1 in 5 employees in NI are paid below the Real Living Wage, the highest across the UK.
Advice NI is concerned that the first phase of 'Move to UC' affecting tax credits-only cases may see a significantly higher ‘drop-out’ rate than expected, and is worried about how these households will cope without income from either Tax Credits or Universal Credit.
Over half of NI households rely on credit cards and overdrafts to cover childcare during school holiday expenses. The budget allocation for childcare is only 6 per cent of the £400m required.
Leading debt charity Advice NI has partnered with Relate NI to warn against romance scams.
With the Department for Communities currently issuing thousands of Migration Notice letters each month to people on Tax Credits as part of its ‘Move to UC’ programme, we want to make sure that those affected get the right advice about the timing of their claim in order to maximise their entitlement to the 6.7% benefit uprating from April.
NI’s largest advice charity dealt with 4,062 cases and £43.4 million in household debt during 2023.
Ahead of widespread strike action and unprecedented pressure on public services, Advice NI calls for return of a functioning Assembly with local politicians prioritising spending and supporting our most vulnerable people.
People on the lowest incomes – both in and out of work – have endured a decade of austerity; with freezes and cuts to social security benefits and in-work support; hollowing out support, undermining resilience and ability to cope with adversity.
Advice NI, Rural Support and The Ulster Farmers’ Union have expressed their collective concern over the impact on many of the 134,000 self-employed people in Northern Ireland who currently rely on tax credits and who will be impacted by ‘Move to UC’.
