The Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations

3.—(1) The Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(1) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (7).

(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation)—

(a) in the definition of “financially qualified panel member” after paragraph (c) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(cc) the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland;”; and

(b) in the definition of “official error” in paragraph (b) sub-paragraph (iii) and the word “or” preceding it shall be omitted.

(3) In regulation 4(1)(a) (revision of decisions) at the beginning there shall be inserted “subject to regulation 10A(3),”.

(4) After regulation 10 (notice of a decision against which an appeal lies) there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Correction of accidental errors

10A.— (1) Accidental errors in a relevant decision or a revised decision, or in the record of such a decision, may be corrected by the relevant authority at any time.

(2) A correction made to a relevant decision or a revised decision, or to the record of such a decision, shall be deemed to be part of that decision, or of that record, and the relevant authority shall give a written notice of the correction to the claimant as soon as practicable.

(3) In calculating the time within which an application can be made under regulation 4(1)(a) for a relevant decision to be revised, or the time within which an appeal may be brought under regulation 18(1), there shall be disregarded any day falling before the date on which notice was given of a correction of the decision, or to the revision or record thereof, under paragraph (2).”.

(5) In regulation 18(1) (time within which an appeal is to be brought) for “regulation” there shall be substituted “regulations 10A(3) and”.

(6) In regulation 19 (late appeals)—

(a) in paragraph (3) at the end there shall be added “, except where the relevant authority considers that the conditions in paragraphs (5)(b) to (9) are satisfied it may grant the application”;

(b) for paragraph (5) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(5) An application for an extension of time shall not be granted unless—

(a) the panel member is satisfied that, if the application is granted, there are reasonable prospects that the appeal will be successful; or

(b) the panel member or, as the case may be, the relevant authority is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice for the application to be granted.”;

(c) in paragraph (6) after “panel member” there shall be inserted “or, as the case may be, the relevant authority”; and

(d) in paragraph (8) for “the panel member shall have regard” there shall be substituted “regard shall be had”.

(7) In regulation 23 (procedure in connection with appeals)—

(a) in paragraph (1) for “in operation on the date these Regulations are made” there shall be substituted “amended by the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002”; and

(b) in paragraph (3)(f)(i)—

(i) for “Articles 13 and 14” there shall be substituted “Article 13 or 14”; and

(ii) for “paragraphs 6 and 7” there shall be substituted “paragraph 6 or 7”.

(1)

S.R. 2001 No. 213