The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Effective dates for superseding decisions where changes notified late N.I.

36.—(1) For the purposes of regulation 35(1) (effective dates: Department's decisions) and paragraphs 6, 14 and 21 of Schedule 1 (effective dates for superseding decisions made on the ground of a change of circumstances), the Department may extend the time allowed for a person (“ the applicant”) to give notice of a change of circumstances in so far as it affects the effective date of the change if all of the following conditions are met.

(2) The first condition is that an application is made to the Department at an appropriate office for an extension of time.

(3) The second condition is that the application—

(a) contains particulars of the change of circumstances and the reasons for the failure to give notice of the change of circumstances on an earlier date; and

(b) is made—

(i) within 13 months of the date on which the change occurred, or

(ii) in the case of personal independence payment where a notification is given under paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 (effective dates for superseding decisions made on the ground of a change of circumstances) within 13 months of the date on which the claimant first satisfied the conditions of entitlement to the particular rate of personal independence payment.

(4) The third condition is that the Department is satisfied that it is reasonable to grant the extension.

(5) The fourth condition is that the change of circumstances notified by the applicant is relevant to the decision which is to be superseded.

(6) The fifth condition is that the Department is satisfied that, due to special circumstances, it was not practicable for the applicant to give notice of the change of circumstances within the relevant notification period.

(7) In determining whether it is reasonable to grant an extension of time—

(a) the Department must have regard to the principle that the greater the amount of time that has elapsed between the end of the relevant notification period and the date of the application, the more compelling should be the special circumstances on which the application is based;

(b) no account is to be taken of the fact that the applicant or any person acting for the applicant was unaware of, or misunderstood, the law applicable to the case (including ignorance or misunderstanding of the time limits imposed by these Regulations); and

(c) no account is to be taken of the fact that a Commissioner or a court has taken a different view of the law from that previously understood and applied.

(8) An application under this regulation which has been refused may not be renewed.

(9) In this regulation “the relevant notification period” means—

(a) in the case of universal credit, the assessment period in which the change of circumstances occurs; or

(b) in any other case, a period of one month, beginning with the date on which the change of circumstances occurred.