AQW 1002/16-21

Mr Gerry Mullan
Social Democratic and Labour Party
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 10/06/2016
Answered On Date: 23/06/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail the number of Housing Benefit claimants that have had their benefit reduced since the introduction of the Living Wage.

Answer:

The information is not available in the format requested because the Housing Executive is unable to identify Housing Benefit cases affected by the introduction of the Living Wage. This is because the information held regarding claimants’ earnings is shown as a weekly or monthly amount and may increase/decrease due to the number of hours worked. It is therefore not possible to produce data on those cases where an increase in income is as a result of the introduction of the Living Wage.