Marshalled List of Amendments - 12 April 2024
Item 4: Order Paper 24/22-27 – Tuesday 16 April 2024
Motion: Removing the Universal Credit Two-Child Limit
Proposed:
That this Assembly acknowledges the findings of the recent Northern Ireland Audit Office report on Child Poverty that nearly half of all children living in relative poverty come from families with three or more children; recognises the pernicious role that the Universal Credit two-child limit has played in increasing the number of children in poverty; understands that the majority of those negatively impacted by the two-child limit are working families; notes that removing this limit is within the powers of the Northern Ireland Executive; believes that the consequences of childhood poverty far outweigh the cost of removing the cap; and calls on the Minister for Communities to present a plan before this Assembly to remove the two-child limit before the end of 2024.
[Leader of the Opposition]
Amendment 1
Leave out all after ‘Executive’ and insert:
‘but would place serious and recurring constraints on public spending; further notes the recommendations of the Independent Advisory Panel Report Welfare Mitigations Review, including the proposal to offset the two-child limit by introducing a Better Start Larger Families payment; and calls on the Minister for Communities to consider the merits of this proposal when meeting his statutory obligation to produce a report on the current, and future, operation of welfare mitigation schemes by the end of this financial year.’
[Mr Maurice Bradley]
[Mr Brian Kingston]
Motion: Banning No-Fault Evictions
Proposed:
That this Assembly declares a housing crisis; expresses its concern that social housing waiting lists have almost doubled in the past 20 years with a clear long-term trend towards longer waiting times; acknowledges the findings of the 2023 report by the Office for National Statistics on Private Rental Affordability that median rent in Northern Ireland’s private rented sector accounts for 25 per cent of household income; regrets that the loss of private rented accommodation continues to drive homelessness; and calls on the Minister for Communities to provide an immediate update on the Housing Supply Strategy and bring forward legislation to ban no-fault evictions in Northern Ireland.
[Leader of the Opposition]
Amendment 1
Leave out all after ‘Strategy’ and insert:
‘and, as a matter of priority, meet the duty to bring forward regulations to put in place much longer notice to quit periods, as provided for in section 11 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.’
[Mr Maurice Bradley]
[Mr Brian Kingston]
