Welfare mitigation payments extended for three years

The Stormont executive has agreed to extend welfare mitigation payments for another three years.

They were brought in to soften the impact of welfare reforms on people who would have been affected by the so-called bedroom tax and the benefit cap.

The payments were due to end in March, but Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced on Thursday they will now run until 31 March 2028.

People supported by the mitigation receive it in the form of a top-up to their benefits.

More than 38,000 people received the payments in the 2023/24 financial year.

A total of £23m was paid to mitigate social sector size criteria deductions (bedroom tax) and over £1.7m was paid to mitigate the benefit cap.

The projected funding requirement for the mitigations package for 2025/26 is £47.3m.

Lyons said the extension of the mitigation payments will reassure people who get them who may have been concerned about their future financial stability.

"I recognise the importance of tackling poverty through the social security system and was determined to secure this extension to remove any 'cliff edge' resulting from the schemes' closure," he said.

"Extending these mitigation schemes will have a positive impact for people across Northern Ireland and will help to protect the most vulnerable in our society."

Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick, a lecturer at Ulster University, told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that while it was positive news that the mitigations had been extended there have been "greatly different challenges" since they were introduced in 2016.

"We have had a Covid-19 pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis that we're still living through and child poverty has increased from 19% to 24% so we need to take stock of that and we need to see more mitigations introduced," she added.

The Department is required to produce a report by 31 March 2025 assessing the existing mitigation schemes in place but Lyons said he intended to have a report by 31 December 2024.

Dr Fitzpatrick said that the Department for Communities' report should be broadened out to reflect new challenges and to provide "strengthen mitigations that meet those challenges".

The legislation for the extension of the welfare mitigation schemes will be brought forward by the minister in January 2025.

Lyons also said that "loopholes" in the payments criteria which previously existed would not be reintroduced in the updated legislation.

"I have ensured that the removal of the loopholes in the updated legislation will mean that those who are most in need of this support will receive it," he said.

Dr Fitzpatrick said the closure of the "loopholes" will make the legislation stronger and ensure that "those who are going through perhaps very vulnerable periods in their lives are going to be protected".