AQW 49277/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 22/06/2026
Answered On Date: 01/07/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any mitigating actions his Department is taking, in response to reductions in Universal Credit health-related elements for new claimants, as highlighted in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's report, Disability and poverty in Northern Ireland 2026.

Answer:

The payable rates of Universal Credit are set by the UK Government and under the principle of parity, the same rates are paid to claimants in Northern Ireland.

My Department currently has no plans to introduce any mitigation measures in response to reductions in the Universal Credit health-related element for new claimants.