To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for the publication of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Economic Vision for Northern Ireland document; and what (a) internal and (b) external consultation will take place on this document.

The draft Economic Vision for Northern Ireland was published for consultation on 12 October 2004 alongside the draft Priorities and Budget 2005–08 and the Northern Ireland Civil Service reform document "Fit for Purpose". The consultation period ended on 7 December 2004 and it is anticipated that the final Vision document will be published in February 2005.

Ongoing internal consultation took place across all NI Departments both prior to and during the formal consultation period.

In terms of external consultation, the draft Economic Vision was sent to some 2,000 recipients as part of the wider Priorities and Budget 2005–08 formal consultation process and meetings were also held with a number of external stakeholders. In addition, I am arranging meetings to be held in the next few weeks with the economic spokespersons of the five main political parties and the Economic Development Forum to discuss the emerging Vision document and the way forward.