§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Northern Ireland Economic Council is being continued; and to what extent its functions in Northern Ireland are comparable to those of the former regional economic planning councils in Great Britain.
§ Mr. RossiIn the context of the general review of non-departmental public bodies carried out by Sir Leo Pliatzky, I considered the Northern Ireland Economic Council and was fully satisfied that it had a continuing role in giving advice on the development of economic policy and in 535W monitoring economic performance in Northern Ireland.
The council has independent status and can decide which aspects of the Northern Ireland economy to study and on which to offer me advice. Because of this freedom of operation, the Northern Ireland Economic Council is not directly comparable to the former regional economic planning councils in Great Britain.