Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) (Abolition of Benefit Periods Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation –
(a)for the purposes of Parts 1 and 3, on 16th June 2003, and
(b)for all other purposes on 6th October 2003 immediately after the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(1).
(2) In these Regulations –
“the Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000;
“appropriate relevant authority” has the same meaning as in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“benefit period” has the same meaning as in regulation 66 of the Housing Benefit Regulations as in force immediately before 6th October 2003;
“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(2);
“the qualifying age for state pension credit” means (in accordance with section 1(2)(b) and (6) of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002(3) –
in the case of a woman, pensionable age, or
in the case of a man, the age which is pensionable age in the case of a woman born on the same day as the man;
“state pension credit” means state pension credit under the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, and
(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
S.R. 1987 No. 461; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1989 No. 125, S.R. 1990 No.137, S.R. 1991 No. 47, S.R. 1992 No. 141, S.R. 1993 No. 149, S.R. 1996 Nos. 111, 115 and 334, S.R. 1999 Nos. 381 and 416, S.R. 2000 Nos. 1, 265 and 365, S.R. 2001 Nos. 79, 99, 151, 175, 215 and 238, S.R. 2002 No. 80 and S.R. 2003 Nos. 189 and 197