Ulster Unionist Party Economy spokesperson, John Stewart MLA, has stated that the exclusion of licenced sports and social clubs from Stormont business support schemes is threatening their ability to reopen after the pandemic. 

John Stewart MLA said: 

“For the umpteenth time I have raised the issue of the exclusion of sports and social clubs from the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme, and again the Finance Minister has repeated the mantra that clubs should go to the Department for Communities’ Sports Sustainability Fund, administered by Sport NI. 

“Minister Murphy even told me during Question Time at the Assembly in relation to the SSF, “The scheme is not yet fully subscribed, which means that there is funding available in it. I encourage sports clubs to apply...” 

“This ignores the inconvenient facts that according to the Sport NI website, the SSF application deadline was 20 January and that individual sports clubs cannot even apply for this anyway. They had to do it through their governing body. Added to this, many clubs I know have only been told of their ineligibility in the last couple of weeks, after waiting since applying in the autumn. 

“Sports and social clubs have had to close their bar and entertainment areas on an almost continuous basis since the end of last March. They are not eligible for the Department for Economy’s ‘Wet Pubs Business Support Scheme’ and it appears that their ineligibility for the LRSS was only confirmed just before Christmas. It does not appear that the Ministers for Finance, Communities and Economy are talking to each other or singing off the same hymn sheet when it comes to COVID business support grants. If they don’t collectively get their act together soon, before the end of this financial year, I fear that many of our local sports clubs will not be able to re-open their doors, when restrictions are eventually lifted.”