The Social Security (Lone Parents and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”), the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Lone Parents Regulations”), the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the Work-focused Interviews Regulations”) and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.

These Regulations substitute and amend paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations with the result that the entitlement of a lone parent to income support will depend on the age of his or her youngest child.

The changes made by these Regulations take effect in stages, beginning on the day after the day on which they are made. Regulation 2 substitutes a new paragraph 1 in Schedule 1B with the result that a lone parent falls within that paragraph if he or she is responsible for a youngest child aged under 12 who is a member of his or her household. From 26th October 2009, paragraph 1 of that Schedule applies to a lone parent with a youngest child aged under 10 (regulation 3), and on 25th October 2010 it applies to those with a youngest child aged under 7 (regulation 4).

In each case, these Regulations make savings and transitional provisions in relation to certain existing claimants (regulation 13).

Regulations 5 to 10 amend the Lone Parents Regulations and the Work-focused Interviews Regulations concerning the frequency of work-focused interviews. They require certain lone parents who are entitled to income support to take part in an interview every 13 weeks depending on the age of their youngest child in a particular year.

Except for certain existing claimants, the requirement first applies on the day after the day these Regulations are made in the case of lone parents with a youngest child aged 9, 10 or 11 and who only fall within paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations.

On 26th October 2009 the requirement to take part in a work-focused interview every 13 weeks applies to lone parents with a youngest child aged 6, 7, 8 or 9 (regulations 6 and 9), and on 25th October 2010 it applies to those with a youngest child aged 6 (regulations 7 and 10). Again, the additional requirements apply to those who are entitled to income support only because they are a lone parent.

These Regulations also provide that certain lone parents who are entitled to income support immediately before the day on which these Regulations first come into operation and who are responsible for a youngest child aged 11 whose 12th birthday occurs on or before 5th July 2009 are not required to meet the requirement, imposed by these Regulations, to take part in a work-focused interview every 13 weeks (see paragraph 5 of Part 1 of the Schedule).

Regulation 11 makes various amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to make additional provision concerning the circumstances in which claimants who have caring responsibilities in relation to a child are required to be available for and actively seeking employment.

In particular, it amends regulation 72(2) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations concerning good cause for refusing or failing to carry out a jobseeker’s direction or to apply for or accept employment to which a jobseeker has been referred by an employment officer by setting out the circumstances in which child care expenses must be taken into account. Those circumstances relate to where the person necessarily incurs, or would incur, unreasonable child care expenses as the result of the employment or direction.

Regulation 11 also provides that for the purposes of determining good cause the availability and suitability of child care must be taken into account when considering whether a claimant’s caring responsibilities for a child make it unreasonable for the person to undertake a particular employment or carry out the jobseeker’s direction. It further provides that those matters must also be considered in relation to just cause for voluntarily leaving employment.

In addition, regulation 11 inserts a new regulation 73A into those Regulations. It provides that any caring responsibilities for a child or necessary child care expenses which represent an unreasonable amount of that person’s earnings must be taken into account in determining whether or not a person has just cause for leaving employment.

It also amends the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to provide that a single person who is responsible for a child may be treated as a person in hardship for the purposes of Part 9 of those Regulations if the child will suffer hardship unless a jobseeker’s allowance is paid to the person.

Regulation 12 amends the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 to remove the requirement that a claimant’s assessment phase must have ended before entitlement to either the support component or work-related activity component under those Regulations can arise. This provision applies to certain lone parents who were in receipt of a disability premium as part of their income support and who lose their entitlement to that benefit by virtue of these Regulations.

Regulation 13 makes provision for additional transitional protection to be given for a limited period to lone parents who are existing claimants and who are also full-time students or following a full-time course pursuant to the New Deal for Lone Parents or relevant scheme approved by the Department for Employment and Learning. It also provides that any requirement to take part in a work-focused interview every 13 weeks imposed by these Regulations continues to apply to a person in this group notwithstanding an increase in the age of his or her youngest child.

Regulation 14 makes consequential revocations.

Finally, the Schedule makes provision for the changes to paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B of the Income Support Regulations, made by these Regulations, to take effect at a later date in the case of certain existing claimants linked to the age of that person’s youngest child and the date on which the child’s birthday falls. In addition, where certain lone parents with a youngest child aged under 16 have claimed, or are treated as having made a claim, for a Child Tax Credit but no award has been made by the date on which the change in entitlement would otherwise take effect, that date is extended by a further 4 weeks.

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.