New regulations have been made available which make provision for some of the mitigation payments for people who will be affected by welfare reform in Northern Ireland: contribution-based ESA and benefit cap.

The regulations have now cleared the Committee stage. They are due to be debated at the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday 14 March.

It is highly likely that they will be approved in their current form. The Assembly cannot amend the regulations but can only express a wish for them to be annulled or passed into law. 

Find out more about what the Welfare Reform Supplementary Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 will mean in practice.

You can also download the full text of the regulations and explanatory memorandum.