The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019

Citation N.I.

1.  This Order may be cited as the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019.

Interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) In this Order—

[F1 “the 1992 Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;]

“the 2002 Act” means the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 M1 ;

“the appointed day” means the day referred to in Article 3;

[F2 “assessment period”, in relation to universal credit entitlement, has the same meaning as in regulation 22 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016;]

F3 ...

“the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 M2 ;

“the No. 8 Order” means the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 8 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2017 M3 ;

“polygamous marriage” has the same meaning as in regulation 3(4) of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 M4 ;

“the qualifying age for state pension credit” has the same meaning as in the 2002 Act M5 ;

“secondary legislation” means an instrument made under—

(a)

an Act of Parliament, including an Order in Council made under the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Act 2015 M6 ;

(b)

Northern Ireland legislation within the meaning of section 24 of the Interpretation Act 1978 M7 ;

“state pension credit” has the same meaning as in the 2002 Act M8 .

[F4 (1A) In this Order, “couple” has the meanings given by the 2002 Act, save—

(a) in reference to entitlement to housing benefit, where it has the meanings given by Part VII of the 1992 Act; and

[F5 (b) in Article 7(3), in relation to references to persons being treated as a couple in accordance with Article 7(2)(a)(ii), where it has the meaning referred to in Article 7(2)(a)(ii)]

(2) In this Order—

(a) “mixed-age couple” means a couple, one member of which has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit and the other of which has not; and

(b) the definition in sub-paragraph (a) includes a polygamous marriage where at least one party to the marriage has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit and at least one has not.

(3) Save as stated to the contrary in Article 6(2) F6 ..., all references in this Order to claims or entitlement to housing benefit are to claims or entitlement under the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations.

(4) In this Order—

(a) a person is entitled to state pension credit or housing benefit on any day where the person has made a claim for that benefit and the conditions of entitlement are met in relation to that person, regardless of whether, respectively, entitlement begins on a later day under—

(i) regulation 16A (date of entitlement under an award of state pension credit for the purpose of payability and effective date of change of rate) M9 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, or

(ii) regulation 55 (date on which entitlement is to commence) of the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations, and

(b) [F7 save in Article 7(3)(a),] a reference to claiming or entitlement to state pension credit or housing benefit as part of a [F8 mixed-age] couple is a reference to [F9 a person claiming or] being so entitled, on the basis that [F10 the person] is a member of a couple or F11 ... a polygamous marriage.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in art. 2(1) inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(a)(i)

F2 Words in art. 2(1) inserted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(2)(a)

F3 Words in art. 2(1) omitted (15.5.2019) by virtue of The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(a)(ii)

F4 Art. 2(1A) inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(b)

F5 Art. 2(1A)(b) substituted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(2)(b)

F6 Words in art. 2(3) omitted (1.8.2022) by virtue of The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/194), regs. 1(1), 13, Sch. para. 3(2)

F7 Words in art. 2(4)(b) inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(d)(i)

F8 Word in art. 2(4)(b) inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(d)(ii)

F9 Words in art. 2(4)(b) substituted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(d)(iii)

F10 Words in art. 2(4)(b) substituted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(d)(iv)

F11 Words in art. 2(4)(b) omitted (15.5.2019) by virtue of The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(2)(d)(v)

Marginal Citations

M1 2002 c. 14 (N.I.).

M2 S.R. 2006 No. 406.

M3 S.R. 2017 No. 190 (C. 11).

M4 S.R. 2016 No. 216.

M5 See section 1(2)(b) and (6).

M6 2015 c. 34.

M7 1978 c. 30.

M8 See section 1.

M9 S.R. 1987 No. 465. Regulation 16A was inserted by S.R. 2003 No. 191; there are amendments none of which are relevant to this Order.

Appointed day N.I.

3.  15th May 2019 is the appointed day for the coming into force of paragraph 53 (universal credit amendments: insertion of section 4(1A) into the 2002 Act) of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015, and Article 37 of that Order in so far as it relates to that paragraph.

Savings N.I.

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the 2002 Act shall have effect as though section 4(1A) (exclusion of mixed-age couples from state pension credit) M10 had not come into force in relation to a member of a mixed-age couple who, on the day before the appointed day and as part of that couple, is entitled to—

(a) state pension credit;

(b) housing benefit; or

(c) state pension credit and housing benefit.

(2) The savings in the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (1) shall cease to have effect in relation to the member of the mixed-age couple referred to on any day after the appointed day when that person is not entitled to either state pension credit or housing benefit as part of the same mixed-age couple.

[F12 (3) Nothing in regulation 4A (restriction on claims for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit) of the Transitional Regulations prevents a claim for housing benefit by a member of a mixed-age couple referred to in paragraph (1) where—

(a) they have been issued with a migration notice;

(b) they make the claim for housing benefit within 3 months beginning with—

(i) in the case of a person who became entitled to universal credit by claiming before the final deadline, the day after their award of universal credit terminates; or

(ii) in the case of a person who did not claim universal credit, or claimed before the final deadline but was not entitled, the day after their award of housing benefit terminates; and

(c) they meet the conditions for entitlement to housing benefit on that day.

(4) Where a person mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)(i) of paragraph (3) claims—

(a) housing benefit; or

(b) state pension credit (whether or not they also claim housing benefit),

within 3 months beginning with the day mentioned in that sub-paragraph, any days on which they were entitled to universal credit are to be disregarded for the purposes of paragraph (2).

(5) In this Article “Transitional Regulations” means the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and “final deadline” and “migration notice” have the same meaning in those Regulations.]

Textual Amendments

F12 Art. 4(3)-(5) added (8.6.2024) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 (S.R. 2024/118), arts. 1, 2

Marginal Citations

M10 Section 4 was amended by 2004 c. 33

Amendment of the No. 8 Order: transitional provision preventing claims for housing benefit N.I.

5.—(1) The following amendments of Article 24 of the No. 8 Order M11 have effect from the day after the day of making of this Order.

(2) For paragraph (4)(a) substitute—

“(a) in the case of a claim for housing benefit, the claim is made by a member of a State Pension Credit Act couple who has reached the qualifying age for state pension credit, where the other member has not reached that age, and entitlement begins, or in the case of claims made in advance of entitlement is to begin—

(i) before 15th May 2019, or

(ii) on or after 15th May 2019 and one of the savings in the sub-paragraphs of Article 4(1) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 applies to that person and the saving has not ceased to have effect under Article 4(2) of that Order, and

entitlement to housing benefit is to be construed in accordance with Article 2 of that Order;”.

(3) In paragraph (3), at the end insert “ or temporary accommodation ”.

(4) In paragraph (11), after the definition of “Tax Credits Act couple” insert—

““temporary accommodation” means accommodation which falls within Case 1 or Case 2 under paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 to the Universal Credit Regulations;”.

Marginal Citations

M11 There are modifications to Article 24 none of which are relevant to this Order.

Transitional provision: termination of awards of housing benefit N.I.

6.—(1) The awards of housing benefit referred to in paragraph (2) are to terminate on the day referred to in paragraph (3), subject to paragraph (4).

(2) The awards are those where entitlement under the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations as part of a mixed-age couple begins on or after the appointed day and where the awards are made—

(a) at any time, under the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 M12 or the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations, to a person who, after the award, becomes a member of a mixed-age couple;

(b) at any time, under the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, to a person who is a member of a mixed-age couple, where the award subsequently ceases to be subject to those Regulations and becomes subject to the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations; or

(c) on or before the day of making of this Order, to a person who claimed in advance of attaining the qualifying age for state pension credit.

(3) The termination takes effect—

(a) in the case of an award referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b), on the later of the appointed day and the day entitlement under the Housing Benefit SPC Regulations as part of a mixed-age couple takes effect on the award, as a change of circumstances, in accordance with the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 M13 ; or

(b) in the case of an award referred to in paragraph (2)(c), on the day after the day of making of this Order.

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply to awards in respect of specified accommodation or temporary accommodation, as defined in [F13 regulation 2 of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016] M14 .

Textual Amendments

F13 Words in art. 6(4) substituted (1.8.2022) by The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/194), regs. 1(1), 13, Sch. para. 3(3)

Marginal Citations

M12 S.R. 2006 No. 405.

M13 S.R. 2001 No. 213.

M14 The definition of “temporary accommodation” is inserted by Article 4(2) of this Order.

Transitional provision: [F14 application [F15 to housing benefit] of the rules in universal credit for treatment of couples and] polygamous marriages N.I.

[F16 7.— (1) Paragraph (3) applies where a person (“P”), who has attained the qualifying age, would otherwise not be entitled to either housing benefit or universal credit, because—

(a) but for that paragraph, P would be a member of the same household as a partner who has not attained the qualifying age and therefore a member of a mixed-age couple, who—

(i) is prevented from claiming housing benefit under [F17 regulation 4A of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016] ; or

(ii) has an award of housing benefit terminated under Article 6; and

(b) P is neither entitled to universal credit jointly with that partner, nor entitled to universal credit as a single person, in one of the cases set out in paragraph (2).

(2) The cases are where P is not entitled to universal credit because P has attained the qualifying age and—

(a) any of the following paragraphs of regulation 3 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 applies, and in the case of paragraph (ii) below, one of the following circumstances applies—

(i) paragraph (2) (treatment of certain couples – universal credit may only be claimed as a single person);

(ii) paragraph (3) (treatment of polygamous marriages), so that P is not entitled to universal credit because P may only claim universal credit either as one of two parties to a polygamous marriage to be treated as a couple and the other party has also attained the qualifying age, or as a remaining party to such a marriage to be treated as single;

(iii) paragraph (5) (absence from the household – universal credit may only be claimed as a single person); or

(b) P lost joint entitlement to universal credit as part of a mixed-age couple due to one of the following changes of circumstances taking effect from a date (namely the first day of the universal credit assessment period in which the change occurred) that is earlier than when, but for paragraph (3), the same change would take effect for the purposes of housing benefit, those changes being where—

(i) P and their partner are no longer a couple;

(ii) P is party to a marriage that is no longer a polygamous marriage and P’s remaining spouse has attained the qualifying age.

(3) Where this paragraph applies—

(a) P and their partner who are to be treated as a non-polygamous couple in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(ii), or who are no longer parties to a polygamous marriage in accordance with paragraph (2)(b)(ii), are to be treated as members of the same household as each other but not of that of any party (or parties) with whom they are not part of a couple in accordance with those provisions and one of them may claim or remain entitled to housing benefit as part of that couple; or

(b) P who is to be treated as single in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(i) to (iii), or is single in accordance with paragraph (2)(b)(i), is to be treated as though P is not a member of the same household as any party (or parties) with whom P is not part of a couple in accordance with those provisions and may claim or remain entitled to housing benefit as a single person,

where paragraph (2)(a) applies, with effect from the date on which the relevant paragraph of regulation 3 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 first applies to C, or, where paragraph (2)(b) applies, with effect from the date referred to in paragraph (2)(b) on which C lost universal credit entitlement.]

Textual Amendments

F14 Words in art. 7 heading inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(3)(a)

F15 Words in art. 7 heading inserted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(3)(a)

F16 Art. 7(1)-(3) substituted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(3)(b) (as amended by The Social Security (Coronavirus) (Further Measures) (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/242), regs. 1(2), 3)

F17 Words in art. 7(1)(a)(i) substituted (1.8.2022) by The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/194), regs. 1(1), 13, Sch. para. 3(4)

Transitional provision: where restrictions on claims for universal credit are in place N.I.

F18 8.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F18 Art. 8 revoked (1.8.2022) by The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/194), regs. 1(1), 13, Sch. para. 3(5)

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Guy Opperman

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Work and Pensions