AQW 17048/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 08/04/2021
Answered On Date: 14/04/2021
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance how many Localised Restrictions Support Scheme applicants were notified regarding Eligibility Reassessments during the week commencing 29 March 2021.

Answer:

The financial support under the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme (LRSS) is linked to the restrictions placed on businesses by the Health Protection Regulations. These restrictions have changed several times since October 2020, making the LRSS increasingly complex to administer. Land & Property Services (LPS) has been regularly reviewing all approved applications to ensure the scheme is being administered in line with the associated regulations and to identify instances where incorrect payments have been made, including payments made outside of the scope of the regulations.

LPS wrote to 480 businesses during the week commencing the 29 March 2021 regarding an overpayment or incorrect payment in respect of their LRSS application. The amount involved in these cases is £4.26 million, which is less than 1.6% of all payments made under the scheme to date. Businesses have the opportunity to appeal the Department’s decision and provide further evidence to support their eligibility for the LRSS payments. This is expected to result in payments continuing to some of these businesses thereby reducing the overall amount of overpayments. Similarly if a business is eligible for one of the new Covid-19 support grants I announced on 15 March 2021, this can be offset against any overpayments. LPS will enter into a payment arrangement with any business which needs additional time to make any repayments.