Covid-19: Jersey £100 voucher scheme sees £2.5m spent on food and bills

The Government of Jersey scheme saw more than £10m spent in local businesses

More than £2.5m of the £100 vouchers given to Jersey residents to help the economy was spent on food and bills.

About £2.2m of this was spent in supermarkets and other food businesses, while nearly £350,000 went on utilities and waste charges, according to Government of Jersey figures.

The Spend Local scheme launched in September and saw more than £10m spent.

The voucher was taken up by nearly 98% of the island as part of the government's Covid-19 recovery plans.

The sectors which benefitted the most from the scheme were:

• £4.1m in wholesale and retail businesses

• £2.2m in supermarkets, fast food and food retail

• £1.5m in hotels, restaurants and bars

• £510,000 on health, education and other services

• £350,000 on utilities and waste

The final £1.4m was spent in a variety of industries ranging from agriculture and fishing, transport and storage, and construction and quarrying.

Locations and concentrations of businesses where the £100 was spent

More than 350,000 individual transactions at business across Jersey between 9 September and 31 October used the pre-paid card given to residents, the government said.

The scheme could only be used at local business with online purchases, savings and gambling not permitted.