Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has doubled the amount of money available under the latest tranche of Tier 1 of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme (FBIS) – Capital to £15million.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots has again asked for action on the issues facing the horticulture sector as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), agreed between the UK and the EU.

A year ago when I took office, nobody could have foreseen the extent of the challenges facing our economy. However, from the moment this pandemic hit, my Department has delivered unprecedented levels of financial support to protect tens of thousands of jobs and businesses.

A programme of weekly testing of pupils and staff is to be introduced in special schools in Northern Ireland at the start of February.

The Department of Health today published a statistical bulletin summarising information on care leavers aged 16-18 in Northern Ireland and care leavers whose 19th birthday occurred during the year ending 31 March 2020.