AQW 421/16-21

Mr Mark Durkan
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Foyle

Tabled Date: 01/06/2016
Answered On Date: 15/06/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities how many claimants are (i) affected by the current benefit cap; (ii) will be affected by the benefit cap introduced under the Welfare Reform and Work Act; (iii) have children; and (iv) will receive transitional support for any loss in income up to 2020.

Answer:

The Benefit Cap, with a household limit of £26,000, was introduced in Northern Ireland on 31 May 2016.

There are 529 households in Northern Ireland that may be impacted by the current Benefit Cap.

The Welfare Reform and Work Act will reduce the Benefit Cap threshold to £20,000 later this year. It is currently estimated that just under 2,500 households in Northern Ireland may be impacted by this cap.

Each of the 529 households contain children. Almost all of the estimated 2,500 households have children, the number of households with no children is in single figures.

The Northern Ireland Executive has put arrangements in place to provide financial support for those people impacted by the Benefit Cap. An additional supplementary payment may be available up to 31 March 2020 for households with children.