The Impact of Welfare Reform in Northern Ireland

The tables in this dataset break down the Welfare Reform changes into 9 categories: 1. Housing Benefit: Local Housing Allowance (LHA): Rules governing assistance with the cost of housing for low-income households in the private rented sector 2. Housing Benefit: under-occupancy reduction: New rules governing the size of properties for which payments are made to working age claimants in the social rented sector (widely known as the ‘bedroom tax’). 3. Incapacity benefits (inc. ESA): Out-of-work payments to men and women of working age with health problems or disabilities, including Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and its predecessors Incapacity Benefit, Income Support on grounds of disability, and Severe Disablement Allowance. 4. Disability Living Allowance (PIP): Payments intended to help offset the additional financial costs faced by individuals of all ages with disabilities, including those both in and out of work. 5. Child Benefit: Paid to households on the basis of the number of children up to age 16 or, if they remain at school or in further education, up to 19. 6. Tax Credits: Payments through the tax system of Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Working Tax Credit (WTC) to lower and middle income households. 7. Non-dependent deductions: Deductions from Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit (Regional Rate Rebate in Northern Ireland) and other income-based benefits to reflect the contribution that non-dependant household members are expected to make towards the household’s housing costs. 8. Household benefit cap: New ceiling on total payments per household applying to wide range of benefits, including Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Incapacity Benefit, Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance. 9. 1% up-rating: Annual up-rating of value of benefits by 1% (instead of by CPI) for three years (from 2013-14) for main working-age benefits, and for two years (from 2014-15) for Child Benefit and for LHA. Where referred to throughout, an "adult" means a working-age adult i.e. 16-64 years-old.