Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 28th October 1999.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(2) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Amendment of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations

2.—(1) For the purposes of determining whether a person shall be entitled to a winter fuel payment for the winter of 1999 to 2000 and for subsequent winters and its amount, the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998(3) shall apply as amended by the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998(4) subject to the following further amendments.

(2) in regulation 1(2) (interpretation) in the definition of “the qualifying week”(5) for “9th November 1998” there shall be substituted “the third Monday in September in each year in respect of a winter fuel payment for the following winter,”.

(3) In regulation 3(1) (prescribed amount)—

(a)in sub-paragraph (a) for “£50” there shall be substituted “£100”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (b)(i) and (ii)(6) for “£20” there shall be substituted “£100”;

(c)in sub-paragraph (b)(iii) for “£10” there shall be substituted “£50”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 to provide that the qualifying week for entitlement to a winter fuel payment for the winter of 1999 to 2000 and for subsequent winters shall be the week beginning on and including the third Monday in September in each year. They also increase the amounts of winter fuel payments.

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security 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 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.