EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make provision for schemes under Article 19A of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Jobseekers Order”) which are designed to assist claimants to obtain employment, and which may include, for any individual, work-related activity, such as work experience or work search.
Part 1 concerns the circumstances in which jobseeker’s allowance claimants are required to participate in the Scheme.
Regulation 3 prescribes “Steps 2 Success” for the purpose of Article 19A of the Jobseekers Order.
Regulation 4 enables the Department or the Department for Employment and Learning to select a claimant to participate in the scheme described in regulation 3 and the scheme the claimant is selected to participate in is referred to in the Regulations as “the Scheme”.
Regulation 5 requires a person so selected to participate in the Scheme upon being notified by the Department or the Department for Employment and Learning from the date specified in the notice. It also sets out the content of the notice.
Regulation 6 sets out the circumstances in which a requirement to participate in the Scheme is suspended and circumstances in which a claimant is not required (or no longer required) to participate in the Scheme. These are where a participant’s award of jobseeker’s allowance terminates or where the Department or the Department for Employment and Learning gives the participant notice in writing that his or her participation is no longer required.
Regulation 7 sets out circumstances in which a claimant participating in the Scheme is not required to meet the jobseeking conditions.
Part 2 deals with failures to participate in the Scheme and good cause for failure to participate.
Regulation 8 provides that a claimant who fails to comply with any of the requirements notified under regulation 5 is to be regarded as having failed to participate in the Scheme.
Regulation 9 provides that a claimant who fails to participate in the Scheme must show good cause for that failure within 5 working days. It is then for the Department to determine whether that claimant has shown good cause, taking into account the claimant’s circumstances.
Regulation 10 provides that if a claimant fails without good cause to participate in the Scheme, the claimant’s jobseeker’s allowance will not be payable or will be reduced for 2, 4 or 26 weeks subject in the last case to a reduction back to 4 weeks where the claimant re-complies. It also makes provision for bringing the sanction period to an end in the case of claimants who are no longer required to participate in the Scheme.
Part 3 allows for an income-based jobseeker’s allowance to be payable even though a sanction applies to the claimant because of a failure without good cause to participate in the Scheme, if the person is a vulnerable person. It does so by amending the hardship provisions in Parts 9 and 9A of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”).
Part 4 makes various consequential amendments to other Regulations in relation to a person’s participation in the scheme prescribed in regulation 3.
The following regulations make consequential amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations, the Housing Renewal Grants (Reduction of Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 and the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006. Regulations 13 and 14 ensure that persons will not be treated as having notional income or notional capital by virtue of their participation in the Scheme prescribed in regulation 3, and regulations 15 and 16 provide that travel and other expenses paid to participants are disregarded as income and capital for the purposes of certain income-related benefits.
Regulations 17 and 20 make consequential amendments to the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975, the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001, the Social Security (Loss of Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 to ensure that, in relation to credits and decisions and appeals the claimant is treated consistently with a claimant who incurs a sanction under Article 21 or 22A of the Jobseekers Order.
Regulation 18 makes consequential amendments to the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, regulation 19 makes further consequential amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations and regulation 21 makes consequential amendments to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.
Regulation 22 makes provision for contracting out functions of the Department or the Department for Employment and Learning under the Regulations (with the exception of functions relating to the consideration of good cause and the imposition of sanctions).
In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulations 13(1)(c), 14(1)(c), 15(1)(c), 16(1)(c) and 17(4) and (5), 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 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, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.