The Housing Benefit (Extended Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Extended Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation on 9th April 2001.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(1).

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(2) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations (interpretation) in the definition of “an income-based jobseeker’s allowance”(3) for “has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has” there shall be substituted “and a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance” “have the same meanings as they have”.

Amendment of regulation 62A of the principal Regulations

3.—(1) Regulation 62A of the principal Regulations(4) (extended payments) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (7).

(2) In paragraph (1)—

(a) for “Subject to paragraph (2)” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraphs (2) and (2A), this paragraph shall apply”;

(b) at the end of sub-paragraph (a) there shall be added “and”;

(c) sub-paragraph (b) shall be omitted, and

(d) from “then that person's” to the end of the paragraph shall be omitted.

(3) In paragraph (1A)(5)—

(a) for “Subject to paragraph (2)” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraphs (2) and (2A) this paragraph shall apply”, and

(b) the words “his housing benefit shall be determined in accordance with Part II of Schedule 5A(6) (extended payments of housing benefit)” shall be omitted.

(4) For paragraph (1B)(7) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(1B) A person to whom paragraph (1) or (1A) applies shall be treated as having made a claim under this regulation, his housing benefit shall be determined in accordance with Part II of Schedule 5A (extended payments of housing benefit) and any award so determined shall be referred to as an “extended payment”.”.

(5) After paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(2A) No extended payment shall be payable to a person where, as at the day before the day on which his entitlement to income support ceased, regulation 6(5) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(8) (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work) applied to him.”.

(6) In paragraph (5)(a), in head (ii)(9) for the words after “other case” to the end of that head there shall be substituted—

“(aa) during the 4 weeks immediately following the end of the relevant benefit period, or

(bb) until the date on which his liability for rent or rates or both ends,

whichever occurs first, and”.

(7) After paragraph (5) there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(6) In paragraph (1) references to a “person” include references to a person’s partner.”.

Amendment of regulation 72 of the principal Regulations

4.  At the end of regulation 72(13)(c)(10) of the principal Regulations (time and manner in which claims are to be made) there shall be added “or has notified the appropriate authority that regulation 6(5) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work) applies to that person”.

Amendment of regulation 76 of the principal Regulations

5.  In regulation 76 of the principal Regulations (who is to make a determination)—

(a) in paragraph (4)(a)(11)—

(i) for “has claimed an extended payment within 7 days” there shall be substituted “made the notification specified in paragraph 3 of Schedule 5A within 14 days”, and

(ii) after “(“the appropriate day”)” there shall be inserted “and is treated as having claimed an extended payment under regulation 62A(1B)(12)”, and

(b) in paragraph (5)(13) for “claimed an extended payment” there shall be substituted “met the conditions specified in paragraph (4)(a)”.

Amendment of Schedule 5A to the principal Regulations

6.—(1) Schedule 5A to the principal Regulations (extended payments of housing benefit) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In paragraph 2(14)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a)—

(i) after “claimant” there shall be inserted “or his partner”;

(ii) after “allowance” there shall be inserted “or that the claimant and his partner were entitled to and in receipt of a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance”;

(b) sub-paragraph (c)(15) shall be omitted;

(c) in sub-paragraph (e)(16)—

(i) the words “in any of, or any combination of, the circumstances set out in sub-paragraph (c)” shall be omitted, and

(ii) in head (i) “and” where it last appears shall be omitted;

(iii) at the end of head (ii) there shall be added “and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, a reference to the claimant being entitled to and in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance shall include a reference to the claimant and his partner being entitled to and in receipt of a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance”;

(iv) at the end there shall be added the following—

“and

(iii) references to the claimant include references to his partner.”.

(3) For paragraph 3 there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“3.   The conditions prescribed in this paragraph are that the claimant or the claimant’s partner—

(a) notifies either the designated office or the appropriate office that he or his partner—

(i) has commenced, or is about to commence, remunerative work, or

(ii) has commenced, or is about to commence, receiving remuneration for work or an increased amount of remuneration for work,

so that entitlement to income support or to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance ceases and that work, or as the case may be, remuneration, is expected to last 5 weeks or more, and

(b) makes the notification no later than 4 weeks after the day on which the claimant or his partner first undertakes remunerative work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i) or first receives remuneration for the work or an increased amount of remuneration for the work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(ii).”.

(4) In paragraph 4 (calculation and payment of an extended payment)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (4)(17), at the beginning there shall be inserted “Subject to sub-paragraph (5)”, and

(b) after sub-paragraph (4) there shall be added the following sub-paragraph—

“(5) No extended payment shall be payable for a week which is a rent and rate-free period for the purposes of regulation 70(1).”.

(5) In paragraph 13(1)(18) (interpretation), the definition of “relevant trainee” shall be omitted.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 6th March 2001.

L.S.

John O'Neill

Senior Officer of the

Department for Social Development

The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 7th March 2001.

L.S.

Andrew McCormick

Senior Officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel