To ask the Minister for the Economy what work her Department has undertaken in producing a long-term, comprehensive economic strategy to be endorsed by the wider Executive.

The Executive’s current economic focus is supporting the businesses, people and places most heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and creating a foundation on which to deliver a greener, competitive and inclusive economy.

My Department has published a medium term recovery plan – Rebuilding a Stronger Economy – which sets out a framework to deliver higher paying jobs, a highly skilled workforce and a more regionally balanced economy. This will guide activity and interventions for the next twelve months.

As we move beyond the response and recovery phase of the pandemic, attention will turn to the development of a new Economic Strategy for Northern Ireland which will set out the strategic framework and ambition required to achieve the Executive’s long-term vision for the Northern Ireland economy and will align with, and build upon, the work on rebuilding being undertaken by the Department.