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British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme: Northern Ireland

Asked by Gavin RobinsonDemocratic Unionist PartyNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled Answered 3 September 2026UIN 20037

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the introduction of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme to Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress to establish the arrangements for a comparable scheme.

Answered by Northern Ireland Office

As energy policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will not directly extend to Northern Ireland.

However, the UK Government will provide funding to the Northern Ireland Executive to enable them to implement their own comparable scheme to support Northern Ireland businesses. Parameters for this support have been outlined to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Department for the Economy, and funding will be released following the standard approval of a business case demonstrating equivalent support for eligible businesses.

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