Ulster Unionist Economy spokesperson, John Stewart MLA, has called for Diane Dodds and Conor Murphy to focus on better delivery of financial support to businesses using the funds which the UK Exchequer has given to the Northern Ireland Executive.

John Stewart MLA said:

“Whilst most of the attention has been on the immediate public health crisis we face and the impact on schools and exams, there also needs to be a focus on the economic effects of all this.

“The problem continues to be that there is confusion and an almost total lack of communication about financial support for businesses. I am being inundated with business owners coming to me complaining that they have applied in good faith for grant support from the various schemes that have been announced and administered from the Departments of Economy and Finance. They cannot get any updates about their applications from the bureaucracy that has been set up to administer them.

“The most blatant example is the Localised Restriction Support Scheme (LRSS) which was initially established in October when close contact services and hospitality were told to close by the Executive.

“There are people who applied in October who have still not been told whether they will get a grant. Some have been waiting so long they have made another application which has just added to the delay and confusion. Since the start of December I have been unable to get any response whatsoever from Land and Property Services who are administrating this scheme on behalf of the Department of Finance, about individual applications.

“Then there is the Department of Economy’s COVID Restrictions Business Support Scheme (CRBSS) for businesses not eligible for the LRSS.  Applications for it have now expired and there is no official word about whether it will be reopened or continued now that we are into another extended lockdown period. A significant cohort of businesses still missed out on the newly self-employed scheme that was launched by Minister Dodds late last year.  With the Chancellor having announced an extra £594m in support for businesses not eligible for grants up to now, there surely cannot be any more excuses for excluding any self-employed people.

“Other Ministers have been called back to the Assembly to make emergency statements on education and health. We need the other Executive Ministers to start pulling their weight as well. We need Ministers Dodds and Murphy to make a statement to the Assembly and answer the questions that I am getting on a day and daily basis.  What financial support is going to be available to get businesses through these difficult months which are ahead of us all? Money has been made available from the UK Exchequer. Stormont Ministers must guarantee that it will be distributed quickly and equitably to the businesses that need it to survive through to the other side of this pandemic.”