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

PART II PERSONS TO WHOM REGULATION 20 AND PART I ARE NOT TO APPLY

12.  A claimant and his family whose accommodation and meals (if any) are provided in whole or in part by a close relative of any member of that family or other than on a commercial basis.

13.  A person who is on holiday and during a period which has not continued for more than 13 weeks is absent from the home or from a hospital or similar institution in which he is normally a patient.

14.  A person who has entered into arrangements for board and lodging accommodation for the purpose of receiving an amount of income support to which he would not otherwise be entitled.

15.  A person aged 16 or over but under 19 who is in the care of the Department under the provisions of a relevant enactment, except where he is personally liable to pay the cost of his accommodation and maintenance direct to someone other than the Department.

16.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5), a person who—

(a) is aged 16 or over but under 25, and, if one of a couple, whose partner is also 16 or over but under 25; and

(b) is required to be available for employment.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) shall not have effect in respect of such a person before the beginning of, and during, the initial period (including that period as extended under sub-paragraph (5)) shown as applicable in column (4) of Schedule 6 in respect of the board and lodging area in which that person's accommodation is situated.

(3) Without prejudice to sub-paragraph (4), sub-paragraph (1) shall not have effect in respect of a claimant who was in receipt of supplementary benefit as a boarder on 24th November 1985.

(4) Sub-paragraph (1) shall not have effect also where such a person—

(a) is treated as responsible for a child or young person;

(b) is in a hostel;

(c) is, or has a partner who is, pregnant;

(d) is, or has a partner who is, chronically sick, mentally handicapped, physically disabled or suffering from a mental disorder or was, or has a partner who was, suffering from a mental disorder and it is unreasonable to expect him or his partner to be in accommodation other than board and lodging accommodation;

(e) had, or has a partner who had, immediately prior to the date of claim been in the accommodation for 6 months whilst either in employment and not in receipt of supplementary allowance under the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1977(1) or income support, or, if not in employment and in receipt of such an allowance or income support, was not required to be available for employment;

(f) has, or has a partner who has, entered the accommodation as part of a programme of rehabilitation or resettlement under guidance from the Department, any other government department, a voluntary organisation or the probation and after-care service;

(g) is a student, during his normal summer vacation provided he occupies the same accommodation as he occupied when attending his course of study;

(h) has, or has a partner who has, been in the care of the Department under a relevant enactment and 12 months has not elapsed since he or his partner ceased to be in care;

(i) is aged 16 or over but under 19 and—

(i) has no parent and there is no person acting in the place of his parent,

(ii) has had to leave his family home because he was in physical or moral danger, or

(iii) is in the care of the Department under the provisions of a relevant enactment, being a person who is personally liable to pay the cost of his accommodation and maintenance direct to someone other than the Department;

(j) is in the same accommodation as that of his or of his partner's parents or step-parents who are in board and lodging accommodation;

(k) is in the same accommodation as that of the persons with whom he or his partner had been previously boarded out by the Department under the provisions of a relevant enactment;

(l) is, or has a partner who is, remanded on bail, or is, or has a partner who is, in compliance with a court order, under the supervision of a probation officer, or the Department;

(m) would, or has a partner who would, suffer exceptional hardship if sub-paragraph (1) were to apply; and any question as to whether any person comes within this sub-paragraph shall be determined by the Department in its discretion and its decision of such questions—

(i) shall be given in relation to particular cases only,

(ii) may be revised from time to time as it considers appropriate,

(iii) may be given so as to have effect for a specified period, and

(iv) shall be conclusive for the purposes of this Schedule.

(5) Where during an initial period a person becomes employed and is not in receipt of income support or he is no longer required to be available for employment and is in receipt of income support, that initial period shall be extended by the period during which that person is employed or is no longer required to be available for employment provided he is in the same board and lodging area.

17.—(1) A person who was for a period one to whom regulation 20 and Part II applied because of paragraph 16(2) (during an initial period) and in respect of whom the relevant period has not elapsed.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph “the relevant period” means the period of 26 weeks beginning with the first day of the benefit week following the date of the adjudication officer's decision involving a determination that that person is a person to whom regulation 20 and Part II apply because of paragraph 16(2).

18.  In this Schedule “ initial period” means that period provided by paragraph 16(2) consisting of a week or multiple of weeks beginning with the first day of the benefit week following the date of the adjudication officer's decision involving a determination that the person concerned is a person in board and lodging accommodation because of paragraph 16(2), being a week or multiple of weeks that correspond to benefit weeks during which the person is required to be available for employment.

(1)

S.I. 1977/2156 (N.I. 27)