Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Removal of Residential Allowance and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 6th October 2003.

(2) Regulation 3 shall come into operation on 6th October 2003 immediately after regulation 25 of the State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(4).

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(5) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of the Income Support (General) Regulations

2.—(1) The Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(6) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (9).

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation) the definition of “residential allowance”(7) shall be omitted.

(3) In regulation 17(1) (applicable amounts) sub-paragraph (bb)(8) shall be omitted.

(4) In regulation 18(1) (polygamous marriages) sub-paragraph (cc)(9) shall be omitted.

(5) In regulation 21(1B)(10) (special cases) for “paragraph 10A, 10B, 10C or 13” there shall be substituted “paragraph 13(2)”.

(6) In regulation 71 (applicable amounts in urgent cases) –

(a)in paragraph (1) sub-paragraphs (a)(vi)(11) and (c) shall be omitted; and

(b)paragraph (1A)(12) shall be omitted.

(7) In Schedule 2 (applicable amounts) paragraph 2A(13) shall be omitted.

(8) In Schedule 7 (applicable amounts in special cases) –

(a)paragraphs –

(i)10A(14) (single claimants temporarily in accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board);

(ii)10B(15) (couples and members of polygamous marriages where one member is or all are temporarily in accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board);

(iii)10C(16) (lone parents who are in residential accommodation temporarily), and

(iv)13(1)(17) (persons in residential accommodation) in columns (1) and (2),

shall be omitted.

(9) In Schedule 9 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)

paragraph 15B(18) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) Regulations

3.—(1) The Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988(19) shall be amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) In regulation 1A(1)(20) (prescribed description of persons) –

(a)for “The” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (2), the”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (a)(21) “, but does not include the allowance specified in paragraph 2A of that Schedule (residential allowances)” shall be omitted;

(c)in sub-paragraph (aa)(22) “but does not include the allowance specified in paragraph 3 of that Schedule (residential allowances)” shall be omitted;

(d)in sub-paragraph (ab)(23) “and is not resident in a residential care home or nursing home” shall be omitted; and

(e)for paragraph (2)(24) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who resides in –

(a)a nursing home within the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(25);

(b)a residential care home within the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(26), or

(c)residential accommodation within the meaning given by regulation 21(3) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(27).”.

Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations

4.—(1) The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(28) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (12).

(2) In regulation 1(2)(29) (citation, commencement and interpretation) the definition of “residential allowance” shall be omitted.

(3) In regulation 83(30) (applicable amounts) paragraph (c) shall be omitted.

(4) In regulation 84(1)(31) (polygamous marriages) sub-paragraph (d) shall be omitted.

(5) In regulation 85 (special cases) –

(a)at the beginning of paragraph (1)(32) for “Subject to paragraph (2A) in” there shall be substituted “In”, and

(b)paragraph (2A)(33) shall be omitted.

(6) In regulation 86A(34) (applicable amounts for joint-claim couples) paragraph (b) shall be omitted.

(7) In regulation 86B(35) (applicable amounts for joint-claim couples: polygamous marriages) paragraph (c) shall be omitted.

(8) In regulation 148 (applicable amounts in urgent cases) –

(a)in paragraph (1) sub-paragraphs (a)(v) and (c)(36) shall be omitted, and

(b)paragraph (1A)(37) shall be omitted.

(9) In regulation 148A(38) (applicable amount in urgent cases: joint-claim couples) –

(a)in paragraph (1) sub-paragraphs (a)(iv) and (c) shall be omitted, and

(b)paragraph (1A)(39) shall be omitted.

(10) In Schedule 1 (applicable amounts) paragraph 3(40) shall be omitted.

(11) In Schedule 4 (applicable amounts in special cases) –

(a)in column (1) of paragraph 1 (person other than claimant who is a patient) for “, 15 and 17” there shall be substituted “and 15”;

(b)paragraphs –

(i)7(41) (single claimants temporarily in accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board or an HSS trust);

(ii)8(42) (couples and members of polygamous marriages where one member is or all are temporarily in accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board or an HSS trust);

(iii)9(43) (lone parents who are in residential accommodation temporarily),

shall be omitted, and

(c)in columns (1) and (2) of paragraph 15(44) (persons in residential accommodation) sub-paragraph (1) shall be omitted.

(12) In Schedule 4A(45) (applicable amounts of joint-claim couples in special cases) –

(a)in column (1) of paragraph 1 (patients) for “Subject to paragraphs 9 and 11, a” there shall be substituted “A”, and

(b)paragraph 9(46) (members of joint-claim couples in residential accommodation) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations

5.  In regulation 1 (citation, commencement and interpretation) of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(47) –

(a)in paragraph (2), in the definition of “nursing home” for “regulation 19(2) of the Income Support Regulations (persons in homes for persons in need and nursing homes)” there shall be substituted “regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations (interpretation)(48)”;

(b)for paragraph (3A)(49) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(3A) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a)(i) “residential care home” has the meaning given to that expression by virtue of paragraphs (a) and (c) of that definition in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations(50).”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations provide for the cessation, from 6th October 2003, of the payment of a residential allowance to recipients of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance who are residing in residential care homes or nursing homes. These Regulations also provide for the cessation, from 6th October 2003, of the payment of special amounts to recipients of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance who are in residential accommodation as defined in regulation 21(3) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”).

These Regulations also amend the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988 (“the Cold Weather Payments Regulations”) to provide that from 6th October 2003 those who are residing in residential care homes, nursing homes or residential accommodation shall not be entitled to a cold weather payment under those Regulations (regulation 3).

Regulations 2 and 4 amend the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (Northern Ireland) (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”).

Regulations 2(2) and 4(2) remove the definition of “residential allowance” from the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations respectively.

Regulations 2(7) and 4(10) remove the provisions relating to applicable amounts of residential allowance in the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations respectively.

Regulation 2(6)(b) and (8) and regulation 4(9), (11) and (12) remove provisions in the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations respectively which relate to the special amounts payable to certain people in residential accommodation.

Regulation 2(9) removes paragraph 15B of Schedule 9 to the Income Support Regulations. Paragraph 15B provides that 50 per cent. of income received from an occupational or personal pension or retirement annuity contract shall be disregarded if the claimant is not residing with his spouse, and at least 50 per cent. of that income is being paid to or in respect of his spouse for that spouse’s maintenance.

The remaining paragraphs of regulations 2 and 4 make consequential amendments to the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations.

Regulations 3 and 5 consequentially amend the Cold Weather Payments Regulations and the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 respectively.

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 (c. 8), 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 a charge on business.