Businesses meet minister

The meeting focused on current and future rates policy, and ongoing need for support from the NI Executive for local business.

Mrs Lockhart said: “This was a useful forum for local business to exchange views with the Finance Minister and to feed into Government thinking on future rates policy.

“No one knows the challenges facing our High Streets, and wider business community, better than those who operate those businesses. The last year has been so challenging but we must now look to the future. For some time the biggest issue facing business has been rates. We need to now look at rating policy and find a way to take the rate burden off business.”