SDLP minister lashes Sinn Fein ‘spin’ over Universal Credit mitigation scheme

By Rebecca Black, PA

SDLP minister Nichola Mallon has lashed Sinn Fein for “spin” around a decision not to approve an extension in Northern Ireland to the £20 uplift to Universal Credit.

Earlier, Finance Minister Conor Murphy defended the decision not to approve the bid by his party colleague Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey.

It comes as the UK government’s £20 a week boost of Universal Credit ends.

Ms Hargey made a bid to the October Monitoring Round for £55 million to extend the uplift to the benefit until the end of the financial year.

Mr Murphy said there had been “very cynical party politics” around the issue.

Ms Mallon questioned why Ms Hargey’s bid had not been approved.

She was responding to a question during her ministerial question time in the Assembly from SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin asking for the “truth of her position in relation to the October Monitoring Round”.

Ms Mallon said she “welcomed the opportunity to put the facts into the public domain”.

She told MLAs that she was “only minister to state my support for this bid round the Executive table”.

“The Finance Minister had power, money and a bid from his party colleague, and he could have recommended that bid for approval but he didn’t do it,” she said.

“The October Monitoring Round decision was not brought to the Executive for a decision, it was brought for discussion and it was agreed exclusively by the joint First Ministers via urgent procedure.

“So all of the spin in the world will not detract from these facts.”

Finance Minister Conor Murphy

She added: “The reality is that so many low income households are facing into a hugely difficult winter. Rising costs of living, rising energy costs and at the same time they’re seeing a reduction in social welfare that they are reliant on.

“£20 may not seem like a lot of money to a lot of people but it is a lifeline to people. I have seen it in my constituency.

“I really hope that we can focus all of our efforts in ensuring that we’re able to provide support to those families so that they aren’t pushed further into poverty and pushed further into ill health as a result of the poverty that they’re being forced to live in.”

Meanwhile, Ms Hargey, during her department’s question time in the Assembly, insisted there was no refusal by the Finance Minister for her bid.

She said Mr Murphy did put the proposal on the table of the Executive, and said she agreed with him an uplift should be permanent.

She went on to say that cut was a “Tory cut which would result at the highest end of up to £200 million having to be found”.

She said: “The reality was when it was placed for discussion and decision at the Executive table no other ministers were forthcoming with the finance to cover those costs, so you would have had to go in and make a cut in the departments, in health, and education and transport, and it was unanimous around that table that we can’t continue to cover Tory cuts.

“We obviously need to stand up and fight and I think the Executive had been doing that, and I think it is unfortunate that people are trying to use that to divide the consensus that has been there.”