The QUB study says the £136m High Street scheme, designed to boost businesses affected by coronavirus lockdowns, should have targeted businesses forced to close during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Of the £136.5m total spend, approximately £50m was spent on stores that remained open through the lockdowns, including supermarkets, local food stores and off licences.

Everyone aged 18 and over was invited to apply for the £100 Spend Local card following its launch in late September last year. The total number of transactions was 3,713,609, with £97.94 on average used on the activated cards.

Sunday, November 14 was the busiest day, with 104,477 transactions and £4m spent.

Retail NI said the majority of the money did make its way to local independents and the scheme should be replicated in future years, but in a more targeted way..

Glyn Roberts, chief executive of the organisation, said: “It was a very, very good short term fix that kept people in jobs.”

One sector — retail, wholesale and vehicle services — dominated spend at £118m followed by £10m on accommodation and food services.

Nearly all (96%) of the £84.9m spent in businesses required to close during 2020 was accounted for by retail (£68m), accommodation and food services (£10m), and other service activities (£4m).

But the analysis reveals that £50m was spent on those businesses who remained open throughout the pandemic, almost all under the retail banner. Around 43% of the amount spent on retail alone went to companies that remained open during the lockdowns.

According to the analysis, the Belfast City Council area accounted for 20% of the total spend, or £27.6m, with £11m, or just over eight per cent, spent in the city centre.

The DfE also published the results of a survey of citizens, one carried out prior to the September 27 launch and one during its operation through to near the end of November.

According to the survey carried out after its launch, two thirds said they intended to spend or have spent all or most of the £100 in small local businesses.

Over a fifth (22%) said they intended to spend or have spent some in small local businesses and some in large multinational companies, whilst just over a tenth, 11%, said they intended to spend or have spent all or most of it in large multinational companies. Over two fifths, 44%, said they intended to spend or had spent all of the £100 on items they would have bought anyway.

Just over a fifth said they intended to spend or had spent on items they would not have bought absent the scheme.

The majority, 70%, indicated the money “freed up” other parts of their budget.

Of those, 36% said they intended to spend or had spent on items they would not have bought absent the scheme.

Over a quarter (27%) said it would go to pay bills or reducing debt.

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Economy Minister Gordon Lyons recently agreed to issue a remedy payment to the following individuals to verified applicants who did not receive their Spend Local card before the Scheme closed; and applicants who faced problems activating/using their card and as a result had a balance of £10 or more at Scheme closure. Applications must be made before 5pm on Thursday March 31.

The Department for the Economy recently emailed individuals to inform them that they, or a person they applied on behalf of, may be eligible for a remedy payment under the High Street Scheme.

A further email providing a link to the remedy payment application portal is now being issued – the bulk of emails will be sent on Friday 18 March with the remainder issuing within the next couple of weeks.

Those who wish to apply for a remedy payment (either for themselves or on someone’s behalf) should click on the link contained within the email where they will then be asked a security question in order to access the application form. Those who confirm they meet the eligibility criteria will then be asked to provide bank/building society details.

The remedy payment will be paid into the nominated account before the end of April 2022. The remedy payment made will be equal to the balance remaining on the Spend Local card at scheme closure.

E-mails will issue from noreply@spendlocalni.com and messages from this address should be treated as legitimate. Depending on the settings of a person’s email account, it is possible these emails may be filtered into a junk/spam folder, so people are asked to check these folders regularly.

Applications must be submitted before 5pm on Thursday 31 March 2022. It will not be possible to process applications beyond this date.

Those who applied via the telephone service and who have been identified as being potentially eligible for a remedy payment will receive a letter next week with details on how to apply.

The post Remedy measures for people who missed out on NI High Street Scheme move forward first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The High Street Scheme was a novel, bold and ambitious initiative launched by my Department in September and it has achieved exactly what it set out to do.

The policy objective was twofold; firstly to bring people back on to the High Street and secondly to inject an economic shot in the arm directly into our retail, hospitality and service sectors and help these businesses to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic.

The scale of the task of delivering the High Street Scheme was unprecedented. In only a matter of months we put in place a system to process just under 1.4 million people who were verified and able to spend their Spend Local prepaid card in towns and villages across Northern Ireland.

We implemented a process to manufacture, dispatch and deliver cards – unique to every applicant – which would be spent with local businesses. And we worked with traders to ensure their understanding of the scheme and to incentivise sales.

Economy boost

Over £136 million was injected into the Northern Ireland economy as a result. It brought customers back through the doors of local retail, hospitality and other sectors and there was spend over and above the £100 on the card by people who used it as a part payment for a larger purchase.

The success of the scheme is clear when I speak with retailers across Northern Ireland, but it has also been confirmed by independent analysis.

According to an Ulster Bank Survey, retail sales in Northern Ireland rose in November 2021 for the first time in four months. The bank’s Chief Economist Richard Ramsey said the High Street Scheme undoubtedly contributed to the pick-up in demand.

New research in December 2021 also showed an increase in shoppers on Northern Ireland’s high streets. The figures published by the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) showed a boost to the number of people going into shops or businesses in October continuing in November following the introduction of the High Street Scheme. In November, the number of shoppers in Northern Ireland reached their highest point so far compared to the pre-pandemic level.

Footfall bounce-back

Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director, said then: “The High Street Card scheme is truly proving its value with a phenomenal bounce back in footfall across Northern Ireland. This is hugely welcome news for retailers who have had the toughest two years on record.”

The PWC December 2021 Economic Outlook stated: “Early indications are that Northern Ireland is the only region where economic growth has exceeded both expectations and the pre-crisis levels, while Scotland and Wales recorded an as-expected performance.”

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts also said: “The High Street Scheme is an invaluable short term boost for thousands of local independent retailers and we hope to see this support continue beyond the lifetime of the scheme.”

The voices I was most pleased to hear though were the voices of the many shop owners who benefited from the High Street Scheme spending after a very tough period due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many personally spoke to me about the value of the scheme. Others took to social media platforms like Twitter to say thank you to customers who had chosen to spend all – or part – of their £100 with them.

“It really made a difference,” one said. “I’m overwhelmed by your kindness,” a book shop owner wrote to their customers.

These individuals highlighted most strongly why this scheme mattered.

High street importance

High street shops play a vitally important role in towns and cities across Northern Ireland and this has never been more evident than over the last two years. Many remained open during the tough early days of the pandemic, they adapted to social distancing measures to continue trading and faced tough times during lockdown periods.

It was essential that we provided Northern Ireland businesses with financial support through the DfE Covid business support grants. These grants enabled thousands of businesses to keep their doors open, secured tens of thousands of jobs and provided hope for families and communities. We provided around a half a billion pounds to over 32,000 businesses through a number of essential support schemes, all of which were developed and delivered in unprecedented turnaround times.

Focus shift

My Department’s Economic Recovery Action Plan shifted the focus last year from crisis response to economic recovery. The High Street Scheme was a key element in this plan.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the retailers who supported and promoted the High Street Scheme. Many also incentivised spend in their premises by offering additional savings or rewards. You all played an important role in ensuring millions of pounds reached our high streets where and when it was needed.

I am confident about the future for retail in Northern Ireland. Covid-19 has reshaped our economy but it has also highlighted the resilience and creativity of our businesses across Northern Ireland.

To read the full article in the Neighbourhood Retailer yearbook, click HERE.

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