The Federation of Small Businesses NI has welcomed a House of Lords report which calls on the government to acknowledge that the Windsor Framework isn’t working for businesses and to work to address the problems.
FBS NI Chair Alan Lowry said: “We welcome the publication of the House of Lords` NI Scrutiny Committee`s first report and thank Lord Carlile and his Committee colleagues for the care and attention to detail they took to engage with businesses on the ground in Northern Ireland as well as taking evidence directly in Westminster.
“We were grateful to have been able to contribute to the Committee`s inquiry and concur with the report`s recommendations, many of which validate and confirm the findings and recommendations of FSB NI’s own report entitled ‘Windsor Framework Realities’ where we engaged with businesses right across the UK.
“For any who doubt the complexities for businesses and their representatives in understanding and navigating the Windsor Framework, Figure 1 of the NI Scrutiny Committee`s report lays out the ‘labyrinthine structure’ now in place. We therefore wholeheartedly endorse the Committee`s call for increased simplification and accessibility of the Windsor Framework structures, the creation of a ‘one stop shop’ to track divergence and provide information to businesses, and a revamp of the Trader Support Service.
“The FSB Windsor Framework Realities report was published in June. Lord Murphy`s Independent Review was published in September and now this latest report from the House of Lord`s NI Scrutiny Committee in October. This is a procession of reports which all have a common thread and it is that the Windsor Framework is not functioning as it should. Combined, these reports are a compelling and urgent call to action for the UK Government.
“We have engaged widely with politicians in Westminster and Stormont on a cross-party basis, who have acknowledged that there are major problems which need to be resolved. We hope that the Government will now do likewise. Businesses need Government to take action now to address the actual and perceived barriers that the current operation of Windsor Framework is causing. If they recognise the problems, then we can work together to solve them. Businesses cannot wait for the negotiation and delivery of SPS legislation in 2027 to formalise an agreement between the UK Government and EU which, however ambitious, will still only address part of the issues that this series of reports has exposed.”