Northern Ireland Executive’s commitment to introduce new welfare reform mitigations to be ‘stopped or significantly curtailed’ in 2021/2022

Department for Communities says that commitments, including improvement of terminal illness benefit rules, mitigation of two-child limit and continued investment in welfare rights advice, will not be delivered due to 'constrained financial position'

The Northern Ireland Executive's commitment to introduce new welfare reform mitigations are to be 'stopped or significantly curtailed' in 2021/2022, the Department for Communities has said.

In a consultation on the equality impacts of the Department’s draft Budget allocations for 2021/2022, the Department highlights that it is facing a ‘constrained financial position’ which is likely to have consequences for a number of groups with protected characteristics in the coming year.

Its assessment of the likely impacts of the settlement highlights that, while funding will continue for existing welfare mitigations (of around £42.8m) including to mitigate the bedroom tax and benefit cap, there has been no Covid-19 funding allocation to address the need to increase staffing numbers to process and pay increased numbers of working-age benefits, or to increase labour market interventions to mirror the approach adopted in Great Britain. As a result, it expects that the Budget will impact on core service delivery and potentially a number of groups with protected characteristics.

In relation to new welfare mitigation measures, the Department advises that no New Decade New Approach allocation has been made, that would have delivered on the commitments made by the Executive in January 2020 that included -

• progressing changes to the Special Rules for Terminal Illness to move from a six month to 12-month criterion for benefit awards (at an estimated cost of £2m);
• continuing welfare advice sector funding (that was allocated £1.5m in 2020/2021); and
• offsetting the two-child limit (at an estimated cost of £28.8m).

As a result, the Department says these commitments will have to be 'stopped or significantly curtailed'.

For more information, see Equality Impact Assessment - Draft DfC Budget 2021-2022 from ni.gov.uk