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These Regulations extend the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance to certain severely visually impaired people.
Regulation 2 inserts new paragraphs into regulation 12 of the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992. The effect is that a person will qualify for the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance if that person has the prescribed level of severe visual impairment and has been certified as being severely sight impaired or blind by a consultant ophthalmologist.
Regulation 3 prescribes registered optometrists and orthoptists as health care professionals in relation to a claim for disability living allowance to which section 73(1AB) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 applies. This enables the Department to exercise its power, under Article 19 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, to refer a person who makes a claim for disability living allowance on the basis of a severe visual impairment, to an optometrist or orthoptist, in cases where further clinical information is required in order to determine the claim.
Section 73(1AB) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, one of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, was inserted by section 13(4) of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 and brought into operation for certain purposes on 23rd September 2010 and 15th October 2010 and for all other purposes on 11th April 2010, by virtue of the Welfare Reform (2010 Act) (Commencement No. 1 and Transitory Provision) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010 No. 327 (C. 19)).
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.
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