The Social Security (Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Social Security (Attendance Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the Attendance Allowance Regulations”), the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the Disability Living Allowance Regulations”) and the Social Security (Adjudication) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (“the Adjudication Regulations”).

Regulations 2 and 3 make provision in the Attendance Allowance Regulations and the Disability Living Allowance Regulations respectively so that a person awarded attendance allowance or disability living allowance may be required to submit to a medical examination, and where he fails without good cause to do so, for benefit to be withheld.

Regulation 4 makes provision in the Adjudication Regulations to enable the adjudication officer to treat failure to attend for, or submit to, a medical examination in attendance allowance and disability living allowance cases as a relevant change of circumstances.

Section 55A of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8) (“the Administration Act”), one of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, is inserted by Article 17 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and is brought into operation on 1st July 1997, by virtue of Article 2 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (1997 Order) (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 (S.R. 1997 No. 316 (C. 18)). As these Regulations are made before the end of a period of 6 months from the commencement of that section, they are accordingly exempt, by virtue of section 150(5)(b) of the Administration Act, from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.