Welfare changes in N Ireland will be over whelming.

 The bedroom tax did not materialise here as yet, it is to be delayed for four years, with the exception of new claimaints. They will have to pay the spare room subsidy immediately. However Stormont still has not signed off on the welfare 'reform' bill yet, and when it does the amount of changes that will take place will be over whelming.

  Firstly and foremost will be the introduction of Universal credit. Universal credit is one claim per house hold, and it will have elements to it for children, spouses/partners etc. Housing benefit will be done away with and folded into this new credit, which will be done on line rather than face to face in an interview. If you do not have access to a computer then you will be accommodated with an interview, but this is really designed for you to access on line.

You will first make the claim for benefit on line, and set up your claim, and this will be available to the department, and to the tax office, and government agencies, so that it can be scrutinised in order to avoid fraud. You won't even have to tell the department about changes, they will be able to see from your claim and monitor and change things accordingly.

  The benefit cap will also apply here, this will take into account all monies you have coming in. Your JSA claim, or what ever benefit it is you are claiming will be added to your housing benefit and added together and given to you each month. This means that when you first apply there will be a months delay before you receive any money, you can apply for a hardship fund, but you will have to pay this back. If you give false information in your claim or mistaken information you will be sanctioned, and your benefit can be stopped altogether depending on how serious your infraction was.

  On job seekers, you will have to prove that you are looking for work, and attend any interviews at the jobs and benefit office because if you don't you can be sanctioned and lose money. This applies even if you are late for an interview at the jobs and benefits office. Its the sanctions that are hurting the most in England and Scotland and Wales, because you can be left completely without money and have to visit a foodbank. We are told that in northern Ireland, this will not apply, as we will be allowed more than one claim per house hold, so that if one person is sanctioned the whole family will not go without, if so this is a major thing in our favour. We shall have to wait and see.

Housing benefit here will also be available to be paid directly to the landlord or housing body rather than given to the claimaint personally, and hopefully this will not lead to as many evictions and rent arrears as we have seen across the water.

  Theres more on all of this so I will keep you posted...