The Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

Section 15 of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Fraud Act”) amends sections 105A and 106 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the Administration Act”) by substituting new offences relating to failure to notify a change of circumstances affecting entitlement to any benefit, payment or other advantage. A new set of summary or indictable offences is set out in section 105A(1A) to (1G) of the Administration Act and a new set of summary only offences is set out in section 106(1A) to (1F) of that Act.

For each offence there must be a failure to give prompt notification “in the prescribed manner to the prescribed person”. These matters are prescribed in relation to jobseeker’s allowance by regulation 3, in relation to housing benefit by regulation 4, and in relation to any other benefit, payment or advantage by regulation 5.

The requirements are prescribed only for the purposes of the above-mentioned criminal offences. They mirror existing requirements prescribed for the purposes of claims and payments under section 5 of the Administration Act.

These Regulations are made in consequence of section 15 of the Fraud Act which inserted subsections (1A) to (1G) into section 105A of the Administration Act and substituted section 106(1A) to (1F) of that Act. Section 15 of the Fraud Act was brought into operation for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations on 3rd December 2001 and for all other purposes on 7th January 2002, by virtue of the Social Security Fraud (2001 Act) (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001 (S.R. 2001 No. 416 (C. 20)). As these Regulations are made before the end of the period of 6 months from the commencement of the said section, they are accordingly exempt, by virtue of section 150(5)(b) of the Administration Act, from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.