Levelling up: No 'easy wins' for improving NI's economic performance

There are no "easy wins" for improving Northern Ireland's economic performance, the Levelling Up minister has told MPs.

Levelling up is a UK government regional development plan.

It is aimed at improving economic performance outside the south-east of England.

The scheme is most closely associated with the north of England but is funding projects throughout the UK.

The minister, Neil O'Brien, said there were "imminent opportunities", including bidding for new research and development (R&D) funds.

He said the goal to rapidly increase regional R&D spending "should benefit" places like Northern Ireland.

Mr O'Brien also noted that Northern Ireland had some of the poorest places in the UK.

He said levelling up in Northern Ireland "absolutely must involve raising productivity closer to other parts of the UK".

• What is levelling up and how is it going?

Productivity measures the amount of economic output generated by each worker.

In the long term, rising living standards are dependent on rising productivity.

Northern Ireland is consistently one of the least productive regions of the UK and also compares badly to the Republic of Ireland.

A recent review by academics at Queens University suggested educational underachievement and weak management are major factors in Northern Ireland's poor productivity.

Some parties in Northern Ireland have raised concerned that the levelling-up strategy could duplicate or conflict with policies of the NI Executive.

Mr O'Brien told the NI Affairs Committee that there had been consultation with the executive as well as business and voluntary sector groups.

He said the policies could "only be a success if they are designed by and then delivered with local people".