Debate contribution: High Street and Town Centre Rejuvenation

Debate contribution by Ms Aisling Reilly on 4 November 2024.

MLA

Ms Aisling Reilly

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

4 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

High Street and Town Centre Rejuvenation

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4625967

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion on behalf of the Minister for the Economy, and I thank Members for bringing forward this important issue for discussion today. The fabric of community life and its economic vibrancy are significantly woven through the high streets and town centres that span our cities, towns and villages. Those places have historically been the heart of local, commercial and civic life: bustling centres of activity providing essential services, retail opportunities and spaces for social interaction. They are the stage on which much of local daily life unfolds. They embody the communal and cultural spirit of the areas that they serve, and they exist as barometers of local economic health, with busy businesses and lively public spaces signalling a thriving community. Recent years have seen our high streets face unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant economic disruption, forcing many businesses to close temporarily or adjust operations, leading to reduced foot traffic and altered shopping habits. Business have faced a costs crisis driven by increases in the prices of food, energy and other essentials. They have faced recruitment and retention challenges due to a combination of historically low unemployment and stubbornly high levels of economic inactivity. The retail and hospitality sectors have continued concerns about VAT rates, late-night transport and insurance. Meeting those challenges will force a re-evaluation of the role of high streets in a modern society, but, within the scope of that re-evaluation, there is an opportunity for revitalisation and for reimagining how high streets can better serve our communities into the future. The Minister for the Economy's response to the challenges faced by our high streets is shaped by his vision for the economy. At the heart of his vision are commitments to securing a regionally balanced economy and creating the conditions for more good jobs for our people. Minister Murphy intends to support the economic performance of our regions by putting in place a coherent ecosystem that acknowledges the need for the key players to work more closely together. An important shift in that direction took place in 2015, when councils assumed greater economic responsibilities, recognising the value of local areas leading their own economic development. The Minister intends to build on that by providing communities with more opportunity to identify their priorities. Minister Murphy introduced the subregional economic plan at the beginning of October. That is a new strategic approach to economic development that is locally led and places regional balance at its heart. Councils will be asked to establish local economic partnerships, bringing together central government, the business community, universities, colleges, local enterprise agencies and civic society. Partnerships will identify the main barriers to local economic development and the priority interventions that will build each region's value proposition, with dedicated funding of £45 million over a three-year period from April 2025. In parallel with Minister Murphy's commitment to regional balance is his focus on good jobs. The need to promote good work and fair work policies for workers was acknowledged in the 'New Decade, New Approach' agreement of 2020 and continues to be recognised through the Minister's economic priorities. People who work in high street businesses should have the same right as everyone else to jobs that offer fulfilment, security and fair pay. Minister Murphy has already made progress in that area with the proposed introduction of new employment rights legislation and a Good Work charter to ensure better jobs and to promote a healthy work-life balance. The Minister held his wide-ranging public consultation on employment rights earlier this year. The legislation that flows from it will modernise and strengthen our employment legislation framework to ensure that it provides appropriate minimum standards of rights and decent working conditions for all. That should help deliver fair work on our high streets, while ensuring that our many good employers, who already treat their workers fairly, can operate on a level playing field. The Labour Relations Agency is leading the development of the Good Work charter and plans to consult on a draft charter before Christmas with an aim to finalise it in early 2025. In addition to the employment rights legislation and the Good Work charter, Minister Murphy is focused on initiatives to promote greater adoption here of the real living wage. The Minister recently announced funding support for an initiative by Advice NI, in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation, to raise awareness of the real living wage across the North and to promote living wage accreditation among employers. We know that higher wages are associated with increased productivity and job satisfaction, which could address critical challenges for typical high-street businesses that often struggle with staff recruitment and retention. Through his dedication to the creation of more good jobs here, Minister Murphy is ensuring that his Department delivers on one of the key recommendations of the high street task force. It reported on its recommendations in 2022, although consideration of the implementation was delayed, pending the formation of the current Executive. The report contains 14 recommendations. Several of the recommendations have a pragmatic focus on existing delivery mechanisms, while others seek fundamental reform of key policies, such as rating and planning, or call for significant additional investment. Minister Murphy considers that recommendation 8 — "Fair Work on Our High Streets" — sits within the remit of his Department and will be delivered through his work on good jobs, but he is also keen to collaborate with departmental and local government colleagues on any of the other recommendations. The report of the high street task force recognises that collaborative approaches must continue over the coming years to deliver high streets in village, town and city centres that are fit for the 21st century, and it is something that the Minister takes on board. It is not, however, for one Department to develop a strategy to address the varied issues faced by high-street and town-centre businesses. The delivery of the high street task force report requires a response from across the Executive, and Minister Murphy is keen to work with other Departments to ensure that that happens. For example, he will work with the Department of Finance to explore support options for smaller local businesses that are struggling with rates bills. He is also keen to see more initiatives like the small business rate relief scheme, which has been extended through 2024-25 to provide support to some 30,000 small businesses throughout our towns and cities, and the Back in Business scheme, which incentivises the use of long-term vacant retail space and is already bringing new businesses to our high streets. Minister Murphy will work with the Department for Infrastructure, through its range of functions and network of assets, to positively influence the delivery of public services, the operation of local businesses and the daily lives of communities, town centres and high streets. The Minister notes the Department for Infrastructure's new transport strategy, which aspires to better connect neighbouring communities to our towns and city centres, and the Department's work with NI Water to alleviate capacity constraints so that high street redevelopment can proceed without hindrance. Minister Murphy also considers the Department for Communities a key partner in efforts to rejuvenate our high streets, with consideration of that Department's particular remit for town centre renewal. There are also cross-cutting and wider social issues that impact on our high streets. Tackling violence against women and girls means ensuring that we proactively think about how to ensure that our entire population is safe in public as well as private spaces. The Department for the Economy is involved in an ongoing and significant investment in our town centres with programmes around public realm and environmental improvements, urban development grants and the development of business improvement districts. The relationship between central government and councils will be essential to the success of all of those endeavours. Councils have a deep understanding of the local challenges and opportunities that will allow for tailored approaches that are more likely to succeed. The establishment of local economic partnerships under Minister Murphy's subregional economic plan is just one example of how Departments can work with local bodies for the betterment of our high streets.

Addressing the challenges faced by our high streets is a job for the whole Executive to respond to. I can confirm to Members that the Minister for the Economy is committed to delivering the actions needed to make that a reality.

I want to turn to some of the points raised in today's debate and touch on the amendments. The Minister is committed to working with all Executive colleagues, including the Minister of Finance, to address the issue as it relates to business rates. I understand that, rather than undertake a further one-off review, the Finance Minister aims to work with Executive colleagues on a more strategic approach and to progress a rolling review and evaluation of the current suite of rate support measures in both the non-domestic and domestic rating system. As part of that work, she will work with business bodies, organisations and wider society to build a progressive rates system that both grows our tax base and stimulates our economy. The Member for West Belfast raised the ability or inability of those with reduced mobility, wheelchair users and those using prams to access town centres. That is a really important issue that all of us are likely to face at some stage in our life. It is important, particularly with an ageing population, that we ensure that public spaces are accessible to all. Although footpaths are not in the Minister for the Economy's remit, he is happy to help support work on the issue, where possible. Ms Armstrong raised the issue of derelict properties, which is also a significant issue in some town centres. The Department for Communities, together with councils, is responsible for regeneration and local economic policy. Again, Minister Murphy is happy to support the work in that area. In closing, I thank colleagues for joining me today to discuss these important issues. Minister Murphy assures Members that he will continue to work with all stakeholders in the efforts to restore the spirit of our high streets and town centres. I think that there is cross-party support on the issue. We all recognise how important town centres are to the social and economic life of our constituencies. It is the Minister's hope that, through a collective focus, we will transform these spaces into the vibrant, resilient hubs that we envision, ensuring that they continue to thrive in an ever-changing world.

1,767 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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