Statement given by Minister Gordon Lyons MLA, to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 28 February 2022.
Mr Speaker with your permission, I would like to update members on the High Street Scheme.
I am delighted to open this statement by informing the house that the High Street Scheme has been a huge success and achieved exactly what it set out to do. It brought shoppers back on to the High Street and has helped our local retail, hospitality and service sectors start their journey of recovery from the devastating impact of the pandemic.
I know that this house, as well as local media, and members of the public all have a keen interest in the data that the Department will be publishing on the High Street Scheme.
My Department has already published three sets of Infographics on verified applications. The most recent publication covered the launch of the Scheme until the close of the Scheme.
My Department will be formally publishing Official Statistics on the Scheme, later next month, along with findings from the NISRA’s COVID-19 Opinion Survey in which members of the public were asked a range of questions relating to the High Street Scheme.
There is detailed analysis being completed by NISRA on the breakdown of spend across the economy, and there are clear rules on the handling of those statistics that are not in my control.
In the interest of open government we will publish all of the information we are able to. Indeed, it is in our interest to show how successful the Scheme has been.
Much of this information will be of significant value to the planned evaluation of the Scheme. This evaluation will consider a full range of evaluation metrics including the scheme's performance against its original objectives as well as an assessment of its economic impact including through the assessment of additionality, potential for economic multipliers and attitudinal changes across society that it might have influenced.
In advance of this, my Department is today publishing a set of management information on the Scheme covering:
- number of residents issued with a card
- number and percentage of cards activated
- total spend
- number of transactions and amount spent by Local Government District
- number of transactions and amount spent by postcode
Before doing so I wanted to present to the house some of the key information from this early analysis. However, it is important to note this information has not undergone the same rigorous quality assurance checks that will be undertaken prior to the publication of the Official Statistics.
Mr Speaker, I am really pleased to announce that one million, three hundred and ninety-nine thousand and fifty-one people were issued with a Spend Local card, of which one million, three hundred and ninety-three thousand and forty-three cards - or 99.6% - were activated. This is a tremendous achievement.
The Scheme was designed to provide an economic boost to the local economy and to this end £136.6 million has been injected into the local economy leading to an improved level of consumer confidence and increased levels of public spending.
This can be clearly seen from the fact that nearly 1.4 million customers visited our local shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas, hairdressers across all parts of Northern Ireland during the lifetime of the Scheme and over 3.7 million new transactions were made using the Spend Local card.
Of course, we know that many of these customers ended up spending more than the £100 on local goods and services. So the actual additional spend could be significantly higher than £136.6 million.
Mr Speaker, this early analysis shows that the benefits of the Scheme were enjoyed in all parts of Northern Ireland, in every one of our local constituencies, in every local government district.
Over £27m was spent in Belfast, over £12m in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon while over £10m was spend in each of the following local council areas - Newry, Mourne and Down; Derry City and Strabane; Antrim and Newtownabbey; Lisburn and Castlereagh; and Ards and North Down.
In Mid and East Antrim, the figure was over £9m. In Causeway Coast and Glens and in Mid Ulster, more than £8m was spent while the figure for Fermanagh and Omagh was just over £7.5m.
Mr Speaker, we will publish these figures on the Department’s website today along with a breakdown of spend and transaction by postcode so members, and the general public, can see for themselves the direct boost the High Street Scheme has brought to those retail, hospitality and service businesses closest to them.
The scale of the task of delivering the High Street Scheme was unprecedented and should not be underestimated. We implemented a process which manufactured, dispatched and delivered cards to close to 1.4 million people – each card unique to each applicant, including bespoke embossed cards for the visually impaired and blind.
We worked tirelessly with local traders and business community to ensure their understanding of the Scheme, incentivise sales and encourage spending.
And I believe members will agree that it was worth it. I am sure that members will have heard the same positive messages that I have heard from businesses within their own constituencies, 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.
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.
Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director commented that:
“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 people from which I was most pleased to hear were the business owners who needed the Scheme to help them cope with the impact of the pandemic. On a personal level, these individuals – shopkeepers, barbers, newsagents, publicans, café owners, the list goes on – brought it home to me why the Scheme was so important.
While the vast majority of verified applicants to the scheme received their Spend Local cards before the scheme closed, I am aware that a small proportion of verified applicants, less than 0.4%, did not receive a card while some others encountered difficulty activating and using their card.
I apologise to those applicants but would like to make clear that there were a number of contributing factors such as issues with the postal service and errors in applications such as incorrect addresses being entered resulting in cards being sent to the wrong address.
Mr Speaker, I would like to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to all those members who worked and continue to work with my officials to help their constituents.
I can assure you that my officials used maximum flexibility and worked until the very last second to ensure as many people as possible received a card and were able to go out and support local businesses.
Remedy Payments
Recently, in recognition of the fact that some verified applicants did not receive a card while some others encountered difficulties activating and using their card, I announced that I would be making remedy payments to eligible applicants.
The applicants eligible for a potential remedy payment will be:
- verified applicants who did not receive a Spend Local card or who received their card after the scheme closed.
- verified applicants who had issues activating/using their cards which were outside of their control and have a remaining balance of £10 or more.
- eligible applicants who did not receive a Spend Local card as a result of service failure by the Department.
It is anticipated that the total cost of delivering remedy payments will be in the region of £1m - £1.5m and this will be met from the Scheme’s underspend.
On the 17 February 2022 my Department sent an email to approximately 22,500 people to notify them that they may be eligible to receive a remedy payment. A follow-up email will be issued in mid-March providing details on how to apply and will contain a link to apply for a remedy payment.
For those eligible for a remedy payment who applied via the telephone service and did not provide an email address a letter will issue to them in the coming days to notify them of the next steps in the process.
Once verified and approved for a remedy payment eligible applicants will receive a remedy payment equal to the value of the balance remaining on their card at Scheme closure.
I would ask that everyone show some patience while my officials finalise the setting up of an automated system to administer these remedy payments. It is anticipated that the remedy payments will be made in late-March/early April.
All eligible applicants will be encouraged to use their remedy payment to support businesses in their local area that have been impacted by the pandemic.
However, I want to be clear – remedy payments does not mean that the Scheme is being re-opened. Remedy payments will not include individuals who did not submit an application or applicants who did not provide sufficient evidence of eligibility and were subsequently rejected unless there is strong evidence presented to demonstrate that a service failure occurred.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the last two years have been tough for our local businesses but I am confident about the future for local businesses in Northern Ireland. The pandemic has highlighted the resilience and creativity of our local businesses across Northern Ireland.
So, finally, I want to thank the tens of thousands of participating retailers, many of whom incentivised spend by offering additional savings, and the cardholders who activated their cards and went out onto the high street and spent in local businesses. You all played your part in injecting £136.6 million into our high street just when it was needed most. You should all be proud of this fact.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
Gordon Lyons MLA