Part XIIISocial Security Systems Outside Northern Ireland

Reciprocity

154Reciprocal arrangements with Great Britain - income-related benefits and child benefit

(1)

The Department may with the consent of the Department of Finance and Personnel make reciprocal arrangements with the authority administering any scheme in force in Great Britain and appearing to the Department to correspond substantially with a scheme contained in the Contributions and Benefits Act and this Act concerning any of the benefits to which this section applies for co-ordinating the operation of those schemes, and such arrangements may include provision for making any necessary financial adjustments.

(2)

This section applies to the following benefits—

(a)

income support;

(b)

family credit;

(c)

disability working allowance;

(d)

housing benefit; or

(e)

child benefit.

(3)

Regulations may make provision for giving effect to any such arrangements; and such regulations may in particular provide—

(a)

for modifying any provision of this Act or the Contributions and Benefits Act or any regulations made under such a provision;

(b)

without prejudice to paragraph (a) above, for securing that acts, omissions and events having any effect for the purposes of the scheme in force in Great Britain shall have a corresponding effect for the purposes of this Act and the Contributions and Benefits Act (but not so as to confer any double benefit);

(c)

for determining, in cases where rights accrue both under that scheme and under this Act and the Contributions and Benefits Act, which of those rights shall be available to the person concerned.