Mid and East Antrim Housing Investment Plan 2019-23
Strategic Context The Housing Executive developed the Housing Investment Plan 2019-23 within the context of the Northern Ireland policy framework.
Welfare Reform
Welfare Reform has meant significant changes to the benefit system for people of working age in Northern Ireland. Whilst all of the changes have had some effect on the Housing Executive, those which have had most impact are Social Sector Size Criteria (Bedroom Tax), Universal Credit and Benefit Cap. In March 2019 Social Sector Size Criteria, for example, was directly impacting on 24,587 Housing Executive tenants; meanwhile 230 were affected by Benefit Cap. However, there are measures in place for people in Northern Ireland to reduce the impact of many of the welfare changes, including Social Sector Size Criteria and Benefit Cap. These Welfare Supplementary Payments (mitigation) are available until March 2020 and are administered by the Department for Communities (DfC). Universal Credit, which is being implemented by DfC, replaces a number of working age benefits, including Housing Benefit. It was introduced in Northern Ireland on a geographical basis between September 2017 and December 2018 for new working age claimants of those benefits being replaced. Roll-out has also meant that existing working age claimants of these benefits, who have a significant change in their circumstances, naturally migrate to Universal Credit. By March 2019, the Housing Executive had 5,944 tenants claiming Universal Credit. Natural migration to Universal Credit continues and will do so until Universal Credit is fully implemented through ‘managed migration’ where working-age customers on the relevant benefits will be moved to Universal Credit. This is due to start January 2020 and finish by December 2023 and it is anticipated that some 45,000 Housing Executive working age tenants will be affected by Universal Credit when roll-out is complete. Housing Benefit’s caseload is gradually decreasing and this reduction is likely to continue as Universal Credit’s managed migration phase takes effect. However, Housing Benefit will still have a significant number of customers, approximately 44,000, of State Pension Credit age as well as customers living in supported accommodation or who are placed in temporary accommodation.
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