THOUSANDS IN DERRY TO BE AFFECTED BY WELFARE CHANGES

Thousands of Derry welfare claimants of Universal Credit (UC) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are to be affected by the welfare cuts announced by the Labour government unless Stormont step in with mitigations.

In March, Labour announced a raft of changes to save millions in welfare spending. While this will affect England and Wales directly. Northern Ireland normally follows the same processes as England. 

Incapacity benefits under universal credit will be frozen in cash terms for existing claimants at £97 per week from April next year, this means they will not be increased in line with inflation until 2029/30. Those aged under 22 will no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up to universal credit under these proposals.

For PIP the eligibility criteria will be tightened up from November 2026, potentially resulting in reduced payments for many. However the government has said those with the most severe conditions will no longer have to have regular assessments.

It's not clear yet if the Northern Ireland government will put mitigations in place.