THE Ulster Unionist Party has proposed a new framework for business support in Northern Ireland which would replace the current job creation agencies.

In a document called "Economic Prosperity for All", the party's leader, Mr David Trimble, said economic thinking in Northern Ireland had become too cautious. The document proposes the amalgamation of the home industry division of the IDB, the small business agency LEDU, the Industrial Research and Technology Unit, and parts of the Training & Employment Agency.

Mr Trimble said this would eliminate "confusion and layers of bureaucracy", particularly when companies transferred, from LEDU to the IDB. Under the proposals, the IDB would focus solely on inward investment.

Mr Trimble said the document was an attempt to outline what the party would do within the context of a revived Northern Ireland assembly.