The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

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

Regulation 2 amends the Income Support Regulations in relation to a person who is in receipt of income support who is a member of the Territorial Army or another reserve force or whose partner is a member of one of those forces.

Regulation 2(3) provides that earnings derived from participation as a member of the reserve forces in annual continuous training, whether paid alone or together with other earnings derived from the same source, are to be taken into account, for the purpose of entitlement to income support, for a period of the same duration as the training undertaken, except where the training exceeds 14 days, in which case they must be taken into account over a period of 14 days. The period over which the earnings are to be taken into account begins on the date on which the earnings are treated as having been paid in accordance with regulation 31 of the Income Support Regulations.

Regulation 2(4) provides that earnings derived from participation in annual continuous training will be disregarded to the extent that they would have the effect (when aggregated with any other income) of reducing a claimant's entitlement to income support to less than 10 pence per week. This ensures that claimants in receipt of income support can retain a minimum entitlement to that benefit in the weeks in which their or their partner's earnings for participation in annual training are taken into account.

Regulation 3 amends the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations.

Regulation 3(2) amends regulation 50 of those Regulations so that a person who is taking part in annual continuous training, as a member of the territorial or reserve forces, for a period not exceeding 15 days in any calendar year, will be treated as being in Northern Ireland, for the purpose of entitlement to a jobseeker's allowance (“JSA)”, when temporarily absent from Northern Ireland for the purpose of the training, provided the person or their partner was entitled to JSA immediately before the period of absence.

Regulation 3(3) amends regulation 94(2B)(a) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations to remove text that was inserted in error by the Jobseeker's Allowance (Members of the Reserve Forces) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 concerning the period over which earnings are to be taken into account which are received by a claimant who participates in annual continuous training of 15 days as a member of the territorial or reserve forces.

Regulation 4 amends the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations. It does so in relation to employment and support allowance in the same way as regulation 2 amends the Income Support Allowance Regulations but only in relation to earnings of a claimant's partner derived from participation in annual continuous training as a member of the territorial or reserve forces.

Regulation 5 makes a consequential amendment.

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 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.