To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) for an explanation for the delays to payments under the Limited Company Director's Support Scheme; and (ii) what actions she is taking to urgently resolve any issues.

(i) In the rolling out of the Limited Company Director's Support Scheme, a potential issue was identified relating to the tax treatment of the proposed grant. In order to prevent retrospective difficulties for applicants, the decision was taken to pause the processing of applications until a solution to the tax treatment issue was identified. Whilst I appreciate that this delay is frustrating for applicants it was considered the best approach to reduce the overall administrative burden and delay of payments. (ii) After taking advice from relevant stakeholders, including HMRC, a solution to allow payments to proceed has been identified. Invest NI, who manage the scheme on behalf of my Department, has written to all relevant applicants providing an update and seeking all relevant additional information to enable processing of applications to proceed. It is anticipated that payments will begin to be made to the employing company of the applicant as soon as possible.