The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend –

• the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the principal Regulations”) in respect of certain provisions in the income and capital disregard Schedules to those Regulations (regulations 2 to 4);

• the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”) as a consequence of the cessation of the payment of a residential allowance or special amounts to those residing in residential care or nursing homes or who are in residential accommodation (regulation 5);

• the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 to provide that lone parents who are entitled to income support on 5th April 2004 shall be required to take part in work-focused interviews regardless of the age of their youngest child (regulation 6);

• the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979, the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 and the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 as a result of changes to the rates of working tax credit and child tax credit from 6th April 2004 and child benefit from 12th April 2004 (regulations 7 to 9).

Regulations 2 to 4 amend the income disregard Schedules of the principal Regulations to make provision for one paragraph to disregard (with certain exceptions) any payment made to a claimant or his partner pursuant to section 1 or 3 of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 (c. 29 (N.I.)) in the calculation of income other than earnings.

The capital disregard Schedules of the principal Regulations are similarly amended so that one paragraph provides for payments made pursuant to section 1 or 3 of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 to be disregarded as capital. The amendments also provide for the capital disregard to apply only for a period of 52 weeks from when the payment is received, and for the removal of a £200 limit on the disregard of training bonus payments.

Certain paragraphs of those Schedules which refer to the disregard of specific payments made pursuant to those Acts are consequentially amended or omitted.

Regulation 5 amends the 1996 Regulations as a consequence of the cessation of the payment of a residential allowance or special amounts to recipients of income-based jobseeker’s allowance who are residing in residential care homes or nursing homes or who are in residential accommodation as defined in regulation 85(4) of the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 5(2) amends regulation 86C of the 1996 Regulations in consequence of the omission of certain paragraphs of Schedule 4A to the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 5(3) omits paragraph 6 of Schedule 4A to the 1996 Regulations as a consequence of the cessation of the payment of the special amounts to recipients of income-based jobseeker’s allowance who are residing in residential accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board or a Health and Social Services trust.

Regulation 6 substitutes a new sub-paragraph for sub-paragraph (f) of regulation 1(1) of the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 to provide that a lone parent who is entitled to income support on 5th April 2004 and who has a child (which is defined in section 133(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7) as being a person who is under the age of 16) shall be required to take part in a work-focused interview in accordance with the those Regulations.

Regulation 7 amends the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979 to ensure that the adjustments of benefit by reference to the rate of child benefit in respect of the only, elder or eldest child or payable in respect of a child of a lone parent remain the same despite an increase in the difference between the rates of child benefit from 12th April 2004.

Regulation 8 amends the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 to provide that the amount of working tax credit or child tax credit to be taken into account when assessing entitlement to housing benefit shall be the amount of tax credit awarded less any deduction which is being made in order to recover any overpayment of tax credit.

Regulation 9 amends the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 to increase with effect from the first day of the first benefit week to commence for a claimant of income support or a jobseeker’s allowance on or after 12th April 2004 the income support or jobseeker’s allowance income disregard for families in which there is a child under the age of one.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulations 3 and 8, 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”), 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.