The Social Security (Amendment) (Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”) and the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987. They also revoke the Social Security (Lone Parents) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (regulation 2).

In particular, these Regulations prescribe the circumstances in which the applicable amount of a claimant for housing benefit, income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance who is a lone parent, will include the lone parent rate of family premium (regulations 5, 8 and 10).

These Regulations also provide that a lone parent who satisfies the relevant conditions in the period before these Regulations take effect, will requalify for the premium in income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance following a break in the eligibility conditions of not more than 12 weeks (regulations 8 and 10).

These Regulations also make related amendments to those regulations which—

(a) disregard certain sums in the calculation of a lone parent’s earnings (regulations 6, 9 and 11);

(b) change the conditions of entitlement of lone parents to an extended payment of housing benefit (regulation 7);

(c) in housing benefit, provide that students who are lone parents are treated as liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling (regulation 3) and that certain lone parents are excluded from reductions in eligible rent (regulation 4).

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), (“the 1992 Act”), they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(a) of that Act. Otherwise they make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding 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 1992 Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.