The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”), the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the State Pension Credit Regulations”) and the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the Social Fund Regulations”).

Regulations 2 to 4 amend the Income Support Regulations, the Housing Benefit Regulations, and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to—

• provide that a person aged under 60, who does not take a payment from the Board of the Pension Protection Fund (“PPF”) which would be available to them, is not treated as possessing the amount of any income or capital deferred;

• provide that payments made by the Board of the PPF to a third party may be regarded as notional income and notional capital;

• provide that payments from the Board of the PPF are not regarded as notional income or notional capital where the payment is not received by the claimant due to his or her bankruptcy.

Regulations 2 and 4 also amend the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to provide that a person aged 60 or over, who opts not to take a payment from the PPF available to him, shall be treated as possessing the amount of any income or capital foregone from the date on which it could be expected to be acquired were an application to be made.

Regulation 2 also amends the Income Support Regulations to remove Schedules 3 and 3A which make transitional provision for claimants who were either in board and lodging accommodation or hostel dwellers following changes to income support and housing benefit in 1989.

Regulation 3 amends the Housing Benefit Regulations—

• to exclude payments made by the Board of the PPF from the regulations relating to notional capital;

• to ensure that people who have not attained the qualifying age for state pension credit are treated as possessing housing benefit at an altered rate in the same circumstances as those who have attained that age;

• in relation to the date on which entitlement to housing benefit begins for people who live in hostels where rent is paid daily.

Regulation 3 also amends the Housing Benefit Regulations, as modified by the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 for people who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit, so as to take into account as income, payments made by the Board of the PPF and to provide that payments made by the Board to a third party may be regarded as notional income.

Regulation 5 amends the State Pension Credit Regulations so as to—

• add PPF periodic payments as defined in section 17(1) of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 to the descriptions of income which are prescribed for the purposes of section 15(1)(j) of that Act;

• protect transitional amounts paid to patients whose benefit is no longer reduced from 10th April 2006;

• amend Schedule 2 to make a minor technical amendment to the sub-divisions in the definition of “disabled person”;

• amend a provision specifying a nil amount of state pension credit for patients with a prison sentence.

Regulation 6 amends the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 so that a person in respect of whom child benefit may be paid is a person who is excluded from the “immediate family member” and the “nature and extent of contact” tests for the purposes of a claim for a funeral payment.

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, 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 in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.