Welfare Reform

A research initiative from the University of Ulster and the University of York plans to explore claimant perspectives on the experience of receiving Universal Credit as well as developing recommendations for the future evolution of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland. The project also hopes to generate lessons about the specific and distinctive operation of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland that can be shared with policymakers in the rest of the UK.

Mitigation payments have really helped the people of Northern Ireland to deal with the financial stresses created by welfare reforms like the bedroom tax. These mitigations are shortly due to end, something that will cause pain and hardship for many. However, mitigation payments can and have been lost. Victoria, one of our advisers recently assisted a client facing eviction due to the loss of his mitigation payment.

Housing Executive research has found that reclassifying the areas used to set benefit levels for private tenants could have serious affordability impacts on young people in Northern Ireland.