed most from a new Westminster government and almost two thirds said a new fiscal framework was top of the list.

We relayed that feedback directly to government, and outlined why Westminster must take all necessary steps to support the Executive to unlock sustainable economic growth, stabilise public spending and transform public finances. Our key asks include supporting the Executive in an independent review of public spending.

Building our competitive proposition is crucial. We know that Northern Ireland can become a much more significant hub for high-growth sectors like health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing and clean energy.

At Conference, we spoke to party members about helping Northern Ireland to become a test bed for clean energy innovation and incentivising decarbonisation through innovation funding.

We also discussed why it is imperative that all our businesses, no matter their size, can gain access to international markets. One of our asks of the UK Government is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Business and Trade and Invest NI to ensure clarity of roles, as well as an annual Trade and Investment Summit with Invest NI and the Executive.

We also discussed near market red tape and stressed the need for certainty, stability and simplicity in trading between Great Britain, EU countries and NI.

To ensure that our businesses can thrive, it is necessary that employers have access to the right people, with the right skills. For example, Northern Ireland has one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the UK and has become the number one international investment location for US cyber security firms.

However, access to skills is a top concern for this sector and many others. So, focusing on the opportunity at hand, we also relayed related business asks around the development of a Northern Ireland specific immigration salary list and an all-island mobility taskforce, along with a review of the apprenticeship levy that works for devolved regions and more effective childcare support.

As we have repeatedly stressed, in all of this, partnership between government and the business community is key.

We must develop a shared understanding of collective challenges and build on our strengthens to ensure better coordination, collaboration and decision-making.

While it is still early days for this new government, there is no time to waste.