Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

66 Attendance allowance for the terminally ill

(1) If a terminally ill person makes a claim expressly on the ground that he is such a person, then—

(a) he shall be taken—

(i) to satisfy, or to be likely to satisfy, both the day attendance condition and the night attendance condition for the remainder of his life, beginning with the date of the claim or, if later, the first date on which he is terminally ill; and

(ii) to have satisfied those conditions for the period of 6 months immediately preceding that date (so however that no allowance shall be payable by virtue of this sub-paragraph for any period preceding that date); and

(b) the period for which he is entitled to attendance allowance shall be the remainder of the person’s life, beginning with that date.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above—

(a) a person is “terminally ill” at any time if at that time he suffers from a progressive disease and his death in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 6 months; and

(b) where a person purports to make a claim for an attendance allowance by virtue of that subsection on behalf of another, that other shall be regarded as making the claim, notwithstanding that it is made without his knowledge or authority.