Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Consequential Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on –

(a)in the case of this regulation and regulation 2(1), (3), (4)(a), (5) and (8), on 6th April 2003;

(b)in the case of the remainder of regulation 2, on the day on which the provisions of the Tax Credits Act 2002 specified in Article 2(a) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2003(4) and Article 2(3)(c) and (e) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Tax Credits Act 2002 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2003(5) come into force, subject to Article 2 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003(6).

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

Consequential amendments

2.—(1) In the Social Security (Invalid Care Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(8) regulation 2A(a) (disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration Act) shall be omitted.

(2) In the Social Security Benefit (Dependency) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(9) –

(a)in regulation 3 (allocation of contributions for spouse or children) –

(i)in the heading “or children” shall be omitted;

(ii)in paragraph (1)(10) “43(1)(b),” shall be omitted;

(b)in regulation 4A(1)(11) (circumstances in which a person who is not entitled to child benefit is to be treated as if he were so entitled) “41,” shall be omitted;

(c)in regulation 4B(12) (circumstances in which a person entitled to child benefit is to be treated as if he were not so entitled) paragraphs (1)(c) and (4)(e) shall be omitted.

(3) In the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(13) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation) at the end of the definition of “dependency benefit” there shall be added “or child tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002”.

(4) In the Social Security (Widow’s Benefit and Retirement Pensions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(14) –

(a)regulation 1A(a)(15) (disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration Act for the purposes of retirement pension) shall be omitted;

(b)in regulation 6(3)(c)(16) (benefit at reduced rates for those who do not satisfy the contribution conditions in full) –

(i)“41,” shall be omitted;

(ii)“and” after head (i) shall be omitted;

(iii)head (ii) shall be omitted.

(5) In the Social Security (Severe Disablement Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984(17) regulation 2A(a) (disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration Act) shall be omitted.

(6) In the Social Fund (Recovery by Deductions from Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988(18) regulation 2(o) (benefits from which an award may be recovered) shall be omitted.

(7) In the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit — Increases for Dependants) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994(19) –

(a)for regulation 3(20) (allocation of contributions for a spouse or child) there shall be substituted the following regulation –

“Allocation of contributions for a spouse

3.  For the purposes of the Contributions and Benefits Act insofar as it relates to incapacity benefit, any sum paid by a person by way of contribution towards the maintenance of his spouse shall be treated for the purposes of regulations 9 (increase of incapacity benefit for adult dependants and persons having the care of children) and 12 (contribution to maintenance of adult dependant) as such contributions of such respective amounts equal in aggregate to the sum in respect of his spouse as would secure as large a payment as possible by way of benefit in respect of dependants.”;

(b)Part II (child dependants) shall be omitted;

(c)in regulation 9 (increase of incapacity benefit for adult dependants and persons having the care of children) –

(i)in paragraph (1) –

(aa)for sub-paragraph (a)(ii), there shall be substituted “the beneficiary is entitled to child benefit in respect of a child;”;

(bb)for sub-paragraph (c)(ii), there shall be substituted “cares for a child in respect of whom the beneficiary is entitled to child benefit; or”;

(cc)for sub-paragraph (d)(ii), there shall be substituted “cares for a child in respect of whom the beneficiary is entitled to child benefit,”;

(ii)paragraph (2) shall be omitted.

(8) In the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994(21) regulation 1A(a) (disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration Act) shall be omitted.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations are made in consequence of section 1(1)(a) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) which relates to the introduction of a child tax credit and of sections 1(3)(e) and 60 of, and Schedule 6 to, the 2002 Act, insofar as they repeal provisions of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 which relate to the payment of certain increases in respect of children in certain benefits.

The provisions of the 2002 Act were brought into force from 6th April 2003 by the Tax Credits Act 2002 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2003 and the Tax Credits Act 2002 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2003.

These Regulations amend –

• the Social Security (Invalid Care Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976,

• the Social Security Benefit (Dependency) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977,

• the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979,

• the Social Security (Widow’s Benefit and Retirement Pensions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979,

• the Social Security (Severe Disablement Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984,

• the Social Fund (Recovery by Deductions from Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988,

• the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit — Increases for Dependants) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994, and

• the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994

so as to make amendments which are consequential, both on the abolition of the payment of certain increases in respect of children in certain benefits and the introduction of a child tax credit, by the 2002 Act.

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.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.