AQW 6523/17-22
Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down
Tabled Date: 08/09/2020
Answered On Date: 18/09/2020
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the conversations she has had with the Minister for Infrastructure regarding financial hardship facing the local haulage industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer:
Minister Mallon and I represented the NI Executive in a series of Devolved Administration meetings with Ministers and officials from Department for Transport (DfT). These meetings addressed a wide range of transport and connectivity issues, and included discussions on the impact of COVID-19 on the haulage industry across the UK. At those meetings we expressed our concerns to DfT around the resilience of the haulage industry, and emphasised our reliance on the haulage of critical goods across the Irish Sea to the DfT Minister on numerous occasions. For Northern Ireland, these are not just economic corridors, but lifelines that connect us with the rest of the UK. We were very supportive of DfT’s efforts to come up with a UK wide package for the haulage sector, but ultimately DfT were unable to navigate the high bar required for financial support set by Treasury. On the question of lead responsibility for the sector in Northern Ireland, I have written to Minister Mallon in response to a number of correspondence including letters and Executive Papers on the issues facing taxis, hauliers and ferry operators. I informed her that I was of the view that as the Department for Infrastructure has responsibility for the transport industry, it would be best placed to lead on taking forward any agreed support for those areas. The Executive subsequently sought advice on which Department was best placed to provide support to the haulage, coach and tour, and taxi industries, taking cognisance of statutory responsibilities. Following the outcome of this the First and deputy First Ministers have written concluding that, on balance, DfI should take the lead responsibility.
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