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06/08/2019
Urgent Plan Needed To Sustain Welfare Mitigation - SDLP
The SDLP has called on the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Communities to prepare an urgent plan to sustain welfare mitigations in the event that a deal to restore power sharing government cannot be reached.
SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon said: "The March 2020 deadline for a resolution to welfare mitigations is fast approaching and it's critical that we exhaust all avenues to protect the tens of thousands of people facing the hardship of the Bedroom Tax and the Benefit Cap.
"We are meeting the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities today to impress on her the urgent need for an alternative mechanism to secure mitigations as a method of last resort if it is not possible for an Executive and Assembly to legislate. The Department has confirmed that Discretionary Housing Payments for example, could be used in this scenario to protect those currently shielded from the Bedroom Tax but it is not without significant administrative and financial challenge.
Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone added: "We see the despair that Universal Credit has thrown people into every day. I am inundated with people who have reached the end of their tether with a system that is more concerned with government savings than the safety, security and welfare of those who need support.
"The SDLP's focus is on seeing a local government in place that protects and empowers all of its citizens. However a cliff edge of debt, despair and homelessness is looming in eight months when mitigations run out. It is critical that the Department for Communities is prepared for all eventualities and that includes a plan to protect those most in need."
SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon said: "The March 2020 deadline for a resolution to welfare mitigations is fast approaching and it's critical that we exhaust all avenues to protect the tens of thousands of people facing the hardship of the Bedroom Tax and the Benefit Cap.
"We are meeting the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities today to impress on her the urgent need for an alternative mechanism to secure mitigations as a method of last resort if it is not possible for an Executive and Assembly to legislate. The Department has confirmed that Discretionary Housing Payments for example, could be used in this scenario to protect those currently shielded from the Bedroom Tax but it is not without significant administrative and financial challenge.
Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone added: "We see the despair that Universal Credit has thrown people into every day. I am inundated with people who have reached the end of their tether with a system that is more concerned with government savings than the safety, security and welfare of those who need support.
"The SDLP's focus is on seeing a local government in place that protects and empowers all of its citizens. However a cliff edge of debt, despair and homelessness is looming in eight months when mitigations run out. It is critical that the Department for Communities is prepared for all eventualities and that includes a plan to protect those most in need."
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