The Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these regulations—

“the Order” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

“the 1971 Act” means the Immigration Act 1971(1);

“the 1972 Order” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(2);

“attendance allowance” means—

(a)

an attendance allowance under section 35 of the principal Act(3);

(b)

an increase of disablement pension under section 61 or 63 of that Act(4);

(c)

a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by section 150(3)(b) of that Act;

(d)

a payment analogous to a payment by way of an increase of an allowance in respect of constant attendance under section 5 -of the Industrial Injuries and Diseases (Old Cases) Act 1975(5);

(e)

a payment by virtue of Article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(6) or any analogous payment; or

(f)

any payment based on need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension;

''benefit week'' has the meaning prescribed in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(7);

“child” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 21(11) of the Order;

“child benefit” means child benefit under Part II of the Child Benefit (Northern Ireland) Order 1975(8);

“claimant” means a person claiming income support;

“close relative” means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, or the spouse of any of the preceding persons or, if that person is one of an unmarried couple, the other member of that couple;

“concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Department with the consent of the Department of Finance and Personnel which is charged either to the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit under the Order, the principal Act or the Child Benefit (Northern Ireland) Order 1975 are charged;

“couple” means a married or an unmarried couple;

“course of study” means any full-time course of study or sandwich course whether or not a grant is made for attending it;

“dwelling occupied as the home” means the dwelling together with any garage, garden, small agricultural holding and outbuildings, normally occupied by the claimant as his home including any premises not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately;

“earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 35 or, as the case may be, 37;

''education and library board'' means a board established under Article 3 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(9);

“employed earner” means a person who is gainfully employed in Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland either under a contract of service, or in an office (including elective office) with emoluments chargeable to income tax under Schedule E or, as the case may be, chargeable under the legislation of the Republic of Ireland which is analogous to income tax under Schedule E;

“Health and Social Services Board” means a Board established under Article 16 of the 1972 Order;

''home for persons in need'' has the meaning prescribed in regulation 19(2);

''housing association'' has the meaning assigned to it by Article 114 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(10);

“housing benefit expenditure” means expenditure of a kind for which housing benefit may be granted;

“invalid carriage or other vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

“liable relative” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 54;

''lone patent'' means a person who has no partner and who is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child or young person;

''mobility allowance'' means an allowance under section 37A of the principal Act(11);

"mobility supplement'' means any supplement under Article 26A of the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983(12) including such a supplement by virtue of any other scheme or order or under Article 25A of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(13);

''net earnings'' means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 36;

“net profit” means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 38;

“non-dependant” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 3;

“non-dependant deduction” means a deduction that is to be made under regulation 17(e) and paragraph 11 of Schedule 3;

“nursing home” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 19(2);

''occupational pension'' means any pension or other periodical payment under an occupational pension scheme but does not include any discretionary payment out of a fund established for relieving hardship in particular cases;

''partner'' means where a claimant—

(a)

is a member of a couple, the other member of that couple;

(b)

is polygamously married to 2 or more members of his household, any such member;

''payment'' includes a part of a payment;

“period of study” means—

(a)

in the case of a course of study for one year or less, the period beginning with the start of the course to the end;

(b)

in the case of a course of study for more than one year, in the first or, as the case may be, any subsequent year of the course, the period beginning with the start of the course or, as the case may be, that year's start and ending with either—

(i)

the day before the start of the next year of the course in a case where the student's grant is assessed at a rate appropriate to his studying throughout the year, or, if he does not have a grant, where it would have been assessed at such a rate had he had one, or

(ii)

in any other case the day before the start of the normal summer vacation appropriate to his course,

and for the purposes of this definition, any period of attendance at the educational establishment which is outside the period of the course shall be treated as part of the period of study;

''policy of life insurance'' means any instrument by which the payment of money is assured on death (except death by accident only) or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life, or any instrument evidencing a contract which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life;

“polygamous marriage” means any marriage where there is more than one spouse and the ceremony of marriage as between the spouses took place under the law of a country which permits polygamy;

“relative” means close relative, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece;

''relevant enactment'' has the meaning prescribed in regulation 16(8)(a);

''remunerative work'' has the meaning prescribed in regulation 5;

“residential accommodation” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 21(3);

“self-employed earner” means a person who is gainfully employed in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland otherwise than in employed earner's employment (whether or not he is also employed in such employment);

“single claimant” means a claimant who neither has a partner nor is a lone parent;

“student” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 61;

“supplementary benefit” means a supplementary pension or allowance under Article 3 or 6 of the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1977(14);

“terminal date” in respect of a claimant means the terminal date in his case for the purposes of regulation 7 of the Child Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(15);

“training allowance” means an allowance (whether by way of periodical grants or otherwise) payable—

(a)

out of public funds by a government department or by or on behalf of the Department of Economic Development;

(b)

to a person for his maintenance or in respect of a member of his family; and

(c)

for the period, or part of the period, during which he is following a course of training or instruction provided by, or in pursuance of arrangements made with, a government department or approved by such department in relation to him or so provided or approved by or on behalf of the Department of Economic Development,

but it does not include an allowance paid by any government department to, or in respect of, a person by reason of the fact that he is following a course of full-time education or is training as a teacher;

''year of assessment'' has the meaning prescribed in section 526(5) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970(16);

“young person” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 14.

(2) Any reference to the claimant's family or, as the case may be, to a member of his family, shall be construed for the purposes of these regulations as if it included, in relation to a polygamous marriage, a reference to any partner and to any child or young person who is treated as the responsibility of the claimant or his partner, where that child or young person is a member of the claimant's household.

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(17) shall apply to these regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(1)

1971 c. 77

(2)

S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14)

(3)

Section 35 was amended by Article 3 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/396 (N.I. 5)) and paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (S.I. 1980/870 (N.I. 8))

(4)

Section 61 was amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

(5)

1975 c. 16

(6)

S.I. 1983/686; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1984/1675

(7)

S.R. 1987 No. 465

(8)

S.I. 1975/1504 (N.I. 16)

(9)

S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)

(10)

S.I. 1981/156 (N.l. 3); the definition of “housing association” was amended by Part I of Schedule 1 to the Companies Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/1035 (N.I. 9))

(11)

Section 37A was inserted by Article 24(1) of the Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975 (S.I. 1975/1503 (N.I. 15)) and amended by Article 4 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 and Article 72 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

(12)

S.I. 1983/883; Article 26A was inserted by S.I. 1983/1116 and amended by S.I. 1983/1521 and S.I. 1986/592

(13)

Article 25A was inserted by S.I. 1983/1164 and amended by S.I. 1983/1540 and S.I. 1986/628

(14)

S.I. 1977/2156 (N.I. 27); provisions of the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, as amended by Article 7 of, and Part I of Schedule 2 to, the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1980, are set out in Part II of that Schedule. Articles 3 and 6 are repealed with effect from 11th April 1988 by Schedule 10 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

(15)

S.R. 1979 No. 5; the relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1980 No. 261, S.R. 1982 No. 114 and S.R. 1987 No. 130

(16)

1970 c. 10

(17)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)