Ulster Unionist Councillor Sonia Copeland has warned that thousands of local families face the prospect of serious financial hardship if a local Executive is not re-established in time to renew welfare mitigation measures.

Sonia Copeland said:

“Welfare reform was meant to have simplified the overall benefits system but instead all it has done is make it even more complicated and drive even more people into financial hardship.

“Fortunately however, as bad as the actual implementation of many of the reforms have been, Northern Ireland has been partially shielded from the worst aspects as a result of the mitigation payments that all Parties previously agreed to in 2015.

“The legislation for the mitigation measures however will expire in March 2020 and the Department of Communities here has repeatedly said that decisions on the provision of any future support from April that year can only be a matter for incoming Ministers.

“It’s bad enough the Department didn’t spend £136m of the £213m that it could have in the first two years, but now there is a very real risk that the ongoing political squabbling at Stormont could see tens of thousands of local people here penalised just because there is unlikely to be a Minister in place to sign off on a new set of measures.

“I hope that the two larger Parties at Stormont come to their senses sooner rather than later and realise that people are genuinely suffering. It would be ridiculous if political ideologies and priorities got in the way of new set of welfare support measures, especially as they are so important to some of the most vulnerable people in society.”