167.—(1) Where an award of income-based jobseeker’s allowance has been made to a person (“the claimant”) the Department may make a complaint under Part VIII of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(1) against the claimant’s spouse (“the liable person”) for a recovery order.
(2) On making a recovery order the court may order the liable person to pay such amount at such intervals as it considers appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances of the liable person and in particular his income.
(3) A recovery order shall be treated for enforcement purposes as if it were a maintenance order within the meaning of Article 98(11) of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.
(4) Where a recovery order requires the liable person to make payments to the Department, the Department may, by giving notice in writing to the court which made the order, the liable person, and the claimant, transfer to the claimant the right to receive payments under the order and to exercise the relevant rights in relation to the order.
(5) In this regulation—
(a)the expressions “the court” and “recovery order” have the same meanings as in Article 25 of the Order, and
(b)“the relevant rights” means, in relation to a recovery order, the right to bring any proceedings, take any steps or do any other thing under or in relation to the order.
168.—(1) A person who is in receipt of a training allowance and who is not receiving training falling within paragraph (2) may be entitled to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance without—
(a)being available for employment;
(b)having entered into a jobseeker’s agreement, or
(c)actively seeking employment.
(2) Training falls within this paragraph if it is training for which persons under 18 are eligible and for which persons aged 18 to 24 may be eligible provided in Northern Ireland directly or indirectly by a Training Organisation pursuant to its arrangement with the Department of Economic Development (whether that agreement is known as an Operating Agreement or by any other name).
169. Article 17(2) of the Order (trade disputes: effect on other claimants) shall not apply to a claimant during any period where—
(a)a member of the claimant’s family is, or would be, prevented by Article 16 of the Order from being entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance, and
(b)that member is—
(i)a child or young person, or
(ii)incapable of work or within the maternity period, and for this purpose “the maternity period” means the period commencing at the beginning of the 6th week before the expected week of confinement and ending at the end of the 7th week after the week in which confinement takes place.
170. The prescribed sum for the purposes of Article 17(2)(d) of the Order is £26·00.