To ask the Minister for the Economy how the recently announced High Street Voucher scheme will operate.

My Department’s High Street Voucher scheme will provide individuals with a prepaid card to be spent at ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses including retail, restaurants and hotels before the end of March 2021. It will not be available for online sales. The delivery of the scheme will inject £95m into our local economy. The multiplier effect of this innovative financial support offering – from people spending more than the value of the card and the ripple effects from purchases – will deliver even greater economic benefits and make a significant step to kick-starting our recovery. In developing the specifics of the scheme, my Department will implement learnings from Jersey, Malta and other jurisdictions that have rolled out similar initiatives. This will include considerations such as the card value, and how the card will operate in practice. As the scheme is under development, further details will be released in due course. It is anticipated that the scheme will ‘go live’ in early 2021 and its implementation will take into account all public health guidance.