Territorial Application
99.The following measures extend to the whole of the UK:
Section 18, regarding increased levels of payments under the financial assistance scheme;
Section 19, regarding a temporary restriction on the purchase of annuities under the financial assistance scheme; and
Part 3 of the Act. This relates to the establishment of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.
Part 4 of the Act. This contains general provisions. (But section 24 only extends to Northern Ireland so far as it relates to provisons that extend there.)
100.The following measures extend only to Northern Ireland:
Section 8 on the basis that it deals with National Insurance contributions, which are a reserved matter. This section amends the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 to remove the link between the lower earnings limit and basic pension in Northern Ireland (the same function as section 7 performs for Great Britain); and
Part 4 of Schedule 7, insofar as that applies to the Act of 1992 mentioned above.
101.The amendments made by Schedule 5, which relate to the removal of the Secretary of State’s role in approving actuarial guidance, have the same extent as the Acts that they amend.
102.All other measures extend to England and Wales and Scotland but not to Northern Ireland. Pensions legislation is a transferred matter under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and Northern Ireland has its own body of pensions law, but there is a long-standing policy of parity in this area.
103.The Act does not contain any measures which affect the powers of the National Assembly for Wales.
104.As regards matters extending to Scotland, it was not necessary to invoke the Sewel Convention.
