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Benefits changes 'being done over our heads', says Hanna

Getty Images Close up of hand of woman wearing a white shirt taking out five pound blue banknotes from her green purse Getty Images
The benefits system is devolved in Northern Ireland

Changes to the benefits system introduced by the government are disempowering for Northern Ireland, the leader of the SDLP has said.

On Tuesday, the government unveiled sweeping changes aimed at saving £5bn a year by 2030.

The changes will make it harder for people with less severe conditions to claim disability payments.

Extra benefit payments for health conditions will also be frozen for current claimants and nearly halved for new applicants.

The benefits system is devolved in Northern Ireland but in practice the Stormont administration mostly copies what is happening in England and Wales.

The Northern Ireland Executive does not have the resources to mitigate Labour's plans, the communities minister has said.

Claire Hanna, a woman with short curly dark hair, in a black blazer with a patterned purple and black blouse, sat at a black desk with a notebook and a water glass in front of her, sat in the View studio
Claire Hanna says the NI Executive should not rely on the British government to address the issue

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the overhaul would create a more "pro-work system" to encourage people to take up jobs, while protecting those who cannot work.

However, speaking on BBC NI's The View programme, SDLP leader Claire Hanna said that it was disempowering for Northern Ireland "to be in the UK constitutional system where reforms like this this happen over our heads and that we have almost no say over".

"But where we do have power is locally so no doubt we shouldn't be relying on the UK government to sort this out," Hanna said.

"But there's a lot the executive could be doing – where's the anti-poverty strategy that we've been talking about for absolutely years?

"Where are the measures to address properly waiting lists, particularly in mental health?

"These are the things that are obviously driving our high claimants."

Carla Lockhart, a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a black blazer and a blue blouse
Carla Lockhart says reforms are needed but people who most need help must be supported

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart of the DUP told the programme: "For me it's about supporting the genuine claimants and supporting those who really do need a compassionate and caring government.

"I want the government to reform the welfare system because there are people who are abusing it, those people shouldn't be allowed to continue to abuse it."

She said she thought her party colleague and communities minister Gordon Lyons "will take a very sensible approach with this".

"I don't believe any party around the executive table will expect the minister to find £150m [to mitigate the changes] behind the sofa," she said.

"But I know we have a minister who wants to get people back into work who is actively working on strategies to get people back into work."

Sorcha Eastwood, a woman with long dark hair, in a black blazer with a white blouse, sat in the View studio
Sorcha Eastwood says countries are judged on how they look after their most vulnerable citizens

Sorcha Eastwood of the Alliance Party said that people are "really frightened" about the changes.

"People are looking for leadership, they are looking to know that actually some of us give a damn and will look out for them," she said.

"We are still in the UK an incredibly rich country and we righty judge countries on how they look after the most vulnerable, how they take care of them.

"And if this is what's on offer, I think it's an absolutely disgusting refection on where we are in 2025."

She added: "I think people in Northern Ireland want to see leadership, I think they want to see people banding together and saying the same thing which is that these cuts should be opposed."

What changes has the government announced to benefits?

House of Commons Liz Kendall has brown hair down to her shoulders and black-rimmed glasses. She is speaking at a podium in the House of Commons and is wearing a dark blue suit jacket and white top. House of Commons
Liz Kendall announced the changes in the House of Commons earlier this week

The UK government has said the changes they have announced will save £5bn a year by the end of 2030.

It will be harder to claim the key disability benefit Pip, which is paid to people who have difficulty completing everyday tasks or getting around as a result of a long-term physical or mental health condition.

It is not means tested and is available to people who are working. The payments will go up in line with inflation this year.

The eligibility criteria will be tightened up from November 2026, and so it will become harder to qualify for the daily living component of Pip.

The government plans more frequent reassessments for many people claiming Pip. However, those with the highest levels of a permanent condition or disability will no longer face reassessment.

What is Pip?

Personal Independence Payment (Pip) is a benefit for people under state pension age who need help with daily activities or getting around, due to a long-term illness or disability.

It can be claimed by people who are in work as well as those out of work.

It is not means tested so income, savings or other assets don't affect eligibility or the amount someone can receive.

It has two components, one for daily living and one for mobility. The maximum weekly payment is £184.30.

The most recent figures, from November 2024, suggest just under 218,000 people in NI were receiving Pip.

How many people in NI don't work due to sickness and disability?

At the end of last year there were around 318,000 "economically inactive" people - not in work and not looking for work - in NI. Of that 118,000, or 37%, were long term sick.

NI had an overall economic inactivity rate of almost 27%, compared to the UK average of 21.5%.

Since 2019 the number of people in Northern Ireland who are inactive due to sickness has increased by a third, according to an Ulster University Economic Policy centre analysis, of official data.

It found that, since 2022, long-term sickness levels in NI have reached record highs, "to the point that over one in ten (11%) of all working age individuals are economically inactive due to ill health."

A separate analysis of people classified as disabled under the 2010 Equality Act looked at the main reported health conditions.

It found that at the end of 2021 almost one in five (19%) disabled people reported specifically suffering from depression, bad nerves or anxiety, increasing from 10% a decade earlier.