The Housing Benefit (Employment and Support Allowance Consequential Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations

2.—(1) The Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(1) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation) after the definition of “relevant decision” add—

““the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007.”.

(3) In regulation 7(2) (decisions superseding earlier decisions)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (h)(2) at the beginning insert “except where sub-paragraph (j) applies,”; and

(b) after sub-paragraph (i)(3) add—

“(j) where—

(i) the claimant has been awarded entitlement to housing benefit;

(ii) the claimant or the claimant’s partner has made a claim for employment and support allowance;

(iii) subsequent to the first day of the period to which entitlement to housing benefit relates, the Department has decided that the claimant or the claimant’s partner has, or is to be treated as having, limited capability for work within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Welfare Reform Act or limited capability for work-related activity within the meaning of section 2(5) of that Act, and

(iv) either—

(aa) the assessment phase as defined in section 24(2) of the Welfare Reform Act has ended; or

(bb) regulation 7 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008(4) (circumstances where the condition that the assessment phase has ended before entitlement to the support component or the work-related activity component arises does not apply) applies.”.

(4) In regulation 8 (date from which a decision superseding an earlier decision takes effect) after paragraph (12)(5) add—

“(13) Where the decision is superseded in accordance with regulation 7(2)(j), the decision shall take effect from—

(a) the first day of entitlement to an amount in consequence of the decision of the Department referred to in regulation 7(2)(j)(iii); or

(b) the first day that there would have been such entitlement had the claimant or the claimant’s partner been entitled to an employment and support allowance by virtue of section 1 of the Welfare Reform Act,

if that day is the first day of the benefit week but, if it is not, from the next following such day.”.

(1)

S.R. 2001 No. 213; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2003 No. 418, S.R. 2006 No. 104 and S.R. 2007 No. 266

(2)

Sub-paragraph (h) was added by regulation 4(4) of S.R. 2003 No. 418

(3)

Sub-paragraph (i) was added by regulation 10(3) of S.R. 2006 No. 104

(4)

S.R. 2008 No. 280

(5)

Paragraph (12) was added as paragraph (11) by regulation 4(5) of S.R. 2003 No. 418 and renumbered by regulation 2(3)(b) of S.R. 2007 No. 266