AQW 49154/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 19/06/2026
Answered On Date: 30/06/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities whether any assessment has been made on how current Universal Credit rules impact second earners in low income households, given evidence that second earners can play a critical role in lifting families out of poverty.

Answer:

The Department for Communities has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of Universal Credit rules on second earners in low-income households.

Universal Credit is designed to support households into work and to ensure that work pays, with policy priority given to supporting at least one adult in a household to enter work.

The Department continues to engage with the Department for Work and Pensions on the design and operation of Universal Credit and considers relevant evidence and analysis as it becomes available.