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 5315940

Read the official Assembly record

Text

It is clear that the Member did not bother to listen to some of the questions that I have already responded to. The Member will be aware that the statement highlights the broad issues. I am here to answer questions about the detail of that. I have mentioned those issues on a number of occasions in the Chamber, but he has, nevertheless, decided to read out his pre-written question. I can assure the Member and the Assembly that, as I have already indicated, I raised the matter a number of times, including in the plenary session but particularly in the bilateral with the Prime Minister, and with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I also raised the very particular issues of veterinary medicines, the potential ending of the derogation in relation to GB-registered vehicles and the continued unnecessary and disproportionate barriers faced by businesses. The First Minister is in the House, and she will know that I relentlessly raise those issues at every meeting. It is a big issue that does not need to be there, and the UK Government need to step up and address it. It is an issue that only the UK Government can address. Look at acute issues such as veterinary medicines: we got a statement put out in late December, and we got some mitigations, despite the fact that I had been raising concerns about that directly for 18 months. Even what came out of that, however, is not adequate. I will continue to make that case, because I absolutely believe that many of the barriers that still exist because of the Windsor framework are there because the UK Government have not stepped up and done what they promised to do, which was to ensure unfettered trade across this United Kingdom. Those aspects are completely disproportionate and unnecessary, and they should be removed. I will continue to raise those issues at every opportunity.

I thank the Member for his question. As I indicated in my previous answer, there is always a focus at the British-Irish Council on that subject, but there is also always an opportunity to raise a wide range of issues. The First Minister raises a number of issues; we raise issues jointly; and I raise issues. We do that at the plenary session and at the bilaterals. I take every opportunity to champion Northern Ireland and to raise a wide range of issues, including the Budget. Again, at every opportunity when we have engaged with the UK Government and, indeed, the Prime Minister, we have urged a Budget that supports public services but also economic growth. I raised directly with the Prime Minister that I believe that all of the Budget events under this Labour Government have been missed opportunities for building a Budget for economic growth across the UK. We need economic growth in Northern Ireland, but, importantly, we need economic growth across the UK to raise tax income and get the economy going in order to invest in our public services. We know that our public services, particularly in health and education, are crying out for funds. Everyone who sees a pothole on a road or a bucket in a school corridor knows that that is not good enough. We want to be able to invest and address those issues. We raised a number of issues. We welcomed the abolition of the two-child limit, but I raised concern that that was being lifted on the back of a tax threshold freeze for ordinary working families. We should not raise benefits on the back of hard-working, squeezed-middle families. The UK Government need to rethink their approach. While we called for the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and that happened, the freezing of income tax thresholds will have an impact on the pockets of every hard-working family across Northern Ireland. That was a missed opportunity, and we once again urge the Government to invest in public services and ensure in future economic events that they invest in growing the economy. In particular, I raised the issue of a VAT pilot for hospitality businesses in Northern Ireland. That has been pushed for hard. Hospitality organisations across the UK are content that Northern Ireland hold a pilot on that. Our hospitality industry is under huge pressure. Every week, we see pubs, restaurants and cafes closing. They are really struggling because of the increase in food inflation and other issues. They need support, and I fully support a VAT reduction, even on a pilot basis initially. I urged the Prime Minister to do that pilot, and he undertook to have conversations about how it could happen. That is certainly an issue that we will follow up on robustly.

I thank the Member for his question. I see this working at different levels and layers. I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister attended. He was there throughout the entire plenary session, and he was able to listen not just to what we have to offer but to what we said about the challenges facing the industry. There are challenges facing the industry. The global investment context is competitive, so we need to constantly evolve and invest, and we need the right tools to attract that investment. That is why, as I said, at the top level, it is very much about getting the UK Government to get their policies right, which potentially includes looking at enhancing the tax reduction incentives that the Government can offer. As I mentioned, the Republic of Ireland has long had tax-reduction incentives for the creative industries, and it has had huge success in its creative industries on the back of those. Since the British-Irish Council meeting, which was very recent, the Republic of Ireland Government have announced a further tax incentive package for the creative industries. I would like to see the UK Government doing the same because, if we are competing in the global marketplace for that investment and both we and the Republic of Ireland are making a pitch, there is an element of competition, and what you can offer productions is key. I am really proud of the people who work in the sector. We have high-class, high-quality and highly skilled people in the industry, and we have some of the best built and natural heritage as an offering. However, we need to not be at a disadvantage when it comes to the tax incentive packages that Northern Ireland Screen can offer as part of those negotiations. In addition, we must make sure that this is mainstreamed within the skills agenda in the Department for the Economy and through working with our further and higher education colleges. Indeed, it has to start earlier than that: we want to encourage young people from primary school up to look at creative industries on both the imagination and the technical sides of things, because we will need all those skills if our creative industries are to fulfil their potential and our ambition for them.

I thank Pam for her question and for all the hard work that she put into the junior Minister position. It was a real honour and pleasure to work with Pam over that period, and I thank her for her kind words. I am deeply proud of Northern Ireland. We have so many incredible strengths here, not just in innovation, creativity and the strength of our businesses but in our highly skilled, dedicated and passionate people, who can give so much. I am so proud to have the opportunity to champion Northern Ireland, not just in Northern Ireland at business events, dinners, breakfasts and everything else but on the global stage. It is often a very easy sell, when we talk about all the incredible strengths that Northern Ireland has. We need to build on that. Northern Ireland needs champions. We need to send the message loud and clear not only that Northern Ireland is open for business but that Northern Ireland, with our skills and what else we have to offer, has so much to give to those global companies and to other jurisdictions. The Member is absolutely right: we and the UK Government need to get the foundations for growth right. The UK needs economic growth. That will not happen by accident; it will happen with the right budget, the right tax framework and the right investment in and encouragement of skills to make not just the UK but Northern Ireland attractive for that investment. I will keep championing that cause with the UK Government to ensure that the tools that we get are real game changers in getting the economic growth that allows Northern Ireland to truly flourish.

The Member will be aware of the successes, some of which I have referenced. It is not just high-end international film production such as 'Game of Thrones'; locally made programmes, such as 'Derry Girls' and 'Blue Lights', which employ huge numbers of people, are also so important and showcase so many of our locations. We all watch them and see our towns, villages and areas, which is excellent. We need to have an approach that targets all types of creative industry investment. That includes films. 'How to Train Your Dragon' was filmed in part in Northern Ireland, and it was another big global success recently. There is the high-end TV production and then local production.

We will get that creativity only if we invest in and encourage the right skills and education. That is very much what we want to do. When we look back over the past 10 to 15 years, we see that there have been significant developments in our sectors. Some of those are in professional services. This morning, we had the opportunity to meet the Australian Acting High Commissioner to talk about the growth in professional legal services, advanced engineering and other sectors. However, the creative industries are another sector in which there has been huge growth . It is very much one of the key sectors that we continue to champion at every investment opportunity and meeting that we attend.

1,682 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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