AQW 14652/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 09/09/2024
Answered On Date: 23/09/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health when the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 will be updated to include the term Universal Credit.

Answer:

Work is underway in advance of updating the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004. The focus of this work is to reinstate automatic passporting for those eligible to receive free sight tests and free Health Service dental treatment through the Help with Health Care (HwHC) scheme following the migration of their benefits to Universal Credit (UC) by the Department for Communities (DfC).

Currently there is no automatic entitlement system for UC recipients. As an interim solution, UC recipients must annually apply through the Department’s Low Income Scheme. These individuals must complete a paper based application form called a HC1 and return it to DfC who will issue a health service certificate to those who are eligible. This has obvious implications for some of our most vulnerable people and it is clear that there is an urgent need to update our legislation to reinstate automatic passporting to those who are eligible.

It is not the case that in Great Britain (GB) all Universal Credit recipients are automatically eligible for help with health care costs including free eye tests. In GB, an earnings threshold is applied alongside Universal Credit to determine eligibility

The Department of Health is currently liaising with other Northern Ireland departments and colleagues in GB. This will inform the decision on setting the income threshold for UC becoming an automated passport benefit. A short public consultation will be conducted in the coming months on proposed changes to our legislation in relation to UC, with the associated legislative process commencing in due course thereafter.