15.—(1) Subject to regulation 16, where any amount is recoverable under Article 28 or 54(1) of the Order, or under these regulations, that amount shall be recoverable by the Department from any of the benefits prescribed in paragraph (2) to which the person from whom the amount is determined to be recoverable is entitled.
(2) The following benefits are prescribed for the purposes of this regulation—
(a)subject to regulation 16(1) and (2), any benefit under the Act;
(b)subject to regulation 16(1) and (2), any child benefit;
(c)any family credit;
(d)subject to regulation 16, any income support.
16.—(1) Deductions may not be made from entitlement to the benefits prescribed by paragraph (2) except as a means of recovering an overpayment of the benefit from which the deduction is to be made.
(2) The benefits prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1) are guardian's allowance, attendance allowance in respect of a child arising under section 35(1) to (4) of the Act(1), as modified by regulation 10 of the Social Security (Attendance Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(2), and child benefit.
(3) Regulation 15 shall apply without limitation to any payment of arrears of benefit other than any arrears caused by the operation of regulation 36(1) of the Claims and Payments Regulations (suspension of payments).
(4) Regulation 15 shall apply to the amount of income support to which a person is presently entitled only to the extent that there may, subject to paragraphs 8 and 9 of Schedule 8A to the Claims and Payments Regulations(3), be recovered in respect of any one benefit week—
(a)in a case to which paragraph (5) applies, not more than the amount there specified; and
(b)in any other case, 3 times 5 per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25, that 5 per cent. being, where it is not a multiple of 5 pence, rounded to the next higher such multiple.
(5) Where the person responsible for the misrepresentation of or failure to disclose a material fact has, by reason thereof, been found guilty of an offence under Article 56 of the Order or under any other enactment, or has made a written statement after caution in admission of deception or fraud for the purpose of obtaining benefit, the amount mentioned in paragraph (4)(a) shall be 4 times 5 per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25, that 5 per cent. being, where it is not a multiple of 10 pence, rounded to the nearest such multiple or, if it is a multiple of 5 pence but not of 10 pence, the next higher multiple of 10 pence.
(6) Where, in the calculation of the income of a person to whom income support is payable, the amount of earnings or other income falling to be taken into account is reduced by paragraphs 4 to 9 of Schedule 8 to the Income Support Regulations (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings) or paragraphs 15 and 16 of Schedule 9 to those regulations (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings), the weekly amount applicable under paragraph (4) may be increased by not more than half the amount of the reduction.
(7) Regulation 15 shall not be applied to a specified benefit so as to reduce the benefit in any one benefit week to less than 10 pence.
(8) In this regulation—
“benefit week” means the week corresponding to the week in respect of which the benefit is paid;
“personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25” means the amount specified in column (2) of paragraph 1(1)(c) of Schedule 2 to the Income Support Regulations;
“specified benefit” means income support, unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, invalidity benefit, retirement pension, severe disablement allowance, widow's pension or widowed mother's allowance;
“written statement after caution” means a written statement made in accordance with the Judges' Rules.
17. In the case of an overpayment of income support or family credit to one of a married or unmarried couple, the amount recoverable by deduction, in accordance with regulation 15, may be recovered by deduction from income support or family credit payable to either of them, provided that the two of them are a married or unmarried couple at the date of the deduction.
Section 35(1) to (4) was amended by Article 3 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/396 (N.I. 5))
S.R. 1987 No. 413; the relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1988 No. 129
Schedule 8A was inserted by the Schedule to S.R. 1988 No. 67