Attendance in connection with jobseeker's allowance: sanctionsN.I.
27—(1) Article 10 of the Jobseekers Order (attendance, information and evidence) is amended as follows.
(2) In paragraph (2), for sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) (together with the “and” at the end of sub-paragraph (c)) substitute—
“(a)prescribe circumstances in which a jobseeker's allowance is not to be payable for a prescribed period (of at least one week but not more than two weeks) in the case of—
(i)a claimant (other than a joint-claim couple claiming a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance) who fails to comply with any regulations made under that paragraph, o
(ii)a joint-claim couple claiming a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance a member of which fails to comply with any such regulations;
(b)provide for the consequence set out in sub-paragraph (a) not to follow if, within a prescribed period of a person's (“P”) failure to comply with any such regulations (“the relevant period”), P or, if P is a member of a joint-claim couple, either member of the couple—
(i)makes prescribed contact with an officer of the Department or of the Department for Employment and Learning, and
(ii)shows that P had good cause for the failure;
(c)provide for entitlement to a jobseeker's allowance to cease at such time as may be determined in accordance with any such regulations if P or, as the case may be, a member of the couple does not make prescribed contact with an officer of the Department or of the Department for Employment and Learning in the relevant period;
(ca)prescribe circumstances in which a jobseeker's allowance is to be payable in respect of a claimant even though provision made by any such regulations by virtue of sub-paragraph (a) prevents payment of a jobseeker's allowance in respect of the claimant; and”.
(3) After that paragraph insert—
“(2A) The provision that may be made by any such regulations by virtue of paragraph (2)(ca) includes, in particular, provision for a jobseeker's allowance payable by virtue of that sub-paragraph to be—
(a)payable only if prescribed requirements as to the provision of information are complied with;
(b)payable at a prescribed rate;
(c)payable for a prescribed period (which may differ from the period mentioned in paragraph (2)(a)).”.
(4) In paragraph 3(ca) of Schedule 3 to the 1998 Order (decisions against which an appeal lies: payability of benefit), which is inserted by section 1, after “Article” insert “ 10 or ”.