The Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall, subject to paragraph (2), come into operation on 30th June 2003.

(2) Regulation 15(1) shall come into operation on 15th September 2003.

(3) In these Regulations –

“the 1998 Order” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(1);

“benefit week” means any period of 7 days corresponding to the week in respect of which the relevant specified benefit is due to be paid;

“bereavement benefit” means any benefit, other than a bereavement payment, falling within section 20(1)(ea) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(2);

“the Careers Service” means the Careers Service of the Department for Employment and Learning;

“interview” means a work-focused interview with a person who has claimed a specified benefit and which is conducted for any or all of the following purposes –

“officer” means an officer of the Department or of the Department for Employment and Learning;

“specified benefit” means income support, incapacity benefit, carer’s allowance, severe disablement allowance and any bereavement benefit.

(4) For the purposes of these Regulations –

(a)a person shall be deemed to be in remunerative work where he is in remunerative work within the meaning prescribed in regulation 4 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(3), but

(b)a person shall be deemed not to be in remunerative work where –

(i)he is not in remunerative work in accordance with sub-paragraph (a), or

(ii)he is in remunerative work in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) and is not entitled to income support but would not be prevented from being entitled to income support solely by being in such work, and

(c)a person shall be deemed to be in part-time work where he is engaged in work for which payment is made but he is not engaged or deemed to be engaged in remunerative work.

(5) Except in a case where regulation 15(2) applies, regulations 2 to 14 apply in respect of a person who makes a claim for a specified benefit on or after 30th June 2003 at an office of the Department which is designated by the Department as a Jobs and Benefits Office for the purposes of these Regulations.

(6) Where a claim for benefit is made by a person (“the appointee”) on behalf of another, references in these Regulations to a person claiming benefit shall be treated as a reference to the person on whose behalf the claim is made and not to the appointee.

(7) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.