The island’s economic strategy will not be updated until after the general election, with ministers opting to hand over findings to the next administration.
Tim Johnston, Minister for Enterprise, told Keys that two workshops held last year with around 60 business leaders had demonstrated “broad support for the strategy’s core principles and ambitions”.
However, he said a “common theme” emerged calling for “greater focus on prioritisation, with particular emphasis on areas such as energy security, the legislative and regulatory environment, and the approach to international promotion”.
Mr Johnston said that further work would take place over the summer, but ruled out publishing any revised strategy before the election.
Statement
“I don’t think the plan at this stage would be to publish anything at this stage, at the end of this administration, with very much to inform, to make sure the next administration picks that up and run with it,” he said.
Dr Alex Allinson questioned whether businesses would have preferred “a clear statement from this administration going forward”.
But the minister insisted the approach was “not about rewriting a strategy” and that “the framework works”.
“We’ve spoken with the private sector, they’ve had that input, so that they can move that forward,” he added.
Lawrie Hooper called on the minister to publish the workshops’ findings, suggesting they would be useful “for anyone who’s looking to stand in the upcoming election”.