Debate contribution: British-Irish Council: Forty-fourth Summit

Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on 13 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

13 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

British-Irish Council: Forty-fourth Summit

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5315871

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wish to make a statement on the forty-fourth summit of the British-Irish Council, which the First Minister and I attended on 4 and 5 December 2025. The summit was hosted by the Welsh Government in the Vale Resort, South Glamorgan. Heads of delegation were welcomed by the First Minister, Eluned Morgan. The UK Government delegation was led by the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer; the Irish Government delegation was led by the Taoiseach; and the Scottish Government were led by their First Minister. The Government of Guernsey were represented by the Chief Minister; the Government of Jersey by the Chief Minister; and the Isle of Man Government by their Chief Minister. A full list of the principal delegates is attached to the statement that has been provided to Members. The theme of the summit was, "A creative future: unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these islands". The plenary focused on discussion of the development of the screen sectors in each of the member Administrations. The Council discussed the importance of the sector to the creative industries culturally and economically, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by the sector and the efforts by Administrations to support the industry and those working in it. The discussion provided us with the opportunity to highlight the positive creative and economic impact that productions such as 'Derry Girls' — as I would call it, "Londonderry Girls" — 'Game of Thrones', 'How to Train your Dragon' and 'Blue Lights' have had, putting us on screens across the world, boosting tourism and our economy, inspiring pride and telling our story. We spoke about sustainability, well-being and diversity in the sector, highlighting initiatives such as NI Screen’s creative industries new entrants (CINE) programme, which widens access to the industry and has a strong focus on those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We also discussed the importance of collaboration, citing the legacy project of Studio Ulster, which is also legendary, as a transformative investment and an exemplar of partnership working. The impact of innovation and technology was raised, particularly in the context of nurturing and developing talent, as was the need for Governments to work together to attract investment and address shared challenges, such as rising costs and market uncertainty. Council members briefed colleagues on significant developments in their Administrations and reflected on a number of domestic and international topics of mutual interest. Addressing the recent Budget, we welcomed the removal of the two-child benefit cap and the increase to the minimum wage and the living wage. However, we expressed concern about the decision to freeze income tax thresholds and stressed the need to support business and workers and their families. We also highlighted the pressures faced in particular by our business community . We advised of the Executive's plans to set their first multi-year Budget in over a decade, providing our Departments with the certainty needed to plan on a longer-term, strategic basis and creating the conditions to drive transformative change in the delivery of public services. In addition, we highlighted the importance of economic growth in improving our public services — a challenge faced by all British-Irish Council members.

Finally, we spoke about the opportunities for collaboration between Governments on the delivery of key infrastructure and in areas such as cybersecurity and energy security. The Council noted that the next BIC summit will be hosted by the States of Guernsey in July 2026.

Thank you. Absolutely. The growth and development of our creative industries has been such a success story for Northern Ireland over the past 10 to 15 years. The fact that Northern Ireland could attract a big HBO production such as 'Game of Thrones' shows how well we are doing to attract investment in that global marketplace. We want to build on that. The money and investment that comes with those big productions has enabled the development of the sector, not just in studio space. Frankly, through the investment from region city deals, we have an absolutely world-leading studio space in Studio Ulster and other facilities in Northern Ireland, but we also have a lot of talent and experience in everything from set and clothes design and make-up for film and TV production to all the logistical aspects. A lot of people do not realise how wide the industry is when it comes to the number of roles and different skills, and we have really developed that. It is a really interesting and exciting opportunity not just for Northern Ireland but for young people who want to get into the industry. When you get those skills, you do not just get the opportunity to work in Northern Ireland; people with those skills can travel to work on productions all over the world. The industry is incredibly important for us.

I thank the Member for her question. We have an incredible third sector — the community and social sector — in Northern Ireland. I have said it before from this position, but I truly believe that we have one of the best third sectors, if not the best one, anywhere on the globe. That has come about not by accident but because of sustained investment from the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Government and through some of the big international funds, be that PEACE funding or US funding. That has supported our third sector, but the sector would not be what it is without the incredible talent that exists and the hard work that is done in communities throughout Northern Ireland. At times, things can be fiscally difficult. The demand will, of course, always outstrip supply, and we try our best to support as many organisations as possible. I am aware of the particular challenges caused by the ending of the funding that the Member referenced. I have received correspondence about that. The key thing is to mainstream the sense of creativity and the arts focus by using not just Arts Council funds but the funds that we supply through Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC), Urban Villages, the Community Relations Council, race relations funding and, indeed, even the ending violence against women and girls strategy, because focusing on the activities and groups in that space can be really useful as well. We see a good commonality across all our funds, but you are absolutely right that organisations need additional support. We want to sustain that support. It is an important pipeline for young people to come into those types of careers, which we really want and need them to come into.

The investment strategy is under active consideration. There have been a number of key developments, including the opportunity of a four-year capital Budget, which needs to be fed into that process. The Finance Minister put some proposals out for consultation. The Member will be aware that part of the challenge with capital investment is that the tail of delivery on capital projects is such that much of the capital that we have and will have over the next three to four years will be spent on projects that were announced five or 10 years ago. That is a challenge. As is the case with any Administration, the Executive have ambition. We have our priorities for what we want to do. It is key that we look at how we can best use that capital investment and maximise it. The Member raised an important point, which we raised at the plenary session of the British-Irish Council, about the need for us to collaborate, not compete. At a previous session of the British-Irish Council, we looked at renewable energy and green technologies. That sector is similar, in that it is one in which we should not be competing with each other by developing similar facilities across different parts of the UK, which will subsequently compete for work. Instead, we should look at taking a complementary, supplementary approach. We highlighted Studio Ulster, which saw huge investment through the Belfast region city deal. That is unique across these isles; it is at the cutting edge of technology. I do not profess to understand all the details of what it can do, but its potential is huge. We will, hopefully, use that, as we should, to attract big investments on a global scale. We do not, however, want to compete with other parts of these islands with the same facility. It is incredibly important that we continue to collaborate. The British-Irish Council and other such forums are ideal for that, not just during the plenary sessions but at all the bilaterals and other discussions.

I thank the Member for his important question. It is critical that every member of the Executive and every Member in this place takes every opportunity to champion our industries in Northern Ireland; that includes our creative industries, which includes Studio Ulster. That investment will be realised only if we can showcase and promote it so that there is an international awareness of it, and that we therefore secure incoming contracts. The Member also pointed out, rightly, that there are a number of challenges to our economy, including some of the continued uncertainty and, indeed, barriers that continue to be put up by the Windsor framework. One of the big benefits of the British-Irish Council is not just the plenary sessions and the topic of focus but the fact that we can have a series of political bilaterals not only with representatives from the other devolved regions and nations, such as Scotland and Wales, with whom we had bilaterals, but with the Prime Minister. That was an opportunity for the First Minister and me to raise a large number of issues. We took that opportunity, and I raised the issue of GB-registered cars with the Prime Minister. There was a commitment from him to look at the issue. The Member will be aware of further developments and considerations by the UK Government to try to deal with the issue. I believe that highlighting that issue directly to the Prime Minister in early December helped to try to get that moving. I understand that a paper had been circulated to Cabinet Ministers and that it had not moved. Raising the issue with the Prime Minister directly will, hopefully, have helped to get movement on that decision.

That shows the benefit of having direct engagement with the Prime Minister on issues of importance to Northern Ireland.

I thank the Member for his important question. Those are relevant global issues for every jurisdiction: for us, the rest of the UK and, indeed, these isles. The British-Irish Council is an opportunity to bring together not just the nations and regions and the central Government of the UK but all the isles around the British Isles and the Irish Government. It is a good opportunity to raise such issues. We had bilaterals not just with the Prime Minister but with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL) — I think that he goes by a different title at the moment, but, effectively, it is that role that he plays — at which we raised that issue. We also raised it with the Taoiseach, particularly in relation to underground and underwater cables and the threats to them in the context of global security. As I said, the previous BIC meeting was on green and renewable energies and technologies, while this one was on the creative industries. I took the opportunity at both meetings to raise energy security and broader security issues. Technology can play an important part. For example, I visited a very good company, Camlin, in my constituency that does an awful lot of pipe security work, and it uses technology to check on the security of such cables. There is huge potential with that when it comes to our defence requirements as well. I urge the Prime Minister and, indeed, the CDL to seize the opportunities from those emerging technologies and to recognise in a real way, as we saw during storm Éowyn, how critical electricity security, energy security and other issues are to absolutely everything that we do.

I thank the Member for her question. The multi-year Budget process presents a really good opportunity for all of us to try to secure something that builds the foundations for growth and for stable, positive and good public services in Northern Ireland. We should seize that opportunity. The Member is right that there is not a significant amount of additional money to go towards priorities, and that is why I have urged the Finance Minister to look at each of the departmental baselines. What happens during the Budget process is that we tend to roll forward the baselines that existed in the previous Budget period. The hundreds of budget lines that sit within those baselines need to be rigorously examined, particularly for prioritisation and efficiency and to drive down waste. We need to look not just at how much money is required but at how we use that money. It is taxpayers' money, so we have an obligation and a responsibility to use it in the best way possible. There are opportunities, and I urge the Finance Minister to look at the feedback from the consultation and then try to reach consensus across the Executive on a Budget that builds the foundations for the economic growth and strong public services that Northern Ireland not just needs but deserves.

2,238 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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