NI High Street voucher scheme is deferred

The High Street voucher scheme will be deferred until the next financial year, an official from the Department of Economy has said.

Last year the economy minister announced a £95m scheme to boost the High Street.

The scheme will attempt to support those retailers hardest hit by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Stormont ministers have been asked to approve a new Covid-19 support scheme for taxi drivers.

It is understood that the retail scheme might be a pre-paid card system similar to the one in Jersey at about £50-75 per person.

When asked how the £95m would be spent, a spokesperson for the Department for the Economy said: "It will be for the executive to decide on how the funding is now allocated."

On Wednesday, Sharon Hetherington, finance director at the Department for the Economy, told the economy committee that increased restrictions and the health situation meant the money would be surrendered now and the department was better to try and run the scheme in the next financial year.

She also said they would be putting forward a larger bid to the executive for £140m which would be the equivalent of a £100 voucher per person, subject to executive approval.

Economy committee chair Caoimhe Archibald raised concerns about how this money would now be spent.

"Does this now put this scheme at risk? This is a very significant amount of money and now some of it could potentially be handed back?"

Ms Hetherington responded: "Given where we are with the health restrictions, the decision was taken that this would not be the right thing to do."

"We have proposals to utilise that money.

"The right thing to do is to surrender this money and where possible it could be used to support the economy through other routes."

Later on Wednesday, at the finance committee, Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken asked the Finance Minister Conor Murphy if the Treasury would allow this money to be carried over into the next financial year.

Mr Murphy said: "We have been pressing the Treasury for flexibility - I am in the process of writing a letter with the Scottish and the Welsh Finance Ministers for as much flexibility as possible, particularly for the £200million we received just before Christmas.

"We know we have some Covid money next year but we hope to be able to carry over some of this year's money as well.

"Some money will be ringfenced for health and education - we only got the indication today that the voucher money wasn't going to be spent this financial year."

Mr Murphy said: "Money has been earmarked for a further six months worth of rates relief to the businesses who got the full year's rates holiday in recognition it could be late Autumn before businesses get back to normal."

Details of the new taxi support scheme were also outlined by Department of Infrastructure officials at a Stormont committee on Wednesday.

It is estimated it will cost up to £10m and will help those drivers who have lost businesses because of Covid-19 restrictions.

The scheme will cover the period from October to March and will provide additional payments to those who have already secured funding through the previous support scheme.

Assembly members were told more than 4,000 drivers received payments of £1,500 from the first scheme and they will now be eligible to receive a further £1,500 from the new fund.

The total cost of the initial pay out was £6m.

But the committee also heard that 13% of those who asked for help failed to meet the criteria.

That was mainly due to some drivers opting to pause their insurance payments.

But the new scheme will now be open to those drivers who can show partial as well as continuous insurance cover.

Drivers will be eligible to receive a payment of £250 for every 30 days of full insurance up to a maximum of £3,000.

But those who have already received a £1,500 payment can only expect a further payment for the same amount.

If ministers approve the scheme on Thursday then it could be up and running from the beginning of next month.