New research finds Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is not working for those it's designed to help

Posted on 15 July 2020

A team, led by Dr Ruth Patrick of SPSW, have published research into experiences of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland.

Research has been published this month looking at experiences of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland. The project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and led by Dr Ruth Patrick of SPSW took a participatory approach; working with recipients of Universal Credit to explore and document their experiences and develop recommendations for change. Ruth worked closely with Dr Mark Simpson of Ulster University; as well as with graphic designer –
Dan Farley – and illustrator – Hannah Miller.

During the project, recipients of Universal Credit participated in a series of workshops with the research team; where they documented their journeys through Universal Credit and developed recommendations for change. The participants commissioned an illustrator who they worked with to bring their experiences to life; while they also met with policymakers and practitioners to help them develop robust policy proposals. Recommendations include the need to end the five week wait for Universal Credit; and the importance of doing more to ensure the benefit doesn’t drive and increase levels of debt for recipients.

You can read the full findings from the study here; and you can find out more about UC:Us, the group that was formed through the project here.

Representatives from UC:Us and the academic researchers met with officials and parliamentarians in Northern Ireland in February 2020; and there is a willingness to do more to work with policymakers to improve experiences of Universal Credit in the future.