The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Continuity with income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit

20.—(1) For the purpose of providing continuity between income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit and an employment and support allowance—

(a) any housing costs which would, had the claimant been entitled to income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit, have been existing housing costs and not new housing costs shall, despite the preceding provisions of this Schedule, be treated as existing housing costs, and any qualifications or limitations which would have applied to those costs had the award been an award of income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit shall likewise apply to the costs in so far as they are met in an employment and support allowance;

(b) had the award of an employment and support allowance been an award of income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance and the housing costs which would then have been met would have included an additional amount met in accordance with paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations or, as the case may be, paragraph 18(1)(b) of Schedule 2 to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations, an amount equal to that additional amount must be added to the housing costs to be met under this Schedule, but that amount must be subject to the same qualifications and limitations as it would have been had the award been of income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance; and

(c) subject to paragraph 15(20), for the purposes of any linking rule or for determining whether any qualifying or other period is satisfied, any reference to an employment and support allowance in this Schedule must be taken also to include a reference to income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit.

(2) Any loan which, had the claimant been entitled to income support and not an employment and support allowance, would have been a qualifying loan for the purposes of Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations by virtue of regulation 4 of the Income Support (General) (Amendment and Transitional) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(1) (transitional protection) must be treated also as a qualifying loan for the purposes of paragraph 16 or 17, and for the purpose of determining whether a claimant would satisfy the provision of regulation 4(2) of those Regulations, a claimant in receipt of an income-related allowance must be treated as being in receipt of income support.

(1)

S.R. 1995 No. 350