Changes to Welfare Supplementary Payment regulations

Regulations have been passed to update welfare supplementary payments in Northern Ireland, in light of recent changes to the Benefit Cap.

On 20th October, we reported on changes to the Benefit Cap in Northern Ireland: specifically, the levels of the Benefit Cap would be reduced from £26,000 and £18,200 per year, to £20,000 and £13,400 respectively.

In that article, we highlighted a concern about how supplementary payments would work with the reduced Cap. The original Welfare Supplementary Payments Regulations stated that:

“The amount of a welfare supplementary payment to which a person is entitled under this regulation is the amount by which the person’s award of housing benefit is reduced, in accordance with [the Benefit Cap], on the first occasion on which it is so reduced.”

This would have meant that where a household had been affected by the higher Cap and was receiving a supplementary payment, only to be newly affected by the lower Cap, they would not be entitled to an increased, second supplementary payment. This would have contradicted the Executive’s Mitigations Working Group, which recommended that families with children affected by the Cap should be entitled to a supplementary payment, equivalent to their Cap losses, until up to 31st March 2020.

This concern has been addressed by the new Regulations. Part 2(3) of these Regulations specifies that claimants will be entitled to supplementary payments equivalent to their losses under the new, lower Cap, when this is introduced on 7th November.

Free online Welfare Reform training

Housing Rights has produced a 1-hour online training session which is free to view. If you are pressed for time, but need to know about the changes that Welfare Reform will bring, just register online for instant access. 

Advice & information

If you are affected by the Benefit Cap and want free, expert and independent advice, call the Housing Rights Helpline on 028 9024 5640, or visit housingadviceNI.org.