The Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1988

Welfare foods

Schemes for distribution, etc., of welfare foods

13.—(1) In this Article “welfare food” means liquid cows' milk, dried milks, vitamin tablets and vitamin drops.

(2) The Department may by order add any food to or remove any food from the foods referred to in paragraph (1).

(3) The Department may by regulations make a scheme, or a number of schemes—

(a) for the provision of welfare food; and

(b) for the making of payments to such persons as may be determined by or under the scheme who are entitled to receive a welfare food but who—

(i) do not receive it;

(ii) do not receive the amount to which they are so entitled.

(4) Any such regulations—

(a) may provide for the distribution or disposal, by or on behalf of the Department, of any welfare food, and the use or consumption of any such food;

(b) may control any prices to be charged for any welfare food provided under the scheme;

(c) may provide for an amount to be reimbursed by the Department to a supplier of any welfare food under the scheme;

(d) may provide for requiring such information or evidence as may be reasonably needed in connection with the administration of the scheme to be furnished by such persons as may be specified to an officer of the Department duly authorised in that behalf, on production by the officer (if required to do so) of his authority; and

(e) may direct that specified provisions relating to the administration of benefit under the principal Act (including provisions relating to offences and criminal proceedings) shall have effect for the purpose of the administration of the scheme, subject to any modifications specified in the regulations,

and in sub-paragraph (e) “modifications” includes additions, omissions and amendments.

(5) The power conferred by paragraph (4) to make regulations requiring a person to produce information or evidence shall include power to make regulations providing that—

(a) if documents specified by an officer are produced—

(i) he may take copies of them or extracts from them; and

(ii) he may require that person, or, where that person is a body corporate, any other person who is a present or past officer of, or is employed by, the body corporate, to provide an explanation of any of them; and

(b) if documents so specified are not produced, he may require the person who was required to produce them to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where they are.

(6) Section 155(1) to (3A) of the principal Act (extent of powers) shall apply to powers conferred by this Article to make regulations or orders as they apply to any power to make regulations or orders conferred by that Act but as if for the references to that Act there were substituted references to this Article.

(7) Section 156(1) of the principal Act (confirmatory procedure) shall apply to orders under this Article and regulations under this Article shall be subject to negative resolution.

(8) The Welfare Foods Act (Northern Ireland) 1968(1) shall cease to have effect.

(1)

1968 c. 26 (N.I.)