Northern Ireland has set final dates to complete the move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. The Department for Communities sealed S.R. 2025 No. 176 on 12 November 2025, bringing into effect abolition provisions in Article 39 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015. Key milestones are 1 December 2025 for certain ESA awards to convert, and 1 April 2026 for the ending of remaining Income Support and income‑based Jobseeker’s Allowance awards not already covered by run‑on arrangements.
From 1 December 2025, awards of “old style ESA” that are wholly payable on the contributory allowance-whether because there is no income‑related entitlement or because section 6(4) of the 2007 Act treats payment as attributable to the contributory allowance-will be converted to the “new style” (contributory) ESA. Where a claimant’s circumstances change later so that only the contributory entitlement remains, conversion will occur on that later date instead. This blocks future accrual of income‑related ESA on those awards and aligns them with post‑2015 ESA rules.
The Order allows the Department to delay preparing an ESA claimant commitment following these conversions where needed to protect administrative capacity. Ordinarily, acceptance of a claimant commitment is a condition of ESA entitlement, introduced by Article 60 of the 2015 Order and now contained in section 1(3)(aa) and section 11A of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007; during any Department‑set delay, that condition is switched off. Practitioners should expect staged contact rather than immediate conditionality actions.
For “old style JSA” cases that have not already triggered the amending provisions, the abolition provisions will come into operation on 1 April 2026. This does not displace the existing two‑week run‑on where a claimant has moved to Universal Credit or missed the migration deadline: those run‑ons continue to apply and then terminate as set out in managed‑migration regulations.
Income Support will also be abolished for any remaining awards on 1 April 2026, again subject to the standard two‑week run‑on where applicable. In practice, most Income Support recipients are already receiving migration notices with a three‑month window to claim Universal Credit; the appointed day finalises the position for residual cases that have not otherwise terminated.
Housing Benefit changes take immediate effect when working‑age claimants move out of “temporary accommodation” or “specified accommodation” on or after 14 November 2025 and are not already on Universal Credit or being moved by managed migration. In those cases the existing Housing Benefit award ends, and housing costs should be met via Universal Credit instead; if the claimant later re‑enters “specified” or “temporary” accommodation, Housing Benefit can still be claimed under the statutory exceptions.
The two‑week run‑on arrangements-designed to bridge cashflow at the point of transition-continue to apply to Income Support, income‑based JSA and income‑related ESA, and to Housing Benefit, with termination keyed to the first day of Universal Credit entitlement or to the managed‑migration deadline day. These mechanisms are set in the Universal Credit managed‑migration regulations and are not altered by the appointed days.
Operationally, the Order clarifies when the “amending provisions” switch on for remaining legacy awards. They engage on a Universal Credit claim, on forming a couple with a Universal Credit claimant, or after the deadline in a migration notice where no claim is made-at which point awards terminate with any run‑on applied. Advisers should check the claimant’s status against the managed‑migration rules before forecasting end dates.
For welfare rights teams and housing providers, the immediate Housing Benefit rule matters for tenants leaving supported or temporary placements. Where a claimant exits such accommodation on or after 14 November 2025 and is not already on Universal Credit, the Housing Benefit award ends the day after the last day of entitlement for that accommodation type; timely UC claims are needed to avoid rent shortfalls. Definitions of “temporary” and “specified” accommodation follow the existing Universal Credit regulations.
For claimants, the Department for Communities continues to advise that no action is required unless a migration notice is received, after which there is a three‑month period to claim Universal Credit. Non‑repayable two‑week run‑on payments apply for relevant legacy benefits when moving to UC. Stakeholder updates indicate the migration programme is intended to complete by spring 2026, consistent with the appointed end‑dates in this Order.