To ask the Minister for the Economy to outline any work being undertaken by her Department to support the sustainability of the hospitality sector.

Dr Archibald (The Minister for the Economy)

My Department, along with partner organisations, offers a wide range of supports to help hospitality businesses to become more sustainable. That includes promoting energy efficiency, encouraging innovation, developing skills and helping them to explore new markets. Invest NI provides advice, guidance, innovation grants and access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses. Tourism NI has launched a business resilience programme to support tourism businesses by offering expert financial guidance and a bespoke action plan. Earlier this year, I met Hospitality Ulster and the NI Food To Go Association about a VAT reduction pilot scheme to address differences between the North and the South. Following that meeting, the Minister of Finance and I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, seeking a meeting on the issue. Members may also be aware that I have recently published research into the night-time economy, which was undertaken in partnership with Tourism NI and the Belfast business improvement district. That has already led to funding for a late-night transport pilot in Belfast, supporting a safe and vibrant night-time economy. My Department will continue to monitor business sentiment and engaging with stakeholders to support a sustainable and thriving hospitality sector, in line with our four economic priorities.

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for the question. It is important that I put on record my unequivocal condemnation of the recent disorder. It has caused significant damage and disruption not just to public services but to our local economy. Many businesses have been affected. Obviously, that comes at a time, as you said, when they can ill afford it; our businesses are already under considerable pressure due to the rising costs of doing business and the increased cost of living, which impacts on their customers. As you outlined, many of those business owners are from minority ethnic backgrounds, but so too are their staff. It is important that people feel safe while going to their place of work and feel that they can open their businesses safely. I had the opportunity last week to meet Steve Lazars from the Ethnic Minority Employment and Entrepreneurship Network and hear directly about the experiences of some of our minority ethnic businesses. I will follow that up next week to get a greater insight. It is important to understand the direct experience, as well as trying to respond to it, which, obviously, we will seek to do. It is important that we look at the experiences of the past week, and at the response in general. I raised some issues about messaging with the Chief Constable when he attended the Executive last week. It is important that we reflect on all of that.

Mr Delargy

I thank the Minister for her leadership on this issue, especially given that leadership has been lacking from so many others in our society. Minister, you mentioned research that has been undertaken into the night-time economy. Will you elaborate on that and on what that means when it comes to supporting our businesses?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for that question. The Department published what is first-of-its-kind research into our night-time economy in collaboration with Tourism NI and the three business improvement districts of Belfast, which are Belfast One, Destination Cathedral Quarter and the Linen Quarter. The research was conducted by Ipsos and Nordicity and has already been instrumental in securing that funding for the late-night transport pilot scheme in Belfast. The research shows that our night-time economy contributed between £2·8 billion and £3·7 billion in gross value added in 2024 and supports over 100,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The research will further the development of a safe, thriving and diverse night-time economy that works for the hospitality and tourism sectors and for our communities. To support that ambition, the Department has already taken a number of steps, including working with Tourism NI to explore tourism's potential in the night-time economy.

Mr Harvey

Minister, do you agree that those operating in the sector outside the greater Belfast area face significantly greater challenges and require enhanced support to ensure their sustainability?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for his question, and I think that there is merit in what he is saying. Obviously, if you are in a city centre with all its attractions, you have the ability to attract more people to boost your night-time economy. The research that I referred to looked at Derry and Enniskillen, and that also gives important insights. The work that our councils are doing through the local economic partnerships gives us an opportunity to look at how the night-time economy can contribute and be supported across our different council areas. Obviously, the contexts that they work in will differ, and it is important to reflect that in the plans that are being introduced so that they are responsive to the needs of the local areas. I certainly encourage pursuing conversations about that with local councils. Your council area and my council area have significant tourism attractions, and opportunities for the night-time economy are directly linked to that. Again, there are opportunities to work with Tourism NI on how we can better support our night-time economy across the board.

Ms D Armstrong

Minister, as we move towards July and the further lowering of the VAT rate for food and hospitality in the Republic of Ireland, the hospitality sector is looking at changing its operating models to address what it sees as a situation that is almost perilous to the operation of its businesses. How will you monitor the impact that that will have on businesses in the short, medium and long term, and what steps can the Department take to assist those businesses?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for that question. It is certainly of significant concern to me, and I know that it is of significant concern to many of our tourism and hospitality businesses and those who represent them. I mentioned that we previously met Hospitality Ulster and the Food to Go Association. We have, obviously, corresponded with Treasury on the matter. We are yet to have a response from Treasury, which is outrageous, given the impact that we are seeing on our local businesses and the further impact that we will see in the near future as the differential widens further. The Finance Minister and I will follow up on that correspondence, and we will continue to engage with the sector. It is important that we monitor the situation as that differential widens further, and I will ask the Department to look at how we can do that in a quantitative way as well as in the qualitative way that we hear from the sector directly.