The Employment and Support Allowance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make various amendments in connection with the introduction of employment and support allowance from 27th October 2008.

Regulation 2 amends section 72 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 by adding a reference to income-related employment and support allowance.

Regulation 3 amends the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 to—

• remove references to “starting rate” and where appropriate replace them with “basic rate” to reflect changes to the taxation system;

• provide that a claimant is treated as not having limited capability for work for any day for which he receives paid training in the form of a training allowance or premium except in certain circumstances;

• increase the earnings limit from £88.50 to £92.00 a week;

• provide for deductions to be made from contributory employment and support allowance where the claimant is in receipt of a payment from the Financial Assistance Scheme;

• amend the requirement for a claimant to serve waiting days when he is a member of a couple, one of whom is already in receipt of income-related employment and support allowance; and

• make provision so that all payments of child maintenance income are treated equally and taken into account in the same manner regardless of source, increase the disregard of child maintenance income to £20 per household and extend the disregard to all forms of child maintenance.

Regulations 4 and 5 make corrections to, respectively, the Employment and Support Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.

Regulations 6 amends the Social Security (Unemployment, Sickness and Invalidity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 by adding a reference to employment and support allowance.

Regulation 7 amends the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, in particular the definition of “specified benefit” for the purposes of deductions from benefits and direct payment to third parties.

Regulation 8 makes consequential revocations.

Sections 2(1)(c), 3(2)(b) and (d) and (3), 4(2)(a), 5(3), 8(1), (2)(a) and (b), 17(1), (2) and (3)(b), 25(2)(a) and 28(2) of, and paragraphs 1(4) and 6(1)(b), (2) to (5) and (8) of Schedule 1 and paragraphs 1(a), 2 and 10 of Schedule 2 to, the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007, the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, were brought into operation on 1st July 2008 for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations and on 27th July 2008 (sections 25(2)(a) and 28(2)) and 27th October 2008 for all other purposes by virtue of the Welfare Reform (2007 Act) (Commencement No. 5) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008 No. 276 (C.14)).