Hilary Benn: Increase in minimum wage will be ‘real help’

By Claudia Savage (PA)

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said a rise in the minimum wage will be “a real help” as he insisted those not able to work “will be protected” from the Government’s benefit cuts.

Eligible full-time workers are set for a pay boost of up to £117 from this month as the Government’s increase in the national living wage comes into effect.

Speaking outside Westminster, Mr Benn described the change as “a real help to people when times are tough”.

He said: “Today is really good news for 170,000 people in Northern Ireland who get to see the national living wage and the national minimum wage increase, and for a low-paid, full-time worker it will mean an additional £1,400 a year, and that is a big boost that I’m sure will be widely welcomed.”

The changes from April 1 mean the national living wage for those aged 21 and over will rise from £11.44 per hour to £12.21 per hour and for 18 to 20-year-olds from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour.

The apprenticeship rate, and minimum wage for 16 to 17-year-olds, rises from £6.40 per hour to £7.55 per hour.

The Government earlier this month announced a tightening of eligibility for the main disability benefit – personal independence payment (Pip) – and changes to the sickness element of universal credit.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also confirmed in last week’s spring statement that universal credit health benefits for new claimants will be halved in 2026 and then frozen.

According to Stormont’s Department for Communities in February 2024, there were 205,000 claimants of Pip with 45% of claims having a main disabling condition relating to mental illness.

There is a higher concentration of disability-related benefit claimants in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain, with one in 8.5 of the population in the region claiming some disability benefit, compared to one in 17 in GB, according to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

Asked about the higher proportion of Pip claimants in Northern Ireland, Mr Benn said: “I think the first thing to say is the economy in Northern Ireland is growing faster than the United Kingdom as a whole, and that should be a source of great pride to businesses and workers in Northern Ireland.

“Secondly, the current welfare system isn’t sustainable, and it doesn’t actually help people who can get back into work to do so, and that’s why we’re making a number of changes.

“But for people who can’t work at the moment and will never be able to, it’s quite clear that they will be protected.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn (Jonathan Brady/PA)