The key points are:
At 22 October 2021:
- There was a 79 per cent take-up rate of verified applications for the NI High Street Scheme compared to the NI population aged 18 and over.
- 82 per cent of females and 77 per cent of males had applied and been verified for the Spend Local card.
- 87 per cent of verified applications for the Spend Local card were from persons without a disability and 13 per cent were from persons with a disability. This compares to an estimate of 28 per cent for the prevalence of disability in the population2.
- 74 per cent of those aged 18-34 had applied and been verified for the Spend Local card compared to 81 per cent of those aged 35-49, 83 per cent of those aged 50-64 and 81 per cent of those aged 65 and over.
- The take–up rate of verified applicants with a valid postcode3 for the NI High Street Scheme was highest (84 per cent) in Ards & North Down Local Government District and lowest (73 per cent) in Belfast Local Government District.
2 Data on limiting long-term illness for those aged 16+ from the Continuous Household Survey 2019/2020.
3Note 1,143 applicants have been removed due to not having a postcode which matches a postcode in the postcode directory