The next items of business are debates on two motions to approve statutory rules (SRs), both of which relate to social security benefits. I will ask the Minister to move the first motion. The Minister will then be invited to commence the debate on both motions listed in the Order Paper. When all who wish to speak have done so, I will put the Question on the first motion. I shall then call the Minister to move the second motion, and the Question on the motion will be put straight away. If that is clear — everybody is nodding — I shall proceed.

I beg to move

That the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved.

The following motion stood in the Order Paper:

That the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved. — [Mr Lyons (The Minister for Communities).]

The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate. I call on the Minister to open the debate on the motions.

The uprating package usually increases the rates of social security pensions, benefits and lump sum payments each year in line with inflation. Uprating occurs around the beginning of the tax year, and these two rules came into operation from April 2024. I seek the Assembly's approval for the two rules, which form the main part of the uprating package for 2024-25.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required to undertake an annual review of the rates of benefits in relation to the general level of prices. As most Members will be aware, my Department is empowered to make a corresponding order only when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes an uprating order in Britain. The growth in the consumer price index (CPI) is used to determine the amount by which the various rates of benefit should be increased. That allows benefit levels to maintain their value against inflation.

The percentage increase is determined by the CPI rate in the 12 months up to the previous September. CPI indicated a positive growth of 6·7% for the period to the end of September 2023. For the 2024 uprating package, that means that benefits linked to prices have been increased by 6·7%. Those are generally benefits that contribute towards extra costs that arise as a result of disability or health conditions, notably attendance allowance, disability living allowance and personal independence payment. They also include carer's allowance and the additional state pension.

In addition to increasing certain benefits in line with the increase in prices, the commitment to the triple lock continues to apply to the basic state pension and the new state pension. Those pension payments are increased in line with the highest of the growth in earnings, the growth in prices or 2·5%. The growth in earnings is measured by the increase in average weekly earnings for the quarter ending in the previous July. The UK Government's commitment to the triple lock for the basic state pension and the new state pension means that, for 2024-25, they will be uprated by 8·5%.

Where the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has discretion to increase other rates of benefits — for example, working-age benefits — those have traditionally been uprated by the growth in prices. For 2024-25, the personal standard allowances of universal credit, income support, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance will also be uprated by 6·7%, as will income-related benefits and the savings credit maximum amount in pension credit, along with statutory payments such as statutory sick pay. The standard minimum guarantee in pension credit will increase by 8·5% in line with the state pension.

As I stated, when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes an uprating order in Britain, my Department is empowered to make a corresponding order for Northern Ireland. My Department has no power to increase the amounts of benefit by a different or greater amount than that in the annual uprating order. The uprating order is the main statutory rule to provide for the increase in benefit rates. However, some technical provisions in relation to the annual uprating are required to be made by regulations and therefore cannot be included in that order.

This debate also encompasses the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, which make the technical provisions required for the accurate implementation of the increased rates. The regulations are made as a consequence of the uprating order. They also include an increase to the personal expenses allowance for residents in care homes and the earnings limit in relation to carer's allowance.

As a result of the 2024 uprating package, approximately £703 million more will be paid out by my Department to people in Northern Ireland on benefits and pensions. I understand that we might like to do more for the recipients of social security benefits and pensions, especially during the cost-of-living crisis in which we find ourselves. As I said, however, in relation to the annual uprating order, we have the power only to make a provision corresponding to the one made in Britain. I therefore welcome Members' support for the uprating order and the consequential uprating regulations, so that people in Northern Ireland can continue to receive the increased rates.

As Chairperson of the Committee for Communities, I support the motions relating to the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (NI) 2024 and the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (NI) 2024. The Committee considered the order and the draft regulations at its meeting on 11 April 2024. The Committee regularly sees secondary legislation pertaining to social security benefits, and it is aware that the order is one of several statutory rules that relate to the annual uprating of certain benefits, pensions and allowances.

Whilst any increase during a cost-of-living crisis is to be welcomed, the Committee continues to hear regularly from witnesses about the ongoing hardship faced by many of the most vulnerable in our communities.

The Committee welcomed the uprating of premiums paid to disabled people in receipt of working-age benefits — universal credit, income support, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance — by 6·7%, in line with CPI, as the Minister said. We also welcomed the fact that certain child and family elements will also be uprated in line with the increase in the relevant HMRC rates.

It is important to recognise specific adjustments such as the increase in widow's pension and the pension credit minimum guarantee. Those adjustments signify an important step in supporting our most vulnerable citizens, including widowers, pensioners and those who rely on pensions and allowances. Whilst we acknowledge those positive changes, it is crucial to recognise the ongoing challenges faced by many in our community, particularly in the cost-of-living crisis. Despite the uprating, there are pressing concerns that still need our urgent attention.

We must not overlook the fact that carers and individuals with disabilities continue to struggle to meet their daily needs. The increases in carer's allowance, disability living allowance and personal independence payments are welcome, yet they may fall short in providing the necessary support for those groups. Carers who dedicate their life to looking after a loved one and those who live with disabilities require more robust support to cope with rising costs and the financial pressures that they face daily.

Committee members have been interested in carer's allowance, having been briefed by Carers NI on how unfair that benefit is. Worth only £81·90 a week and available only to those who provide unpaid care for a minimum of 35 hours a week means that the payments are worth a maximum of £2·34 an hour, which is equivalent to nearly five times less than the national living wage. The associated uprating rule introduces a modest increase — from £139 to £151 — in the amount that a person eligible for payment of carer's allowance may earn in the preceding week without being deemed to be gainfully employed and losing their entitlement to that allowance.

Whilst the Committee commends the Department for bringing forward the adjustments, which the Committee supports, we must continue to advocate continued evaluation and enhancement of our social security system to ensure that all individuals, especially carers and those with disabilities, receive the comprehensive support that they deserve. I am content to recommend that the Assembly approve the order and the associated regulations.

I appreciate the consensus in the Chamber, as expressed by the Chair of the Committee, and the way in which the Committee dealt with this. There is clearly support for the motions today, but the Chair of the Committee rightly raises carer's allowance. We are all well aware of the issue, and I appreciate and share the concerns that were expressed. I am sure that we will come back to that in other discussions with the Committee and in the Chamber. I welcome the support for the rules applying the annual increases, and I commend the motions to the House.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved.