To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail (i) how much underspend there is, broken down by each of the COVID-19 grants and loans; (ii) what plans are in place to utilise this money to help existing businesses that were unable to apply for support; and (iii) her plans to finance a resilience package for business that will include rural proofing measures.

Although the Business Support Grant Schemes have closed and are all likely to be underutilised, a final figure for the underspend cannot be provided at this stages as a number of applications and appeals remain to be processed.

For the £10,000 Small Business Support Grant, approximately £240 million of support has been provided to date to 24,085 businesses.

For the £25,000 Retail, Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Grant, approximately £72 million of support has been provided to date to 2,946 businesses.

There were 4,949 applications to the NI Microbusiness Hardship Fund, Currently, around 900 applications are still being processed.

I recognise that many businesses have not been able to avail of the support schemes as they have fallen outside of the eligibility criteria. I have circulated an Options Paper to my Executive Colleagues which sets out proposals for utilisation of available funds following the closure of the schemes. The decision on utilising these funds, and the allocation of any additional financial support, is a matter for Executive agreement and I look forward to further discussions with Executive Colleagues in due course.