To ask the Minister of Finance how he plans to create employment in the area of nature-based solutions.

I am a member of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Green Growth which is overseeing the development of a Green Growth Strategy on behalf of the Executive.

Policies and underpinning guidance that promote nature-based solutions will have to be considered as part of the wider Green Growth strategy and the wider commitment to contribute to Net Zero. It will be for the Executive and individual Ministers to determine the investment priorities required to deliver the agreed strategic outcomes going forward including job creation opportunities.

With regard to my Department, the new social value policy will set out how the imperative of reducing carbon emissions will be integrated into procurement. I am working with the Procurement Board to develop an enhanced social value model

which will look to reduce carbon emissions through the performance of government contracts both with the main contractor and associated supply chains.