The Social Security (Credits and Contributions) (Jobseeker’s Allowance Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975 (“the Credits Regulations”) and the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979 (“the Contributions Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends the Credits Regulations in consequence of the coming into operation of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) and also makes some miscellaneous amendments. In particular, it separates into 3 regulations the matters formerly covered by regulation 9 of the Credits Regulations—

(a) the new regulation 8A provides for credits to be awarded for weeks in respect of which a jobseeker’s allowance is paid or the conditions for receiving that allowance are satisfied;

(b) the new regulation 8B replaces the existing provision for entitlement to credits during periods of incapacity for work;

(c) the substituted regulation 9 replaces the existing provision for restricting the crediting of earnings in respect of periods of unemployment or incapacity for work for the purposes of entitlement to short-term incapacity benefit.

Regulation 3 amends the Contributions Regulations in consequence of the coming into operation of the Order.

Regulation 4 provides for savings and transitional arrangements.

Regulation 5 and the Schedule contain consequential revocations.

These Regulations correspond to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.