AQW 10500/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 18/11/2020
Answered On Date: 18/12/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy whether she has considered introducing a COVID-19 safety compliance scheme, similar to food hygiene scores on the doors, to improve safety and public confidence.

Answer:

Responsibility for such a proposal does not fall within the responsibility of my department. Indeed, as with the food hygiene scores referred to, such an initiative would be for the local councils to implement.

From an Executive perspective, the Department for Communities (DfC) have policy and operational lead responsibility for the eleven councils throughout Northern Ireland.

In July 2020, DfC, along with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) announced the launch of the COVID-19 Recovery Revitalisation Programme. This programme was designed to enable councils to invest in their town and city centres to create spaces that were safer and more inviting to shoppers, visitors and workers.

The first tranche of funding was issued to councils in August, and was used to provide immediate interventions, such as small grants to allow businesses to introduce social distancing measures, the provision of hand sanitiser stations, Covid-related signage, and other infrastructure.