The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 18) (Abolition of Benefits) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

This Order amends the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 18) (Abolition of Benefits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 ( S.R. 2025 No. 176 (C. 3) (“the No. 18 Order”).

The No. 18 Order appointed 1st April 2026 for ending future entitlement to income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance. This Order inserts new Articles 3A and 7 which make corresponding provision in relation to income-related employment and support allowance and housing benefit.

Income-related employment and support allowance is the income-related element of the “old style” allowance. The “ amending provisions ” (as defined in the No. 18 Order) are the mechanism for abolishing entitlement to that element and converting any entitlement to the contributory element into the “new style” allowance.

Article 2 of the No. 18 Order brought the amending provisions into force in relation to awards of old style employment and support allowance where the claimant was receiving only the contributory element. New Article 3A appoints 1st October 2026 for the coming into operation of those provisions in relation to any remaining awards. This is subject to a saving provision for cases where either the claimant has an appointee or the Department determined within the previous 6 months that an appointee was likely to be needed. The saving provision does not prevent the award from being terminated as a consequence of a claim for universal credit or a failure to claim universal credit by the deadline specified in a migration notice.

Article 6 of the No. 18 Order brought the abolition of housing benefit into force from 14th November 2025 in cases where working age claimants who were receiving only that benefit moved from temporary or specified accommodation.

New Article 7 appoints 1st October 2026 for the general abolition of housing benefit (except certain prisoners for whom the abolition takes effect on their release). The abolition is subject to a general saving provision for any claimant who is exempt from the restrictions on new claims for housing benefit. These exemptions include claimants who are over state pension age and claimants who are under that age and occupying temporary or specified accommodation. Where the saving provision in new Article 3A(2) applies to a claimant with an award of income-related employment and support allowance, it also applies to their housing benefit award.