Law Centre (NI) briefing

April 2010

Introduction

The Welfare Reform Bill, for England, Scotland and Wales was introduced to Parliament on 14 January 2009 and was granted Royal Assent on 12 November 2009.  The Act is the culmination of considerable work by the Government in the area of welfare reform.  The Northern Ireland version of the Bill was published on 12 April 2010.

Northern Ireland presents particular circumstances with regards to welfare reform and arrangements to move people into employment.  While benefit rates are universal across the UK there are significant differences between social security provision which recognise the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland.  The approach towards welfare reform in Northern Ireland can therefore be policy led and is not bound to the principle of parity.  While the Department for Social Development has not moved away from the major welfare reform proposals in the 2009 Act, it is possible that a different approach may be taken to conditionality, contracting out of welfare to work programmes and a number of the other initiatives in the NI Bill. 

This summary aims to highlight our particular areas of concern and our recommendations regarding the implementation of the Bill. 

Recommendations

• That pilots are run in Northern Ireland prior to any plans to roll out the changes nationally (section 1)
• The Bill should offer additional premium for lone parents in receipt of Income Support who take part in work related activity (section 2)
• The proposed change in regards to lone parents should not be implemented until a childcare strategy and suitable supportive infrastructure is in place in Northern Ireland (sections 3 & 24)
• Legislation regarding entitlement to jobseekers allowance without seeking employment, which will impact upon carers, should not be enacted until detailed proposals are ready for consultation  (section 4)
• There are a multiplicity of circumstances facing partners living with a sick or disabled person therefore a sanctions driven approach is neither helpful nor beneficial (section 5)

• That Income Support is retained until detailed alternatives are set out and consulted on.  Only after this should such a change to primary legislation be brought forward (section 9)

• That the minimum number of contribution weeks required to be paid by claimants is reduced from 26 weeks to guard against a further erosion of the national insurance contributory principle (sections 11 & 12)
• That carers or those on maternity leave who have not worked sufficiently long enough to claim statutory maternity pay should not be penalised where they have a partner who is also not working (section 14)
• Community care grants should not be paid to third party providers but should continue to be paid directly to claimants to guard against stigma and the reduction of choice for claimants (sections 15 & 16)
• No further criminal sanctions to combat fraud as benefit fraud is at the lowest ever recorded (section 19)
• Benefit sanctions should not be introduced as a response to aggressive claimants, such claimants should be dealt with through the criminal justice system (section 20)
• The legislation should allow for continued discretion in cases of domestic violence beyond the agreed 13 week period as for some victim of domestic violence 13 weeks will not be a sufficient time period for them to be fit to engage in work or work seeking activity (section 23)
• That stronger safeguards need to be put in place to ensure that personal advisers implementing the Bill are not given full discretion to determine whether a claimant has ‘good cause’ for failure to comply with regulations particularly in regards to claimant with mental health and/or learning difficulties (section 24)
• Further consideration be given to the continued pressure on lone parents to move back into work faster which does not necessarily seem to stand with a clause to take into account the well-being of the child (section 25)
• The Bill clarify who would be deemed an ‘authorised person’ as we have serious reservations regarding these proposed changes not least that private sector contractors may feel obliged to meet their contracts by getting tough on certain groups of claimants (section 26)
• That reference is made to continued research findings that the imposition of sanctions resulted in increasing interest in, or movement towards work.  We recommend against the continued reliance on sanctions as a way to propel people into work (section 27)

Conclusion

While we are unsurprised that the Department has chosen not to move away from the major welfare reform proposals, it is possible that a different approach may be taken to conditionality, contracting out of welfare to work programmes and a number of the other initiatives contained in the Welfare Reform Act 2009 for Britain.  It is of note that NI has not mirrored GB in terms of the full extent of implementation of guarantees of jobs/training etc. for 18-24 year olds so there is a precedent for doing things differently in NI.

The Law Centre believes it is appropriate to tailor a Northern Ireland approach to issues raised in Welfare Reform Act 2009 and the Bill in its current form does not adequately do this. For these reasons, we would recommend that the Bill is not adopted in Northern Ireland without further consultation and consideration of the Northern Ireland context and that consideration is given to a modified legislative approach in Northern Ireland. 

If the infrastructure to support the introduction of many of the clauses within the Bill is not in place we would urge the Assembly to first work on developing the infrastructure required to support and enable the enactment of the Bill rather than passing the Bill as it stands. 

The proposals within the Bill have been known for a considerable period of time and the delay in publishing a Northern Ireland Bill has been unfortunate.  Given the proposals within the Bill and the specific Northern Ireland context we think it is important that a full debate can occur on the practical consequences of the proposals within the Bill.