To ask the Minister for the Economy whether she will publish specific options, compiled by her Department, to provide support to sole traders that have thus far been excluded from COVID-19 business support schemes.

A paper setting out options for the use of the Covid-19 business support measures underspend was provided to Ministerial colleagues as an Executive paper on 19 June 2020 and was initially discussed by the Executive on 29th June 2020. At the 10th August 2020 Executive meeting it was agreed that further funding allocations would be deferred until September as part of the Executive’s work on its Economic Recovery Strategy.

As the paper is part of ongoing policy formulation and the economic recovery package remains under consideration by the Executive, it would be inappropriate to release the paper or detail specific options at this time.