SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin
Said the Foyle MLA: “It has been reported that Invest NI is to be subject to an external review. I welcome this.
“There are three serious questions hanging over Invest NI. The first is its approach to regional inequality and ensuring that investment and job creation are spread on an equitable basis across NI.
“More needs to be done to support the North West in particular, but also other areas with above average unemployment and economic inactivity.
“That leads to the second issue, which is what Invest NI can learn from the South’s IDA – which is more effective in attracting inward investment, while also dispersing that investment across a wider geographical area.
“In addition, the IDA has been praised for being more effective than Invest NI in using inward investment to boost wider economic productivity and the development of locally-owned businesses.
“The third issue relates to the operations of the organisation. I have had more complaints against Invest NI and how it goes about its functions than I would have expected.
“Some of those I forwarded to the NI Audit Office to look into. But those complaints have led me to have my own serious concerns about Invest NI, its administration and how it deals with complaints.
“The latest labour market statistics underline the need for the performance of Invest NI to be independently reviewed.
“While average claimant count unemployment across the North is 3.5%, it is 5.2% in Derry and Strabane – still the North’s highest rate.
“Nor is the reduction in the unemployment rate in Derry and Strabane keeping pace with areas such as Mid-Ulster, which are benefiting from a faster recovery rate.
“Derry and Strabane also suffers from one of the highest levels of hidden unemployment, with a high level of economic inactivity resulting from factors such as caring responsibilities, lack of affordable childcare provision and long-term ill health and disabilities.
“These statistics illustrate the need for Invest NI to take regional economic imbalance more seriously,” added Ms McLaughlin.
