The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Claims and Payments Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”), the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations”), the Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Change of Circumstances Regulations”) and the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the Hospital In-Patients Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends the Claims and Payments Regulations to—

• omit provisions which provide for benefit to be paid by means of an instrument of payment or instrument for benefit payment and concerning books of serial orders (paragraphs (2), (9), (10) and (12) to (16));

• provide for claims for disability living allowance and carer’s allowance to be made at offices other than offices of the Department for Social Development (“the Department”) which have been approved by the Department (paragraph (3));

• enable a person to claim state pension credit by telephone, unless the Department directs that the claimant must approve a written statement of his circumstances provided for the purpose by the Department, and amend such a claim by telephone (paragraphs (4) to (6));

• provide that where a person first notifies an appropriate office of the Department that he intends to claim incapacity benefit and a properly completed claim form is received in such an office within one month, the date of claim is the date of notification, and a person who has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit may notify his intention and may send or deliver his claim to an office approved by the Department (paragraph (7)(a));

• allow a claim for carer’s allowance to be treated as made on the first day for which the qualifying benefit is payable, where the claim is made within three months of the date of the award of that qualifying benefit (paragraph (7)(b) to (d) and (f));

• make technical amendments (paragraphs (7)(e) and (8)(b));

• provide that where a person subject to work-focused interviews notifies an appropriate office of the Department of his intention of making a claim to incapacity benefit and a properly completed claim form is received within one month, the date of claim is the date of notification (paragraph (8)(a));

• provide for an appointee, or other specified persons acting on behalf of a person claiming or entitled to benefit, to arrange for it to be paid by direct credit transfer (paragraph (11)); and

• increase from £18·80 to £19·60 the amount allowed for personal expenses where a person is in accommodation for which part of his benefit is paid direct to the person to whom charges in respect of that accommodation are payable (paragraph (17)).

Regulation 3 amends the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations to provide that a change of circumstances affecting the continuance of entitlement to, or the payment of, jobseeker’s allowance shall be notified to the Department in writing or by telephone (unless it requires the person to give written notice or accepts another means of notification) or, if it so requires in a class of case, the change shall be notified in writing unless it accepts another means of notification in any particular case.

Regulation 4 amends the Decisions and Appeals Regulations to—

• allow a decision to be revised where a determination necessary to it has been revised or overturned on appeal (paragraph (2));

• make a technical amendment (paragraph (3));

• remove the exception from the general rule for determining the effective date of a change of circumstances which is not advantageous and provide that where the claimant, who would otherwise be a severely disabled person, ceases to have a non-dependant, the effective date is the date the claimant ceased to have a non-dependant (paragraph (4)); and

• provide that, subject to exceptions, a change of circumstances in state pension credit cases must take effect on the first day of the benefit week following the change (paragraph (5)).

Regulation 5 amends the Change of Circumstances Regulations to make provision similar to the amendments made to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations by regulation 3 for the purpose of offences relating to failure to notify changes of circumstances.

Regulation 6 makes a technical amendment to the Hospital In-Patients Regulations.

Regulation 7 makes consequential revocations.

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.