Coronavirus: NI vouchers paid to individuals not households

The aim of the vouchers is to support bricks and mortar retail which has been badly hit by Covid restrictions

A high street voucher scheme will see pre-paid cards issued to individuals in Northern Ireland, not to each household as previously thought.

The scheme is still being worked on, but BBC News NI understands the amount given to each qualifying person could be between £75 and £100.

It was previously suggested that £200 would be awarded to each household.

The Department for the Economy has now provided more detail on the scheme that it expects to roll out early next year.

Possible age limit?

The voucher scheme was announced as part of a raft of financial measures outlined on Monday.

The aim of the scheme is to support bricks and mortar retail which has been adversely affected as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

Non-essential retail in Northern Ireland will be shut from Friday as part of a two-week circuit breaker.

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The budget for the vouchers is £95m and that will also cover any administration fees a chosen provider may charge.

About 1.1m people could be issued a pre-paid card, which suggests there will be some sort of age limit on who will be eligible.

The money can be spent in shops, but not online.

It is based on similar schemes in Jersey and Malta.

Earlier this year, Jersey introduced an £11m scheme through which residents received £100 each to stimulate the island's economy.

Cost versus benefits

Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster has previously said she was impressed by the initiative.

Murray Norton, chief executive of Jersey's Chamber of Commerce, told BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster the initiative had been "good news for the consumer and the High Street".

"Jersey is an island, so you can't get off it to go and spend it anywhere else for starters, but there were limits on the pre-paid card that everyone received," he said.

"Yes it did help consumers and yes it did help shopkeepers locally, by how much compared to how much was spent?

"The jury is still out on that."

Northern Ireland's Finance Minister Conor Murphy said on Monday that the pre-paid card issued through the voucher scheme would be worth £200 per household.

Clarification that it would be paid per individual was issued on Tuesday by Diane Dodds' Department for the Economy.