Alliance will bring a motion to the Assembly on Tuesday calling for the UK Government to abandon its punitive cuts and establish a UK-wide commission on the barriers sick and disabled people face to employment.

“Since the UK Government first announced their cruel cuts to benefits, my office has been overwhelmed by constituents worried they are going to be pushed further into hardship and I know colleagues across every party have seen the same. There is a genuine fear out there,” said North Antrim MLA Ms Mulholland.

“There seems to be a deliberate targeting of the most vulnerable and those least able to take the hit, instead of going after billionaires or taxing extreme wealth, which has the potential to provide the additional revenue Labour is trying to raise several times over.

“People in Northern Ireland will take the full brunt of the announced cuts but crucially, see none of the direct benefit from the £1 billion the UK Government is planning to invest to make employment easier for those with disabilities in England. That’s why, as well as seeing these cruel cuts reversed, we want to see the Communities Minister working with his counterparts to establish a UK-wide commission on tackling economic inactivity and breaking down the barriers disabled people face when they want to enter the world of work.

“We have written to the Secretary of State to highlight Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances and why these changes would be particularly devastating here. But it is vital the Assembly comes together and sends a strong message none of this is acceptable. A change in course is desperately needed to avoid more and more disabled people being pushed into poverty, hunger and hardship.”

The wording of Alliance's Assembly motion is:

‘That this Assembly opposes the approach of the UK Government to reforming disability benefits; believes that withdrawing or cutting social security support for those most in need risks exacerbating poverty and increasing pressure on other public services; agrees that there are other, more progressive ways to generate additional money for government, including tax increases for the super-wealthy; calls on the UK Government to reconsider the punitive elements of its proposals and ensure fairness and dignity for those requiring welfare support; and further calls on the Minister for Communities to work with the UK Government on the establishment of a UK-wide commission to develop holistic, cross-departmental proposals for addressing economic inactivity among those with long-term illnesses and disabilities.’