2003 No. 261

SOCIAL SECURITY; HOUSING; RATES

FAMILY LAW; CHILD SUPPORT

The Social Security (Hospital In-Patients and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Made1st May 2003

Coming into operation in accordance with regulation 1

The Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 48(4) of, and paragraph 5(a) of Schedule 1 to, the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 19911, sections 122(1)(a) and (d), 129(4), 131(1) and 171(1), (3) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 19922, sections 71(1)(b) and 165(1), (4) and (5) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 19923 and Articles 6(5) and 36(2)(a) of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 19954, and now vested in it5, and sections 2(3) and (6), 13(1) and 19(1) to (3) of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 20026 and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, with the consent of the Department of Finance and Personnel7 in so far as regulation 4 is concerned, and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of that regulation should not be referred to it8, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement1.

These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation for the purposes of –

(a)

this regulation and regulations 6 to 10(1), on 21st May 2003;

(b)

regulation 2 –

(i)

in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary other than a beneficiary in receipt of incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, on 21st May 2003 if it is his appropriate pay day or, if not, on his appropriate pay day next following 21st May 2003, and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph “appropriate pay day” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 22(3) of, and Schedule 6 to, the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19879, and

(ii)

in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary in receipt of incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, on 21st May 2003;

(c)

regulations 3 and 10(2), in so far as they relate to a beneficiary paid in advance, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 21st May 2003, but otherwise on the first day of the benefit week which includes that date, and for the purpose of this paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 198710;

(d)

regulation 4(1) and (3) to (5), on 26th May 2003;

(e)

regulation 4(2), on 6th October 2003; and

(f)

regulation 5, in so far as it relates to a beneficiary paid in advance, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 21st May 2003, but otherwise on the first day of the benefit week which includes that date, and for the purpose of this paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199611.

Amendment of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) RegulationsF12.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the Income Support (General) Regulations3.

(1)

The Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 198721 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2)

In regulation 2(1A)(a)22 (interpretation) for “6 weeks” there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(3)

In paragraph 13A(2)(b)(ii) and (c) of Schedule 223 (applicable amounts) for “six weeks” there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(4)

In paragraph 18(7)(g) of Schedule 324 (housing costs) for “6 weeks”, in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(5)

In Schedule 7 (applicable amounts in special cases) –

F2(a)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)

in paragraph 1326 (persons in residential accommodation) –

(i)

in sub-paragraph (1) the words “Subject to sub-paragraph (2),”, and

(ii)

sub-paragraph (2),

shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (General) RegulationsF34.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations5.

(1)

The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199632 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

(2)

In regulation 1(2F)(a)33 (interpretation) for “6 weeks” there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(3)

In paragraphs 15A(2)(b)(ii) and (c) and 20IA(2) of Schedule 134 (applicable amounts) for “six weeks” there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(4)

In paragraph 17(7)(g) of Schedule 2 (housing costs) for “6 weeks”, in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

(5)

In Schedule 4 (applicable amounts in special cases) –

F4(a)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)

in paragraph 15 (persons in residential accommodation) –

(i)

in sub-paragraph (1) the words “Subject to sub-paragraph (2),”, and

(ii)

sub-paragraph (2),

shall be omitted.

F5(6)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) RegulationsF66.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the State Pension Credit Regulations7.

(1)

The State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200338 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2)

In paragraph 14(7)(e) of Schedule 2 (housing costs) for “13 weeks”, in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “52 weeks”.

F7(3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations8.

In regulation 34 of the State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200339 (persons entitled to income support immediately before the appointed day) paragraphs (15) to (19) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) RegulationsF89.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Revocations10.

(1)

The regulations specified in column (1) of the Schedule are revoked to the extent mentioned in column (3).

(2)

Regulation 19(k)(ii) of the Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199041 is hereby revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 1st May 2003.

D. A. Baker

Senior Officer of the

Department for Social Development

The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to regulation 4 of the foregoing Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 1st May 2003.

A. L. Brown

Senior Officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel

SCHEDULEREGULATIONS REVOKED

Regulation 10(1)

Column (1)	Column (2)	Column (3)
Citation	Reference	Extent of revocation
The Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977	S.R. 1977 No. 316	Regulation 5(4)
The Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987	S.R. 1987 No. 391	Regulation 2(3) to (5), (8), (9)(a) and (13)(b) and (d)
The Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002	S.R. 2002 No. 106	The whole regulations

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975 to provide that the weekly rate of specified benefits will not be adjusted after a beneficary has received 6 weeks of free in-patient treatment but after he has received 52 weeks of such in-patient treatment. Similar amendments are made to other regulations in respect of income support, housing benefit, jobseeker’s allowance, state pension credit and child support maintenance calculations.

They also make provision for –

the amount of dependency benefit to be adjusted after a dependant of a beneficary has received 52 weeks of free in-patient treatment;
benefits no longer to be adjusted immediately a person enters hospital to receive free in-patient treatment after living in prescribed residential accommodation provided under Article 15 or 36 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972;
the period which is to be regarded as a temporary absence from a residential care or nursing home where a person is a hospital in-patient;
no deduction to be made for a non-dependant receiving free in-patient treatment when the treatment has continued for over 52 weeks in the calculation of the applicable amount for the purposes of a beneficiary’s income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance, the maximum amount of his housing benefit or the housing costs element of state pension credit;
child support maintenance to be payable at a nil rate after a non-resident parent in receipt of income support or state pension credit has received 52 weeks of free in-patient treatment; and
consequential amendments and revocations.

In so far as these Regulations are required to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“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 Work and Pensions 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.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.