£23.7m Omicron Hospitality Payments issued local businesses

Under the scheme, restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, bistros, snack bars, nightclubs, pubs, and social clubs are eligible for a one-off grant payment of either £10,000, £15,000 or £20,000 based on their rateable value.

On Wednesday, January 19, Land & Property Services (LPS) contacted 3,247 eligible businesses to verify their details to enable the Omicron Hospitality Payment to be made. To date, 2,233 businesses have confirmed their details and LPS has paid 86% of these applications.

Visiting two businesses in Belfast which received the payment, the Finance Minister said: “My Department has worked at pace to deliver this scheme and I’m delighted that over £23.7million has this week issued to hospitality businesses. These one-off grants will provide vital support to the hospitality industry which suffered a severe loss of trade as a result of Omicron.

Minister Murphy added: “I encourage businesses which still haven’t verified their details to do so quickly to enable the Omicron Hospitality Payment to be made.”

A process has also been put in place to allow new hospitality start-up businesses or those that had not previously applied to Localised Restrictions Support Scheme to apply for the Omicron Hospitality Payment.

This process and the necessary support documentation required can be found on the nibusinessinfo website at: www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/coronavirus-omicron-hospitality-payment.