AQW 5817/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 21/07/2020
Answered On Date: 31/07/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the criteria used to determine eligibility for the £25,000 Retail, Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Grant where the business is not entirely engaged in retail, hospitality, tourism or leisure.

Answer:

The £25,000 grant was available to eligible businesses that have a Total Net Annual Value (NAV) of between £15,001 and £51,000 and operate within the retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors, subject to some exclusions.

The range of activities undertaken by businesses that applied for the 25k scheme was very broad and did not always fit neatly into the broad descriptions of the four eligible sectors, retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism. Indeed the sectors themselves are not easily defined and there is not a comprehensive database from which identification of the cohort of eligible businesses in these sectors could be made.

In cases where the business is not entirely engaged in retail, hospitality, tourism or leisure, assuming all other criteria is satisfied, an application would be deemed eligible if there is evidence of reasonable activity within one of the eligible sectors. This was determined on a case by case basis on the evidence available.

Businesses within the four eligible sectors were among the first to experience an adverse economic impact of the pandemic and the most vulnerable as they rely on people to be able to travel, shop and socialise. The aim of the scheme was to provide support to as many businesses as possible in order to prevent closures and to retain jobs.