The Retailer Winter 2018/19

We have garnered a commitment from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance tomove the setting of the NI poundage rate to allowmembers to plan as well as a commitment to revisit radical reform of the business rates systemwhich she agrees is not fit for purpose. We continue to push for reformof the Apprenticeship Levy and have gained a place on the Northern Ireland Skills Advisory Board to do just that. We continue tomake our concerns heard and robustly defend our industry on areas as diverse as supply chain and the environment. We have also worked hand in hand with our London colleagues on our Brexit campaign, bringing our key messages to Northern Ireland politicians, Ministers and officials in Dublin, Michel Barnier’s Article 50 team and the European Parliament in Brussels, as well as toMPs and 10 Downing Street. While it may have been a continuous Groundhog Day for the folks on the hill in Stormont, it has been all hands on deck for the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium.

Two years of no Executive has slowed progress onmany issues to a snail’s pace. It is making Northern Ireland a less competitive place to do business not only now but for investment decisions being made going forward. But we in the business world have stood up to be counted on an unprecedented scale with leaders from farming, freight, manufacturing and even agri-food processing standing supporting our stance on Brexit which has trickled down to other issues. My biggest hope for when the Assembly inevitably comes back is that the business and civic genie is truly out of the bottle and the political parties listen more and react in a less knee jerk way. Change can only happen when our government deigns to sit. So, it’s time for our parties to get back to work and protect the economy, jobs and our workers. 2019 would be a better place for business in Northern Ireland if we have an Executive to take the bold decisions needed.

the retailer | winter 2019 | 13