The Social Security (Welfare to Work) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations

10.  In regulation 16 of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1) (savings provisions)—

(a) in paragraph (2)(b)—

(i) the words “was either” shall be omitted;

(ii) in heads (i) and (ii) “was” shall be inserted at the beginning, and

(iii) after head (ii) there shall be added—

“or

(iii) is a person to whom paragraph (2A) applies.”;

(b) after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(2A) This paragraph applies in the case of a person (“the claimant”) who becomes, or whose partner becomes, a welfare to work beneficiary, and—

(a) the claimant ceases to be entitled to housing benefit in respect of his residence in the dwelling he occupies as his home;

(b) the claimant subsequently becomes re-entitled to housing benefit—

(i) in respect of the same dwelling, or

(ii) in respect of a different dwelling in a case to which paragraph (2)(a)(ii) applies, and

(c) the first day of that entitlement is within 52 weeks of the claimant or his partner becoming a welfare to work beneficiary.”;

(c) after paragraph (5A)(2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(5B) Paragraphs (1) to (5A) shall continue to have effect in the case of a claimant who has ceased to be a welfare to work beneficiary or whose partner has ceased to be such a beneficiary where the claimant is entitled to housing benefit at the end of the 52 week period to which paragraph (2A)(c) refers.”; and

(d) in paragraph (6)—

(i) in the definition of “previous beneficiary”(3) in paragraph (b) after “housing benefit” there shall be inserted “or was on that date within 52 weeks of having become a welfare to work beneficiary”;

(ii) after the definition of “previous beneficiary” there shall be added the following definition—

““welfare to work beneficiary” means a person to whom regulation 13A(1) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 applies.”.

(1)

S.R. 1996 No. 111; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1996 Nos. 405 and 448

(2)

Paragraph (5A) was inserted by regulation 8 of S.R. 1996 No. 448

(3)

The definition of “previous beneficiary” was amended by regulation 8(b) of S.R. 1996 No. 405