The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Priority as between certain debts

5.—(1) This paragraph applies to a claimant (“C”) where, in relation to any assessment period—

(a) a deduction could otherwise be made from C’s award under more than one of the provisions mentioned in sub-paragraph (2); and

(b) the amount of universal credit payable to C in relation to that assessment period is insufficient to enable the Department to meet all of the liabilities for which in C’s case deductions may be made under those provisions or the deduction, were it to be made, would mean that the maximum amount referred to in paragraph 4(1) would be exceeded.

(2) The provisions are—

(a) paragraph 6 (housing costs);

(b) paragraph 7 (rent and service charges included in rent);

(c) paragraph 8 (fuel costs);

(d) paragraph 9 (rates);

(e) paragraph 10 (water charges);

(f) paragraph 11 (payments in place of child support maintenance);

(g) Schedule 6 (deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care);

(h) section 74(2) of the Administration Act (recovery of social fund awards);

(i) section 69ZH(1)(a) or (b) of the Administration Act(1) (recovery of hardship payments etc.);

(j) section 109A of the Administration Act(2) (penalty as alternative to prosecution) where an overpayment is recoverable from a person by, or due from a person to, the Department or the Housing Executive under or by virtue of section 69, 69ZB or 73 of that Act(3);

(k) sections 69, 69ZC or 73(4) of the Administration Act(4) (overpayments and deduction from benefit) or an overpayment of working tax credit or child tax credit, where in each case, the overpayment (or part of it) is the result of fraud;

(l) section 69, 69ZC or 73(4) of the Administration Act or an overpayment of working tax credit or child tax credit, where in each case, the overpayment (or part of it) is not the result of fraud;

(m) paragraph 12 (integration loans).

(3) Where this paragraph applies to a claimant, the Department must make a deduction under any of the provisions mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) in accordance with sub-paragraphs (4) and (5).

(4) The Department must give priority to any such deductions in the order in which they are listed in sub-paragraph (2), with housing costs having the priority.

(5) Where two or more provisions mentioned in any single head of sub-paragraph (2) apply to the claimant, unless the Department directs otherwise, those deductions have equal priority with each other and the amount of such deductions are to be apportioned accordingly.

(6) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(k) and (l), an overpayment is the result of fraud if, in relation to that overpayment or that part of it, the claimant—

(a) has been found guilty of an offence whether under statute or otherwise;

(b) made an admission after caution of deception or fraud for the purpose of obtaining benefit under the Administration Act, or in the case of a tax credit, under the Tax Credits Act 2002(5); or

(c) agreed to pay a penalty under section 109A of the Administration Act and the agreement has not been withdrawn.

(1)

Section 69ZH is inserted by Article 109(1) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.

(2)

Section 109A was inserted by Article 14 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1182 (N.I. 11)) and amended by section 13 of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 and Articles 109(3), 115(1) to (7) and 116(1) of, and Part 1 of Schedule 12 to, the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.

(3)

Section 69 was amended by Article 33(1) of, and paragraph 31 of Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 to, the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15)), section 2 of the Social Security (Overpayments) Act 1996 (c. 51), Schedule 6 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21), paragraph 62 of Schedule 6 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10)), paragraph 10 of Schedule 2 to the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, paragraph 110 of Schedule 24 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), section 135(4) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c. 14), section 41(3) of, and paragraph 4(6) of Schedule 3 to, the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007, section 107(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) and is amended by Articles 109(2) and 110(1) of, and paragraph 9 of Schedule 9 to, the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015, section 69ZB is inserted by Article 109(1) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 and section 73 was amended by Article 15 of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, section 62 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (c. 4 (N.I.)) and is amended by Article 110(3) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.

(4)

Section 69ZC is inserted by Article 109(1) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.

(5)

2002 c. 21.