Labour plans to slash benefits are still only discussions - but if passed in Westminster Stormont will not stop them - expert

Senior lecturer in Social Policy at Ulster University, Goretti Horgan, was speaking after Prime Minister Keir Starmer floated plans for major changes to the benefits system aimed at cutting the growing amount the UK spends on welfare.

The government proposes stricter tests for personal independence payments (PIPs) which are paid to people who have difficulty completing everyday tasks or getting around as a result of a long-term physical or mental health condition.

Those aged under 22 would no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up to universal credit under these proposals. The government also says it wants to ease people's fears about losing benefits if they take a job and it doesn't work out.

Ministers in Northern Ireland are set to work out the implications for NI of the major shake-up.

Ms Horgan said it was crucial to note that the proposed cuts were only in the form of a Government Green Paper.

"This is just a discussion paper - they are not even yet in the form of a white paper, which are formal proposals," she told the News Letter on Wednesday.

She is linked up with anti-poverty campaigners and disability campaigners from right across the UK who are determined to make sure that the ideas never become law.

The academic believes the proposed new standards to qualify for PIPs are unrealistically high and would leave many disabled people without the extra benefits they need to cope with life.

However, if they do she does not think Stormont will take any mitigating actions.

"I don't think that Stormont will do anything about it, frankly, if, if it does go ahead," she told the News Letter.

"Communities minister Gordon Lyons said it would cost Stormont about £150 million a year so I think the chances of Stormont taking on that cost are really slim to nill.

"That is why it's so important to make sure that this is not passed in Westminster in the first place."

The DUP told the News Letter on Wednesday that it would fight the changes at Westminster.

North Belfast DUP MLA Brian Kingston said: “"We will continue to engage with the Government and put forward the strongest possible arguments for Northern Ireland."

He said the cost of mitigating the cuts to NI could be £150m.

" Given the significant pressures already facing public services here it is clear the Executive does not have the resources to plug this gap.”

First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said the Stormont Executive “must stand united in opposing these devastating cuts”, adding: “I will make my opposition unequivocally clear to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer”.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said mitigations for the new changes could cost £150 million.

He added: “Those aren’t resources that we have at our disposal so we will continue to engage with the government to see which of these changes will apply in Northern Ireland and continue to make the case to make sure that those in need are protected at the same time as protecting taxpayers as well.”

A DfC spokesperson said: “Officials are continuing to work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand the full implications of the changes announced yesterday for Northern Ireland.

“The Minister has said that he wants to ensure that Northern Ireland has a welfare system that is fair for claimants and taxpayers and protects the most vulnerable. He will continue to engage with the UK Government to ensure that this happens, and also with Executive colleagues as Northern Ireland does not have the resources to mitigate against these changes.”