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Welfare Reform

New regulations have been passed which make several changes to the Benefit Cap in Northern Ireland. These Regulations come into effect on 7th November 2016. 

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Welfare Reform

Housing Rights Responds on House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion:

In the course of our work, we regularly advise and represent clients who are financially excluded. In our experience, financial exclusion is a significant concern in Northern Ireland, and the patterns of this exclusion are often distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom.  Housing Rights is therefore grateful for the opportunity to offer some comments on several topics highlighted in the Select Committee’s call for evidence.

 

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Money Matters, Welfare Reform, Policy

The Housing Benefit (Abolition of the Family Premium and date of claim) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2016 will reduce the backdating period for Housing Benefit claims from six months to one month and will remove the family premium for new claimants. These changes come into effect on 5th September 2016.

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Benefits, Money Matters, Welfare Reform, Legal

A recent report by the NI Statistics and Research agency and the Department for Communities presents awareness and attitudes to welfare reform in Northern Ireland. It highlights a lack of understanding about welfare reform among those who will be affected by it.

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Welfare Reform

Housing Rights has just produced a new Professional Resource on Welfare Reform and Housing. This timely publication should prove to be essential reading for anyone giving advice to clients on the impact of the welfare reform measures.

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Money Matters, Regulation, Welfare Reform

A number of pieces of legislation which will impact on the work of housing and welfare practitioners have recently passed the Assembly.  Legislation is available online from Legislation.gov.uk.

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Practical tips, Welfare Reform, Legal

The benefits cap is to be introduced to Northern Ireland from 31st May, 2016.

What is the benefits cap?

The cap is contained in the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015, and places a limit on the total amount of benefits working-age households can receive. Benefits which count towards the calculation of the cap are:

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Benefits, Money Matters, Welfare Reform

Joint response to SSAC consultation on The Housing Benefit and State Pension Credit (Temporary Absence) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

Housing Rights and Law Centre (NI) have submitted a response to the Social Security Advisory Committee’s consultation on the Department for Work and Pensions’ proposed changes to Housing Benefit and Pension Credit, concerning temporary absences from Great Britain.

Although these Regulations initially refer to Great Britain only, it is expected that similar policies will be introduced in Northern Ireland, to ensure parity.

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Benefits, Welfare Reform, Policy

Professor Eileen Evason’s working group has published its report on how Welfare Reform should be mitigated by the NI Executive. The group’s recommendations include the full mitigation of the “bedroom tax”, and the mitigation of the household benefits cap, for an initial period of 4 years.

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Benefits, Money Matters, Social Tenancies, Welfare Reform, Policy

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