39.—(1) This regulation prescribes the person to whom, and manner in which, a change of circumstances must be notified for the purpose of sections 105A(1A) to (1G) and 106(1A) to (1F) of the Administration Act(1) (offences relating to failure to notify a change of circumstances).
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), notice of a change of circumstances must be given to the Department at the appropriate office—
(a)in writing or by telephone (unless the Department determines in any case that notice must be in writing or may be given otherwise than in writing or by telephone); or
(b)in writing if in any class of case the Department requires written notice (unless it determines in any case to accept notice given otherwise than in writing).
(3) Where the notice in writing referred to in paragraph (2) is given or sent by an electronic communication that notice must be given or sent in accordance with the provisions set out in Schedule 1.
Section 105A was inserted by Article 12 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1182 (N.I. 11)) and subsections (1A) to (1G) were inserted by section 15(1)(b) of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) Act 2001 (c. 17 (N.I.)), in section 106 subsection (1A) was inserted by Article 12 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and subsections (1A) to (1F) were substituted for that subsection by section 15(2) of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001.