The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998
Citation, commencement and interpretation1.
(1)
These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and, subject to paragraph (2), shall come into operation on 23rd February 1998.
(2)
In relation to any particular claimant for either family credit or disability working allowance, regulations 4 and 7 shall have effect, where a claimant has an award of either of those benefits—
(a)
which expires on 23rd February 1998, on 24th February 1998; or
(b)
which expires after 23rd February 1998, on the day following the expiration of that award.
(3)
For the purposes of paragraph (2) “claimant” means a person claiming the benefit concerned.
(4)
Amendment of the Income Support (General) Regulations2.
(1)
(2)
(a)
“(dd)
has ceased to live in accommodation provided for him by an authority under Part IV of the Children Order (support for children and their families) and is of necessity living away from his parents and any person acting in the place of his parents;”;
(b)
in paragraph (3)—
(i)
“(i)
for the purposes of paragraph (2)(c) and (d), a reference to an authority or voluntary organisation where the eligible person is being looked after by them under a relevant enactment, or to a person with whom the eligible person is placed by that authority or that voluntary organisation whether or not any payment is made by them, and”;
(ii)
in sub-paragraph (a)(ii) for “boarded out” there shall be substituted “placed”;
(iii)
“(c)
“an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
(3)
In regulation 16 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household)—
(a)
“(a)
placed with the claimant or his partner by an authority under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations);
(b)
placed with the claimant or his partner prior to adoption; or
(c)
placed for adoption with the claimant or his partner pursuant to a decision under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19898.”;
(b)
“(c)
is being looked after by an authority under a relevant enactment;
(d)
has been placed with a person other than the claimant prior to adoption;
(e)
has been placed for adoption pursuant to a decision under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989;”;
(c)
(i)
“—
“an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order;”;
(ii)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(a)
in sub-paragraph (1)(b)(ii) for “in the care of the Department under a relevant enactment and whilst in that care was not living with his parents or any close relative” there shall be substituted “being looked after by an authority pursuant to a relevant enactment which placed him with such person other than a close relative of his”;
(b)
in sub-paragraph (2)—
(i)
“(b)
any reference to a person acting in place of a person’s parents includes a reference to—
(i)
where the person is being looked after by an authority or voluntary organisation which places him with a family, a relative of his, or some other suitable person, the person with whom the person is placed, whether or not any payment is made to him in connection with the placement, or
(ii)
in any other case, any person with parental responsibility for the child, and for this purpose “parental responsibility” has the meaning it has in the Children Order by virtue of Article 6 of that Order;”;
(ii)
“(c)
“an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
(7)
(8)
In Schedule 9 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a)
(b)
“26.
Any payment made by—
(a)
an authority to a person who is caring for a child by virtue of arrangements made under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations); or
(b)
a training school, within the meaning of section 137 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 196821 (approval of schools), under paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5 to that Act to a person who is caring for a child and with whom that child lives or is boarded out under paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 5 to that Act22.”;
(c)
F1(d)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e)
“28A.
In paragraphs 26 to 28 “an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
F2(9)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amendment of the Housing Benefit (General) RegulationsF33.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amendment of the Family Credit (General) Regulations4.
(1)
(2)
““Crown property” means property held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown or by a government department or which is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;
“Crown Estate Commissioners” have the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978;”.
(3)
In regulation 8 (membership of the same household)—
(a)
“(b)
has been placed with the claimant or his partner prior to adoption;
(c)
has been placed with the claimant or his partner by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 27(2)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations);
(d)
has been placed for adoption with the claimant or his partner pursuant to a decision under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989;”;
(b)
in paragraph (3) sub-paragraph (b) shall be omitted.
(4)
“(a)
by persons registered under Article 118 of the Children Order (registration of child-minders and persons providing day care);
(b)
by a child care scheme operating on Crown property where registration under Article 118 of the Children Order is not required, or
(c)
in schools or establishments which are exempted from registration under Article 118 of the Children Order by virtue of Article 121(1) to (3) of that Order,”.
(5)
In Schedule 2 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a)
“(a)
in accordance with regulations made under Article 59A of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (permitted allowances);
(b)
in accordance with regulations made under section 57A of the Adoption Act 1976 (permitted allowances) or with a scheme approved by the Secretary of State under section 51 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 (schemes for payment of allowances to adopters);”;
(b)
“23.
Any payment made by—
(a)
an authority to a person who is caring for a child by virtue of arrangements made under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations); or
(b)
a training school, within the meaning of section 137 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (approval of schools), under paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5 to that Act to a person who is caring for a child and with whom that child lives or is boarded-out under paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 5 to that Act.”;
(c)
(d)
“25.
Any payment made by an authority under Article 18, 35 or 36 of the Children Order (general duty of an authority to promote the welfare of children and powers to grant financial assistance to persons looked after or in, or formerly in, its care).”;
(e)
“25A.
In paragraphs 23 to 25 “an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
(6)
“18.
Any payment made by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 18, 35 or 36 of that Order (general duty of an authority to promote the welfare of children and powers to grant financial assistance to persons looked after or in, or formerly in, its care).”.
Amendment of the Income Support (Liable Relatives) Regulations5.
(a)
“(gg)
the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 197744;”;
(b)
(c)
“(kk)
Article 41 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 199547.”.
Amendment of the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) Regulations6.
(1)
(2)
In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) the definition of “the 1968 Act” shall be omitted.
F4(3)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amendment of the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations7.
(1)
(2)
““Crown property” means property held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown or by a government department or which is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;
“Crown Estate Commissioners” have the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978;”.
(3)
In regulation 10 (membership of the same household)—
(a)
“(b)
is placed with the claimant or his partner prior to adoption;
(c)
is placed with the claimant or his partner by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 27(2)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations);”;
(b)
in paragraph (3) sub-paragraph (b) shall be omitted.
(4)
“(a)
by persons registered under Article 118 of the Children Order (registration of child-minders and persons providing day care);
(b)
by a child care scheme operating on Crown property where registration under Article 118 of the Children Order is not required, or
(c)
in schools or establishments which are exempted from registration under Article 118 of the Children Order by virtue of Article 121(1) to (3) of that Order,”.
(5)
In Schedule 3 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a)
“(a)
in accordance with regulations made under Article 59A of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (permitted allowances);
(b)
in accordance with regulations made under section 57A of the Adoption Act 1976 (permitted allowances) or with a scheme approved by the Secretary of State under section 51 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 (schemes for payment of allowances to adoptors);”;
(b)
“23.
Any payment made by—
(a)
an authority to a person who is caring for a child by virtue of arrangements made under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations); or
(b)
a training school, within the meaning of section 137 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (approval of schools), under paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5 to that Act to a person who is caring for a child and with whom that child lives or is boarded-out under paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 5 to that Act.”;
(c)
(d)
“25.
Any payment made by an authority under Article 18, 35 or 36 of the Children Order (general duty of an authority to promote the welfare of children and powers to grant financial assistance to persons looked after or in, or formerly in, its care).”;
(e)
“25A.
In paragraphs 23 to 25 “an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
(6)
“18.
Any payment made by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 18, 35 or 36 of that Order (general duty of an authority to promote the welfare of children and powers to grant financial assistance to persons looked after or in, or formerly in, its care).”.
Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations8.
(1)
(2)
“(3)
In this regulation any reference to a person acting in place of a person’s parents includes a reference to—
(a)
where the person is being looked after by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, or voluntary organisation which places him with a family, a relative of his, or some other suitable person, the person with whom the person is placed, whether or not any payment is made to him in connection with the placement, or
(b)
in any other case, any person with parental responsibility for the child, and for this purpose “parental responsibility” has the meaning it has in the Children Order by virtue of Article 6 of that Order.”.
(3)
(4)
In regulation 78 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household)—
(a)
“(a)
placed with the claimant or his partner by an authority under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations);
(b)
placed with the claimant or his partner prior to adoption, or”;
(b)
“(d)
is being looked after by an authority under a relevant enactment;
(e)
has been placed with a person other than the claimant prior to adoption;”;
(c)
“—
“an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order;”.
(5)
(6)
“(ii)
by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 21 of that Order (provision of accommodation for children: general), and”.
(7)
In Schedule 6 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a)
“(a)
in accordance with regulations made under Article 59A of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (permitted allowances);
(b)
in accordance with regulations made under section 57A of the Adoption Act 1976 (permitted allowances) or with a scheme approved by the Secretary of State under section 51 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 (schemes for payment of allowances to adoptors);”;
(b)
“27.
Any payment made by—
(a)
an authority to a person who is caring for a child by virtue of arrangements made under Article 27(2)(a) of the Children Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisations), or
(b)
a training school, within the meaning of section 137 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 196860 (approval of schools), under paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5 to that Act to a person who is caring for a child and with whom that child lives or is boarded out under paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 5 to that Act61.”;
(c)
in paragraph 28 for “a Health and Social Services Board or an HSS trust” there shall be substituted “an authority”;
F5(d)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e)
“29A.
In paragraphs 27 to 29 “an authority” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Children Order.”.
F6(8)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amendment of the Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations9.
(1)
(2)
““Crown property” means property held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown or by a government department or which is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;
“Crown Estate Commissioners” have the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978;”.
(3)
“6.
Any payment made by—
(a)
an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, to a person who is caring for a child by virtue of arrangements made under Article 27(2)(a) of that Order or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order; or
(b)
a training school, within the meaning of section 137 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968, under paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5 to that Act to a person who is caring for a child and with whom that child lives or is boarded out under paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 5 to that Act.”.
(4)
In Schedule 2 (child care charges to be deducted in the calculation of earnings) in paragraph 2 in the definition of “relevant child care charges”—
(a)
in paragraph (a) at the end “or” shall be omitted;
(b)
“(aa)
by a child care scheme operating on Crown property where registration under Article 118 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 is not required; or”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on
The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland hereby consents to regulation 3 of the foregoing Regulations.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland on
These Regulations contain amendments to a number of Social Security Regulations.
Regulations 2, 5, 6 and 8 make consequential amendments to the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Income Support (Liable Relatives) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990, the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 following the coming into operation on 4th November 1996 of certain provisions of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
Regulations 3, 4, 7 and 9 amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Family Credit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 and the Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996—
consequential upon the coming into operation on 4th November 1996 of certain provisions of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995; and
to extend the definition of “relevant child care charges” to include charges made by child care schemes operating on Crown property.
Other amendments made are of a minor or technical nature.
In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulation 3 to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), (“the 1992 Act”), and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee, they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(b) of that Act. Otherwise they make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the 1992 Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.