Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Lord Coaker (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 1 November 2011 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Grand Committee.

Corporation Tax

Question: At last, as a result of the Minister’s full answer, we are getting to some of the detail about the impact of changes to corporation tax. Will he share a little more of his assessment of cuts in corporation tax? He will have seen the news reports showing that private sector output has shrunk to 2003 levels in Northern Ireland. How long will it be before a change to corporation tax generates additional jobs in the private sector? What assessment has he made of the impact on jobs in both the public and the private sectors were there to be that immediate cut in the block grant to ameliorate the cut in corporation tax? We need to know the answers to such questions, as do the Northern Ireland Executive and the people of Northern Ireland.

Answer: I shall try to keep my answer brief because I fear that you, Dr McCrea, will start impersonating the Speaker if I go on for too long. The shadow Secretary of State makes a good point. It is precisely those details that the joint ministerial working group is now about to flesh out. He has made my point for me: a reduction in the private sector in Northern Ireland cries out for us to do something about it. We are determined to rebalance the economy. We owe it to the people of Northern Ireland to take the matter very seriously because we believe that it is a key factor in promoting private sector growth. Northern Ireland has had to take its share of cuts across the board—less than it might have had otherwise incidentally. We are absolutely committed to rebalancing the economy, part of which is growth in the private sector. How do we bring about growth in the private sector? One of the quickest ways is to send out the right signals that Northern Ireland is open for business and that it is a competitive place in which to do business. That was one of the critical reasons why we were so determined to keep open the trans-Atlantic air link to the United States.

Secondary information