The Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents and Partners) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend a number of Regulations relating to the requirement for certain benefit recipients to take part in work-focused interviews. These include:

• removing the need for lone parents and partners of benefit recipients in receipt of income support, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, employment and support allowance and jobseeker’s allowance to take part in a work-focused interview if they have a youngest child aged under 1;

• ensuring lone parents who are claiming income support with a child under the age of 7 are no longer treated as having not made a claim (or disentitled) if they fail to take part in their first work-focused interview without good cause;

• removing the current definition of “lone parent” in Employment and Support Allowance legislation because a new definition of “lone parent” will be inserted into Employment and Support legislation at the same time as the Regulations come into operation and make consequential amendments to Employment and Support Allowance legislation as a result;

• ensuring lone parents in receipt of income support are required, after the initial work-focused interview, to attend a work-focused interview every 3 years or if a relevant change of circumstance occurs if their youngest child is aged 7 and over; and

• making other miscellaneous amendments relating to work-focused interviews.

Regulation 1 provides for these Regulations to come into operation on 31 October 2011.

Regulation 2 makes the following amendments to the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”):

Regulation 2(2) amends regulation 1 by introducing a definition of “relevant interview”. It also amends regulation 1 to make clear that for the purposes of determining whether a lone parent is to be treated as responsible for and a member of the same household as a child under the age of one, reference should be made to regulations 15 and 16 of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”).

Regulation 2(3) substitutes a new regulation 2 which applies only to lone parents who are entitled to income support on grounds of being a lone parent (because they have a child aged 1 to 6). Under new regulation 2, such a claimant will be required to attend a work-focused interview only once entitlement has been established and a failure to attend without good cause will lead to a reduction of income support. Following their first interview, these claimants will be required to attend on a 6 monthly basis.

Regulation 2(4) amends some of the references to “interview” in regulation 2ZA to refer to a “relevant interview”.

Regulation 2(5) inserts a new regulation 2ZB. It provides that a lone parent in receipt of income support whose youngest child is aged 7 and over, is required after their initial work-focused interview, to attend a work-focused interview every 3 years or when a relevant change of circumstances occurs.

Regulation 2(6) removes regulation 2A which is now obsolete and regulation 2(7) amends regulation 4 to exempt lone parents who are responsible for and a member of the same household as a child under the age of one from interview requirements under the 2001 Regulations. It also updates some references. Regulation 2(8) makes consequential amendments as a result of the amendments referred to above.

Regulation 2(9) amends regulation 7 to change the consequence of a failure to attend an initial interview under the 2001 Regulations without good cause, so that the lone parent will not be treated as having not made a claim or disentitled, and will instead have their income support reduced.

Regulation 2(10) amends regulation 8(3) to remove any reduction being imposed on a lone parent when the Regulations come into operation, if they have a child under one at that point, or when they become responsible for and a member of the same household as a child under the age of one.

Regulation 3 makes the following amendments to the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”):

Regulation 3(2) amends regulation 1 by inserting a definition of “relevant interview”, to mean a work-focused interview under the 2003 Regulations in relation to the claimant’s current claim for a specified benefit. It makes a further amendment to regulation 1 to make clear that for the purposes of determining whether a lone parent is to be treated as responsible for and a member of the same household as a child or young person, reference should be made to regulations 15 and 16 of the Income Support Regulations.

Regulation 3(3) amends regulation 2 so that it no longer applies in relation to lone parents who make a claim for or are entitled to income support and who fall within paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations because they have a child under the age of 7.

Regulation 3(4) substitutes a new regulation 3 so that the general requirement to attend a work-focused interview under that regulation no longer applies in relation to a lone parent who is entitled to income support if their youngest child is under the age of 7, and so that where the child is 7 or over the requirement is to attend work-focused interviews every 3 years or if a relevant change of circumstances occurs.

Regulation 3(5) inserts new paragraph 3ZA which makes provision for lone parents with a child under the age of 7 to attend work-focused interviews on a 6 monthly basis (unless exempt or required to attend quarterly work-focused interviews under regulation 3A of those Regulations). Lone parents claiming income support with a child aged under 7 will no longer be treated as not having made a claim for income support if they fail, without good cause, to attend their first work-focused interview after making their claim.

Regulation 3(6) makes provision so that where a claimant is required to attend interviews every 13 weeks under regulation 3A, new regulation 3ZA (and regulation 3) does not apply.

Regulation 3(7) substitutes a new regulation 4 to make provision for the different times when an interview arising under the Regulations should be arranged.

Regulation 3(9) amends regulation 7 to remove obsolete references to regulations 2A of the 2001 Regulations and inserts a new paragraph (4) to exempt lone parents who are responsible for and a member of the same household as a child under one from interview requirements under the 2003 Regulations.

Regulation 3(10) amends regulation 11 (failure to take part in an interview) to include a reference to new regulation 3ZA.

Regulations 4, 5 and 6 amend the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Partners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the ESA Regulations”) and the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 respectively so that if a claimant (or in the case of partners, either member of the couple) is responsible for and a member of the same household as a child under the age of one, they will not be required to take part in a work-focused interview. Regulation 5(2) removes the definition of “lone parent” from the ESA Regulations and makes provision for the assessment of whether a person is responsible for and a member of the same household as a child by reference to regulations 15 and 16 of the Income Support Regulations for purposes relating to work-focused interviews and work-related activity. Regulation 6(2) inserts into the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 the definition of “lone parent” as referring to section 24(3A) of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007.

Regulations 5(4) to (8) and 7 make consequential amendments.

These Regulations 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 Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.