Welfare Reform

The Department for Communities has published results of its survey of the attitudes of people who currently claim benefits towards welfare reform. This report establishes a baseline  for future research the Department will carry out into experiences and attitudes of welfare reform and are part of a wider ongoing evaluation of welfare reform, which is being carried out by the Department. 

Our experience as a housing advice organisation is increasingly evidencing the devastating housing impact of welfare reform. We therefore welcome the finding by the NIAO  in its Welfare Reform Report 2019 that welfare reforms in Northern Ireland are ‘likely to have a major impact on housing’.

The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (SDP Gateway) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 were laid before Parliament on 14 January and will come into effect on 16 January 2019. 

Housing Rights had previously reported that a revised set of Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 would make provision that claimants of legacy benefits with Severe Disability Premiums (SDP) would not be at risk of natural migration due to the introduction of a gateway condition preventing such claimants from naturally migrating to Universal Credit as a result of changes o