Outrage As Stormont Spends Over £1,000 On Cakes Marking Universal Credit

A Stormont department has been widely criticised for spending £1,125 on cakes to celebrate the rollout of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland.

Civil servants feasted on the sweet treats to mark the occasion after a busy period introducing the scheme, which combines six benefits into one single payment.

The 40 cakes had the words 'Universal Credit' and 'UC' iced onto them.

The decision of the Department for Communities (DfC) was met with widespread anger amid delays in payments leaving claimants across Northern Ireland facing serious financial difficulties, with some forced to turn to local foodbanks.

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon described the move as "tasteless and insensitive".

"It is true front line staff are working hard and that should be recognised. It is also true however that Universal Credit, and the minimum five-week wait for your first payment, is causing financial hardship especially in North Belfast, Antrim and Ballymena where it is being rolled out in the mouth of Christmas," the north Belfast MLA said.

"To brand cakes with the Universal Credit logo is tasteless and insensitive. It shows a careless disregard for the impact it is having on those families forced into debt and in through the doors of food banks.

"How can anyone have thought this was a good idea?"

The process of implementing the new welfare system began last year and finished earlier this month, prompting the delivery of cakes across departmental branches.

There have been calls for an end to the benefit as it has forced some claimants into rent arrears and homelessness, and thousands are believed to be worse-off due to cuts to disability premiums and single-parent allowances.

Defending the purchase of cakes, a DfC spokeswoman said in a statement: "The process of rolling out Universal Credit in Northern Ireland began in September 2017 and was completed on 05 December 2018.

"This was a significant and challenging implementation effort for the department, involving the recruitment and training of almost 2,000 staff across 40 locations throughout the province.

"To mark the completion of this task, a total of £1,125 was spent to purchase 40 cakes which were shared amongst 2,000 staff at team building events across Northern Ireland.

"The cakes were provided to mark the end of the introduction of Universal Credit, recognising the commitment and hard work of staff in delivering the new service to customers across Northern Ireland."

People Before Profit MLA for west Belfast Gerry Carroll also hit out at the move in a post on Twitter. He wrote: "What a slap in the face for everyone going through U.C. and PIP by the department who not only sees fit to implement a cruel system but to gloat and celebrate it by spending a grand on cakes."

UUP MLA for Lagan Valley, Robbie Butler added: "I'm all for team building and rewarding hard work, but who on earth thought highlighting something as flawed and concerning as Universal Credit implementation was a good idea?"



(JG/CM)