The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

Valid from 11/04/2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend—

• the Social Security (General Benefit ) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 (“the General Benefit Regulations”);

• the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”);

• the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Claims and Payments Regulations”);

• the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994;

• the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit for Work) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995;

• 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 (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001;

• the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003;

• the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003;

• the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”);

• the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations”), and

• the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations”).

Regulations 3(2) to (4), 7(3) to (5) and 14(6) and (7) amend the Income Support Regulations, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations respectively, by simplifying the rules where income received from Working Tax Credit is treated as paid.

Regulations 3(6), 7(7), 12(2) and 13 also amend the Income Support Regulations, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations, the Housing Benefit Regulations and the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations respectively, to make it clear that disabled child and enhanced disability premiums continue in payment for a period of 8 weeks following the death of a child for whom child benefit was being paid.

Regulations 3(7), 7(8) and 14(10) amend the Income Support Regulations, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations respectively, by removing linking rules which had become obsolete, and amending other linking rules to make it clear that they apply where a person’s income is equal to (as well as more than) the amount of benefit payable. Regulations 3(5) and 7(6) correct an oversight in the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations respectively, so as to include a reference to “rates”.

Regulations 4 and 12(3) amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations and the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations respectively, to remove out of date references to sums payable by way of child maintenance bonus.

Regulation 6(2) and (3) amends the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 to provide a separate definition of medical evidence where a claimant is treated as being capable of work at the end of a period covered by medical evidence. By expressly cross-referring to the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976, it is made clearer that evidence for the purposes of establishing incapacity for work may include the provision of a self certificate for the first 7 days of a spell of incapacity. Similar amendments are made to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations in respect of establishing limited capability for work, (regulation 14(2)(a) and (3)).

Regulation 7(2) amends the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations to remove a provision by which benefit is disallowed if a period of sickness occurs within 12 weeks after a previous claim for employment and support allowance has ended.

Regulation 8 amends Schedule 2B to the Decisions and Appeals Regulations in relation to dates when changes of circumstances take effect for awards of state pension credit. Dates when those changes of circumstances take effect will now depend on whether the claimant is paid in advance or arrears, (paragraph (a)). Where the claimant begins receiving disability living allowance (middle or higher rate care component) or attendance allowance, specific provision is also made as to the day when the change takes effect, paragraph (b)). There is also a change to provide that where a claimant for state pension credit dies, the decision superseding the state pension credit award takes effect from the beginning of the following benefit week (paragraphs (c) to (e)).

Regulations 9 and 11 amend the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 respectively, to update the definition of “relevant interview”.

Regulation 10 amends the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 to remove the £10.50 income disregard for income support and jobseeker’s allowance currently applied to those who have been in continuous receipt of those benefits since August 2005 and who have not claimed child tax credit.

Regulation 14(2)(b), (4), (5) and (11) amend the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations to link the amounts to be disregarded from various sources of income with the current rate of the national minimum wage.

Similar amendments are made to other legislation in respect of the unemployability supplement to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (regulation 2) and to the limit of earnings from councillor’s allowance and exempt work in the context of incapacity benefit (regulations 5 and 6).

Regulation 14(8) and (9) amend regulations 149(1) and 150 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations respectively, to make clear that a work or training beneficiary is treated as having limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity from the first day within a linking term (i.e. a period of 104 weeks from the first day immediately following the last day in a period of limited capability for work), only until it is determined whether or not that beneficiary has, or is treated as having (i) limited capability for work or (ii) limited capability for work-related activity.

Regulation 14(12) amends the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations to make it clear that income received from a child dependency increase is to be disregarded when calculating income.

Regulation 15 makes consequential revocations.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulations 12 and 13, to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee, they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(b) of that Act. Otherwise they 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, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) or, as the case may be, (2A) of that section for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee or the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.