The Social Security (Contributions Credits for Parents and Carers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 23A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) was inserted by section 3 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. It provides that a contributor to whom the section applies shall be credited with a Class 3 national insurance contribution for each week falling after 6th April 2010 in respect of which the contributor was a relevant carer.

Subsection (3) of section 23A provides that two of the criteria for being a “relevant carer” are that a person is a foster carer or is engaged in caring.

Regulation 1 provides for citation and commencement and regulation 2 provides for interpretation.

Regulation 3 makes transitional provision.

Regulation 4 provides the meaning of “foster parent”.

Regulation 5 provides the meaning of “engaged in caring”.

Regulation 6 provides that the partner of a person who is awarded child benefit is only engaged in caring where the person awarded child benefit has sufficient contributions to satisfy the contribution conditions for a retirement pension in respect of the tax year.

Regulation 7 provides that a person will also be engaged in caring for a period of 12 weeks prior to, and following the end of, an award of carer’s allowance, following the end of an award of relevant benefit and following the end of a period during which the Department for Social Development (“the Department”) considers care for 20 or more hours per week to be appropriate.

Regulation 8 provides that persons not ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland and persons undergoing a sentence of imprisonment shall not come within the definitions provided by these Regulations.

Regulation 9 provides that foster parents and partners of persons awarded child benefit must apply to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to be credited.

Regulation 10 provides that persons engaged in caring by reference to a relevant benefit or by providing care at a level the Department considers appropriate must apply to the Department to be credited.

Regulation 11 provides for information requirements in the case of an application where a person cares for another for 20 or more hours per week.

Regulation 12 imposes a time limit within which any application must be made.

The Department’s function in deciding whether a person is a relevant carer by virtue of section 23A(3)(a) (award of child benefit), (3)(b) (foster parent) and (3)(c) (persons engaged in caring by virtue of being the partner of a person in receipt of child benefit) of the 1992 Act was transferred to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs by the National Insurance Contribution Credits (Transfer of Functions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2010.

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.