5. Mr McAleer asked the Minister of Finance to provide an update on the progress of the Derry and Strabane city deal. (AQO 784/22-27)

There had been excellent progress on the Derry City and Strabane District Council city deal, which was preparing for deal signing this week. As you will now be aware, the British Government took the deplorable decision to pause their funding commitment to city and growth deals until further consideration in the spending review. The British Government delivered that shocking news to deal partners on Friday afternoon. Derry City and Strabane District Council was then forced to cancel its deal-signing event, which had been planned for Wednesday 18 September in the Guildhall and for which invites to a large number of guests had already gone out.

After widespread uproar and appeals to reverse that reprehensible move, I received a phone call from the Secretary of State late on Saturday evening. He advised that the British Government were going ahead with the Derry City and Strabane city deal, and an email followed from his office confirming that. Following that, late on Sunday evening my office received an email from the NIO stating that the Secretary of State was also happy to confirm that, following communication with Treasury, nothing had changed on the status of the Belfast region city deal.

I am pleased to say that Derry City and Strabane District Council has reinstated the event planned for Wednesday and that the Derry and Strabane city deal will be signed. That will be a momentous milestone for the people of the north-west, and I am glad that sense has prevailed. It is now essential that the pause on funding commitments is lifted as a matter of urgency for all deals, which should not have to wait until the spending review for clarity.

I thank the Minister for her response and share her sentiments on the deplorable decision and the shocking news of such a reprehensible move. It is good that the deal is back on track. She will be aware that there are other deals: I think of the Mid South West deal, which covers the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Mid Ulster District Council areas, and, of course, the Causeway Coast and Glens growth deal. Does she have any update on the progress of those deals?

The Member will be aware that I made a statement just before Question Time. My clear view is that the pause on the funding commitments to those deals needs to be lifted. There can be absolutely no disparity between the deals. I met the chief executives and representatives of the Mid South West deal and the Causeway Coast and Glens deal this morning, and I share their frustration and anger at the handling of the matter. I reassured them that I am in their corner. There can be no disparity of treatment between the deals, and it is essential that the pause on that funding commitment be lifted. I have followed up with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, making it clear that Mid South West and Causeway Coast and Glens should not have to wait for that clarity. I will speak to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury this afternoon, and I appeal again to the British Government to reverse that appalling decision.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to make a statement. I am conscious that she will be coming again to answer questions, and, no doubt, I will have more.

The Mid South West growth deal is for my area. How does that decision fit in with our policy of stripping out regional imbalance? We now have a situation in which some council areas have growth deals in place, while others are paused. How does that fit, and is it being taken to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland?

I completely agree with the Member's analysis. She represents the Mid South West deal area, and I represent the Causeway Coast and Glens area, and we probably share frustration at the difference in treatment that there now is between the deals. Certainly, that is the case that I made to the Chancellor on Thursday about all the deals in general as well as the fact that they are about promoting local economic development. They are about creating jobs in local areas and addressing the infrastructure deficits that we have, particularly in rural areas, in certain parts of the North. The deals are game changers for regions across the North, and that is why I will continue to make the case that that pause be un-paused as soon as possible.

Will the Minister update us on her Department's role as the responsible accounting body for city deals and on how she is ensuring effective governance?

The Member will be aware that the Department of Finance leads on the delivery of the city and growth deals, but they involve partners, including local government and private-sector partners, and are delivered across a number of Departments. My Department takes the central role and, as you would imagine, was very active over the weekend in communicating not only with partners but with Treasury to try to ensure that the pause that was put in place on the funding commitment is lifted. People are working hard to ensure that that is the case for the remaining two deals.

I welcome the work that has been done over the weekend to get the deal back on track. I know that my party colleague Colum Eastwood was especially active on that over the weekend. The Minister told us in her statement that she became aware of the proposed pause in funding on Wednesday. She and the First Minister raised it with the Treasury on Thursday. Did the Treasury indicate at any stage or in any way how or when it intended to make its decision and position public?

No, it did not, and, in fact, it was communicated at official level and brought to my attention only on Wednesday afternoon because it was such a concerning announcement and came as a bolt out of the blue. They are really important projects that have been years in the making. The handling of the matter and the communication, in particular, has been absolutely shambolic. There has been no formal communication with deal partners, which, again, is deplorable. Those points I will, of course, relay and have already done so. We need to see a bit of reflection on how the British Government engage not only with us as an Executive but with our constituents.