Amendment of the Income Support (General) Regulations3

1

The Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 shall be amended in accordance with the paragraphs (2) to (6).

2

In regulation 21 (special cases)—

a

paragraph (2)14 shall be omitted; and

b

in paragraph (3) in the definition of “patient” for “the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975” there shall be substituted “regulation 2(4) and (5) of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005”.

3

In paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 2 (applicable amounts)—

a

in head (b)(ii)(bb)15 at the beginning there shall be inserted “subject to paragraphs 2A and 2B of Schedule 7,”; and

b

in head (d)16 for “(1)(a), (b), (c)(ii) or (d)(ii) there shall be substituted “2A or 2B”.

4

In paragraph 18(7)(g) of Schedule 317 (housing costs) for sub-heads (i) and (ii) there shall be substituted the following sub-heads—

i

“patient” has the meaning given in paragraph 3(13)(b) and “prisoner” has the meaning given in regulation 21(3); and

ii

in calculating a period of 52 weeks as a patient, any two or more distinct periods separated by one or more intervals each not exceeding 28 days shall be treated as a single period; or

5

In Schedule 7 (applicable amounts in special cases)—

a

paragraphs 118 (but not the heading before it) and 2 shall be omitted; and

b

for paragraph 2A19 there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

2A

A claimant who is detained, or liable to be detained, under Article 53 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (removal to hospital of persons serving sentences of imprisonment, etc.) but not if his detention continues after the date which the Secretary of State certifies would have been the earliest date on which he could have been released in respect of, or from, the prison sentence if he had not been detained in hospital.

2A

Nil.

2B

Subject to paragraph 2A, a single claimant who has been a patient for a continuous period of more than 52 weeks or, where the claimant is one of a couple, the other member of the couple has been a patient for a continuous period of more than 52 weeks.

2B

The amount applicable under regulation 17(1) less any amount applicable by virtue of paragraphs 10 or 11 and 12 or paragraph 13A of Schedule 2.

6

In Schedule 9 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) paragraph 3820 shall be omitted.