3. In regulation 34 of the State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(1) (persons entitled to income support immediately before the appointed day) –
(a)at the beginning of paragraph (7), there shall be inserted “Notwithstanding the provisions of Schedule 2B of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations,”;
(b)after paragraph (7) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –
“(7A) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (7), where the relevant change of circumstances is that the transferee becomes a patient(2) again within the same benefit week in which he ceased to be a patient, the superseding decision in respect of becoming a patient again shall take effect from the first day of the benefit week following the benefit week in which the change occurs.”.
“Patient” means a person (other than a prisoner) who is regarded as receiving free in-patient treatment within the meaning of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975 (S.R. 1975 No. 109)