To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline what measures were taken during the development of the Executive’s COVID Recovery Plan to ensure it was shared future-proofed.

The Executive’s Building Forward – Consolidated Covid-19 Recovery Plan was published on 2 August 2021.

Departments worked in partnership to develop an integrated Recovery Plan, which aims to deliver societal, economic and health recovery; and to inform the Executive’s priorities that will help to accelerate this.

The Plan has been designed to implement action over a two-year period focusing on both immediate priorities and longer-term interventions that require planning now.

In terms of shared future-proofing, the Recovery Plan was designed with the draft Programme for Government Outcomes Framework in mind, and with the people’s needs at its centre. Whilst not a substitute for an agreed Programme for Government, the recovery workstreams are likely to form the basis of a number of key strategic areas that will dovetail into the longer-term draft PfG Outcomes Framework.

A Cross Departmental Covid-19 Recovery Taskforce has been established to support implementation of the Recovery Plan. The Taskforce will provide update reports throughout the lifetime of the Recovery Plan, the first of which we expect before the end of this month.

We recognise the plan may need to change throughout its lifespan; priorities may change over time and other issues may manifest and become more significant - we therefore need to have the flexibility to respond accordingly.

Officials will continue to work with and engage with stakeholders to ensure the critical challenges faced across our society continue to be addressed.