Northern Ireland

Executive agrees £338m Covid-19 support package

Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Belfast
Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Belfast

The Stormont Executive has agreed a £338m support package, including £213m for businesses, ahead of two weeks of strict restrictions from Friday November 27 to suppress the spread of coronavirus.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy said the funding comes from £400 million which Stormont received from the Treasury two weeks ago.

Current support measures, including the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme and the Department for Economy's Covid Restrictions Business Support Schemes, will be extended.

£213m of the £338m has been set aside for businesses and another £150m has been set aside for a potential extended rates holiday for businesses from April 2021.

The £213m package for businesses includes:

  • Additional £55m for rates-based grant scheme (£90m total) – extended to include non-essential retail, leisure and entertainment businesses required to close for two weeks
  • £95m high street voucher scheme (via a pre-paid card)
  • £20m has also been allocated for a scheme for company directors, who were previously excluded from government support.
  • £20m to extend rates holiday for manufacturers
  • £10.6m for ‘wet pubs’
  • £5m top-up to tourism and hospitality scheme
  • £4.1m for B&Bs (aimed at 953 businesses)
  • £3m to extend digital selling capability grant

Department for Communities

The Department for Communities has been allocated £71.5m and £44.3m of that will go toward a one-off heating payment of £200 to "disabled people on higher rate allowances and older people in receipt of pension credit".

Further DfC allocations include:

  • £10m for councils and sport
  • £2.25m for social enterprise
  • £5m for charitable grants

Department of Education

The Department of Education has been allocated £20.6m for Covid response and £5.8m for 'Covid education restart measures' which includes free school meals during holidays.

The above business support measures are in addition to the £60m previously allocated for the Department for the Economy’s schemes which includes the Covid Restrictions Business Support Scheme (CRBSS and the Department for Infrastructure's £6m for taxi, bus and coach.