SDLP Calls for Urgent Action On Universal Credit Wait

The SDLP has called for "immediate intervention" to address the harmful impact of a five-week wait for Universal Credit payments.

Warning that the delay is pushing vulnerable individuals into debt. and in some cases towards illegal lending, Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said: "The five-week wait and inextricable links with illegal money lending is yet another hook paramilitaries and organised crime groups use to tighten their grip on our communities. It is a quiet, untold threat that preys on vulnerability and desperation- emboldened by the disaster that is Welfare Reform. The delay in access to Universal Credit is not only debt inducing but dangerous. It's a gateway for loan sharks to step in, offer a way out with no credit checks, no paperwork - just a promise of fast cash."

Mr Durkan went on to state that one fear and intimidation take hold "victims are understandably reluctant to come forward". He continued: "This reluctance suggests the issue is far more widespread than reported. We know that the Contingency Fund isn't routinely mentioned. Those who I've spoken with were completely unaware of its existence. It's clear that the current framework is inaccessible and is failing those it's supposed to support.

"We need to see the renaming of the Contingency Fund and the department and its staff must do more to promote it, update guidance to expand its use and increase the budget to ensure it achieves its intended purpose of helping those struggling with the five-week wait.

"What's even more worrying than the inaccessibility of the Contingency Fund is the indifference of Minister Lyons. When asked about this issue, and the department's research into debt, poverty, and illegal money lending, he referred me back to a previous answer given a year ago. Not only has research not been conducted, but he has no plans to address it.

"This is the reality of the erosion of social welfare under Welfare Reform. What was once a safety net has become gaping hole, allowing people to fall into the jaws of the predatory loan shark. The SDLP will push to deliver the immediate renaming and reform of the Contingency Fund, targeted investment to eliminate the 5-week wait and collaboration on a leaflet to be included with every managed migration notice, ensuring claimants are fully informed of the risks of illegal money lending and signposted to appropriate support.

"People shouldn't be forced to live in fear to make ends meet."