Fast track access to welfare is delivered for dying people in Northern Ireland
Comment published
Today (Monday 24 January 2022) The Social Security (Terminal Illness) Bill reaches its final stage in the Assembly. The bill will extend provision of fast-track benefit applications to more dying people in Northern Ireland.
Craig Harrison, Policy Manager for Marie Curie Northern Ireland, said:
Today (24 January 2022) is a hard-won victory for terminally ill people across Northern Ireland. The passage of this bill will deliver fast-track access to welfare benefits for thousands of dying people in the years ahead, helping to provide the financial security and peace of mind we would all want as we approach the end of our lives.
"Until now, far too many terminally ill people in Northern Ireland have been spending their final weeks and months fighting against the bureaucracy of the benefits system. The Assembly has acted decisively to change that, ripping up a cruel rule from Westminster and showing just what a difference Stormont can make to the lives of local people.
"We will continue to monitor the impact of the new system to ensure it as working as well as it can for as many dying people as possible.
Notes to editor
• Currently, people living with terminal illnesses in the UK can apply for fast-track access to Personal Independence Payments, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and Attendance Allowance under a legal mechanism called the Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) – but only if they can provide evidence that they have a life expectancy of 6 months or less.
• Marie Curie has campaigned for four years in Northern Ireland for the six month life expectancy criterion to be scrapped as it results in many dying people with unpredictable conditions being excluded from making Special Rules benefit claims. Many terminal illnesses have an uncertain trajectory, so it is difficult for medical professionals to give them a definitive life expectancy of six months or less.
• The Social Security (Terminal Illness) Bill will pass its Final Stage in the NI Assembly on 24 January. The bill will extend the life expectancy criteria under the Special Rules from 6 months to 12, resulting in 1,010-1,840 more dying people in Northern Ireland accessing fast-track benefits every year, according to estimates from the Department for Communities. See: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/s75-social-security-terminal-illness-bill.pdf.
Tags:
- Policy