The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and this regulation and regulation 10 shall come into operation on 1st April 1998.

(2) Except in the case of regulation 10, in so far as these Regulations amend provisions relating to income support or jobseeker’s allowance, they shall come into operation on 6th April 1998 and in relation to a claimant for either income support or jobseeker’s allowance, they shall have effect from the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that claimant on or after that date and, in a case to which regulation 5(2)(b) applies, immediately after Article 18(8) of, and Schedule 7 to, the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 1998(1) come into operation.

(3) In paragraph (2) “benefit week” and “claimant” with respect to income support shall have the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations(2) and with respect to jobseeker’s allowance “benefit week” shall have the same meaning as in regulation 1(2) of the Jobseeker’s Regulations(3).

(4) In so far as these Regulations amend provisions relating to disability working allowance or family credit, they shall come into operation on 7th April 1998 and, in relation to any particular claimant for either of those benefits, they shall have effect where a claimant has an award of disability working allowance or family credit which is current on 7th April 1998, on the day following the expiration of that award.

(5) In so far as these Regulations amend provisions relating to housing benefit—

(a) in any case to which paragraph (6) applies, they shall come into operation on 1st April 1998, and

(b) in any other case, they shall come into operation on 6th April 1998.

(6) This paragraph applies in any case where—

(a) rent is payable at intervals of one month or any other interval which is not a week or a multiple thereof, or

(b) payments by way of rates are not made together with payments of rent at weekly intervals or multiples thereof.

(7) In these Regulations—

“the Disability Working Allowance Regulations” means the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(4);

“the Family Credit Regulations” means the Family Credit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(5);

“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(6);

“the Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(7);

“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations” means the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(8).

(8) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(9) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Assembly.

(1)

S.R. 1998 No. 59

(2)

The definition of “benefit week” was amended by regulation 2(a) of S.R. 1988 No. 318

(3)

The definition of “benefit week” was amended by regulation 2(2) of S.R. 1996 No. 358 and regulation 2(2)(a) of S.R. 1996 No. 503

(4)

S.R. 1992 No. 78; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1996 No. 11 and S.R. 1998 No. 2

(5)

S.R. 1987 No. 463; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1996 No. 11 and S.R. 1998 No. 2

(6)

S.R. 1987 No. 461; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1990 No. 305, S.R. 1992 No. 85, S.R. 1994 Nos. 80 and 266, S.R. 1995 No. 89, S.R. 1996 Nos. 93, 111, 405 and 488 and S.R. 1998 No. 2

(7)

S.R. 1987 No. 459; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1988 Nos. 205, 318 and 431, S.R. 1990 Nos. 33, 131 and 297, S.R. 1991 Nos. 46 and 204, S.R. 1992 Nos. 6 and 201, S.R. 1993 Nos. 195, 233 and 373, S.R. 1994 Nos. 77 and 266, S.R. 1995 No. 86, S.R. 1996 Nos. 375, 405 and 449, S.R. 1997 Nos. 22, 412 and 541 and S.R. 1998 No. 2

(8)

S.R. 1996 No. 198; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1996 Nos. 356, 358 and 503, S.R. 1997 Nos. 22, 484 and 541 and S.R. 1998 No. 2

(9)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)