A HARDSHIP fund set up for businesses left out of Stormont’s rate-based support scheme has attracted 2,170 applications.
But just 106 applications had been verified by midnight on Sunday, with payments made to just 51 businesses, the Department for the Economy (DfE) said yesterday.
The Covid Restrictions Business Support Scheme offers £600 a week to the firms forced to close by Stormont’s health regulations, but unable to apply to the rate-based scheme run by the Department of Finance (DoF).
Hospitality and close contact businesses have been closed since October 16.
With just days to go until the end of the four-week partial lockdown, DfE said it is not yet in a position to announce a date for the opening of the second part of the scheme for businesses in the supply chain impacted by the restrictions.
A DfE spokesperson said applications for part B will open “as soon as possible”, adding: “The department is working on this as a matter of priority.”
The Localised Restrictions Support Scheme (LRSS) was initially announced for the Derry and Strabane council area by Finance Minister Conor Murphy, before being extended to the whole of Northern Ireland on October 19.
It offers payments of £800 to £1,600 a week to rate-paying businesses mandated to close by legislation.
The Department of Finance said yesterday that the LRSS had attracted 11,200 applications. To date, £7.15 million has been issued to 2,142 businesses. A further 300 applications have failed to meet the criteria.
That number is expected to climb as the process continues.
A DoF spokesperson said: “Financial Regulations to enable payments to be made to all council areas under this scheme came into effect on Friday 30 October.
“Land & Property Services are working through applications as quickly as possible.
“Once an application has been processed and verified, an applicant will receive an email to advise them of payment - this will normally follow within three working days of the email.”
The Department for the Economy has said it is still working on two additional schemes announced on October 22.
Economy Minister Diane Dodds said she had tasked her officials with developing news schemes for tourism and hospitality and a separate scheme for the recently self-employed.
“The department continues to work on development of further support schemes as a matter of priority,” said a DfE spokesperson.
“Further details on these schemes will be made available in due course."
