UUP calls forum to discuss post-Brexit economic plan

The Ulster Unionist Party is organising an event entitled ‘A Forum on a Post-Brexit Economic Plan for Northern Ireland’ for next Thursday.

The UUP said that it had invited individuals from business, finance and academia to the event at Stormont and that it would hold further events to involve the voluntary sector, trade unions and other stakeholders in the coming months.

UUP MLA Steve Aiken, the party’s economy spokesman and a former Royal Navy nuclear submarine commander, said: “The Executive so far have been less than clear about the implications for our manufacturing, hospitality, agri-food, IT and creative industries.

“There is particular concern regarding the future of the common travel area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is vital for trade and commerce.

“I look forward to hearing what our business community have to say on this issue and all other implications of Brexit. It is vitally important that government takes its lead from the needs of the business community.”

Yesterday the Special EU Programmes Body – the organisation which distributes hundreds of millions of pounds of EU funding in Northern Ireland – gave evidence to Stormont’s finance committee.

The committee’s deputy chairman, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna, said that SEUPB had told the committee that it had received no questions from the Executive about contingency planning, but that it had been contacted by the Dublin government as it drew up its own contingency plan for Brexit.