Law and Policy Briefing - Discretionary Support Service

Discretionary Support was introduced in November 2016 to replace aspects of the Social Fund, which has largely been abolished. In this briefing, Law Centre NI takes stock of the Discretionary Support scheme. As the Department for Communities is obliged to review the scheme within a year of its commencement, Law Centre NI makes a number of recommendations designed to improve transparency and effectiveness of the scheme.

Download (PDF 474.071 KB)

Response: Special rapporteur for extreme poverty and human rights (2018)

We urge Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, to visit Northern Ireland to hear from the Welfare Reform Group and others about our concerns around Universal Credit, procedural and administrative fairness, Brexit, austerity and issues faced by migrants.

Download (PDF 306.939 KB)

Social justice

Law and Policy Briefing - Discretionary Support Service

Response: Special rapporteur for extreme poverty and human rights (2018)