To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the total funding allocated to Ards and North Down Borough Council to facilitate the skills growth of small and medium-sized businesses, in the last three years.

My Department does not provide direct funding to councils for SME skills growth. Instead, it funds the Further Education (FE) colleges to deliver three skills programmes for small and medium-sized businesses. In Ards and North Down, this is primarily delivered by South Eastern Regional College (SERC), although businesses may access training through any of the six colleges.

Through Skills Focus, businesses with fewer than 250 employees can access skills training for their existing workforce through the FE network. Over the last three years £1.8 million has been allocated to SERC for delivery of Skills Focus upskilling over 1,500 employees.

InnovateUs helps businesses with fewer than 50 employees gain skills to engage in innovation activities, providing up to 60 hours of tailored training per project. Over the last three years, £1.5 million has been allocated to SERC, enabling over 300 projects to be completed, supporting over 200 small businesses.

The SME Productivity Booster supports skills growth of small and medium-sized businesses through the local further education colleges, and is funded through my Skills Fund, helping to improve workforce capability, productivity and business competitiveness. In the last three years, SERC has received £188,400 to support 39 companies.

In addition InvestNI offers a range of tailored skills solutions to employers across the North through the Skills for Growth and Skills Advancement, Leadership Skills and Supply Chain Skills initiatives. This funding is not provided directly to the council. Over the last three financial years Invest NI has provided £315,954 in grant funding to 19 companies in the Ards and North Down Council area.