The Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these regulations—

“the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1);

“the EEA Regulations” means the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006(2);

“the ESA Regulations” means the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016(3);

“the ITEPA” means the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003(4);

“the Medical Evidence Regulations” means the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(5);

“the Order” means the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015;

“adopter” has the meaning in regulation 88(3)(a);

“attendance allowance” means—

(a)

an attendance allowance under section 64 of the Contributions and Benefits Act(6);

(b)

an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of that Act (increases where constant attendance needed and for exceptionally severe disablement);

(c)

a payment by virtue of Article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(7) or any analogous payment;

(d)

any payment based on the need for attendance which is paid as an addition to a war disablement pension;

(e)

armed forces independence payment under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011;

“authority” has the meaning in Article 2 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(8);

“bereavement allowance” means an allowance under section 39B of the Contributions and Benefits Act(9);

“blind” means certified as severely sight impaired or blind by a consultant ophthalmologist;

“care leaver” has the meaning in regulation 8(4);

“carer’s allowance” means a carer’s allowance under section 70 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“carer element” has the meaning in regulation 30;

“childcare costs element” has the meaning in regulation 32;

“child element” has the meaning in regulation 25;

“close relative” in relation to a person, means—

(f)

a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother or sister; and

(g)

if any of the above is a member of a couple, the other member of the couple;

“confinement” has the meaning in regulation 8(4);

“course of advanced education” has the meaning in regulation 12;

“disability living allowance” means an allowance under section 71 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“earned income” has the meaning in regulation 51;

“employment and support allowance” means an allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007(10) as amended by Schedule 3 and Part 1 of Schedule 12 to the Order;

“expected number of hours per week” has the meaning in regulation 87;

“foster parent” means the person with whom a child is, or is proposed to be, placed under the Foster Placement (Children) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(11);

“grant” has the meaning in regulation 68;

“health care professional” means (except in regulation 96)—

(h)

a registered medical practitioner;

(i)

a registered nurse; or

(j)

an occupational therapist or physiotherapist registered with a regulatory body established by an Order in Council under section 60 of the Health Act 1999(12);

“housing costs element” has the meaning in regulation 26;

“HSC trust” means a Health and Social Care trust established under Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(13);

“individual threshold” has the meaning in regulation 89(2);

“industrial injuries benefit” means a benefit under Part 5 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“jobseeker’s allowance” means an allowance under the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 as amended by Part 1 of Schedule 12 to the Order (removing references to an income-based allowance);

“LCW element” and “LCWRA element” have the meaning in regulation 28;

“looked after by an authority” in relation to a child or young person means a child or young person who is looked after by an authority within the meaning of Article 25 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

“maternity allowance” means a maternity allowance under section 35 or 35B of the Contributions and Benefits Act(14);

“monthly earnings” has the meaning in regulation 89(6);

“national insurance contributions” means contributions under Part 1 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“National Minimum Wage Regulations” means that National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015.(15)

“paid work” means work done for payment or in expectation of payment and does not include being engaged by a charitable or voluntary organisation, or as a volunteer, in circumstances in which the payment received by or due to be paid to the person is in respect of expenses;

“partner” means (except in regulation 77) the other member of a couple;

“personal independence payment” means an allowance under Part 5 of the Order;

“prisoner” means—

(a)

a person who is detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under a sentence imposed by a court; or

(b)

is on temporary release in accordance with the provisions of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953(16),

other than a person who is detained in hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(17);

“qualifying young person” has the meaning in regulation 6;

“redundancy” has the meaning in Article 174(1) of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996(18);

“Regional Health and Social Care Board” means a Board established under section 7 of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009(19);

“regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person” has the meaning in regulation 31;

“relevant childcare” has the meaning in regulation 37;

“responsible for a child or qualifying young person” has the meaning in regulation 4;

“statutory adoption pay” means a payment under Part XIIZB of the Contributions and Benefits Act(20);

“statutory maternity pay” means a payment under Part XII of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“statutory paternity pay” means statutory paternity pay under Part XIIZA of the Contributions and Benefits Act(21);

“statutory shared parental pay” means statutory shared parental pay payable in accordance with Part XIIZC of the Contributions and Benefits Act(22);

“statutory sick pay” means a payment under Part XI of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“student loan” has the meaning in regulation 68;

“terminally ill” means suffering from a progressive disease where death in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 6 months;

“total outstanding reduction period” has the meaning in regulation 98(5);

“trade dispute” has the meaning as in Article 127 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(23);

“unearned income” has the meaning in regulation 66;

“war disablement pension” means any retired pay, pension or allowance payable in respect of disablement under an instrument specified in section 639(2) of the ITEPA;

“widowed mother’s allowance” means an allowance under section 37 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“widowed parent’s allowance” means an allowance under section 39A of the Contributions and Benefits Act(24);

“widow’s pension” means a pension under section 38 of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations and notwithstanding section 39(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(25), where a period of time is expressed to begin on, or to be reckoned from, a particular day, that day shall be included in the period.

(1)

1992 c. 7 (N.I.).

(2)

S.I. 2006/1003.

(3)

S.R. 2016 No. 219.

(4)

2003 c. 1.

(5)

S.R. 1976 No.175.

(6)

Section 64 was amended by section 63(1) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999(S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)) and paragraph 4 of Schedule 9 to the Order.

(7)

S.I. 1983/686; Article 14 was substituted by S.I. 2001/420, Article 15 was amended by S.I. 2001/420 and Article 16 was amended by S.I. 1984/1675 and S.I. 2001/420.

(8)

S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2).

(9)

Section 39B was inserted by Article 52(2) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

(10)

2007 c. 2 (N.I.).

(11)

S.R. 1996 No. 467.

(12)

1999 c. 8.

(13)

1991/194 (N.I. 1) (as amended by Schedule 6 to the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009).

(14)

Section 35B was inserted by regulation 2(5) of S.R. 2014 No. 102.

(15)

S.I. 2015/621, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2015/1724 and 2016/68.

(16)

1953 c. 18.

(17)

S.I. 1986/595 (N.I. 4).

(18)

S.I. 1996/1919 (N.I. 16).

(19)

2009 c. 1 (N.I.).

(20)

Part XIIZB was inserted by Article 6 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/2836 (N.I. 2)).

(21)

Part XIIZA was inserted by Article 5 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002.

(22)

Part XIIZC was inserted by section 5(2) of the Work and Families Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 1).

(23)

S.I. 1995/1980 (N.I. 12).

(24)

Section 39A was inserted by Article 52(2) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

(25)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.).