The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Claims and Payments Regulations”), the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Housing Benefit Decisions and Appeals Regulations”), the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the Housing Benefit State Pension Credit Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends the Claims and Payments Regulations to—

• clarify the circumstances in which there is no requirement to make a claim in relation to an award of a bereavement payment (paragraph (2));

• provide the Department for Social Development (“the Department”) with a discretion to accept claims for income support or jobseeker’s allowance by telephone (paragraph (3));

• clarify the date on which a claim for a relevant benefit can be treated as made (paragraph (4)(a) and (b));

• align the rules on backdating claims for adult or child dependency increases of carer’s allowance with those on claims for carer’s allowance and treat the date of claim for carer’s allowance as the first pay day in the first benefit week that the qualifying benefit is awarded (paragraph (4)(c) and (d));

• clarify that long term benefits may be paid at intervals not exceeding 13 weeks in arrears (paragraph (5)).

Regulation 3 amends the Decisions and Appeals Regulations to—

• allow for a revision or supersession where, after the original decision is made, a late or unpaid contribution is treated as paid at an earlier date (paragraphs (2) and (3));

• clarify the date from which a supersession is effective and permit a supersession to be made from the day after the last day that carer’s allowance was paid to a person other than the claimant or the claimant’s partner where the claimant is a disabled person’s partner (paragraph (4)(a) to (c));

• set out the date from which a decision which is superseded under regulation 6(2)(r) is to take effect, remove the requirement to identify the pay day before making a superseding decision and clarify the effective supersession date where the claimant is no longer subject to the own occupation test as he has passed the personal capability assessment (paragraph (4)(d) to (f)).

Regulation 4 amends the Housing Benefit Decisions and Appeals Regulations to—

• clarify the circumstances when, while an appeal is pending, housing benefit can be suspended (paragraph (2));

• permit a relevant authority to appoint a person to act for a deceased person in proceedings beyond the appeal tribunal stage (paragraph (3)).

Regulation 5 amends regulation 77(11) of the Housing Benefit Regulations to use terminology consistent with regulation 7(7) and 7(10) of those Regulations and regulation 6 makes an equivalent amendment to regulation 57(11) of the Housing Benefit State Pension Credit Regulations.

Regulation 7 makes consequential revocations.

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.