The Social Security (New Deal Pilot) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (New Deal Pilot) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (“the New Deal Pilot Regulations”) to the extent that they modify provisions in the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Family Credit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 and the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992.

In particular, they provide that persons participating in the pilot scheme established under regulation 2 of the New Deal Pilot Regulations and who are receiving assistance in pursuing self-employment earner’s employment whilst so participating (“the self-employment route”), shall be subject to special rules as to the treatment of their income and capital in the benefits referred to above.

Regulation 2(6) inserts a new regulation 16A into the New Deal Pilot Regulations. This provides that income paid to a participant in the period when he is receiving assistance under the self-employment route and which derives directly from the receipt of such assistance shall, for the purposes of jobseeker’s allowance and income support, be subject to special rules. These rules relate to its calculation and the date it is taken into account and treated as paid (new regulation 16A(1)). Regulation 2(6) also provides that for the purpose of applying the special rules, the last day on which such assistance is received shall either be the day on which there is at least £2,000 in the participant’s special account or, if that does not occur, the day on which such assistance has been received for a period of 26 weeks.

The new regulation 16A also provides, in paragraphs (2) and (3)—

(a) that such income, for the purposes of disability working allowance, family credit and housing benefit, shall be treated as capital;

(b) that mandatory payments made to participants in the self-employment route shall be disregarded both as income and as capital;

(c) that payments in respect of expenses incurred in receiving assistance under the self-employment route and amounts used or intended to be used to maintain repayments on loans taken out to help establish or carry on the activity to be assisted under the self-employment route shall be disregarded as income;

(d) that business assets of persons receiving assistance under the self-employment route shall, in certain circumstances, be disregarded as capital; and

(e) that capital intended for purchasing business assets for use whilst receiving assistance under the self-employment route shall be disregarded.

Regulation 2(4)(b) and (5) amends the New Deal Pilot Regulations so as to extend the income and capital disregards for certain payments made to participants in respect of their participation in the intensive activity period so as to enable them to continue to claim any of the benefits referred to in the first paragraph of this Note. Regulation 2(3) modifies the definition of “training allowance” in those benefits so as to exclude such payments from being a training allowance.

Regulation 2(2) makes a consequential amendment and regulation 2(4)(a) and (7) make technical amendments.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulation 2(6) 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”), 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 these Regulations correspond 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.