The benefits system is at breaking point after it was revealed the department responsible was facing a “doomsday scenario” around funding.
At a meeting of Stormont’s Communities Committee yesterday it was learned that plans to hire 900 staff had been paused despite an increase of more than 126% in universal credit claimants over the past 10 months.
The number of claimants is expected to rise further when the UK Government’s furlough scheme ends.
Cherrie Arnold, director of finance at the Department for Communities, which oversees the benefits system, told MLAs that the wait for the majority of claimants for their first payment could rise from five to six or seven weeks, and there could be more staff absences and sickness due to the high workload.