Edinburgh-based political research company Newsdirect pushing into Northern Ireland

Edinburgh-based political research company Newsdirect has announced a push into Northern Ireland – on the back of the recent restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly – as part of a refreshed business strategy.

MD Kirsty Peebles said the firm is working on a raft of new services. Picture: contributed.

The firm provides fast-reaction alerts and sector briefings to organisations looking to keep tabs on policy discussions and political decisions. Specialising in the devolved legislatures, it added a Cardiff operation in 2001 and now has 20 staff over the two sites, including what it says is a wide range of subject specialists and parliamentary reporters.

It said the recent restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly “offered the ideal opportunity to add a service covering Stormont,” and a new daily bulletin, Assembly Today, joins a roster of similar offerings covering politics in Scotland, Wales and Westminster.

Newsdirect has also promoted Lawrie Scott-McFarlane to a new role of head of technology, following a secondment to digital skills academy Codeclan.

Lawrie Scott-McFarlane has been appointed to the new head of technology role. Picture: contributed.

MD Kirsty Peebles said: “We’re delighted to see devolved government return to Northern Ireland, and - in the year we mark our 20th year in business - it was the perfect opportunity to add the missing piece to our devolved nations service.

“Though coronavirus makes this an anxious time for all businesses, demand for fast, impartial alerts has only increased in recent weeks. We’re grateful to be able to play a small part in keeping people updated with the latest advice and discussions, especially our clients in the health and care sector.

“Added to this, the benefits of having our own in-house developer are wide-ranging and timely, we’re already working on a raft of new services that will broaden the scope of our service into new areas and ensure that we’re keeping up with the fast-moving news agenda.”

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