Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007

[F1 6— (1) The conditions are that the claimant— N.I.

(a) has an income which does not exceed the applicable amount or has no income;

(b) does not have capital which, or a prescribed part of which, exceeds the prescribed amount;

(c) is not entitled to state pension credit;

(d) is not a member of a couple the other member of which is entitled to an income-related allowance, state pension credit, income support or an income-based jobseeker's allowance;

(e) is not engaged in remunerative work;

(f) is not a member of a couple the other member of which is engaged in remunerative work;

(g) is not receiving education.

(2) Where the claimant is a member of a couple, the income and capital of the other member of the couple shall, except in prescribed circumstances, be treated for the purpose of this paragraph as income and capital of the claimant.

(3) Regulations may prescribe circumstances in which, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(e) and (f)—

(a) a person who is not engaged in remunerative work is to be treated as engaged in remunerative work, or

(b) a person who is engaged in remunerative work is to be treated as not engaged in remunerative work.

(4) Regulations may—

(a) make provision about when, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(g), a person is, or is not, to be treated as receiving education;

(b) prescribe circumstances in which sub-paragraph (1)(g) does not apply.

(5) In this paragraph—

“applicable amount” means the amount which, in the claimant's case, is the applicable amount for the purposes of section 4(1);

[F2 “couple” means—

(a)

two people who are married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household, or

(b)

two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if spouses of each other otherwise than in prescribed circumstances;]

“education” has such meaning as may be prescribed;

“income-based jobseeker's allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Order;

“remunerative work” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

F3 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) Regulations may make provision for the preceding provisions of this paragraph to have effect with prescribed modifications in a case where—

(a) the claimant is a husband or wife by virtue of a marriage entered into under a law which permits polygamy,

(b) either party to the marriage has for the time being any spouse additional to the other party, and

(c) the claimant, the other party to the marriage and the additional spouse are members of the same household.

(8) Regulations may make provision for the purposes of this paragraph as to circumstances in which people are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 1 Pt. 2 repealed (27.9.2017 for specified purposes, 15.11.2017 and 13.12.2017 for specified purposes, 17.1.2018 and further specified dates for specified purposes, 16.5.2018 and further specified dates for specified purposes, 5.9.2018 and further specified dates for specified purposes, 1.2.2019 for specified purposes) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2006), art. 2(2), Sch. 12 Pt. 1; S.R. 2017/190, art. 6, Sch. 2 (with arts. 7, 8, 10-25, Sch. 3); S.R. 2017/216, art. 4 (with art. 5); S.R. 2018/1, art. 4 (with art. 5); S.R. 2018/97, art. 4 (with art. 5); S.R. 2018/138, art. 4 (with art. 5); S.R. 2019/7, art. 2(5)-(7) (with art. 2(8)-(12))

F2 Words in Sch. 1 para. 6(5) substituted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 72(a) (with regs. 6-9)

F3 Sch. 1 para. 6(6) omitted (13.1.2020) by virtue of The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 72(b) (with regs. 6-9)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. 1 para. 6(1)(g) referred to (27.10.2008) by Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/280), regs. 1(1), 15 (subject to reg. 18)

C2 Sch. 1 para. 6(1)(g) excluded (27.10.2008) by Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/280), regs. 1(1), 18

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 1 para. 6 wholly in operation at 27.10.2008; Sch. 1 para. 6 not in operation at Royal Assent see s. 60(1); Sch. 1 para. 6(1)(b)(2)-(4)(7)(8) in operation for certain purposes at 1.7.2008 and wholly in operation at 27.10.2008 by S.R. 2008/276, art. 2(2)(c), Sch. Pt. 1; Sch. 1 para. 6(5) in operation for certain purposes at 1.7.2008 and 27.10.2008 by S.R. 2008/276, art. 2(2)(c), Sch. Pt. 1; Sch. 1 para. 6 in operation at 27.10.2008 in so far as not already in operation by S.R. 2008/276, art. 2(2)(d), Sch. Pt. 2