AQO 3928/22-27 Oral question to the Minister of Finance
To ask the Minister of Finance to outline any engagement he has had with the UK Government to deliver the VAT cut to household electricity bills in Northern Ireland, as recently announced for Great Britain.
Asked by Andrew McMurray MLA on 3 September 2026
- Answered
- Oral
- Answered in the Chamber
- Tabled
- 3 September 2026
- Answer due by
- 15 September 2026
- Answered
- 15 September 202612 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Finance
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Answered in the Assembly Chamber on 15 September 2026. Extract from the Official Report (Hansard), including any supplementary questions:
Mr O'Dowd
I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 July urging her to progress the necessary steps to secure European Commission agreement to extend the VAT reduction to here from 1 October. In parallel, my officials, working closely with colleagues in the Department for the Economy, have also engaged extensively with Treasury officials to make the case for equivalent VAT treatment here. Treasury advised, however, that the Executive should develop and implement an alternative scheme, as it considered it unlikely that approval from the European Commission to apply the 0% VAT rate here from 1 October would be secured in time. The Department for the Economy has developed and submitted alternative scheme proposals to Treasury. Annually managed expenditure will be provided by Treasury to fund that scheme.
Mr McMurray
Has your Department sought clarity on how much money the Executive may receive as part of the UK Government's decision to cut VAT on household electricity bills?
Mr O'Dowd
That matter is being dealt with by the Department for the Economy directly.