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MLA Justin McNulty has said that the Spend Local Scheme has been blighted with problems and has called for action from DUP Economy Minister Gordon Lyons who was in charge of the scheme.
The Newry & Armagh Assembly Member commented, "My office has been inundated with requests for help from people who have not received their High Street Vouchers. The Spend Local Scheme has been blighted with problems from the get go and there have been huge issues with both identity verification and card distribution.
"Many people are telling me that, despite living at their address for decades, their applications could not be verified. Even more bizarrely, a large number of people who had their applications successfully verified did not receive their cards prior to the scheme ending – that’s just not good enough.
McNulty says those who haven't received their cards should be accommodated. "The Economy Minister needs to step in and honour the Scheme for those who, through no fault of their own, did not receive their cards. This isn’t a big ask - I’m not asking for special accommodations to be made, simply that the Economy Minister recognise that the systems his Department put in place has not delivered for those accessing the Scheme.
"This is an issue of fairness – if you do for one, you have to do for all. Minister Lyons needs to act and ensure that every person who successfully applied receives their card and has the opportunity to spend it." concluded the MLA.
