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PART 2N.I.BENEFIT CAP

Interpretation of Part 2N.I.

3.—(1) In this Part—

“child” means a person under the age of 16;

“couple” means—

(a)

subject to paragraph (e), [F1two people who are married to, or civil partners of,] each other and are members of the same household;

(b)

[F2two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if spouses of each other;]

(c)

F3...

(d)

F3...or

(e)

in a case where a person is a member of a polygamous marriage, that person and the member of the polygamous marriage to whom that person was first married,

F4...

“housing association” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 M1;

“housing benefit” means housing benefit under section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act M2;

“Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 M3;

“landlord” has the same meaning as in regulation 92 of the Housing Benefit Regulations M4;

[F5“welfare benefit” has the same meaning as in Article 101(7) of the 2015 Order;]

“young person” has the same meaning as in regulation 17(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations.

(2) For the purposes of regulation 4(3)(b), the circumstances in which a person is treated as responsible for a child or young person are the same as those set out in regulation 18 of the Housing Benefit Regulations.

[F6(3) In this Part the date the new benefit cap is applied to a person is the date the person’s award of housing benefit under regulation 73D of the Housing Benefit Regulations is reduced consequent upon the first amendment to the definition of the relevant amount in regulation 73G of the Housing Benefit Regulations.]

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M21992 c. 7; section 122 was amended by section 60 and Schedule 6 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21)

M4Regulation 92 has been amended but the amendments are not relevant to these regulations

Benefit capN.I.

4.—F7(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F8(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) F9...Subject to paragraph (6), a person is entitled to a welfare supplementary payment under this regulation for any period in respect of which—

(a)the amount of housing benefit to which the person is entitled is reduced in accordance with regulation 73D of the Housing Benefit Regulations; and

(b)the person resides with a child or young person for whom the person, or as the case may be, the person's partner is responsible.

F10(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F10(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) The period in respect of which welfare supplementary payments are payable under this regulation F11... [F12ends on 31st March 2025] F13....

[F14(7) A welfare supplementary payment to which a person is entitled under this regulation must be paid—

(a)in a case where the person’s landlord is the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, every four weeks, or as soon as is reasonably practicable after that, in arrears,

(b)in any other case, every four weeks, at the time that housing benefit is paid to that person, in arrears.]

F15(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F15(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F16(10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

[F17Amount of welfare supplementary payment payable in respect of benefit capN.I.

4A.—(1) The amount of welfare supplementary payment payable under this Part is calculated in accordance with this regulation.

[F18(2) Welfare supplementary payment is equal to the amount by which a person’s award of housing benefit is reduced in accordance with regulation 73D of the Housing Benefit Regulations.]

[F19(2A) At times after the revocation of paragraph (3), paragraph (2) has effect in relation to a person even if there is a time before revocation when paragraph (3) had effect to reduce an entitlement under paragraph (2) in the person’s case.]

F20(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Textual Amendments

[F21Effective date of change of circumstancesN.I.

4B.—(1) This regulation applies where, as a consequence of a change of circumstances as set out in regulation 4A(3), there is a change in the amount of welfare supplementary payment to which a person is entitled.

(2) The effective date of that change of circumstances, for the purpose of calculating the person’s entitlement to welfare supplementary payment, is the date on which the change in the person’s award of housing benefit takes effect.]

Textual Amendments

[F22Persons to whom welfare supplementary payments may be madeN.I.

4C.—(1) A welfare supplementary payment to which a person (A) is entitled under this Part must be paid to A, but this is subject to the following.

(2) Payment may be made to A’s landlord if—

(a)A’s housing benefit is paid to the landlord, and

(b)the landlord is—

(i)registered under regulation 3 of the Landlord Registration Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014,

(ii)the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, or

(iii)a housing association.

(3) Payment may be made to A’s landlord’s agent if—

(a)A’s housing benefit is paid to the agent, and

(b)the landlord is registered under regulation 3 of the Landlord Registration Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014.

(4) Payment may be made to a person that A has nominated (other than A’s landlord, or A’s landlord’s agent) in accordance with regulation 91(3) of the Housing Benefit Regulations.]

Textual Amendments

[F23Termination of welfare supplementary payment if person ceases to be entitled to housing benefitN.I.

4D.—(1) This regulation applies where a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit.

(2) Welfare supplementary payment under this Part must cease to be paid from the day after the first payment of welfare supplementary payment following the date on which the person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit.

F24(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Textual Amendments

[F26Termination of welfare supplementary payment if person ceases to be affected by benefit capN.I.

4E.—(1) This regulation applies where the housing benefit to which a person is entitled ceases to be reduced in accordance with regulation 73D of the Housing Benefit Regulations.

(2) Welfare supplementary payment under this Part must cease to be paid from the day after the first payment of welfare supplementary payment following the date on which the person’s housing benefit ceases to be reduced.

F27(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Textual Amendments

[F28Entitlement to welfare supplementary payment where couple separatesN.I.

4F.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies where—

(a)A and B were a couple,

(b)on or after 31 May 2016, A and B ceased to be a couple, and

(c)immediately before that, either the couple or A were entitled to a welfare supplementary payment under this Part.

(2) Where this paragraph applies, regulation 4(2)(a) is to be treated as being satisfied in respect of B on the date that A and B cease to be a couple.

(3) Paragraph (4) applies where—

(a)A and B were a couple,

(b)on or after 31 May 2016, A and B ceased to be a couple, and

(c)immediately before that, either the couple or A were entitled to a welfare benefit.

(4) Where this paragraph applies, then for the purposes of regulation 4(2)(a), B is to be treated as if B was entitled to that welfare benefit from the date that the couple or A were entitled to it.]

Textual Amendments

[F29Effect of sanctionsN.I.

4G.  For the avoidance of doubt, where a person is subject to a benefit sanction (for example for failure to take part in a work-focused interview), the effect of the sanction is to be disregarded in calculating the amount of welfare supplementary payment payable.]

Textual Amendments

[F30Information sharingN.I.

4H.—(1) The Northern Ireland Housing Executive may supply to the Department such information as the Department may require for the purposes of functions relating to the payment and administration of welfare supplementary payments.

(2) The Department may supply to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive such information relating to the payment of welfare supplementary payments as the Northern Ireland Housing Executive may require for the purposes of reconciling its accounts.

[F31(2A) The Department may supply information which relates to the payment and administration of welfare supplementary payments and is held by the Department-

(a)to a registered housing association, for use by the association in connection with the management of tenants’ accounts; or

(b)to a body which appears to the Department to represent housing associations in Northern Ireland, for use by those associations in that connection.]

(3) Information supplied under this regulation must not be supplied by the recipient of the information to any other person or body without—

(a)the authority of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in the case of information supplied under paragraph (1),

(b)the authority of the Department, in the case of information supplied under paragraph (2) [F32or (2A)] .

(4) Where information supplied under this regulation has been used for the purposes for which it was supplied, it is lawful for it to be used for any purposes for which information held for those purposes could reasonably be used.

(5) This regulation does not limit the circumstances in which information may be supplied apart from this regulation.]

Textual Amendments

Amendment of the Discretionary Financial Assistance RegulationsN.I.

5.  In regulation 3 of the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 M5 after paragraph (j) add the following paragraph—

“(k)a reduction under regulation 73D of the Housing Benefit Regulations of the amount of housing benefit to which a person is entitled if that reduction—

(i)relates to the housing benefit of a person who is entitled to a welfare supplementary payment under Part 2 of the Welfare Supplementary Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016; and

(ii)is no more than the amount specified in regulation 4(4) of those Regulations.”.

Marginal Citations

M5S.R. 2001 No. 216; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 2002 No. 80, SR. 2008 No.111, S.R. 2011 No. 291, S.R. 2012 No. 44 and S.R. 2014 No. 150