These Regulations are made by virtue of, or in consequence of, sections 6 to 12 of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Act”) and relate to restrictions in payment of certain benefits which apply where a person has been convicted of one or more benefit offences in each of two separate proceedings and one offence is committed within three years of the conviction for another such offence.

Part I contains provisions relating to citation, commencement and interpretation. The Regulations come into operation on 1st April 2002. Regulation 2 prescribes what is to be the disqualification period for the purposes of the imposition of the loss of benefit or reduction in the amount payable.

Part II prescribes what are to be the reductions in income support or joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance when the restrictions apply.

Part III makes provision for an income-based jobseeker’s allowance to be paid where the claimant is a person in hardship and Part IV makes provision for a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance to be paid where a joint-claim couple are a couple in hardship.

Part V makes provision regarding reductions in housing benefit during the disqualification period or the relevant period and when the benefit remains payable during those periods.

Part VI prescribes certain benefits which are to be disqualifying but not sanctionable benefits and that the restrictions in sections 6 to 8 of the Act are not to apply to deductions from benefit for, or in place of, child support maintenance.

Part VII amends the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 so that no appeal to the tribunal lies on the ground that a conviction which led to the restriction was erroneous.

Sections 6(3) to (6), 7(3) and (4), 8(2) to (5) and 9(1) and (2) of the Act are some of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made. They were brought into operation, for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations, on 6th March 2002 and, for all other purposes, on 1st April 2002 by virtue of the Social Security Fraud (2001 Act) (Commencement No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 (S.R. 2002 No. 75 (C. 7)). As these Regulations are made before the end of the period of 6 months from the commencement of the said sections, they are accordingly, exempt, by virtue of section 150(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, from prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.