Debate contribution: Rates (Temporary Rebate) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Mr Eóin Tennyson on .
- MLA
- Mr Eóin Tennyson
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 14 May 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Rates (Temporary Rebate) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4490196
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I echo the support for the order and the reinstatement of the Back in Business scheme. As others have said, it is a relatively small but, nonetheless, significant policy intervention that will help to support the reinvigoration of our high streets and town centres into busy and vibrant hubs. It should, of course, be built upon and supported through a cross-Executive approach involving the regeneration responsibilities of the Department for Communities, with a role for the Department for the Economy and local councils. Our business community has been hampered by political uncertainty in recent years, and the Back in Business scheme is, perhaps, a tangible example of that. Despite the widespread support for the scheme and the consensus on its value that is apparent in the Chamber today, it was suspended following the collapse of the Assembly in 2017 and again in March last year. During its previous period in operation, the scheme helped to support 101 new businesses, and so it begs the question about the scale of lost opportunities due to the absence of the Assembly. There is no doubt that having the assurance of a two-year discounted rate relief will encourage new and expanding businesses to take that important next step. It is particularly important following the turbulence of the pandemic and the inflationary pressures and energy costs bearing down on our high street. However, the lead-in time for a new business is often longer than a year, and so I welcome the Minister's commitment that she will look to include this relief in a rolling multi-year Budget to give our business community the stability and certainty that it desires and requires. The Minister is probably tired of hearing me say this in debates, but we need a fundamental root-and-branch review of rate reliefs, as agreed to by the Assembly yesterday, in order to encapsulate just some of the issues that the Chair of the Finance Committee has raised already. That is the best way to ensure that our rating system responds to business demands and to ensure that it is fair, progressive, equitable and fit for purpose in challenging economic times.
355 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.98 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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