New scheme published by a group led by Eileen Evason, a professor in social administration, includes proposals to mitigate Northern Ireland (NI) Welfare reform.
The scheme proposes supplementary payments to carers, people suffering ill health and families on low incomes.
- Claimants who lose more than £10 a week as a result being transferred from Disability Living Allowance will get payments equal to 75% of their loss.
- Claimants who have a conflict-related injury who are deemed ineligible for the new Personal Independence Payments should get extra points to help them qualify for help.
- The bedroom tax will not be introduced.
- Stormont should pilot strategies to tackle food poverty, potentially through a network of community food shops, social stores and supermarkets.
In addition, resources originally allocated to help those losing out due to tax credit cuts should be used to help those affected by the introduction of universal credit.
The overall mitigation scheme will last for four years but individual claimants will only get help for one year if eligible for help.
Prof Evason believes the sanctions regime employed in the rest of the UK has led to deaths and suicides and hopes a monitoring and protection system in NI will avoid some of the worst consequences of welfare reform.
The Evason group is funding a system of independent advice to help claimants deal with the changes.
Background
Following the failure of the NI Assembly to introduce welfare reform a Fresh Start: the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan was published on 17 November 2015 which meant that:
- The NI Assembly agreed a Legislative Consent Motion to allow the UK Government to legislate for welfare reform in Northern Ireland
- A Bill was introduced in Westminster, under a fast-track procedure, which became the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Act 2015
- £585 million was agreed to be allocated from Executive funds to “top-up” UK welfare arrangements over a four-year period, to include funding to top-up tax credits and to ensure tenants in Northern Ireland are not affected by the social sector size criteria (bedroom tax)
- A working group, to be led by Professor Eileen Evason, would bring forward proposals on how the additional funding should be used.
The new scheme, published by Evason group, comes in more than £80m under the £585m budget assigned to it as part of November's Fresh Start deal.
For more information go to the BBC website