Minister Hails Success Of High Street Scheme

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has hailed the success of "novel, bold and ambitious" High Street Scheme, stating that "it has achieved exactly what it set out to do".

Minister Lyons said that 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 Minister continued: "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.

"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.

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."

While the majority of verified applicants to the scheme received their cards before it ended, a proportion – around 0.5% - did not receive cards while others encountered difficulty using their card. The Department for the Economy have now devised remedy measures to address this and are contacting those affected.