It’s that time of year again - party conference season. For FSB Northern Ireland, this is an important part of the political calendar. We remain fiercely independent and resolutely cross-party, and over the coming weeks we will attend the SDLP, DUP and UUP conferences, followed by Alliance and Sinn Féin early next year.

The timing is particularly important. The Assembly has returned following the summer recess, with next May’s elections now on the horizon. Political parties are developing their manifestos - the commitments on which they will ask voters, including thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs, to place their trust.

FSB NI is preparing its own manifesto to ensure the priorities of Northern Ireland’s small business community are heard directly by those who have the power to act.

That conversation is already taking place at every level of government. This week, we welcomed Sarah Owen MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to the FSB NI office in Belfast. With economic growth among her responsibilities, we discussed the challenges facing SMEs, including business rates, energy costs, skills and apprenticeships, access to finance and, particularly in Northern Ireland, infrastructure. Water and sewerage capacity is increasingly becoming a constraint on housebuilding, investment and economic growth.

placeholder image — Head of FSB NI Roger Pollen.

We also discussed opportunity, particularly Northern Ireland’s unique position and the potential of dual market access.

However, this brings us to the nub of the problem. The parties are currently negotiating with the UK Government for additional funding. That funding matters, but for business, what happens afterwards matters even more. Delivery.

Too many projects previously identified as Executive priorities, including the York Street Interchange and A5, remain undelivered. Meanwhile, a creaking water and sewerage system is holding back development and growth.

Those are the problems caused when the Assembly fails to act, but possibly worse is when it acts in haste without proper due process.

FSB NI is preparing its own manifesto to ensure the priorities of the small business community are heard.

The last thing that business needs is the Assembly rushing through legislation in the dying days of this Stormont mandate, such as the Employment Rights Bill, that isn`t properly scrutinised and smothers entrepreneurship rather than delivering good jobs.

Northern Ireland has significant opportunities.

We have innovative entrepreneurs, talented businesses and a unique proposition for inward investment through dual market access, but opportunity requires the right foundations.

If we are serious about growth, we need the infrastructure, skills, finance and regulatory environment to allow businesses and investors to thrive. Business needs political delivery.