Northern Ireland has agreed, in principle, that the Scottish Government will administer payments to Independent Living Fund (ILF) recipients in Northern Ireland, following the closure of the ILF
Following a public consultation on how ILF users in Northern Ireland would be best supported after the closure of the ILF at the end of June 2015, the majority of respondees preferred the NI Government to create an ILF “successor body”.
NI Health Minister Simon Hamilton has announced:
"I have liaised closely with my counterpart in the Scottish Government, Health Secretary Shona Robison, and we have reached an in-principle agreement that ILF payments for users in Northern Ireland will be administered through the newly-created Scottish system.
This is the most cost-effective solution to ensure that ILF recipients in Northern Ireland continue to benefit, and I am pleased that we have been able to work with the administration in Scotland to achieve this."
Minister Hamilton added: "I am confident that recipients of the ILF in Northern Ireland, their families and carers will welcome this important development which underscores my commitment that my Department would do all that it could to ensure that ILF recipients in Northern Ireland would not be disadvantaged by DWP’s decision to close the fund."
View Northern Ireland Executive press release
This announcement means that England will be the only country in the UK which will not have a replacement scheme for the ILF. To find out more about what is happening to the ILF see our Factsheet F69 - independent living fund