Brown O'Connor Communications Weekly Look Ahead: Week Commencing 15 March 2021

Updated Twitter Card 1.jpg

Forward Look

  • The Executive will carry out the first comprehensive formal review of the Pathway out of Restrictions framework on Tuesday 16 March. Further details on a full school return will be laid out. First Minister Arlene Foster MLA announced that pre-school and primary school children in years P1 to P3 will remain in school until Easter.

  • The business rates relief package has been extended by 12 months for the sectors most affected by Covid-19 including hospitality, leisure, retail, manufacturing and aviation at a cost of £230m.

  • Economy Minister Diane Dodds MLA is considering the establishment of a Northern Ireland Skills Council made up of business, employee and education representatives with expert knowledge to advise on the future direction of the skills system.

  • The Union Connectivity Review interim report was published by the UK Department for Transport, recommending a review of Air Passenger Duty on internal UK flights and a feasibility study on a ‘fixed link’ between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

  • The process to appoint a new Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice will begin in the coming weeks as Declan Morgan prepares to retire after more than a decade as head of the judiciary. A selection panel is being convened.

  • The new Lord Speaker will be announced on Wednesday 21 April following a remote election process. Former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Lord Alderdice is expected to run.

  • Economy Minister Diane Dodds MLA will launch an options consultation on the New Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland later this month.

  • A programme of events to mark the Northern Ireland centenary has been unveiled, including a Build Back Better business showcase in London.

  • Health Minister Robin Swann MLA will set out the next stage of the Covid-19 vaccination programme next week. Over 606,000 people have received their first dose. Daily updates on the progress of the vaccination scheme will now be charted on a dashboard available here: LINK.

  • A rapid asymptomatic testing programme is now live for key sector employers including those in the agri-food, manufacturing, essential retail and construction sectors.

  • The BBC is reporting that Sir Robert Chote, former Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, will Chair the Independent Fiscal Council. The Stormont budget watchdog will begin work shortly and include Professor Alan Barrett, Esmond Birnie and Maureen O’Reilly.

  • The Northern Ireland Office is seeking to establish a working relationship with President Joe Biden’s administration. A senior official will travel to the United States to provide ‘factual briefings’ in light of UK-EU tensions over goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

  • The Assembly will debate motions on Welfare Support and Supporting Students on Tuesday. The Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill and the Health and Social Care Bill will have their Second Stage.

  • The Education and Finance Ministers will appear at Question Time on Monday, with the Health Minister facing questions on Tuesday.

  • The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee will hear from Hospitality Ulster, Retail NI, Lynas Foodservice and Musgrave Retail Partners on Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol on Wednesday.

  • Belfast has been announced as the host city of One Young World Belfast 2023, which will launch officially in a live broadcast on Wednesday 31 March. Register here: LINK.

  • The Belfast Telegraph Business Awards 2021, in partnership with Ulster Bank, have opened for applications. Apply here: LINK. The deadline is Thursday 6 May 2021.

Other Stories this week

  • The Budget Bill has passed its Final Stage and is awaiting Royal Assent.

  • The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is to establish a Belfast office to help implement UK-wide investment programmes. Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon MLA claimed the move is “dismantling devolution”.

  • £15m has been committed for a range of skills interventions in the first allocation of the UK Government’s £400m ‘New Deal for Northern Ireland’ package.

  • Health Minister Robin Swann MLA published the cross departmental interim autism strategy, available here: LINK.

  • Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon MLA has extended the suspension of the requirement to hold a public event as part of the pre-application community consultation process on major planning applications until 30 September 2021.

  • Edwin Poots MLA resumed his role as Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Gordon Lyons MLA returned to the position of Junior Minister.

  • Sinn Fein Councillor Mickey Cooper is to step down from Derry and Strabane District Council. The party will select a replacement in due course.

  • Ellvena Graham has replaced Dick Milliken as Chair of Catalyst, who stepped down after seven years. She is joined on the board by new Non-Executive Directors Gerry Kindlon and Neil Crockett.

  • Former Independent senator Ian Marshall has submitted his nomination papers for the forthcoming Seanad by-election. The ballot will take place next month.

  • Belfast Chamber has launched a series of virtual events on restarting the NI economy after Covid-19, in partnership with Carson McDowell. View the full ‘Re-Energising Belfast’ series here: LINK.

Upcoming key political and business events

Consultations